I remember the fear
and tried to brush
it aside,
to put out of
sight,
of the images of Nuclear fire,
Mushroom
Cloud
column of the blister oozing
pus and gore;
I counted them out
that morning
as they crossed the line of death
in the sand,
my paper round
the following day, one
of a moment which I thought
would lead to death of millions, and yet
in Chernobyl a reactor
would create that chaos
for me.
I make mistakes,
I am human after all,
some are bigger than others
but none are meant,
sometimes
I just forget,
my brain fogs over
and all I can concentrate upon
is the next set of tablets,
the next pain killer
which gives the thrill
of living on
for another few hours;
I make mistakes,
It is who I am
and I have to deal with it more.
Ian D. Hall 2016
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
In the comfortable surroundings of one of the City’s less obvious gig venues, the clamour of evening tea and daily tasked conversation rising just as the summer moon makes it’s appearance in the Liverpool sky, the upstairs at Leaf, always the height of serenity and musical appreciation, became an oasis for memory, contemplation and praise, as Revolver, The Beatles 7th studio album was lauded and acclaimed by the packed out audience and as each song was performed by some of the very great talents in the Liverpool music community, there was undoubtedly, beautifully, magic in the Merseyside air.
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Will Smith, Margot Robbie, Jared Leto, Jai Courtney, Jai Hernandez, Ben Affleck, Ike Barinholtz, Viola Davis, Common, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje, Cara Delevingne, Joel Kinnaman, Ezra Miller, Karen Fukuhara.
Take the worst of the worst, the real depths of humanity’s struggle with itself and watch the fur fly, the angst become riddled with pain, glory and sabotage and you have the comic book film of the summer, Suicide Squad. A film that carries on the expanding D.C. universe and which at the back of its mind arguably sees it wanting to desperately take on Marvel at its own game.
The glass bottled Menorah,
behind me on the shelf
now holds drumsticks
that once held beer
and the beat
of songs
that I kept up with
as they exploded in rhythm
on stage,
like burning butterflies
dancing hotfooted
on the candles
I displaced;
the glass bottled menorah,
with peelable slogan
and memorable image,
empty of foam
but full of meaning.
Ian D. Hall 2016
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating 8.5/10
To say that Rob Clarke And The Wooltones have a gift for making a perfect pop song is to underestimate the clarity and spirit they bring to Liverpool’s all encompassing scene and to the wider world in which they so gracefully inhabit.
The spirit
of Oliver Reed, actor
supreme who passed away,
but never the opportunity
to drink,
sits quietly in the corner
in The Pub, Valletta
in serenity. It is a memory
I keep as I let my mind wander
as I watch Nathan pull
the local beer as the Maltese
songbird serenades the night;
Oliver Reed’s spirit shuffles
in contemplation
and all is quiet in
Archbishop Street.
Ian D. Hall 2016
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * * *
Verging on the eerily quiet, almost as still and motionless as a field of corn waiting to be reaped for the summer’s harvest; hardly a word passing and only punctuated by the odd yell of excitement from the stalls and the spontaneous applause towards a band that arguably had performed one of the sets of the year. For the Epstein Theatre audience on a sticky and sweat filled August evening, watching Low was going to be a highlight of the year and the band never failed to live up to the enormous expectation.
Ferry
from the stone
walls of Sliema
may not have the same romance
as the one that rides
the waves
from Birkenhead
to Liverpool
but in the glare of red dust sun,
with the towering spectacle of ancient
Valetta still crumbling across the bay,
it is a sight that once seen
can never be forgotten.
Ian D. Hall 2016
Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Never forget your roots, that place in life in which you found the necessary sustenance in which to nurture your soul and your feeling for your place within the world, those roots are important, for not only do they inspire you, they also motivate and enthuse your ability to pass on what is best about that place, it gives the sense of continuation needed to make sure such towns and memories never fade and die.