Sunday 29 April 2012

Larry moves back to Bristol!

Anyone who's met my friend Laura 'Larry' Harry will know why we were so glad to see her return to our beloved city of Bristol. Not only is she one of the most naturally funny people I know, but she entertains us for hours with stories of all the bizarre situations she finds herself in.

The day Laura moved into her swanky new flat, an old man welcomed her to the neighbourhood by excreting on the street. Then on Halloween, outside the newsagents down the road, a bunch of local kids were celebrating the spooky occasion by throwing eggs at passers by. But not at Laura, oh no. When she was struck by a gloopy shell, it wasn't the kids who had launched it at her but one of their mother's in a moment of antisocial triumph.

Laura has since moved away from the area, but I'm glad to say is still with us in our beautiful city of Bristol in a more friendly locale.

Bubbles

Here's the message I wrote in her moving card:

They say a house is bricks and mortar, made from wood and beams,
And you turn that house into a home by filling it with your dreams.
But Larry’s dreams have now come true thanks to her super new job,
And now she’s back where she belongs there’s no longer a reason to sob!


May Larry’s new pad bring happiness, and exciting times galore,
Here’s hoping she won’t need to scream when her mates walk through the door!
May her home be just as beautiful as our ‘glamping style’ posh pitch!
And be stacked up to the ceiling with knickknacks all vintage and kitsch.

Me, Miss Gill and the St Ives Posh Pitch of dreams!

Welcome back to Bristol Welshy, it’s good to have you home!
And although you happen to live on your own, you never have to be alone,
Let’s hope your stay is now for good (and you keep your swanky pad neat!),
And you don’t have to see another old man doing a sh*t on the street!


© Holly Purcell 2012

Thursday 26 April 2012

Anna and Steve get hitched in Warwick

When my beautiful (but accident prone) friend Anna announced that she was going to marry her lovely fella Steve, I was absolutely thrilled and couldn't wait to witness one of my best friends in the world marrying the man of her dreams.

The happy couple

Then she asked if I could write a poem and recite it at the ceremony. AGH!

I was so stunned that I nearly turned it down altogether. "Well, it's a lovely idea, but..." Then nothing. No reason whatsoever why I couldn't do it, other than my own stupid nerves that if I let get the better of me I knew I would regret not doing it forever.

So to cut a long story short,  I did it. I was just as nervous as I had previously expected but luckily my mate Nicky was appointed as fellow performer on the day so I didn't have to go it alone. It was one of the best things I've ever done, and here is what we said:

God bless Nicky Brunt

There was once a young lady, Miss Anna Louise Wall,
Who had a tendency to trip, and a tendency to fall,
A girl so headstrong yet with it so sweet,
Who just had a problem staying up on her feet.

There was also a young geezer, Steven Philip Garratt,
Who was strong like an ox, and orange like a carrot,
Who impressed our young Anna with his wit and good taste,
But not on their first date when he tied a jumper around his waist.

As you can imagine, this must have taken some redeeming,
If I'd been in Anna’s position, I’d have run out of there screaming!
But Steven must have done something right to get their love to cement,
And clearly has talents beyond all measure, on which I wouldn’t like to comment.

So Anna overlooked this fashion mistake,
And decided to give Mr Garratt a break,
And from this point on they really like one another,
So Anna moved in with Steve and his mother.

Monday 23 April 2012

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was made to rhyme...

Welcome to my first ever blog post! Hurrah!

This would be the perfect time to explain a little bit about me and why I've decided to set up this little space to share my work with the world. So here it is:

My name is Holly, and I'm ginger. I am not a pumpkin but was nicknamed this by one of my best friends at school following a musical love affair with the Smashing Pumpkins, and it has sort of stuck ever since. But neither of these points are directly relevant to why I've created this blog.

For as long as I can remember, I have loved poetry. From my childhood obsession with Roald Dahl and nursery rhymes to my ongoing love for story telling, theatre and fairy tales, my interest in all things rhyme has transcended paper and stage into my own work that is mostly centred around all the lovely people in my life.

I started by writing limerick style odes for friend's birthday cards, and have since taken to writing poems for leaving books, weddings, baby births... in fact any life event that presented an opportunity to scribble my thoughts down in rhyme and create a poem for the occasion. I have also toyed with writing adaptations of fairy stories, something that I plan to get into a bit more in the future.

Now I've reached a point where the majority of 'My Documents' on my laptop are poems from the past, I've taken the plunge and set up this blog to share my work instead of just leaving it sitting on my computer with no love or attention from anyone.

I hope you enjoy!