One of my poems

It's been a while since I posted one of my poems so here's a humorous one from several years ago. It was published on the Crowsfeet online poetry website a few years back.

Defying The Devil

Get thee behind me, Satan!

Ah, on second thoughts

perhaps we could come to some

sort of accommodation.

Let's not be rash or over-nice.

What exactly are you offering?

And what's the price?

Before we begin the negotiation

I should point out

that I'm not so naive

as to actually believe

you would answer my every wish.

Nor do I expect you to be satisfied with

something so vague as my eternal soul.

So, if you could see your way

to gratifying some of my more

outlandish little peccadilloes -

those quirks of taste -

and supplying the necessary dosh

for a life of profligacy and waste,

I would be willing to submit

to becoming a social pariah;

to be held up as a bad example,

pointed at, pilloried, reviled

and abused by citizens driven to wild

outrage by my excesses.

I can't manage all that on my own,

I need a backer.

So, how do you feel?

What do you say?

Is it a deal?

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Sampola discussion topic for 9 April

This is the topic for our next meeting on Tuesday, 9 April.

Café Life

1.         What do you understand by ‘café culture’?

What nations do you associate with ‘café culture’?

How important are cafés in the Finnish lifestyle?

Are there different types of café?

What range of cafés can you find in Tampere?

Can they all survive?

Do the cafés in Tampere do a good business?

Have any cafes closed down recently?

Have any new ones opened recently?

What do you think makes an attractive atmosphere in a café?

Have you been to any very good or interesting cafés abroad?

            What about in Stockholm, Tallinn, London, Paris, Vienna, other cities?

            What features or characteristics make a café special?

2.         What do you think of the prices in cafés?

Are they good value for money?

How often do you go to a café?

How do you select a café?

What do you look for in a café that you would use regularly?

Do you have any favourites?

Do you have anything to eat or just have a drink?

Are cafés good places for food/lunch?

3.         How long does each visit typically last?

Do you usually / sometimes take reading material to the café?

Do you meet friends in cafés?

Do you use cafés for some kinds of meetings e.g. clubs, associations, social?

Is there any limit on how long you can sit at the table?

4.         What is an internet café?

How does it differ from an ordinary café?

What do you pay for in an internet café?

What does it mean if a café offers free wi-fi access?

Do you ever use your lap-top, tablet or smart phone in a café?

How long would you sit on at your table after you have finished your coffee?

5.         Looking from the owner’s point of view, what is the problem with customers buying one cup of coffee and then sitting in the café for four hours surfing the internet?

What is the solution?

6.         Would you like to run your own café business?

            Why (not)?

            What style of café would it be, if you did?