Light a candle tonight And join me on the bandstand at midnight We’ll feel the chill of winter’s wind And stay warm Peer into the darkness And meet an unexpected peace … quiet but for the roaring sea And the howling winds Empty save for the spirits … the wandering dreamers
The clock strikes midnight Come walk with me Give us a new page In the history of our merry city And bless us Strong and weak Young and old Near and far The dwellers Sleek and meek The street sleepers Let’s burst open In a shower Of optimistic celebration And feel the sacred kiss of hope At the gateway of a New Year
When the election took place in 2023, there was so much hope attached to the new Labour Government. At that time – July 2023 – a large number of new Labour Councillors also got into Brighton and Hove Council, and as the IFCG was serving the Mayor and the City as Chaplain, it seemed a good idea for me to write something that honoured the arrival of so many fresh faces to the Chamber.
The philosophy behind the prayer remains the same. Beginnings do need Blessings. With that in mind… I would like a few blessings for my new book – Sun, Fun and Bungaroosh – which has just arrived on the bookshelves in the lovely City Books of Hove, and hopefully will be seen on a few other bookshop bookshelves, too.
From our first day of life To our scary arrival at nursery school University or work Beginnings need blessings
From the moment we opened our hearts And wept about our first love To the first day we stepped into marriage Beginnings need blessings
Setting out on a new journey A spirit just needs to be blessed Which is why we bless our Mayor today…. From the heart Her known achievements Gifts to her constituents, her pupils, Her family and friends Her promise now Her work for us tomorrow And in the year to come We thank her From the heart And also…
Let us honour our new Council And our new councillors Many embarking on service to our City for the first time New girls and boys at school Tackling so much… familiar and unfamiliar Bizarre letters about dodgy neighbours Stroppy emails featuring vicious dogs Bicycles, cats, noise, parking, weeds Enraged communications about gruesome graffiti Something very different From your previous life Beginnings definitely need blessings
And so… In this brief moment of sacred connection We, representing people of all faith and none in our City Take the opportunity To stand beside and before our Mayor and our councillors And express our heartfelt appreciation for you all — For your service… Your commitment… Your compassion… And your care for us and our most beautiful City Bless you and thank you
At the Interfaith Service on Sunday, in front of 150 people, I was obliged to read this naughty poem. I had left it too late to write something sensible, but much to my delight everyone absolutely loved it. Yes, I agree, it is an appalling poem, very silly and I have to say… I enjoyed writing it.
Here’s what I said: We live in a place full of beautiful old buildings, and many of them have been converted into flats… which can create a lot of noise for those that live in these conversions… occasionally bad feeling arises between neighbours. Ours is a restless City and I wanted to write about that, but sometimes a bit of writing goes off in a silly direction, and you can’t stop it… and so I am asking you to share this silly direction with me in a poem called Peace in a Restless City
The great houses of old Were bought and then sold Transformed into flats Full of babies that yell Plus cats and loud dogs And people with clogs Tap dancing like hell… It’s all part of a restless city
The list of loud pain Gives us cause to complain So much screaming and clamour Drumming beats with a hammer Scary traffic with horns Screaming seagulls and storms It’s all part of a restless city
The noise is absurd Its decibels heard By a geezer next door And the bloke down the drain Not to mention Jim and Sally Vacating in Spain But far, far away in deep outer space An alien race from the cruel planet Zog With pink and blue knobbles And tentacles too Known to the fans of the great Dr Who Are just overjoyed with the noise (they love it) Because they eat and drink noise So they decided to visit our restless City
The dustbins crash The bottles smash The foxes scream While the extra terrestrials Swoop and then dive And choose to arrive In Churchill Square Where they alight in IKEA Feeling very much at home And they shout in stentorian tones ‘We are the Zoggies from Planet Zog, Beware! Beware!’ (If they were Daleks they would say Exterminate, Exterminate)
But amazingly quite amazingly Despite their horrific pink and blue knobbles And terrifying tentacles too Nobody is frightened Can you guess why nobody is frightened? It’s because we all think They come from Brighton! Most certainly not from Hove
And there’s music as well And a terrible smell Fried onions and chips Mixed with biscuits and dips Which work like a treat ‘Cos the Zoggies retreat They do noise But they do not do smells… So they fly back To the further regions of outer space In a state of total shock Well, who can blame them?
And the seagulls all yell And far away there’s a bell That rings out quite clear Through the mist and the fog “We have lost the weird legions Of persons from Zog” (You know something…) They didn’t even stay to see the Pavilion (that is so rude) Even the Duke and Duchess of Sussex spent 20 minutes in the Pavilion.
This is a City of Sanctuary It’s also a City of Peace Also a City of friendship With its chips and its grot and its grease And its rock and its pebbles And its wild seagull rebels A noise I must say That’s reportedly treble Anything you might get in Eastbourne
But don’t despair… If the cat snoozes on your lap And the sea fret stops fretting And Brighton win at the Amex You will, I’m certain… find peace one day in our lovely but very restless City
I have been totally absent from my bloggetty blog, because of this lovely book, which will be officially released on Monday, and the Interfaith Contact Group’s Annual Interfaith Service six days later, on November 16th.
Here are the words of the press release:
Sun, Fun and Bungaroosh – A Treat of a Book,
for Brighton and Hove, and for Interfaith Week
A beautifully illustrated, motley collection of readings, poems and prayers dedicated to the people of Brighton and Hove, Sun, Fun and Bungaroosh covers such themes as The City and its wild history as well as Prayers for a Laugh and chapters dedicated to The Sea, Sun and Moon, People and Peace. It is written by Anthea Ballam, writer and interfaith minister and designed by Sue Smallwood.
This is a treat of a book – a collection of prayers dedicated to the people of Brighton and Hove, as colourful, creative, and kind as the city they celebrate, and beautifully illustrated. At a time when the world often seems more divided and dangerous than ever, Anthea Ballam’s words offer heart and humour in equal measure – along with much-needed warmth, comfort and compassion. Caroline Lucas
The book is intended to make one smile and maybe feel a little sad as well. Some readings were written for local figures like The Mayor of Brighton and Hove, and the MP for Hove Peter Kyle. One favoured funeral reading was read by Caroline Lucas MP at the Memorial Service for the 500 people that died in the City during the Pandemic.
Created for believers and non-believers alike, the book captures the spirit of the City of Brighton and Hove in word and image. It will be launched on November 10th, 2025. The book is available from City Books, 23 Western Road Hove BN3 1AF in person or on-line. Sun, Fun and Bungaroosh retails at £10.00
Today, July 28th the moon is a thin waxing crescent, just 9 percent illuminated. Last Thursday, July 24th, the new Leo Moon rising threatened to awaken long-buried desires… apparently…
The Moon was shining sulkily, Because she thought the sun Had got no business to be there After the day was done — “It’s very rude of him,” she said, “To come and spoil the fun.”
Lewis Carroll: from Alice Through the Looking Glass
Remember Remember In this world Wherever you are Whatever you do By the sea Up a gum tree In Brighton Hove Or Spain Remember You cannot Think about water Unless… You think About the moon
Every molecule of water On this earth From a thimble-full To a great ocean Any body of water Any body Yours, mine, The bloke next door Any woman Man Or child Animal Plant Plankton Is affected By the gravity Of the moon…
We are all lunatics
Invisibly Surreptitiously Gently Lovingly Hormonally She affects us And changes us Yet we rarely think of her Unless we brutally explore her Or pay innocent homage To romance In June Under a full moon
Her breath-taking beauty Lights up the sea Whispering watery words Invitations to poets Proffering mysterious illumination To nocturnal beasties
She is the Queen of the Night And we bow to her With love and gratitude
You once described fox hunting as “the unspeakable in pursuit of the uneatable”. It’s a great observation, and on February 18th 2005, just a bit over 100 years after you wrote these words, we banned this monstrous, cruel sport in the UK.
Sadly, since then, we have also staged an unprecedented attack on wild-life in this country, creating a strange ecosystem where many animals, including foxes, have become scavengers, and song birds have all but disappeared from many urban gardens. But the fox has moved into the City – and it’s always a thrill to see something so beautiful appear unexpectedly at the bottom of a suburban garden.
And that will not be the only improvement you might note… 67 years after you died, homosexuality was decriminalised in England, and this has to be a very, very good thing.
So even though the land is polluted, the water contaminated, and the air quality is not great, we are striving to be better; the mysterious beauty of the fox is a mystical reminder of this.
What does the Duke of Sussex do? And the Duchess of Sussex too? Sing a song? Suck on a bong? What do they do? … for Sussex?
Here’s what the AI said when I asked…
Their contributions often involve raising awareness about social issues, supporting charitable organisations, and engaging with communities to address various challenges. Through advocacy and collaboration, they strive to create positive change and foster unity within Sussex and beyond.
WOW! CRAP!
It’s not just the leader of Reform that tells lies It’s not just the President of the United States that tells lies It’s not just Ex-Prime Minister Boris Johnson that tells lies It’s AI that tells lies Wondrous whoppers Do we need machines that lie to us? This is Microsoft’s very own AI It crept out of my own copy of “Word”
Thank you Bill Gates
The Duke and Duchess made one visit to Sussex, and now have ownership of a name that my neighbour’s cats unquestionably have more right to. Come on King Charles III. Please make my neighbour’s cats ‘The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’ instead. At least they live here, and amuse people and belong here. The existing Duke and Duchess came once on October 3rd2018 and they have never been seen since. There is, however, a brilliant episode of South Park dedicated to them – The Worldwide Privacy Tour – and that makes them almost silly enough to qualify as Duke and Duchess of Sussex.
What do you think?
Here are some of Hannah Turner’s lovely ceramic cats. They don’t come from Sussex, but they will do very nicely.
It’s summer, time to laugh and dance and enjoy life. Here’s a prayer for the new Prayer Book. Hope you enjoy it.
May I have pals That can cultivate the art of the giggle Without being completely blotto May the dog sing me a Mozart aria And the cat laugh at my jokes
May the Lord of Laughter Award me the world’s best toffee apple And the teeth to go with it May the Lady of Laughter Transform my luke-warm wit Into something blooming legendary
May the sun tan my toes And the moon light my way to the playground May I be adored by angels Praised by the wise And given a free pass to Glyndebourne Not to mention the Amex
Please let the Tories go away May Reform re-form on Alpha Centauri May the Labour Party show compassion for once May Brexit become a figment of my imagination
Let the sun shine on me Without giving me skin cancer Let the moon inspire me To write better than wot Shakespeare did May I love and be loved By all those I love And a few more besides And may I enjoy being And non-being as well Now and forever Thank you
There’s a lot of fear about; fear about the madness of politicians; fear about the wellbeing of the environment; fear for the future. Some reckon that fear is the opposite of love, and I am inclined to agree.This prayer is dedicated to those that are feeling the fear of the moment, and I feel for them.
Everywhere we go There is a cause A cause to worry A cause for pain
But everywhere we go There’s a powerful challenge… It comes from a little voice That says Maybe there’s no cause to worry No reason for pain
The voice says Now’s the moment To reach out To the untouchable sky And ask for calm
Very quietly it says In this second Remember the song of the sea And ask for peace
Don’t be afraid The world may seem noisy Full of clattering antagonism But it’s kind
Remember… Kindness is everywhere It’s in you and around you Gently weaving compassion Into your soul Opening doors of understanding Universal love for the world
When you experience Love for the world You can’t feel fear There’s no place Or space For fear Just love
