Minimalist poet, minimalist lifestyle

I spent about ten years doing voluntary work with this local charity in the Dearne Valley when I used to live there.

Here's a list of places away from the immediate area that I visited as part of my duties.

Houses of Parliament/Palace of Westminster

Community Transport Association conference at Blackpool [twice]

Training course that lasted several weeks at the Community Radio Association headquarters at Sheffield

Study weekend at Co-operative National College at Loughborough

Coachbuilders at Whaley Bridge, Derbyshire and Thrybergh, Rotherham

Diocesan away to York Minster

Training event at Sheffield Diocesan headquarters

Two awards presentations at Co-operative regional headquarters at Barnsley

Awards presentation at West Bretton Community Hall, near Wakefield

Strategy awayday at Eyam Youth Hostel, Derbyshire

Family walking expedition in the Peak District

Information day about credit unions at Brighouse town hall

Print foundry at Birstall, near Halifax

Council offices in Barnsley, Doncaster and Rotherham - many times

Staffing a stall at Rotherham Fair and several other locations

Methodist Youth Festival in London

Completing the Lyke Wake Walk and Shepher's Round sponsored walks [42 miles] on the North York Moors

A failed attempt to even start the White Rose Way walk on the North York Moors which only got as far as the fish and chip shop at Thirsk.

The Mansion House - 18th century Palladian-style town hall and official residence of the mayor.

The cathedral-like interior of the NatWest Bank building.

The Corn Exchange.

South Parade - an impressive Georgian terrace.

The i8th century Old Grandstand at Townmoor racecourse; especially the Edwardian gents' urinals.

I don't have any credit cards - I don't need them; yet my wallet is still stuffed with various plastic cards.

Iceland Bonus Card
Library card
Mobile phone top-up card
Bank debit card
Nectar Card
3 x business cards
W. H. Smith Clubcard

When I was in the fish and chip shop last night I noticed that, although we say 'salt and vinegar', everyone put vinegar on their chips first.

I'm thinking of going on a trip. Firstly to Pontefract to buy a cake, then Barnsley to buy a chop, then a tart at Manchester, another cake at Eccles, a mint cake at Kendal, a pudding or a tart at Bakewell and finally a scone at Derby.

Tonight the first frost of the winter is forecast. Will the freezing weather finally kill off my rudbeckias and marigolds for the season?

My mum's got the disease, and since I'm showing all of the symptoms, and the disease runs in families, there's a good chance that I've also got it.

It's a disease of the bowel that causes problems with the absorption of nutrients from food; there's no cure but it can be managed with an appropriate, restricted, diet. The disease is difficult to diagnose; it takes an average of eleven years to receive a diagnosis of coeliac disease.

I mentioned some of my symptoms to the doctor a few years ago and he seemed rather dismissive and so I haven't pressed things since; I can't afford to be on a limited and expensive diet anyway.

Here's list of my symptoms, which seems pretty typical:

Ribbon-shaped stools
Raised circular rashes on my joints.
Diarrhoea
Dehydration
Headaches
Urinary tract irritation
Pungent sweat
Anaemia
Trapped wind
Flatulence

This symptoms can be a bit annoying at times, but aren't life threatening or even debilitating. Fortunately I only suffer from one or two at a time.

Writers whose books I can remember reading this year so far:

Clive Cussler
Eric Flynt
Greg Bear
Melanie Phillips
Michael Gove
Michelle Malkin
Newt Gingrich

Sometimes I watch the programme because there's nothing else on TV at the time. I'm appalled by the arrogant, superior, bullying and condescending attitude of the host - trouble is though, I'm even more appalled by some of the guests.

One of my friends has posted some photos of a group of us walking along the Lyke Wake Walk on the North York Moors on his Facebook page. I think we did the walk sixteen years ago; it's forty two miles and it took us eighteen hours. With my dodgy knees and frequent aches and pains I'm not so sure that I could do it now.

I think I might stink like a kipper - I'm wearing the same coat I wore at a bonfire barbecue on Saturday night. Because it was quite windy, smoke from the fire kept blowing all over the guests.

This poem has been accepted for publication in a magazine next year.

EMPTY HOUSE

The dead man's room;
Continuous sigh of the computer.

Screensaver offers:
Buy one, get one free.

Number of spec letters sent to employers = 20
Number of rejection letters received = 5
Number of rejection phonecalls = 2
Ten more letters sent off yesterday
A list drawn up of over forty more employers to contact...and I'm still looking.

A telesales representative from BT spent a frustrating five minutes last night trying to persuade me to switch my tariff - more expensive line rental but some free calls. She didn't seem to understand that since I make so few calls this is not a good deal for me...I can't just phone random strangers in order to get my money's worth.

What I require is cheaper line rental charges.

I've been spending quite a lot of time on Facebook these last few days. I find it all a bit confusing though: there are so many links to mutual friends, friends of friends, common interests, groups, favourite media files etc. etc. I find it much more complicated than blogging.

I've made online contact with two more old school friends and a friend I knew whilst doing my voluntary work.

Well, it's not actually my house; I only rent it - but I have lived there for six years noe.

It's a middle terraced house, twelve foot wide with two bedrooms and an attic room, a very usable cellar and a decent-sized back garden...the front door opens directly onto the street; there is a porch though. It's much too large for just the one person to live in, but there's a shortage of one bedroomed flats in Doncaster.

It was built in 1888 to house railway workers and their families and originally had an outdoor toilet at the bottom of the garden [the building still stands...I store one of the wheelie bins in there.] Like the rest of the houses on the terrace it has a kitchen extension added sometime between the wars and one of the original large bedrooms had been converted into a bathroom and a much smaller box bedroom.

I like living here - it's conveniently located for the town centre and although the property doesn't have double glazing or central heating I can keep warm with a couple of electric fires and a blanket.

I bought these three for £1 on the market yesterday.

League of Gentlemen, Series One
League of Gentlemen, Christmas Special
Falling Down - starring Michael Douglas