The Tree

The tree sits silent in the ground where it was planted
And the branches bowed with time, are uneven and slanted
And I look upon it now in the shimmering Autumn haze
And its seems only a moment since my foolish childhood days

I remember the first time I climbed up in the tree
Its was a hundred foot tall, well it looked that way to me
And it seemed like it was living, it was like a friend
And in its branches and foliage my childhood I would spend

In the spring it would be happy as it was clothed anew
And it appeared to cry tears, from the early morning dew
All the branches lifted, like arms thanking the sky
And the spring breezes blew the leaves and taught them how to fly

I would sit in the summer watching sunsets from afar
I would sit there at night just looking at the stars
I would climb the highest branches, then try to touch the clouds
And sometimes sit and watch all the birds that flew around

In the autumn I would watch as the leaves turned brown and dropped
And the naked branches beckoned me to climb right to the top
And with the skeletal branches as cover from the day
I would find my peace and quiet, and wish that I could stay

In the winter I would marvel at branches bowed with snow
And listen as the robins high above flew to and fro
And build a snowman guard to watch over the tree
And brush the powdery snow, from what was a friend to me

Well the tree has changed a lot now and the branches gnarled and worn
And graffiti and slogans on its burnt black trunk adorn
For like me, time has taken its toll on my tree
Though it will always be, my childhood home to me

Jason Cotton
08/01/2002
©Sonofdel 2012

Good Final Looming

Right so its 18.49 on the 29th June and i cant help wondering where the heck did June go???

Seems a day or so ago that we were welcoming June in and now we are ready to wave it goodbye.  Its also hard to believe that its been three weeks since the Euro 2012 started and on Sunday its the final !!!!!!!!!!  On that note would just like to say i thought that Portugal were unlucky to lose against Spain and commend them for the way they played.  I thought that they played the better football and deserved to go through to the final.  I think Spain passed the ball to death and completely spoiled the game.  Getting knocked out on penalties is tough (ask England) and i hope one day there is another way to end these matches (no idea what though).  I think that Fabregas saying that he talked to the ball has emphasized to me how much Spain have lost the plot.

Last nights game was another matter altogether.  I really enjoyed how both teams wanted to attack right from the start and although Germany tried i think Italy had the perfect game plan and the germans just couldnt handle Balotelli.  I am not his greatest fan but last night i think he had the game of his life.  His movement both on and off the ball was brilliant to watch and he took both of his goals superbly.  Overall i dont think that the germans could argue that the best team won on the night.  I am really looking forward to the final and I hope Italy can finally bring Spain crashing back down to reality.  Come on ITALY !!!!!!!!!!!

My new cd arrived today and I played it this afternoon.  Fun are a very talented group of musicians and singers and i believe that they will go even further.

I also listened to another cd this afternoon that i have had for several weeks but hadnt had the chance to enjoy.  Its from one of my all time favourite groups called Depeche Mode and the cd is called Sounds of the Universe.  As i own every studio album that they have released there was never a danger that i wouldnt like this but it was nice to hear them doing what they have always done best, keeping their style and letting Dave do the business with his unique voice.  I would say this is up there with some of their best work.  It has hints of Ultra about it but also encompasses some similar sounds to Playing the Angel.  I would give it 5 stars *****

Havent really done much else except last night we settled down to watch another three episodes of the excellent Fringe.

Does it hurt?

You look at me through eyes of red, jealousy?

I got away from you and now you want me back

You should have worked harder when you had the chance

Put more into the relationship, much more

Treated me better, showed you loved me more

Does it hurt?

To know I have another, someone new

Someone who loves me for who I am

Happy with me, happy for me

A smile even when there is nothing to smile for

Easy for her to say ' I love you'

You struggled, always

Does it hurt?

When you look at me and I am happy

Does it make you angry, sad, resentful?

You had your chances, and there were lots

I tried to make it work, believe me

But there is only so much pain a person can take

And I took more than my share

You hurt me, you destroyed me, you belittled me

So I ask again, does it hurt?

Jason Cotton

27/06/2012

©Sonofdel 2012

Nothing kind of day

The reason i didnt write a post yesterday wasnt anything to do with being, lazy, busy or away from pc, it was simply that it was just a boring day .............lol

The highlights were two, well three i suppose.

1).  We took the dog for a walk and then fetched some biscuits (excited yet ?)
2).  I played more of my Kingdoms of Amalur game and got a lot further (gripping stuff)
3).  We watched a movie called The Pact (not as good as i thought it would be)

See, like i said not a lot happened.

Oh i did get to see my great niece yesterday which was a definite plus.  Mikey (her dad) popped down to see us.

Ok so onto Wednesday and again not a lot has happened today either.

Did a few surveys, got a couple of vouchers (amazon), got a Barclaycard application (which i didnt want).

After taking the dog for her midday walk we popped into see our friend Tony on the way back (he only lives next door.........lol).  Stayed for a cup of tea and a thirty minute chat and then returned home to do some laundry (dont know how i cope with the excitement).  Had to call the water board as there appears to be a problem with the drain that seems to be emanating from further down the street.  As i write this we are awaiting the man to turn up.

Hope the football tonight is good.  Portugal v Spain and i know Portugal have a lot to prove.

Oh a quick update on the dog.  Her ear infection is clearing up nicely and she is getting back to her dopey self .............lol

Did I Tell You

Did I tell you that I love you
Did you hear the words I said
Though no voice assailed your ears
You must have seen it in my eyes
Or was it in my smile
The smile that I save just for you
Was it my smile or my eyes
That told you that I love you

Did I tell you that I love you
Without a single word spoke
Was it the way I held your hand
As we walked down the beach to the sea
Was it the way I held you close
As we stood to watch the sun set
Was it my holding you close
That told you that I love you

Did I tell you that I love you
When you opened your eyes
When you welcomed in the daylight
As we sat on the beach hand in hand
Knowing our future was together
As I reached out and touched you
I saw you smile and I realised
You were telling me you loved me

Jason Cotton
25/06/2012

©Sonofdel 2012

Penalties again !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well what a day Sunday and Monday turned out to be.  Lets start with the cd's i was reviewing.

1) Maroon 5 - Overexposed.  A good cd with some very catchy and upbeat tunes Adam Levine once again is in good voice no more so than on the excellent Payphone.  I also particularly liked the choices of songs as the subject matter ranges from the fun element to the more serious side of relationship breakups.  I would give it a 4 star rating ****

2) Gotye - Making Mirrors.  Again another good cd with a lot of very easy to listen tunes.  Very Enigmaesque in places and the stand out tracks for me were the catchy Somebody that i used to know and the very cleverly synthesized track State of the art (which is about new technology).  A pleasant enough cd for me but wont be to everyone's liking.  I would give it a 3 star rating ***

3) Fun. - Some Nights.  This cd quite literally blew me away.  From the very first track I was completely hooked.  I was worried that the track We are Young would prove to be all there was good about the cd but I am glad I was wrong.  Its kind of alternative rock in places and the stand out tracks for me are All Alright which is a nice song about when times are bad, Carry on which is another upbeat track that will get you singing along and the bonus track Out on the Town.  Three hours after listening to this cd I was purchasing it from Amazon.  I would give it 5 stars *****

After listening to music all afternoon I relaxed myself by watching the England V Italy Euro 2012 Quarter Final.  First of all let me say that Italy deserved to win on chances created and shots on goal but credit to England to getting it to penalties.  As in the past this proved our stumbling block and we went out 4-2 after Young and Cole missed for us and Montolivo missed for Italy.

I think overall England didn't have a bad tournament and can take a lot of positives from it.  We are an up and coming squad with a new manager and a lot of new faces on the pitch.  I thought that Gerrard was excellent as captain and proved his worth in Midfield too.  Glen Johnson to me was our best defender in the tournament.  Anyone who thought we might win it was slightly deluded and rather hopeful.  We never really looked capable of winning the tournament but fingers crossed for the world cup 2014 qualifiers.

We finished of the night with another episode of the excellent fantasy/sci-fi program Fringe.


Ok so I am including most of Monday on this blog page too as its 8.46pm at the moment.  I would have written this earlier but its been kind of a hectic day what with one thing and another.  First thing I did this morning was to get a vet appointment lined up for Jess (she has an ear infection :(   ).  I called the PDSA but they said it would be almost another 36 hours before they could see her.  I then rang around and got her an appointment with a vets that just happened to be a ten minute walk away from us.  We took her this afternoon and hopefully her infection will clear up soon.

After sorting out the dog i rang our landlord about us not being able to get out the front door.  He sent someone round and although he has sorted out the problem for now its a definite that the door will have to be replaced with a new one.  The carpenter has done a good job and at least now we can get out the door.............lol

New Love

New love

I have found new love

I have found new hopes

I have found new dreams

with my new love

she is my world

my everything

without her I am nothing

the moon without stars

a Sun without heat

a planet without life

her heart

her voice

her smile

it's my new love

a different love

the same person

but new feelings

just for her

my new love

always a new day

Jason Cotton 

24/06/2012

©Sonofdel 2012

No Rain............well almost :)

Ok so it stopped raining and held off for about 18 hours until the heavens opened once more.  Its quite calm here now, overcast but humid.  Its been a nothing sort of day today, but then again it is Sunday.

The dog finally got to go for a proper walk yesterday and because of the rain our wooden front door expanded. We got it open but then it took about 30 minutes to get it closed.  We have now decided to wait until tomorrow morning and get the landlord to come and rescue us........lol   I suppose thats what happens when you have a wooden door.  This has happened before and the landlord has sent someone to shave a couple of inches of the bottom of the door.  If this goes on much longer we will be the only house in the street with saloon doors for the front door.........LMAO.

I am going to do something different this afternoon.  I have three cd's i want to listen too and i will give my verdict in tomorrows post (provided i listen to all three).  The three cd's are:

1) Maroon 5 - Overexposed (which includes the single Payphone)
2) Fun. - Some Nights (which contains the very catchy song We Are Young)
3) Gotye - Making Mirrors (which contains another song i cant get out of my head Somebody That I Used To Know)

I like Maroon 5 and have all their previous cd's.  Hope this will be as good as the rest.  The Fun. album is a tester as i have only heard one song from them and its very good, if the rest are as good then should be an ok listen.  I heard the Gotye song and couldn't get it out of my head.  Took me a while to figure out who sang it.  Someone told me they were called Gotye but i thought they meant Gaultier (as in Jean Paul Gaultier) and wondered why i couldnt find it (sometimes i can be a bit thick like that :) )

The football last night was a bit of a disappointment to me.  France didn't really look that bothered for most of the game and I think that they let Spain dictate and basically bore me to death (the game ended 2-0 but I had long since lost interest at that point).  It pains me to say this but I really hope that Portugal can beat Spain and end their smug superiority.  They seem to play now like they think that they own the pitch.  I feel sorry for Llorente who is an exceptional striker and so far hasn't played one minute as Spain seem to prefer playing with no strikers at the start and when they do bring on a striker it is evidently Torres !!!!!!!!!!!!

Finished of the night by watching the first episode of Season 4 of Fringe.  As its been a while since we saw Season 3 it took me a few minutes to catch up with the story and remember where it left off.  First episode wasn't too bad and hopefully watching more tonight after the little football match between England and Italy !!!!!!!!!!

Wow the excitement.  Its the biggest game this new England team have played so far and will be a real test of just how focused and determined they can be.  Italy will be out to prove their calibre on the world front so should be a good game.

Jess

I come down the stairs and there she is

Blurred reflection through the dining room door

Tell her to lie down but its no use

Her excitement gets the better of her and she jumps madly

I try to calm her down but give in eventually

I sit and she is all over me, paws and tongue saying hello

I stroke her and she relaxes in my arms

She hears deb and I know she will do the same to her

I wait until she closes the door and release her

She almost knocks deb to the floor in her excitement

Deb feeds her and after this ritual she is walked

She returns to a treat if she has been good

She spends the rest of the morning asleep

A contented look on her face makes us both smile

She wakes and thinks its time to play

She chases through the house like a tornado

Fur falling from her as she rolls on the carpet

She fetches her ball and I hear the squeaking as I sit at my pc

Occasionally she brings it to us and waits

Waits for one of us to pick it and throw it

Its midday and time for another walk

We take her together, her excitement never wavers

She pulls and whines in her anticipation of freedom

I try and keep up with her but she is too agile for me

I grin as I see deb trying to control her and calm her

No chance, she is out and this is her time

In the afternoon more sleeping and playing

She comes for a fuss when she needs one

A bark and I know that someone has entered our gate

Another walk, a feed, some more fusses, a dogs life

Another day tomorrow, another day with Jess.

Jason Cotton

23/06/2012

©Sonofdel 2012

It didnt stop !!!!!!!

Well we gave it our best shot last night and eventually had to concede to the rain.  It rained for a solid 24 hours and by the time it was finished i swear i saw Noah and his ark go past twice............  :)

Because of the torch parade not happening (for us) i decided to try out my new X-box game Lego Batman 2.  I know what you are thinking.........childish game right............well to be honest YES and i don't care......lol.  I have made it a point to collect every lego game on the xbox and let me tell you that they have given me hours and hours of countless fun.  From the first Star Wars Lego to the newest Batman one they have all had their good points.  I have recently found out that the next one is to be Lego Lord of the Rings (yeyyyyyyyyyyy).

Well I pre-ordered the game and it arrived yesterday.  I think i did well because i waited over 6 hours after having it before i tried it out (a miracle for me).  It was strange because this is the first Lego game where the characters actually speak in human voices instead of the usual incomprehensible gabble.  I have only played the first two missions and already i can tell that its going to be a good game.  Will keep you upto date in further posts.  I realised yesterday that there are still four or five lego games that i have yet to complete including the Harry Potter and Indiana Jones 2 ones.  Shall have to dig them out and complete them.

After an hour or two of playing i decided to watch the football.  It was Germany v Greece and there were times when it looked like the teams shouldn't have even been on the same pitch such was the difference in class.  Germany attacked from the off and after wasting a handful of chances they eventually scored to lead 1-0 at the break.  In the second half there was more German pressure which is why it came as a surprise to see Greece draw level with a well taken goal on the break.  The excitement didn't last long though as the Germans quickly made it 2-1 then 3-1 then 4-1 with some well taken goals before Greece had a late penalty.  It finished 4-2 and has seen Germany progress to the Semi-final where they will play the winner of tomorrow nights game between Italy and England.  Portugal will play the winner of tonight's match between Spain and France.

Its good to be back writing again and nice to know that people still like my work (thanks for the comments about my poem The River).  The poem I have written today is a day in the life of the latest addition to the household.  She is a German Shepherd/Lurcher cross called Jess.

The River

I remember when we walked, talked and held hands

First time together, the sun beating down, our hearts melting

We sat and smiled, time stood still, everything disappeared

We were alone, we were together, the river reflected our smiles

We threw our cares into the wind and they were carried away

We stood and watched as the river, the smooth river, flowed ever on

I remember all the times that we walked by that river

We saw days where the sun reflected of its glass surface and dazzled us

Days where the mist dropped and covered its surface, nothing could be seen

There were times when the cold enveloped it and hardened its surface

The ice too fragile to walk on but it glistened like buried crystals

We saw all those days, as we walked down by the river

Its all gone now and I stand here with the memories, clinging to them

You went away and now the river seems to mock me

It carries on flowing and its surface looks black and evil to me

I stand by its side and wonder what went wrong, why did you go?

Above me the blue sky is no more, the dark clouds congregate

and as the rain starts to fall so do my tears, into the river.

Jason Cotton

22/06/2012

©Sonofdel 2012

Just typical

Well its friday the 22nd June and the weather is absolutely terrible.  Torrential rain, severe wind, and 50mph gusts of the coast.  It had to happen today of all days, for you see today is the day when the Olympic torch passes through Blackpool on its way to its final destination.  We were supposed to be going to witness this once in a lifetime occasion, but as we would be soaked to the skin after five minutes leaving the house, i think we will pass.  However if the weather improves and the rain stops (as much chance as platting fog...lol) then we will attend.

I am going to start this blog again and start doing a lot more writing.  The reason for this is two-fold.

1.)  I am fed up just sitting here day after day playing facebook games (though they do help pass the time)
2.)  I am fast approaching 40 and so far have achieved nothing personally in my life (this doesnt count my home life)

So as from today I will hopefully be making posts on a regular basis and also posting more of my poetry and short stories.  I hope people do take ten minutes or so to just check out my blog when i post a new poem or daily update as it makes it worth while doing.  If not it feels like a 'dear diary' situation.

As i said i am fast approaching 40 and would like to (at some point) get some of my work published.  Anyone interested in my poetry can read it at www.thestarlitecafe.com.  Just search for the poet sonofdel and that will take you to my work.

Its been a good fortnight for me as i have been glued to every match in the Euro 2012 tournament and have so far enjoyed what has been a really entertaining competition.  After seeing Portugal get through to the Semi-final last night by beating Czech Rep 1-0 (cant believe Czech's made it through to the quarter final and then didnt have one shot on target in the whole match, huge disappointment) i believe that it really could be anyones this year.  I have to say the England have so far impressed me by first standing tall against France (one of the favourites), beating Sweden 3-2 after being 2-1 down and then grinding out a 1-0 victory over Ukraine (host nation) to finish top of the group.  WTGGGGG

Playing against Italy will be a real eye-opener for a lot of the team as most of them wont have ever done so before.  I think if we play our game right and make sure that we dont just try and hit on the break then we could surprise them and get through to the Semi's (a good achievement for a new team with a new manager).

Germany should see of Greece tonight but they cant take it for granted.  Greece are a steely team with a lot of determination and resolve and if Germany take their foot of the gas then Greece could sneak a win.

France against Spain i cannot guess.  Spain have all the close control players, while France have a lot of good talented indivduals who can turn a game in minutes (against Ukraine they did that).  And even though France lost 2-0 to Sweden with a below par performance dont forget that Spain were less than convincing in their final group game.

Predictions..........tough one

Germany 2 - 1 Greece
Spain  2 - 2 France (Spain 3-2 on penalties)
England 1-0 Italy (fingers crossed)

And after that............hmmmmm