Category: News

Our Beloved Queen

Here is my tribute to Queen Elisabeth II. I hope that you enjoy my poem about ‘Our beloved queen’.

I was lucky enough to see the Queen close up when I was a teenager and was impressed by her. She has always been a shining light for our nation. Her integrity was obvious and her compassion for people and animals. Hopefully you have your own memories of her and can comment them under the poem.

It will be interesting watching the coronation of her son, Charles, as the last one was 70 years ago. The royal family represent history and tradition and are an important part of British culture. Her majesty will be sorely missed but I hope that her reign will not be forgotten.


A wondrous Queen

You’ve always been.

Such majesty

You’d always bring.

I met you once

And you shined so bright

You ruled with dignity,

Strength and plight.

So thanks for love

And leading by example

You were our monarch

Your generosity ample.

A loss we know

Your passing has brought

But we remember

The compassion you taught.

A Queen so steady

For 70 years

And now my heart

Is full of tears.

Thank you so much for reading my poem about our beloved queen. For another of my thoughtful poems, have a read of One of those days.

Short of Water?

Some think that water never runs out,

They believe it is infinite and free,

They shower for ages and use it all day,

To water their flowers, to bathe and to play.

Others know water as costly,

Expensive as resources go.

They realise if they let it run and run,

Their bills will grow (and that’s no fun).

Bill payers and water wasters

Are surprised to find

That water sources

Have recently come to a grind.

Rivers are at their lowest in France,

Stopping barges – they stand no chance.

Causing problems for animals and plants,

Leading to hose pipe bans – ‘That’s just pants!’

‘How dare they restrict our water!’

They cry and scream,

They need to learn

They partly caused the dry stream.

Overuse of water is a problem itself,

Pollution and urban sprawls also help.

When will everyone finally see…

That water shortages are down to YOU and ME?

Everybody Needs Good Neighbours!

Today is the day that I have to get out the tissues and prepare for some weeping. My favourite TV soap opera is finishing after 37 amazing years. ‘Neighbours’ has been with me ever since I was 8 years old and I originally watched every day with my nan. Now we are about to see the final episode with some returning famous faces.

The original cast from 1986.

I used to love coming home from school and checking in on the Erinsborough neighbours as they went through drama after drama. It had an optimistic way of presenting Australian life and soon became incredibly popular.

After a failed run in 1985, Channel 10 decided to start afresh with Neighbours and introduce new characters. It was this second run that was publicised in the UK and established the Robinson and Ramsay families that included Charlene and Scott and introduced us to Madge, Paul and Mrs Mangel.

In the school holidays I lapped up the early afternoon showing and sometimes watched it twice in the same day. When Kylie and Jason’s characters got married 20 million UK viewers tuned in. Kylie went on to be a popstar and Jason starred in West End shows such as Joseph and the amazing technicolour dreamcoat.

Although I lost touch with the show while I was at university I did reconnect and soon got back into it, following the stories as they moved from BBC 1 to Channel 5 in Britain. Sadly in April this year Channel 5 decided to drop the show and another funding company wasn’t found so the show had to reach a conclusion.

Neighbours should be proud of tackling difficult subjects such as cancer, sexuality and celebrating diversity in a way that felt natural and totally inclusive. The story team are excellent and ground breaking and its narratives will be surely missed.

And Sadly..

Tonight we see some of those superstars return for a much anticipated finale. Neighbours was a breeding ground for talent such as:

Margot Robbie, Jason Donovan, Annie Jones, Guy Pearce, Thor himself – Chris Hemsworth and his brother Liam, Kylie Minogue, Jesse Spencer and Felix Mallard.

So I hope some of you will check out the Neighbours Finale online. It will be a celebration of wonderful characters, including my favourites, Jane and Madge. I will be crying my eyes out and looking forward to when the cast do a UK tour next spring. Thank you for reading my article and If you enjoyed it please consider following my blog.