Ode to TMS

At the dead of night, Santa packs his sack, 

And elves service his sleigh;

Baggy Green hats are donned once more, 

Australians prepare to slay, 

An England team at the Gabbatoir, 

In the cauldron will they be cooked? 

Or will they take root and take the game, 

I'll tell you once i'll be hooked! 

Bleary eyed,  mouth catching flies, 

As I listen and doze all night, 

No place to hide no Anderson shelter

But England to put up a fight! 

As the sun awoake and I raised my head

TMS the bird song of dawn

Chirruping away keeping me abreast

I hope I won't be forlorn

Broad smiles for me as I jump out of bed

Bestowed Ashes test series is here

Come on England Ashes be earned

Do you think it's too early for beer? 

Cogito ergo sum - I think therefore I row

My sleek light weight bicycle that used to be in tow, 
Now I know that you are wondering,  why did it have to go? 
What happened to my mistress ,  the loss of love affair, 
With my lovely  exercise routine would you ask, oh would you dare? 
The lycra it is staying, though my bum can take no more
Tired of knife edge seating, I've had to show the door,
To the fondest trusty steed cos of soreness of the saddle 
And now I am turning to a thing that used to need a paddle
At least there's double spacing for both cheeks upon the seating
And the purpose is to keep me fit it's not as if I'm cheating 
Its safer for me personally the tarmac hurts if spills
And I won't be clogging roads no more in those Surrey Hills
Hero Bradley Wiggins made move to indoor rowing
I think that it's easy now to see where this is  going
I'll emulate my hero, you know it's to be done
I'll take up indoor rowing too,  Cogito ergo sum! 

The Treadmill

On a business trip to Brussels
I wanted to stay trim
Developing all my muscles
So I headed towards the gym

They took one peery look at me
They didn’t like my grin
Mankini’s aren’t acceptable
We cannot let you in

So I nipped back to the penthouse
And changed sporting attire
The lycra wasn’t very good
At hiding my spare tyre

So I got upon the tread mill
I started gentle pace
Put it on an incline
It’s a marathon not a race

Then into the line of vision
A girl came by my side
And started up her treadmill
I thought I’d quicken my stride

She was going very quickly
How much faster can she get
I’m starting to struggle now
And there’s an out pouring of sweat

Then a slight catastrophe
When at speed of 9.4
My heart it was apounding
Could I carry on for sure

I lost my concentration
I thought that this is it
As I tumbled from the tread mill
And went arse over tit

The girl she didn’t notice
She was focused in the zone
She was reading Cosmopolitan
With #BackBeatFit ear phones

The moral of the story
When training in the gym
Concentrate upon yourself
It’s the way that you’ll get slim!

Trick or Treat with One Touch Dial

Why is joining conference calls
Always difficult
Plenty of remote controls
And always same result

Expletives screamed at video
Repeating same insults
Often feel an idiot
Time to turn to the occult.

Summon up the ghouls and ghosts
Or some other obscure cult
With potions spells and loyal toasts
Join in with this tumult

I never know the number
Can I wave this magic wand
Forgotten don't remember
Pressing buttons, won't respond

I’ll call upon a witches spell
Am I prepared to pay the price?
To join this conference, bloody hell;
Make a deal with devil, nice!

Hubble, bubble, toil and trouble,
Eye of toad and tongue of newt,
Fire burn, cauldron bubble
Give me power with this remote!

King Arthur with Excalibur
Harry Potter with his spells
Ride your Chariot as Ben Hur
Get me out of meeting hell 

Well now you ask we'll give workflow
To help this Halloween
Press the button and off you go
It’s the easiest it’s been

Incredulity! An Outlook schedule
Invite shows on room system
Press the button and you'll
Be needing no assistance

A simple way to do it right
Invite the rooms and peeps
Click to join from your device
Hassle free - there's no more creeps

Blujeans, Zoom or Polycom
Microsoft workflow
One Touch dial your problems gone
Magic potion green for go!

Flexible Workings

I caused a hiatus with my Plantar Fasciitis.
A sore foot, flat foot, Policeman's heel;
I find it painful, it makes me squeal.
It might be ruptured, it might be torn,
But whatever happened it's old and warn!
I used to be flexible, could bend and stretch;
Touching toes on my memory etched!
Hamstring, quadriceps, stretching all my bits,
But I must admit I could never do the splits!

Now I'm getting older my head thinks I can,
But my body seems to fight it, says, "No way man!"
Get to the office on a crutch, as it's non weight bearing?
Commuting to London I would end up swearing,
Doc says rest it, ice it, compression, elevation,
It's hard in the office but the art of delegation.
And now we're promoting flexible working;
I work from home as there's no more shirking.
No need for bending, stretching flexing all my bits
With Polycom solutions I can work from where I sits!

Tale of a Triathlon

Now my wheels they have been turning,
And my arms have both been whirling,
And my two legs have been striding,
As I did triathlon!
You see
One day when having morning cuppa,
Instead of yawning, thought I'd get uppa
And join them Brownlee boys;
They've got bikes and spikes and timing toys,
Wet suits, more bikes, trainers, try em on for size
And have a go: Athlete arise.

So I downed my cup of Yorkshire Tea,
Ate Soreen slice I'd cut for me.
Now Aldi had some offers on,
Sports kit so bought, now lycra's on.
Wandered down to t local baths,
With cap and goggles, I scared the staff.
As I knocked out 20 lengths,
Of crawl, breast stroke, oh give me strength,
The doggy paddle but finished lads:
I must be barking mad.

But now I get out rusty steed,
And mount to ride, be off, be freed.
Though tyres were a little low,
Come on you bleeding so and so.
I pedal hard, the squeaks are loud,
But off I go I'm feeling proud:
Determined strength comes from within,
As I start my second discipline.
But few miles in, with beading sweat,
And blowing breath, oh yes you bet!
Disaster! At this juncture:
I have a bloody puncture.
But fear not I'm well prepared,
Plimsolls on, they're running scared!
Dismount I do, but not deflated:
I start to run elated!
Well, to be honest it was more a jog,
But whatever, ended quite a slog.
Or maybe even a quick walk.
But made it home, I'm not all talk
I've done Triathlon.
Done in but say I've won.
As I sit down with my Yorkshire brew
Who knew? Just me and you.
Recovering now sat on the sofa
No more just a Soreen loafer!

Finding your feet

It's odd, it's different, strangers to meet;
To live with, to mingle, 'bout finding your feet!
To settle in digs, leave home way behind,
Your new room, make new friends, your feet you will find.

Freshers week madness, queues you can't cheat,
Loneliness, sadness but finding your feet.
People you don't know, not friends like at home,
With them in person but spirit's alone.

Give it some time, new friends built for keeps,
Relationships budding, as you're finding your feet.
A pub crawl, hockey party, sharpie's fine beard,
You're starting to settle, it's not as you feared.

Being yourself, settling, knowing the streets,
Comfortable surroundings, start finding your feet
You're great and wonderful, heart's starting to beat.
New friends and new learning, you'll soon find your feet!