Author Archives: thebardofkelvindale.com

Happiness

Happiness – published for the International Day of Happiness 20th March 2016

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In this mortal life we spend much time in seeking satisfaction
Chasing things we hope will bring much happiness and joy
And many a time these efforts bring no positive reaction
No bliss nor gain do we discern for all efforts we employ

In recent times the need for all to experience this felicity
Has come to be the battle cry of those who claim what’s best
And thus this need for untold joy’s been given much publicity
A new nostrum to lift our hearts and ensure that we are blessed

Politicians have on this matter long before pronounced
Jefferson in drawing up the US Constitution
Made clear to one and all when it was first announced
“Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” their chosen resolution

The New World pioneers held not the slightest doubt
That it was man’s clear and inalienable right
At the heart of all we do, all that we are about
To Live life, be Free, seek Happiness with all your might

In modern times our rulers revisit that great vision
The government claims it’s time again our happiness to measure
To calibrate our state of joy once more becomes our mission
And in due time we’ll have to gauge our sadness and our pleasure

To count and measure the nation’s joy is said not to be woolly
But to grasp it all may stretch demands on any Excel spreadsheet
If each and every factor be identified quite fully
The recording and analyzing, a highly complex feat

But can the concept of happiness be something quite objective?
My views on what to me brings joy or lasting peace
Are subject to emotions often quite subjective
For you my choice prove no great gain, from any fear, release

The Bible, on happiness quite often does declare
Ecclesiastes says – to be happy, no better aim can be
To build a world where life is truth, and acts are just and fair
Should on the lips of worshippers be their own earnest plea

But the Good Book says of happiness for its dear sake alone
The Christian life demands we seek the good of every other
The nobler path to which we’re called, that we must try to take
Shows peace we gain, when life is lived in service to our brother

But perhaps all this for you and me, a little too high-minded
Too vague an aim, such lofty thoughts, perhaps too altruistic
Our vision of happiness too bright and thus our eyes are blinded
Our keen pursuit needs grounding in plans more realistic

Perchance like me you may find that in order to pursue
The prospect of a worthy life, but not too hedonistic
For a life which cares for self but gives others too their due
We need a plan, not lofty thoughts, but much more realistic

Thus it may seem the media hype broadcast of latter days
Happiness an Agenda and call to Action
For each of us prove gainful and some dividend might pay
As step-by-step each one of us decides our own reaction

By daily acts of kindliness and personal good deeds
By loving thought, supportive words, and little acts of grace
We might promote goodwill as we note others’ needs
Each friendly word, each happy smile, radiating from our face

Now perhaps this does not answer, give adequate reply
To those whose quest for happiness seeks answers universal
But this gentle, kind approach I hope you won’t deny
Might from our gloom, our fear, our woe, initiate reversal

Ken Fisher

 

See this link from the BBC: Happiness http://www.bbc.co.uk/guides/z996cwx

I am H-A-P-P-Y (HAPPINESS DAY 20 MARCH 2016)

 

The International Day of Happiness 2016

 

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The old chorus says:
‘I am H A P P Y, I am H A P P Y
I know I am I’m sure I am,
I’m H A P P Y’

Sounds like an attempt at self-conviction
But are we happy? And if not
What can we do about it?
Indeed should we do anything about it?
Well, the joy-mongers of today are suggesting
That the road to Happiness is paved with
the building blocks of Connectedness

By this they seem to mean that we all need
To make the world a MORE CONNECTED PLACE

So today we should reach out and make new connections
We should do it in person,
We should do it on-line,
We should do it by letter or card,
By Facebook or Twitter,
By getting back in touch with one another
By re-building broken or lapsed contacts
And by simply finding a way to
Connectedness

They tell us the Ten Keys to happier living are:

Giving : do things for others
Relating: connect with people
Exercising: take care of your body
Appreciating: notice the world around
Trying Out: keep learning new things

So there you are then
BIG SMILE – NO PROBLEM!!

Ken Fisher
thebardofkelvindale.com

 

 

The Night-time Broadcast

The Night-time Broadcast

 

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Nightwatchman of the tireless airwaves
Friend of insomniacs and shift-workers
Vigilante who prolongs our wakefulness
Comforter of the agitated and uneasy mind

Sometimes their offering is just a long succession
Of mood music to help anaesthetize the brain
They ‘spin’ these play-lists not just back-to-back
But in a seamless flow, often end to end

And thus sedated we may eventually succumb
And fall gently into the outstretched arms of Hypnos
Thus for some broadcasters their purpose is achieved
Perhaps our own choice when locked in to the ‘sleep mode’

And yet there are many who are not seeking sleep
For some the duty of unsocial hours, at desk or driving cab
Welcome the company of the ethereal companion
To educate, to stimulate, to banish boredom

Nowadays – and nights – broadcasting is a 24/7 affair
Swept away the curfew of the midnight chimes of Big Ben
With little pause the stations re-gain their breath
Plunging headlong into nocturnal schedules

So we are offered a diet of news, or sport, or music
And if we so desire our mind can be transported
By travelogues, quizzes, drama or political diatribe
And of course the World Service, where it is always daytime

One feature is the phone-in session – who on earth
Is awake to participate? Well there seems to be
No shortage of inquisitors to assail the agony aunts
And those ever contentious ‘shock jocks’

So it seems that night time broadcasting has
Not been banished to the land of nod. It is wide-awake!
And many rejoice that radio, like its carrier waves
Knows no bounds, brooks no opposition

Except perhaps the charms of sleep itself!

Ken Fisher

 

ANGST

ANGST

[DEF: An unfocused feeling of anxiety or dread about the human condition or the state of the world]

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We try to maintain a bold face, let’s hide our true feelings
No one likes a misery guts, keep your worries to yourself
‘Laugh and the world laughs with you, weep and you weep alone’
Load the smiley emoticon, the rictus grin for all to see

No doubt that is just exactly what some do, immersed in  a
swamp of others who are on a downer, we few feel the need to
buck the trend.
But it isn’t fair – why must we feel obliged to don the mantle
of spirit raiser? Are we not allowed to be ourself as well?

Is there a kind of collective guilt? Are society’s woes somehow
all our fault? Why must we show resilience while our fellows crumple?
Can we not equally share in this overwhelming angst
Suffer or rejoice under this communal cloud of foreboding

And if we seek the freedom to complain or soldier on stoically
are we then seen as unsympathetic – callously heartless they may say?
But if this mood has somehow become the temper of our time
Perhaps we must simply be swept along by this tsunami of unease

Yet hold on a mo, why not try to free ourselves from the zeitgeist?
Soar above the clouds of melancholy and despair, and even from
our own compulsion to disown all such hopelessness
Thus liberated, we may face life with equanimity

Ken Fisher

The Economic Conundrum

The Economic Conundrum

Adam Smith author of The Wealth of Nations

Adam Smith author of
“The Wealth of Nations”

At one time called the Dismal Science yielding little joy
Economists for many years did their sharp minds employ
Their thoughts focused day by day on how to increase wealth
And thus enhance our lives by improving financial health

They spent many hours examining the ‘factors of production’
How each might promote growth thus avoiding all obstruction
There should be no obstacles in the way, no awkward inhibitions
The slogan and the rallying call was complete Free Competition

The use of Land, Labour and Capital comprised the magic potion
And Enterprise, the wizard, applied a stirring motion
And from the steaming vapours of this brew we all would gain
Thus economic growth became the Holy Grail

This all sounded plausible and few it would gainsay
But economic equations can often go astray
The problem seems to be that when humans are involved
The rules of other sciences, the economy just ignored

Some basic principles like demand, supply, and price
As a predictor of choice was quite a sound device
But on a global scale when estimating how people might behave
The errors that resulted were really rather grave

But despite the lack of any real precision
Economists have sought to influence decisions
Monetarists made money their very real fixation
While Fiscal gurus obsessed much on taxation

Then these experts ventured into many other spheres
Which no doubt offered to each and all a lucrative career
So interest rates, and foreign trade they found had much potential
And credit swaps and derivatives  somehow grew essential

Flotations and mergers and the Stock Exchange gyrations
No problem left unsolved what e’r the complications
Economists were waiting with a ready made solution
Right at the cutting edge of the knowledge revolution

So we celebrate the words of Adam Smith of old
How amidst the capitalists’ sweeping actions bold
Existed a force which Smith called an ‘invisible hand’
That self-regulating market force hidden in our land

So perhaps the conundrum of economic thought
From which all its various wondrous fruits were wrought
Is simply that its disciplines help to show the way
Nonetheless we alone decide how to live each day

Ken Fisher

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank you for waiting – Your call Is Important to us!

Thank you for waiting – Your call is important to us!

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These ambivalent words fill us with frustration
Do we believe that anyone cares?
Is ours simply a voice from somewhere in the nation
And of our exasperation they remain unaware

Then on comes that music meant to calm and to soothe
If it hesitates for a moment we are then filled with hope
But it soon resumes its beat and its rhythm so smooth
And we are left to wonder how we might cope

For if our call is important why can’t they reply
Have the staff all gone AWAL – disappeared home?
Where have they run to and please tell us why
They should stick by their station and not from it roam

To our relief the music is suddenly muted
To be followed by silence that seems almost eerie
Perhaps our ‘valuable call’ has just been re-routed
In our suspension, this seems a reasonable theory

But no amount of conjecture seems to bring a result
And when the music resumes we almost explode
To our injured feelings this just adds further insult
And our blood pressure surely is in overload

However, a few seconds later we hear the sweet tones
Of the missing operator who was till now so illusive
But instead of assaulting her ears with all our pent-up moans
Overwhelming relief  stops us from being quite abusive

Perhaps if we could learn in such moments of tension
To just bide our time and learn to forebear
Not filled with such unjustified apprehension
Then our life would be freed from such futile despair

Ken Fisher

 

See also: Cold Calling

 

29th February

29th February

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The bonus day
Helps to keep the calendar
in tune with the earth’s rotation
round our star – the sun
Otherwise the clocks would get out of kilter
Sometimes also known as a leap day
In a leap year
those who were born on this day
can at least celebrate on the right date
Apparently the chances of having a Leap
Birthday are one in 1,461
About 4.1 million people
around the world were born on 29th February
and they are sometimes called leaplings

So here is a little rhyme for
those born on 29th February

When February contains full 29 Days
Those born on this date join together in praise
‘Cause only on years that are said to be leap
Can they know it’s their day as the wake up from sleep

We would not want to deprive them of joy on their day
Because of whatever the calendar may say
So if February contains a mere 28
I hope that their pleasure it will not frustrate

And for all of us whose birthdays are clear
Who enjoy the right date no matter the year
Spare a thought for the others who seem to miss out
Unless it’s a leap year when there is no doubt

Ken Fisher

 

Candid Camera

Candid Camera

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They say the camera never lies
More true than even human eyes
It only records what hits the lens
Our face, or those of our friends

The button makes the shutter blink
Keep your eyes open – do not wink
And inside this strange black device
It makes an image most precise

I’m told it’s actually upside down
But that won’t make us smile or frown
Whatever hits the open shutter
Captured even if our eyes did flutter

Of course you will have realized
The camera shown has now evolved
From the basic model shown above
For many, a toy that we all loved

No matter how new models have advanced
Digital imaging much enhanced
Nevertheless it remains still true
That candid snap is truly you

But in this modern age there’s a handy prop
It comes in the guise of ‘photo shop’
So if we find our images show too much candour
We can magic them all with a touch of splendour!

Ken Fisher

Silent Collusion

SILENT COLLUSION

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[The Sea of Faith – as in Matthew Arnold’s “Dover Beach”
Regret expressed that belief in a supernatural
World is slipping away]

On professing their faith some are clearly convicted
They harbour no doubts, their trust unrestricted
Others of quite the opposing opinion
Find nothing real in belief’s wide dominion

But perhaps many more remain much less certain
Between them and trust there remains a thick curtain
Yet for them that may not mean that faith is illusion
Or their present stance is mere silent collusion

For unlike the zealot whose faith is rock sure
Or the atheist whose denial is just as secure
The honest seeker my not wish to declare
Of his present neutrality he is well aware

But why should the agnostic not maintain his silence
Is he not entitled to attend his own conscience?
Does his mute response amount to collusion
As he wrestles with faith be it truth or illusion?

I assert that in matters of creed and conviction
It may be too simple to make such prediction
The journey towards belief or departing therefrom
May best be served by remaining quite dumb

Silence, surely an honourable stance
Allowing thought and reason time to advance
Quietness does not mean one has no conviction
And it often can grant us its own benediction

Ken Fisher

 

In or Out? Musings on the EU Referendum

In or Out?

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It will soon be decision time again

This routine is quite a bane

Once more we really must decide

Set aside our national pride

 

I was hoping for the settled life

A break from political strife

After a surfeit of elections

A time just for quiet reflection

 

We’ve endured the Scottish Referendum

The UK-wide General election

Soon we decide on our SNP’s

Will the EU poll bring us to our knees?

 

Perhaps the only ones who will be pleased

Are the school-kids thus from class released

No doubt the pollsters will be filled with joy

As their crystal balls they each employ

 

Anyway we should not complain

As protagonists join their campaign

Perhaps we should be sympathetic

And enjoy our life so democratic

 

Ken Fisher

The Life Re-Cycled

The Life Recycled

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I don’t really mean to be irreverent

But just the other day as I was putting out our bins

I noted how important the concept of re-cycling had become

We can no longer just chuck all our disposable material

Into one multi-function receptacle – and shout good riddance to it

 

No doubt most of you will have, as a minimum,

A bin for garden waste, a bin of paper waste,

A bin for glass, a bin for food waste

And a general purpose bin for all the rest

And woe-betide if you use the wrong one!

 

Of course the earnest intention of all of this

Is that as much of our unloved detritus

Will form the basis of some kind of new creation

Having been subjected to a non-religious process of ‘reincarnation’

The essence of the old contained in the new!

 

This train of thought led on to my consideration

Of the rather more serious issue of the re-cycling of life

Perhaps, you care to give little thought to this

Just as most of us do not agonise over the bin routine

Perhaps this one life is more than enough anyway

 

 

But throughout history many major world faiths and ideologies

Have stressed the centrality of the concept of reincarnation

Not least the Hindu religion and the Buddhist belief in rebirth

And don’t forget the importance of karma

Which may decide the progression of rebirth

 

Anyway, not to be too profound or philosophical

The 21st century homo sapiens

Is not dismissive of the notion of recycling

Within this one present life we can be sure of

Can we self-upgrade to a better model?

 

Indeed it seems to me that the whole self-improvement industry

Is predicated on the idea that we can start with what we’ve got

And by a process of development and enhancement

We can recycle into a much improved model

A shiny new mind in a shiny new body!

 

 

Of course the difference here from the dust-bin model

Is that we don’t throw anything away

We transform it by effort and determination

A century ago ‘Pelmanism’ showed the way ahead

Today we are awash with new nostrums

 

So from the ancient wisdom of Yoga and Tai Chi

To modern Pilates and Zumba

And not just strictly ballroom!

Psychological cognitive therapies and Mindfulness

The gym recycled as the temple for worship

 

So here we are – don’t forget the bins

[Perhaps they are the most important source of health!]

But don’t forget yourself

You must not simply vegetate – you owe it to yourself

Let that new life begin today – without delay!

 

 

 

Ken Fisher

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Hi Tech Walking

Hi Tech Walking [A comment following the recent celebration of the 30th Anniversary of the West End Christian Walking Club]

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In simpler times, in days of yore,

when West End walkers closed their door,

and headed out into the bright

they generally travelled light

 

They took their bag, and woolly hat,

waterproof and this and that;

perhaps a scarf to warm their neck

but nothing of today’s high tech

 

The limits of their fancy gear,

comprised a hood to warm their ear;

no need for extra special kit,

except a trusty walking stick

 

But with the steady march of time,

to assist them in their trek or climb;

ensuring health in every foot,

more cash was spent to buy our boot.

 

Of course they didn’t simply buy one only,

they bought a pair, no foot went lonely;

no mountain was too hard to scale

as off they strode through hill and dale

 

As numbers grew to quite a size,

their Leader felt it would be wise,

when spread far out and looking gawkie,

they keep in touch by walkie-talkie

 

As years went by, a smarter phone,

arrived to help them as they roam;

near to home or even global,

help was at hand thanks to the mobile

 

So much for sound communication,

defining their exact location;

In this field the top “must have”

Is Glenda’s personal sat-nav

 

 

 

 

But walkers know my greatest mission,

to capture them in colour vision;

from Kodak film, to video tape,

No single walker could escape

 

Early photos weren’t so bad,

some when received made people glad,

but digital seems all pervasive,

no place to hide or be elusive

 

No matter their prevailing mood,

the camera has to intrude,

their “fancy had to have a tickle”,

when assaulted by the mega-pixel

 

When back at home, and at their screen,

to check e-mail on their machine,

ping goes the bell, “you have got mail”,

not from Ken Fisher, I hear them wail!

 

But there they are, each image clear

wanted or not, they have to bear,

recorded in sufficient clarity,

to be retained for all posterity

 

But in the end it is my plea,

that one and all will clearly see,

walks which have gone electronic,

might nonetheless be quite a tonic

 

And if they yearn for days of yore,

when things high-tech they could ignore,

they’d surely miss the image graphic,

which comes to them through data traffic.

 

 

 

 

Ken Fisher