Once more we had a very successful session of the monthly POEMS OUT LOUD, held at the British Club, Las Palmas on 25th January 2017. The theme was DREAMS, appropriate for the reassessment of our lives that often accompanies the beginning of a new year.

Twenty-two people attended the poetry session and poems were read mainly in English but several in Spanish and Norwegian as well. It’s fascinating to hear the rhythm and cadences in different languages. Ten of us attended the lunch that preceded the poetry and I’d like to congratulate the chef because the food was exceptional – even better than usual! I had pescado empanado and it was delicious.  Thanks too to Mario, our genial, hardworking waiter.

As for the poems chosen, a variety of styles and periods were covered. Choices included poems written by members of the group, including Betty Burgess, Chris Winn and Bente Clod who all showed how talented they were. Other members of the group chose work by poets as diverse as William Shakespeare, W.H.Auden, Robert William Service, William Blake and Mohamed Ali, among others. We were also reminded of the inspiring 1963 “I have a dream” speech by Doctor Martin Luther King.

It’s also becoming a tradition to have a few songs whose lyrics take a poetic turn. This time, we sang as a canon, “Row, row row your boat gently down the stream”  followed by the Simon and Garfunkel classic “Last Night I had the strangest dream” and even a tribute to me, “I dream of Jeannie with the light brown hair!” Unfortunately we had to forgo the pleasure of hearing Melvyn singing “The Headache Song” by W.S. Gilbert from Iolanthe as we ran out of time. We hope to hear that on another occasion.

What a talented bunch the members of this group are proving to be. It’s great to see the results of the research that everyone does to find stimulating poems.