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Status
“What’s on your mind?”Shut up, Facebook.I’m not here to spill my soulinto another scrolling feed. I’m talking about status—not likes, not clicks,but standing in society.It’s not what you know,it’s who you know. Some chase it,some wear it like armour.Once they’ve got it,they don’t care what you think—because they’ve arrived.And we? We’re just the plebs. But what does it buy you?A pedestal, higher than the rest?Snobbery. Foolishness.Lavishness. Loneliness. Status isn’t all it seems.You can hold it in your handand still be hollow—always learning, never teaching. Status whispers:you’re too good for common people now.But you weren’t born into it—you clawed it from power’s grip. Now you stand apart,a black sheep in a…
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Are You There?
We’ve all been there—drifting into the abyss,slipping out of place,until reality claws us back,kicking, screaming, unwilling. And what a reality it is. A world that hums,a world that races,people trapped inside their own little bubbles.Obsessed with drama.Drowning in demands. Your voice bounces,echoes,lost in the hollow chamber of noise.And you ask yourself—“Does anyone even hear me?” Meanwhile—someone lies in a hospital bed.Alone. Mum.Dad.Nain.Taid.Aunty. Uncle.Brother. Sister. Too far to visit.Too busy to call.Are their families there for them?The answer? … No. And when a stranger collapses in front of you,are you there? When someone is dragged to the ground,their voice cut short—are you there? No. Most turn their faces away.Most step over…
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The Greatest Gathering
They called it The Greatest Gathering —and it lived up to the name. Two hundred years of railway historydrawn togetherfor three golden days in August, 2025. From the proud, early locomotivesbreathing steam like whispers of the past,to the gleam of the newest innovationspromising the future —we saw it all. Derby stood at the heart of it,Alstom’s gates flung wide,welcoming thousandswith the warmth of old friends. Steam, diesel, electric —past, present, and future —shoulder to shoulder,sharing the same summer air. It was never just for trainspotters.Families wandered,railway staff beamed,friends gathered under the banners of two centuries. There was something for every eye and every hand —content creators, artists, and Iall capturing…
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Do You Listen?
Do you listen? I’ve spoken before about voices —how it’s hard to be heard in a sea of noise.But I need to ask again:Do you listen? Do you listen to your wife,your husband,your partner,your children? Did you listen to your parents?Your grandparents?Your aunts and uncles? Do you listen to your colleagues,your students,your friends? I do. That’s what I do —I listen.I’m someone to rely on,to laugh with,to tell your story to. But let’s turn the tables for a moment. Would you listen to me? You’re listening now, I know.Reading this.Following along. But are you really paying attention? Society doesn’t want people to listen.We’re all too wrapped up in our own…
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Change of Pace
The world today moves far too fast,You can’t tell if you’re first or last.Everyone’s in a race to the end,But we all meet the same fate, my friend. So hear me out—let’s lower the pace,Life’s not meant to be a hare’s race.Remember the tale where the tortoise won?Slow and steady outpaced the run. It’s time to step back, let the roundabout slow,Life’s rushing by, just a chaotic flow.But when we breathe and take it slow,The blur clears up and starts to glow. We’re stuck in a rat race, losing our grace,We all need time—just a little more space.The world’s out of breath, it’s starting to fade,It’s time we slowed down,…
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April’s Cruelty
Spring has come, soft and bright,Daffodils dance in golden light. The world awakens, fresh and new,But joy feels hollow without you. The sun still shines, the sky still gleams,Yet all is not as it once seemed. For in the warmth, a shadow grows,A whispered fate, a life let go. We held you close, we fought, we prayed,Yet cancer stole, the light betrayed. One last breath, one final rest,A heavy weight upon my chest. They say to move, to step ahead,That summer waits where spring has led. So out come shorts, the patio chairs—As if the world could still compare. But black now drapes my weary soul,A chasm deep, a gaping…
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Betty – A Leading Light
She walked beside him, steady and true,A black-furred guide through skies so blue.Betty, his first, his trusted friend,A bond unbroken, without end. Through bustling streets and quiet lanes,She led with love, she bore no chains.A guiding light, a beacon bright,Turning darkness into sight. But time’s cruel hand began to steal,The light she gave, the steps once real.Her leader’s sight began to fade,A twist of fate so cruelly made. Now, led by the one she once had shown,Through Birchwood paths they both had known.A cane in hand, but still she stayed,A loyal heart that never strayed. Then Reena came—a torch anew,To guide, to love, to see him through.And Betty, though her…
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Voice
What is a voice if it can’t be heard?A whisper lost, a silent word.Heard where? At home, on stage, in halls?Or nowhere—bouncing off the walls? We hear so many voices near—Parents, siblings, those we hold dear.Grandparents’ wisdom, friends who care,But what of those in power there? Teachers, medics, those in blue—Do we listen? Do we valueWhat they say, or turn away,Ignoring words they speak each day? And what of leaders, those on high—Councillors, ministers, spinning lies?They preach of cuts, they talk of debt,Yet do they hear our voices yet? When does a voice stop being true?When words are staged, rehearsed anew.Debates, old lines, the same refrain,We’ve heard it all and…
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Llais
Beth yw llais os na chaiff ei glywed?Sibrwd coll, gair a beidiodd.Ei glywed ble? Gartref, ar lwyfan, yn y dorf?Neu unman—yn adleisio’n gorff? Clywn lawer llais o’n hamgylch ni—Rhieni, brodyr, teulu’n cri.Doethineb neiniau, ffrindiau’n rhydd,Ond beth am leisiau sydd â grym? Athrawon, meddygon, a’r heddlu glas—A ydym yn gwrando? Neu’n troi’n mas?A ydym yn gweld eu geiriau’n glir,Neu’n gadael iddynt fynd i’r gwynt yn rhydd? A beth am arweinwyr, uchel eu gradd—Cynghorwyr, gweinidogion, llawn rhagrith a thrach?Siarad am doriadau, cwyno am wlad,Ond a glywant ein lleisiau ni o gwbl erioed? Pryd mae llais yn peidio â bod?Pan fo’n sgript, yn syniad ffôl.Dadleuon gwag, yr un hen stori,Yr un hen sain,…
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Thirty-Eight Orbits
They said I’d never walk alone, That wheels would carve my path in stone. Yet fate had plans they couldn’t see,A fire inside was guiding me. In Year 10, with steady stride, By Jackie’s side, I walked with pride. Llyn Brenig stretched so vast, so wide—Eight miles, then nine, defying tides. For all my days, through joy and strife, I only sought to honour life, To make them proud—my blood, my kin— A legacy that glows within. At Henshaws, where my dreams took flight, I found my heart, my guiding light. Natalie’s love, so pure, so true, Through trials fierce, we forged anew. Yet shadows fell, dark whispers came, At…
