Entertainment

Poem 662 – Famous Faces

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I nearly bumped into Nigel Havers once.
He was leaving the Tube on a raining Notting Hill
evening, collars upturned to hide his face.
Another memorable night, I found myself crushed
against the seat of Terry Gilliam. I waited
for something completely different, perhaps a giant
foot, to descend upon my cartoon head.
It never came. And then one time we walked
across a Cambridge park. A familiar figure
passed the other way. We said, ‘hello’.
He nodded and walked on by without a word.
With a blush we realised we only knew him from
the telly. There were others, comedians on
theme park rides, news readers on the streets,
soap stars at outdoor concerts; so many famous
faces. It raises the question, when they meet,
do they discuss the time that they met us?

Sparked by a conversation today with Dad when he asked if I knew anyone famous.
(07.10.25)

© Ben Quant 2025

Photo by Eduardo Unda-Sanzana from Antofagasta, Chile • CC BY 2.0

Poem 648 – A Surprise Visitor

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This morning, as I walked through town
I unexpectantly bumped into
a wizard walking down the street.
I’d never seen him there before,
or come to think of it the shops
that suddenly surrounded me.
He shrieked and fell, his purple cloak
enfolding him, a flighty flame
that lifted him back to his feet,
and with a flash and violent bang
he vanished out of sight, his spell
fading, normality returned.

Much to the neighbourhood’s surprise, Hoddesdon was transformed today as filming for the new Harry Potter series came to town.
(23.09.25)

© Ben Quant 2025
Photo by Artem Maltsev on Unsplash

Poem 625 – The Roses

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At the flicks, to watch hot picks,
the battle of the sexes.
Tonight’s rom-com, love come undone,
relationships neglected.

Bunny blended, love has ended
Who will end on top?
Benedict or Olivia,
one will get the chop!

Before too long, I knew I’d got it wrong,
the rabbit evades capture,
as long as it has got the wit,
to avoid Fatal Attraction…

Went to the local Odeon tonight to watch The Roses, the remake of the War of the Roses. It turns out, I’d got my films muddled up, the bunny scene was of course in Fatal Attraction, meaning a hasty rewrite…
(31.08.25)

© Ben Quant 2025
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Poem 605 – The Great Escape

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We never saw the plotting and scheming,
Committees meeting under our noses.
Did they excavate under a vault,
To dig deep tunnels under the floor?
Or build a glider to fly from the table,
To run with freshly forged false papers?
Encouraged by the open door
In a bid for freedom, the cricket jumped
Out of the box, across the floor,
Across the carpet, its great escape.
But alas, its accent gave it away,
And rather than a McQueen moment,
An iconic final do or die,
I trapped it under a plastic cup…

Our son keeps crickets to feed his frogs and newts. Occasionally we spot them crossing the floor or climbing the wall…
(11.08.25)

© Ben Quant 2025

Poem 588 – Pandemic

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Mutation strikes
As genes combine
The virus is subverted
Now virulent
The strain now spreads
The world is now alerted
Working as one
Combining minds
Our efforts are concerted
Against all odds
The world is saved
Impending doom diverted

Pandemic has been a favourite boardgame for some time now, although we haven’t played for a while. Took it out for a spin tonight, and for a while it looked like we had no chance, but somehow we managed to hang on to win!
(25.07.25)

© Ben Quant 2025

Poem 531 – Farewell Hot-Lips

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Farewell Major Houlihan,
The rose within ‘The Swamp’.
I never understood just what
You saw in Major Frank.

Or how you coped with Hawkeye Pierce
Or B. J. Hunnicutt,
The crossdressing of Corporal Klingor,
The madness of the camp.

But this I know, without your heart,
And mastery of stitching,
Our MAS*H would tear itself apart,
Its characters conflicted.

I was saddened to hear of the death of Loretta Swit, famous for playing Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan in MAS*H, today.
(30.05.25)

© Ben Quant 2025
Image Public Domain

Poem 472 – Watch the Date!

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Spaghetti trees and panda eggs,
Flying penguins pass in packs,
Des Lynam praises staff behaviour,
As fists land blows behind his back.

Planetary alignment weakens gravity,
Trampoline aisles in supermarkets,
Anton du Beke joins Ant and Dec
My favourite April Fools Day pranks

Some classic childhood favourites (and a newer one).
(01.04.25)

© Ben Quant 2025
Photo by Denis Agati on Unsplash

Poem 468 – Side A

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I slip the vinyl from its paper sleeve,
carefully cradling it with my outstretched fingers,
holding it gently like a newborn babe.

Placing it tenderly, I dust it with a cloth
then brush the needle clean. This tactile ritual
just as important as the sound produced.

The customary crackle. ‘Hello old friend’, I smile.
The soundtrack of my youth plays on with only
the occasional interloper interrupting.

Have I reached the groove at record’s end
that leaves us turning on an endless loop,
or does the promise of a second side remain?

Working late today, listening to Roger Taylor’s ‘Outsider’ album. The record may be fairly new, but the voice is a long familiar travelling companion.
(28.03.25)

© Ben Quant 2025