R.I.P. Penelope Keith (1940-2026)

For gold-standard light relief

Penelope Anne Constance Keith

Captured hearts and minds on stage

With laughter spilling on each page.

 

Think accent from Home Counties pool

That plummy voice – so convent school

Staccato tones – cut with a knife

What comic timing – art as life!

 

Who else but “To The Manor Born”

Could all others out-perform?

“The Good Life” – Gerry by her side …

In thrall she held us – nationwide.

 

This art of repartee is rare

How we loved her style, her flair …

Alas, she’s taken her last bow

So, we must soldier on somehow ...

(c) Poet in the woods 2026

She died on 29th June, 2026 aged 86 from cancer.

The Art of Intrigue

To be ‘on song’, to catch one’s drift

Are concepts poets use with thrift;

Ideas conveyed which ‘hit the spot’

Evoke reactions, ‘stir the pot’…

 

In up to twenty lines, the theme

Must be à propos and clean,

Pertinent and to the point

So, noses aren’t knocked out of joint!

 

Hence, method in my madness rules

I observe life, watch top news reels

And try to capture in my net

A nugget which makes you connect!

 

And shucks, I’m flattered and amazed

How many of you* find my page;

Do I raise a smile or two

Or make you think? I hope I do!

(c) Poet in the woods 2026

* well over a million to date!

All Aglow!

All systems firmly fixed at slow

My “get-up-and-go” lies low

As I consider this day’s chores:

Must I venture out of doors?

 

And how is it with you ‘out there’?

My well-watered flowers stare

Skywards in a state of bliss;

The sun, for humans, hit or miss…

 

Farm animals need constant care;

Heavy toil makes tempers flare;

At night - sans aircon - hard to sleep;

Engagements cancelled all this week ...

 

Is this the shape of things to come?

Has Dante’s feared inferno come

To punish us for wicked ways?

The shock is violent – we're amazed!

 

‘To keep one’s cool’, not just a phrase

 ‘Hot-headed’ fits the bill these days!

Though storms are forecast end-of-week

This heat dome makes us ‘glow’ a treat!

(c) Poet in the woods 2026

As the old adage has it:  Horses sweat, men perspire and ladies glow.

Why is Brussels missing from this map?

A Few Hot Thoughts!

Mad heat melts our best intentions

Cools our ardour, heightens tensions

Putting normal life on hold;

Death in forbidden pool is told!

 

On private land, abandoned quarry*:

Now tempting pool, lad makes a foray

Away from prying eyes to dive;

Failing sadly to survive…

 

Trains without aircon do not run,

TEC** buses stay home in hot sun,

Schools stop all lessons at midday

Top athletes told they cannot play…

 

This heat, so longed for, comes at last

But even lizards cannot bask

In temperatures beyond the norm;

This is the full extent of “warm”!

 

A wave of lethargy ensues;

Sporting fixtures on the news

Speak of cancellations rare;

We have to take stock and beware…

(c) Poet in the woods 2026

* at Mont-sur-Marchienne (Charleroi)

** Wallonia's bus service

BREXIT - Wrecks It?

10 years have flown by – a decade!

Since Britain by strong hype was swayed

To ignore great benefits accrued

Since joining E.U.’s happy brood!

 

Long queues and barricades at ports;

In came Red Tape: high-cost imports

Of European food and wines;

Now it seems that Britain pines

 

For golden time of free exchange …

Which politics fails to arrange!

So, “Splendid Isolation” rules

Though ardour for this status cools…

 

On the other side of this divide

We, who could not vote, decried:

“This referendum is misplaced”!

Time shows it had egg on its face!

 

Proud Island Nation, still at sea

As always, feels it has to be

At odds with Europe – so it’s plain

Trading Wars thrive here again!

(c) Poet in the woods 2026

Referendum held in June 2016

Maison Saint Cyr - Square Ambiorix

In Dutch we learned of Strauven’s* gem

For Leonard Saint Cyr, way back when

Art Nouveau reached its heady peak

Its green wrought ironwork – unique!

 

Four metres wide, five stories high

Its slender columns, fragile, fly

To shoulder a rose window vast;

Raspberry brickwork grips it fast.

 

Up ornate staircase painted bright

To top floor bathed in coloured light

Front salon: Chinese-style displays;

Its picture window draws our gaze!

 

Engravings, nesting tables, art

Restored wood panelling is dark

Fine marquetry on wooden floor

While glass tiles hint at cellar store.

 

From upstairs window briefly spied

Walled-garden, miniscule, outside

But Inside mirrors create space;

This bijou residence has taste!

(c) Poet in the woods 2026

* Gustave Strauven architect 1903

A Peace of Luck?

Hope at Versailles blooms again;

He signed for peace with thick felt pen;

Europa held her breath and sighed ...

A temporary truce is tried.

 

Meanwhile, a fresh new wave of drones

Brings destruction of more homes

Will ships, once blocked, now make their way

Through the troubled Strait today?

 

It matters how you bait your hook;

The stakes are high, the game’s afoot*;

All try to keep their powder dry

But sadly, vagrant sparks may fly …

 

(c) Poet in the woods 2026

* from Shakespeare's Henry V.