Blogwatch

Farewell...

Exultations & Difficulties - Martin (a contributor to February's Right To Reply feature on poetry) has gone to take up a teaching position at a university in Zhuhai, China. Best (belated) wishes Martin.

Meanwhile...

He Who Cannot Be Named dredges up as many memories as he can of August's Bencassim Festival - "You have to keep on moving; many of the old warhorse bands (for this is no place to make your iconic breakthrough) were nothing better than dead sharks. Yet lest we despair, here comes Nick Cave and his gospel-rock juggernaut. The superlatives laid upon the high-kicking Hove resident since he unleashed Abbatoir Blues / The Lyre Of Orpheus have been too rich and frequent to make you believe he would fail to deliver. He overwhelmed us with ease. It's what he does so well now; the backing singers, thrashing percussion, sheer incandescent devilry and unity of sound may have reached their optimum peak (how can he keep this up in years to come, you ask). The hand clapping for 'Supernatural' was not demanded but given so easily by a bewitched crowd, it charmed this cynical fucker's heart. And, of course, 'The Mercy Seat' was a haunting but blistering rollercoaster. Fighting imaginary demons can be so exhilarating fun to watch".

Elsewhere...

Willie analyses the Tory Party Conference speeches with far more wit and insight than any pundit you'll read in the papers - "It's always been said that a successful Tory conference speech has to tickle the erogenous zone of the party faithful in the hall ... Admittedly, when you survey the rows of elderly buffers and bufferines from the Shires who make up the Tory conference audience, 'erogenous zone' are not the two words that would immediately come into your mind. Nor theirs, for that matter. 'I'm sure I've got one somewhere but I can't remember where I put it. And I've got the wrong glasses on. Put the big light on, would you dear, so I can find my readers. Then we can look for....what was it again?.......an orange comb?'"

Jane dissects 'X Factor' - "Kate Thornton looked really tired on Saturday night's show. Eyes like hard boiled eggs with tiny holes poked in them".

Vicky directs her readers to a fascinating (if unpleasant on the eye) site called Abandoned Places (right up the Inspector's street, I'd imagine, if he doesn't already know of it).

Robin chronicles his struggles to uproot a couple of unwanted bushes - "A short break followed, for breath and high level planning, but soon I was back to the first stump wielding axe, fork and spade. I tried a variety of siege strategies, having rather lost the element of surprise by then, while it gradually became apparent that Stump One had put the respite since July to good use and had managed to connect itself to the centre of the earth". Note to JonnyB: you're not the only one who can wring comic genius out of the mundane...

And finally...

Phill reflects upon his girlfriend's dream that Jesus is alive and playing in midfield for Bolton Wanderers.