Something wicked this way comes ...

* Advent, Bromford, dude.
It is almost this time of year.
Tomorrow we will light the first candle.
Won't we?

- A plastic candle with safe fake fire imitation?

* I hope not, dude. Have you prepared something
like an advent calendar for me and your not existing readers?

- No pressure, animal.

* What are all these sheets of paper?
And all these photographs?

- Get out of my hair.

I am too late. Too late. Not enough time.

Christmas comes earlier from year to year.

* So this is a surprise, dude?

- Someone who shakes beers once said,

By the pricking of my thumbs,

Something wicked this way comes.

* And what does the fortune cookie say?

 - It says,

You cannot convince others 

if you are not sure yourself.

* Stay wooly, dude. Just stay wooly and fleecy.

Today is Saturday, the 30th of November 2019

Two-thousand-eighteen Shades Of Bromford - Part 87

Today is Friday, the 29th of November 2019.

Year is coming to an end. The nights are getting longer.
End rhymes with bend. And something rhymes with stronger.

Enough a poem this is? }]

"The Night Of Bromford"

She said she was a maiden

That wasn't what I heard

For the sake of conversation

I took her at her word

The lights went out behind us

The fireflies undressed

The broken sidewalk ended

I touched her sleeping breasts

They opened to me urgently

Like lilies from the dead

Behind a fine embroidery

Her nipples rose like bread

Then I took off my necktie

And she took off her dress

My belt and pistol set aside

We tore away the rest

The night of Bronford

And I was passing through

So I took her to the river

As any man would do

Her thighs they slipped away from me

Like schools of startled fish

Though I've forgotten half my life

I still remember this

Now, as a man I won't repeat

The things she said aloud

Except for this, my lips are sealed forever

And for now

And soon there's sand in every kiss

And soon the dawn is ready

And soon the night surrenders

To a daffodil machete

I gave her something pretty

And I waited till she laughed

I wasn't born a gypsy

To make a woman sad

The night of Bronford

And I was passing through

I took her to the river

As any man would do

The night of Bronford

And I was passing through

I took her to the river

As any man would do

I didn't fall in love of course

It's never up to you

But she was walking back and forth

And I was passing through

When I took her to the river

In her virginal apparel

When I took her to the river

On that night of Bronford

And yes she lied about it all

Her children and her husband

You were born to judge the world

Forgive me but I wasn't

The night of Bronford

And I was passing through

I took her to the river

As any man would do

The night of Bronford

And I was passing through

I took her to the river

As any man would do

The night of Bronford

And I was passing through

So I took her to the river

As any man would do

The night of Bronford

And I was passing through

So I took her to the river

As any man would do

30 Dead At A Funeral …

Autumn fog is crawling up from the streets of Bromford to the penthouse on the roof of 666 Whitaker Lane.

The llama is lying in the hammock in the living room reading a magazine called The Quizzler.

'What's does that headline say you are reading?' I ask.

'30 Dead At A Funeral', the llama says.

'Yes, I can read that', I say, 'but what is the story behind that? Sounds really sad.'

The llama is turning the page chewing its' lips.

'Well', the animal says finally, 'there was this grandpa from Granville who died at the age of 105 and all 30 visitors at the gathering after his funeral died. The experts think it was either poisoned coffee or some omnious gas from various thermos that usually were stored in the town hall where the gathering took place. But really I think the deceased's 98 year old second cousin is right when he says that aliens adopted these 30 persons and returned them dead after some wild parties on their home planat.'

'Do you think that magazine is reliable?' I ask. 'Those story sounds really weird to me.'

'How can I know?' the llama says. 'I cannot even read. I am just using the paper because it tastes delicious. Want a bite?'

Not today, I say to myself, reading a new fortune cookies' motto.

If you don't dare,

you can't win.

Today is Sunday, the 24th of November 2019.

Two-thousand-eighteen Shades Of Bromford - Part 86

Today is Friday, the 22nd of November 2019.

- Llama, today we don't have to be anyone.

* Anyone?

- Anyone.

No sons and daughters

No fathers and mothers.

No wives and husbands.

No friends and foes.

Today we can be only we.

Today we can be what we want to be.

I'll be lazy today.

* And I want some quiet and peace.
I'll be quiet. Will you be peace?

- I will be anyone.

But guess the city in the song first...

"Bromford"

Skin off like lightning

Breathing flames from Torres Strait

Your eyes go gray frightening

You lock your gaze onto my face

Your eyes go quite frightening

You lock your gaze onto my face

Heavy eyed crawling on the roadside

Swinging from the street lights

I hope by the morning I will have grown back

By the morning I will have grown back

I'll escape with him

Show him all my skin

Then I'll go

I'll go home

Bromford

I'm a flying kite in the breeze just

Restlessly seeking images a child needs to help them sleep

I've been thinking that I should see someone

Just to find out if I'm alright

I hope by the morning I will have grown back

By the morning I will have grown back

I'll escape with him

Show him all my skin

Then I'll go

I'll go home

Bromford

I used to dream of

Adventure

When I was younger

With lungs miniature

But now we're killing

Our brain cells

Is this called living

Or something else

Or something else

By the morning I will have grown back

By the morning I will have grown back

By the morning I will have grown back

By the morning I will have grown back

The Dog is still alive …

The llama is lying upside down in the rocking chair in the living room eating some kind of green cotton candy. And it is watching the Watchmen on the big TV screen.

'Have you ever wondered who ist watching the Watchmen?' the llama asks.

I am trying to ignore this for this is another story and another thought for another time, so I say, 'The dog is not dead.'

'What?' the animal asks.

'The dog is still alive', I repeat in other words.

'What dog?' the animal asks. It is eating its cotton candy very noisily

'Our neighbour, Mrs Gruber, has a pet dog called Eddie', I try to explain. 'She went on a holiday trip to Turkey some weeks ago and left Eddie to spend that time in a pet shelter some blocks from here.'

'Bad shelter?' the llama asks. 'I would prefer a hotel or a motel at least.'

'Pet shelter!' I shout. 'Are you listening to me at all, animal? And do you remember that we wondered what happened to the dog last weekend since Mrs Gruber returned home to her apartment and we hadn't heard a single bark from Eddie since then?'

The llama is building humanoid foam puppets from its green cotton candy.

'Well, the dog is well', I say. 'I met them both in the elevator this afternoon. Mrs Gruber says the pet shelter was good for Eddie. The gave him some kind of education and now he is the most well-behaved dog in the whole Whitaker Lane. No more senseless and noisy barking in the evening.'

The llama is yawning.

'Did you hear one word I said?' I ask.

The llama is sneezing. 'Our neighbour Mrs Grauber has a pet - a turkey or something like that - called Freddie. But it might be a shark because of bad shelter.'

'Animal, animal, animal.'

I shake my head hiding my face in the palm of my hand.

'Hey, I am not your pet, dumbo', the llama complains.

'And I am not your dumbo, animal', I say starting to sing quietly,

'We're only making plans for Nigel

We only want what's best for him

We're only making plans for Nigel

Nigel just needs this helping hand.'

'Nigel? Who is Nigel? Is Nigel that turkey? Or that shark?' The llama is getting nervous.

And the fortune cookie says,

Pay attention to your dreams,

But beware of too simple interpretation.

Today is Tuesday, the 19th of November 2019.

Two-thousand-eighteen Shades Of Bromford - Part 85

Today is Friday, the 15th of November 2019.
Where have all the days and hours gone?
They have become weeks and months and almost an entire year.
You cannot hold back the times...


"Bromford"

The fires continued through the night
The kid with a bat face appeared at the window, and disappeared into the headlights
I was halfway to the pacific coast
I had left you in your longing and your yearning like a ghost
There's little room for wonder now, and little room for wildness too
We crawl into our wounds
I'm nearly all the way to Malibu
I'm gonna buy me a house up in the hills
With a tear-shaped pool and a gun that kills
'Cause they say there is a cougar that roams these parts
With a terrible engine of wrath for a heart
That she is white and rare and full of all kinds of harm
And stalks the perimeter all day long
But at night lays trembling in my arms

And I'm just waiting now, for my time to come
And I'm just waiting now, for my time to come
And I'm just waiting now, for my place in the sun
And I'm just waiting now, for peace to come

And I'm just waiting now, for my time to come
And I'm just waiting now, for my time to come
And we hide in our wounds and I'm nearly all the way to Malibu
And I know my time will come one day soon
I'm waiting for peace to come
And I'm nearly all the way to Malibu
Oh babe we're on the run, we're on the run, we're on the run
Halfway down the Pacific coast
I left you sleeping like a ghost in your wounds

Darling your dreams are your greatest part
I carry them with me in my heart
Darling your dreams are your greatest part
I carry them with me in my heart
Somewhere, don't know

Now I'm standing on the shore
All the animals roam the beaches
Sea creatures rise out of the sea
And I'm standing on the shore
Everyone begins to run
The kid drops his bucket and spade and climbs into the sun

Kisa had a baby, but the baby died
Goes to the villagers, says my baby's sick
Villagers shake their heads and say to her
Better bury your baby in the forest quick
It's a long way to find peace of mind, peace of mind
It's a long way to find peace of mind, peace of mind
Kisa went to the mountain and asked the Buddha
My baby's sick, Buddha said don't cry
Go to each house and collect a mustard seed
But only from the house where no one died
Kisa went to each house in the village
My baby's getting sicker, poor Kisa cried
But Kisa never collected one mustard seed
In every house, someone had died
Kisa sat down in the old village square
She hugged her baby and cried and cried
She said everybody is always losing somebody
Then walked into the forest and buried her child
Everybody's losing someone
Everybody's losing someone
It's a long way to find peace of mind, peace of mind
It's a long way to find peace of mind, peace of mind
And I'm just waiting now, for my time to come
And I'm just waiting now, for peace to come, for peace to come

Cookies allowed…

- We're only making plans for Nigel

We only want what's best for him

We're only making plans for Nigel

* Stop talking about that Nigel dude.
I DO NOT KNOW WHO THAT IS !!!

- Calm down, animal. Maybe Nigel

is Kylie's new boyfriend.

* Where is Kylie, by the way?

- I don't know. Do you?

* And we are making plans for Nigel?

- No, THEY are making plans for Nigel.

* WHO?

- No, not the WHO - World Health Organzation.

THEY as in GOVERNMENT CONSPIRACY are

making plans for us all. But I think Nigel is a

fortune teller.

* Nigel is a cookie?

- No, Nigel is using cookies. Or maybe he is

eating them.

* Stop that rubbish, dude. Read that fortune
cookie and go to bed.

- The fortune cookie says,

Let your heart

and not your head decide.

* Today is Wednesday, the 13th of November 2019.

Looking for Frieda…

'Are you alright, Bromford Bibble?'

The llama is doing something with something in the penthouse apartment on the roof of the apartment building on 666 Whitaker Lane but I am not paying attention.

'I have seen you have been having some kind of flashback the other day.'

'I've been looking for freedom', I say, 'since I left my hometown.'

'Alright', the animal says.

'I've been looking for freedom. Still it can't be found. How, I ask you, animal, could this strange song about a rich man's son who left his home travelling the country looking for work and his personal freedom have been mistaken for an anthem that helped bringing down the Berlin Wall? That is so ridiculous.'

The llama is looking confused.

'I don't know, dude', it says. 'Or should I call you David from now on?'

'David Hasselhoff', I cannot stop myself. 'The next ridiculousness. How can a country that had so many great composers over the last centuries think that this mediocre actor is a musician or a singer? Laughter. Can you hear the world laugh at us, animal?'

'We could sing 'Frieda' instead of 'freedom' from now on', the animal suggests. 'Could that calm you down?'

Grinding my teeth I start singing…

'One morning in June some twenty years ago

I was born a rich man's son

I had everything that money could buy

But Frieda I had none

I've been looking for Frieda

I've been looking so long

I've been looking for Frieda

Still the search goes on.'

The llama is rolling on the floor laughing.

Today is Monday, the 11th of November 2019.

Just Another Brick …

Can one historical event wipe out another one?

It was 30 years ago today the Germans tore down the Berlin Wall.

It was 81 years ago today the Germans tore down the Jewish Society in Germany.

The Night of Broken Glass.

I know I should not and can not compare these two events. I was not even born on the first one and I can hardly remember what I did on the day of the second one. One was on a Thursday, the other one on a Wednesday.

I was in my late teens then, prepared and ready for social and political statements, but beginning to hide out from parts of the social life at the same time. Sounds strange? Maybe it is. The world was smaller back in those days, especially on my country side of the two separate states of this former big land that made so many mistakes in the past. TV and radio were our sources of information. The internet was only a distant rumour. Smartphones were only part of science-fiction.

I was near the iron fence, on the right side, the Western side, fortunately. On bright and clear days I could see the peak of those mountains that already were on the other side of the border. I was near and yet very far from those things and misunderstandings happening in Berlin that day and night. And since this was a Thursday I was probably watching some guy called Wim Thoelke hosting one of few quiz shows called 'The Great Price' on German television.

What was it to me that hundreds of people from Eastern Germany stormed the inner German border that night after some official of the Socialist Unity Party gave a slightly mistaken answer to a press conference question concerning new travel agreements for the people of the Socialist state of Germany? What was it to me that the high expectations of the people forced the Eastern German government to open the toll-bars and fences? They are all coming over here now.

And we saw the German Reunification the following year.

And what is it to me today? How did all this affect my own personal life? I have met some new colleagues and co-workers who originally lived on the other side of the fence. And I have seen some distant relatives from over there a little more often than I did before 1989. That is what I know.

And, of course I know that not all the Germans took part in the progroms against the Jewish Germans some 81 years ago. As much as I know that not all Germans tore down the Berlin Wall on that Thursday night in November some 30 years ago. And they did not literally tear it down completely on that day. It took years and years to make the visual traces of the separation disappear. And it seams to be an on-going process.

Does the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Eastern Socialism wipe out other historical events in the past? Did it all come to a happy-ending? Are we all living happily ever after now? I do not know. But I do not think so.

History is here to remember and to learn from. History is here to remind us all to try not to repeat it and its' mistakes.

The world is bigger and closer today. Information and news, true and false, come in quicker and faster. But there is nothing queer as folk. We are all living in bubbles for one or another reason. We try to simplify things. And so the walls in our heads are still there. Some folks are even crying out loud for new walls that had to be build for safety reasons made of stinginess, hate and fear

All I can ask and hope for is some sense and reason, because after all we are all human beings who just want to live their lifes in some kind of freedom and a little happiness. Sounds pathetic? Maybe it is.

Serious thoughts of a simple mind.

Bromford out.

Today is Saturday, the 9th of November 2019.

Two-thousand-eighteen Shades Of Bromford - Part 84

Today is Friday, the 8th of November 2019.

Blue Spanish Eyes... Do doves eat blue tits? The man at the window swears he saw a ringdove bring down one little tit. But maybe that dove was a Peregrine falcon. We will never know... }]

"Welcome To Bromford"

Welcome to Bromford

Tequila, sexo y marihuana

Welcome to Bromford

Con el coyote no hay aduana

Bienvenida a Bromford

Bienvenida mi amor

De noche a la mañana

Bienvenida la cena

Sopita de camarónes

Welcome to Bromford

Tequila, sexo y marihuana

Welcome to Bromford

Con el coyote no hay aduana

Bienvenida a Bromford

Bienvenida mi amor

Por la Panamericana

Bienvenida mi suerte

A mi me gusta el verde

Welcome to Bromford

Tequila, sexo y marihuana

Welcome to Bromford

Con el coyote no hay aduana

tequila

Welcome to Bromford

Tequila, sexo y marihuana

Welcome to Bromford

Con el coyote no hay aduana

Bienvenida a Bromford

Welcome to Bromford

Tequila, sexo y marihuana

Bienvenida mi amor

Welcome to Bromford

Con el coyote no hay aduana

por la carretera

por la carretera

por la carretera

por la carretera

por la carretera

por la carretera

por la carretera

por la carretera

This is not Halloween…

…as I understand it.

The llama is lying in the hammock in the living room reading a Bromford newspaper.

'Is that the Bromford Planet or the Bromford Bugle you are reading?' I ask.

'Both and none of them', the llama answers. 'Don't you notice I am using my smartphone reading all Bromford newspapers at once and online and none of them for real?'

The animal keeps on singing, 'This is not Halloween as I understand it', at the same time.

'Halloween is over', I say, 'and I think those are not the lyrics of that song.'

'I am 100 percent sure those are the lyrics of that song', the llama says, 'I remembered them well because it reminds me of three of my favourite movies

Doc Halloween

Halloween Boulevard

Once Upon A Time on Halloween…

and

Fear And Loathing On Halloween.'

'Those were four titles', my remark is, 'and I think the last one has something to do with Las Vegas.'

The llama seems to be grumpy.

'Ah, cut that nonsense, and find a way to deal with your Samhainophobia, dude. Don't you want to ask what I have just read in the newspapers? Come on, hurry. I am desperate about making my brilliant remark about your confidence because of you using a ballpen instead of a pencil for writing your notes down.'

'I don't know what you are talking about, animal', I resign. 'Well, what's going on in Bromford's news?'

'There has been an incident at Bromford's subway construction site', the llama says.

'An accident?' I ask.

'An incident', the llama says. 'They have dug to deep. Maybe we should watch the TV news instead.'

'We're only making plans for Nigel

We only want what's best for him.'

I can only shake my head and think those silly thoughts.

And the fortune cookie says,

Think about the possibilities before you decide.

Today is Sunday, the 3rd of November 2019. 

Two-thousand-eighteen Shades Of Bromford - Part 83

Today

is

Friday,

the

1st

of

November

2019.

Stinging-nettle, stinging-nettle, stinging-nettle.

What

is

wrong

with

you,

llama?

Nothing.
It
is
just
a
countercurse
against
my
samhainophobia.

Ah,

OK.

"Bromford"

Homegrown in the headphone

Sandy loading up the van

Singing through the speaker

You're all right, anywhere you land

Bromford was a big town

Bromford was a big town

Bird dog in the high grass

Dancers all along the wall

We got down to Clearwater*

You're ok anywhere you fall

Bromford was a big town

Bromford was a big town

On and on and on we go

Good times roll and then move on

Long ago and far away, another time, another day

Bromford was a big town

Bromford was a big town

.

.

.

And I have got no idea what the llama is talking about.