There were only two things that tempted me away from the life of a monk – conventional sexual appetites and religion. Otherwise, a contemplative existence, withdrawn from the cruel and stupid world, while baking bread, brewing beer and doing a bit of gardening, would have suited me well. I know this, because I studied medieval…

Thought I’d try a new career. One that would help me make a bit of money to see me through my forthcoming retirement in three years’ time. Got plenty of time to plan for it. I know what I want to do. That’s not a problem. It’s just about getting your foot in the door…

Too old to be a hero Too old to be brave Too old to be marching To an early grave Too worn to contribute Too torn to care Too forlorn to shoulder My own fair share Too tired to stand up Not wired to fight Cremated, not fired up By the wrong and the right…

Further to yesterday’s post about my movements in art, I now realise that I have reached my third-age apotheosis – Gagaism, as evidenced in the attached mixed media collage sculpture, entitled ‘Out to grass – an assemblage of past-it notes and bus pass on a green ground’. If I had known in advance that Grayson…

Long ago I realised I wasn’t going to be a great artist. I was seduced by the noble art of the cartoon, and chose to go down the route of cartoons that weren’t funny. This didn’t make my work popular or memorable, but it led me to realise that where I might fail as an…

Bitterness invades me by degrees. I studied hard for mine.   Yesterday I heard my youth On a free download Receding from me as if through a tunnel. I heard the last songs of hope And the acid gall of their terminal hopelessness, A flashback to when everything Now so feebly fulfilled Still stood before…

Some of us are not born to greatness. Nor do we have it thrust upon us. Some of us are destined to skulk in the shadows, chasing obscurity with all our might. I look at the sum total of my achievement and can be proud of it, though most of it has gone unnoticed. As…