Yesterday’s freezer has become
Today’s allocation of time,
No matter how much of it there is
There’s never enough to climb
Up to the summit, crest the wave,
To clear the endless email list,
To finish every job and task
Required to win the day, what bliss!
It’s been a busy day at the start of a busy week (I’m not complaining, in truth I like it this way!)
(11.05.26)
© Ben Quant 2026
Photo by Kerensa Pickett on Unsplash
Shunted many parcels
Stared at folk on Zoom
Sought new volunteers
Pushed tables round the room
Paid the vehicle tax
Practised pastoral care
Threw away the trash
Put out requests for prayer
Made a new trustee and
Welcomed first time guests
Tussled with I.T. and
Pondered what was best
Much of my time at the moment is caught up with foodbank as we go through period of transition.
(24.04.26)
© Ben Quant 2026
Apprentices flogging rubbish
Squeezing out every penny
Hype and exaggeration
Evening celebrations
Thanking foodbank leaders
For humbly serving for free
Watching TV after saying thank you to our two magnificent foodbank leaders who have given everything for fifteen years. What a contrast.
(27.03.26)
© Ben Quant 2026
Badly cooked cuisine
And half baked shenanigans
Refunds all around
Catching up on The Apprentice at the end of a full day.
(06.03.26)
© Ben Quant 2026
Photo by Nejc Soklič on Unsplash
Gridlocked motorways
Stormy weather past Stonehenge
Winding country lanes
Praying the roads are clear
Dodging pot holes and branches
Don’t make me reverse!
Battery running low
Hoping that the charger works…
Big sighs of relief!
Helping lead a retreat for the Sierra Leone Mission today meant a long and early motorway drive to just beyond Exeter.
(12.02.26)
© Ben Quant 2026
Tomorrow I’ll be
Dreaming of African skies
Remembering friends
Tomorrow I’m heading off to join friends in the Sierra Leone Mission to reflect on their vision for the future – brings back good memories.
(11.02.26)
© Ben Quant 2026
No headspace, heart space, creativity,
My debt has been called in. Today I’m done.
The bills have all been paid, I’m overdrawn,
But interest is paid in by the rising sun.
Today’s one of those days when life takes up all my capacity.
(12.01.26)
© Ben Quant 2026
Photo by Museums Victoria on Unsplash
A card trick?
In front of a school of children?
What could possibly go wrong?
In fact it turns out quite a lot…
They say that if at first you don’t
succeed, that you should try, try, try
again? But after that? Press on?
Eventually it worked, I think,
a prize for my resilience but
I think they may have noticed…
And so I waved my magic wand
and wished myself away. Alas,
I failed to manage that as well!
Every year I do the school Christingle service on the last day of term. It has become a tradition that I do a Christmas magic trick. Usually it works…
(19.12.25)
© Ben Quant 2025
Photo by Clifford Photography on Unsplash
Take:
A tumult of toddlers
A cacophony of carers
A muddle of mothers,
Disappearance of dads
A greatness of grandparents
A legend of leaders*
A twinkle of stars
And a riot of rhymes.
Mix to taste.
A collective Toddler Christmas party
*Apart from the poet!
It was the glorious madness of our toddler group Christmas party today. Great fun, as always.
(17.12.25)
© Ben Quant 2025
Photo by leoni fleming on Unsplash
Drafting grant applications,
I find I’m spewing word,
after word, after word, until
the screen is full of letters.
They blur into a splurge
of unattractive text,
a monolith of blackness.
I need to slash the text,
reduce the count and find
a way to make it more
succinct, engaging. I wonder,
should I try poetry
instead of prose? Or should
I go full Bob and simply
scrawl, ‘GIVE US YER MONEY!’
Following on from yesterday’s poem, on top of seasonal activity, I’m also writing grant applications for our church redevelopment project.
(26.11.25)
© Ben Quant 2025
Photo by Glen Carrie on Unsplash
Ode for the Day 