Poetry Sunday

The new year has arrived, for better or for worse. The champagne toasts have been drunk, the parties cleaned up, the hangovers recovered from, and the new year beckons us into a dangerous unknown. For our first Poetry Sunday of 2026, I found this wonderful little poem by Brian Bilston that totally sums up how the past year went ...

This was the year that was not the year

By Brian Bilston

This was the year that was not the year

I repaired the bathroom tap

and emptied out the kitchen drawer

of a lifetime’s worth of crap. 

This was the year that was not the year

in which I launched a new career. 

A West End hit eluded me 

as did Time Person of the Year. 

This was the year that was not the year

I became a household name. 

Action figures were not sold of me. 

I wasn’t made a dame. 

This was the year that was not the year 

I spent less time on my phone. 

Nights of passion did not happen

in boutique hotels in Rome. 

This was the year that was the year 

I didn’t get that much done – 

much the same as the year before, 

much like the one to come.

All true, although I really will try to make this one, if not better, at least more productive.

Have a good day and enjoy the rest of your weekend. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo