Six of the Best / Complete Shambles

The advice applies to rail operators
promising exciting new routes
for the Covid-19 year ahead.

Warned of confusion and chaos,
people with a history should not
expect new timings on many routes.

Brighter days are on the horizon:
two people are both fine now
and continue to have no clue.

-- Rupert M Loydell

Covid-19 vaccine: Allergy warning over new jab
Six of the best new train journeys in Europe for 2021
‘It’s too late baby’: Food and drinks leader brands post-Brexit arrangements ‘complete shambles’

Blue Thousands Mandate

claimed illegal immigrants voted in thousands
compared fight to McCarthy era socialist-leaning governors
appeared at hearing-style event certified Biden results

set to escalate tensions as Biden restarts nuclear talks
gun installed inside a blue pick-up truck, then detonated
a fraught period, ramped up stockpile of enriched uranium

yet to present viable candidates, tough act balancing,
eyes on a second mandate, fierce challenge from far-right
struggle to shake off image as out of touch ex-banker elitist

-- Clark Allison

Arizona certifies presidential election results
The killing of Iran’s nuclear mastermind
Is Emmanuel Macron pandering to the far right?

Fact-Checked (No Doubt)

What are Trump's performance limitations?
Just how good is his backwards compatibility?
It's really destroyed our system.

Biden is one of the most crucial components
but there is no evidence the experience is corrupt.
It is a little rough around the edges in some scenarios.

The mystery is finally solved and there's good news:
in America, the vote is a sacred feature.
We'll be looking at that more closely in future.

-- Rupert M Loydell

US election 2020: Donald Trump's speech fact-checked
'The vote is sacred': Biden says he has no doubt
PlayStation 5 backwards compatibility tested - and it's fantastic

Decisive Electoral Results

people forget fast, media and pundits even faster
wasn’t a landslide but a decisive victory
boring and predictable helped him win the election

respect any choice the American nation makes
recognise president on confirmation of official results
correct to wait till legal processes go through

first steps towards moving into the White House
again refused to admit defeat and tried to sow doubt
had delivered, secured enough electoral votes for victory

-- Clark Allison

Putin won’t congratulate Biden until ‘legal processes’ complete
Biden's success is an important win for the world
Biden kicks off transition as Trump refuses to concede

Impossible Forward Casting

definitely didn’t invent the term fake news
love or loathe far reaching decisions consequences
if re-elected may become impossible to keep in check

vote a formality divided along party lines
rightwing domination cements for years to come
swearing-in to court carried forward cause of freedom

a binary choice for the encumbent sector
casting about as bullish as bearish
potential outcome more nuanced than surface

-- Clark Allison

Oil traders braced for balancing act in wake of US election
How Trump has changed the world
Amy Coney Barrett confirmed to supreme court

Writing Unveils Food

To make the heartbreaking announcement,
at the level of essential human experience,
I am terrified I will die before the

prestigious TS Eliot prize has revealed
a shortlist that shows that poetry is
“the most resilient, potent, capacious

and universal art we have”, said the jury,
when the pandemic hit, and certain concerns
of ours began to seem rather trivial.

-- John Tucker

TS Eliot prize unveils 'unsettling, captivating' shortlist
Sinead O'Connor begs fans for help
Novelists reveal their secret writing habits

Disease Strategy Risk

strategy contain delay research and mitigate
act to avoid history repeating turning point
severe pandemic and the seasons against us

join together halt spread of this disease
more restrictions three tier system across country
critical moment hospitals filling death rates rising

no longer Covid transmission risk health update
concerns might still be contagious election due
virus still in system sensitive lab tests

-- Clark Allison

UK is at 'tipping point' of Covid crisis, says health official
‘Everyone is fighting’ – how Downing Street lost its grip
Covid: Trump 'no longer a transmission risk to others'

Sonar Hospital Treatment

A 'solid and pretty big' sonar has detected
drama removing mask. Police said
the mystery creature is likely freshwater,

immediately sparking excited speculation,
after ‘eating what they believed to be
sweets’ at a school in north London.

The sweets are believed to have contained
THC, and been shared on social media,
saluted, waved, and then started filming.

-- John Tucker

Trump appears to gasp for air after tearing off mask
Thirteen pupils taken to hospital after eating THC sweets
Loch Ness Monster ‘caught on sonar’

A "Challenging" Rescue Operation

Dozens of dead,
transmission is high.
Plans to watch live will not go ahead.

What do we know?
Mr Johnson is shallow water thick
and manoeuvering for space,

cabinet office minister Michael Gove
became stuck on sandbars
among the restrictions.

-- Rupert M Loydell

Coronavirus: 10pm curfew for pubs and restaurants
Coronavirus: Plans for fans to return to sport called off
Dozens of pilot whales dead off Tasmania

Telling Online Stimulus

Blazes of land and killed over climate change cooler
Crisis of poor forest management telling dismissed concerns
Four more years more of America ablaze

At the centre continued support means monetary stimulus
No political connections a symbol durable administration
Chances Suga calling a snap election for October

Risk considered low higher living settings more at site
Health data viewable online at geographical settings
18,105 Welsh residents data published online for 20 hours

-- Clark Allison

Trump fans flames of climate row in California
Yoshihide Suga wins landslide in Japanese leadership contest
Coronavirus: 18,000 test results published by mistake

Operational Challenges

dismissed protests
lie detector tests
high-risk areas

fewer visitors
empty shops
big shortages

fresh criticism
system is failing
suffer from a dive

-- Rupert M Loydell

'Operational challenges': Matt Hancock brushes off people being told to drive hundreds of miles for Covid tests
 Terrorists freed from jail set to face lie detector tests after London Bridge review
Empty shops on UK high streets at highest level in six years

Weary Struggle Distress

seeking urgent assistance
unable to move and needs help
'Get your knee off our necks'

someone uses water to darken and define
attempting to cross the expanse
provide enough time at home

commemorate the historic
at least one dead person
expressed their frustration

-- Rupert M Loydell

'Weary' teachers frustrated by late guidance
'Get your knee off our necks': Struggle for justice continues
Banksy-funded migrant rescue vessel in distress at sea

Trigger Testing Moment

grappling with something that is unprecedented
difficult and uncertain time
could trigger so not pretend quarters of decline

with a similar aim in mind
beating every other country to the milestone
drug still in testing phase sceptical dangerous decision

knows what it’s like to be under scrutiny
since the moment the presumptive nominee announced
a very aggressive and determined interrogator

-- Clark Allison

Recession is unprecedented, says Chancellor Rishi Sunak
West’s response to Russian vaccine owes as much to geopolitics as science
Kamala Harris VP pick: How she could help - or hurt - Joe Biden

Expanding Effects Episode

more differences of opinion than anticipated
a serious episode hyper-paranoid about everything
worried but remain confident will stabilize

‘cause I don’t write ain’t no counter-culture protest song
restless ambiguous trouble got it out on the radiowaves
expanding theme now had a purpose a viewpoint

stronger growing next-gen gaming visual effects making way
creating a larger digital ecosystem
using the platform releasing follow up consoles

-- Clark Allison

Musk ‘reconsiders’ support for Kanye West presidential run
The Story Behind The Song: ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’
Sony Invests $250 Million in Epic Game

Playing Her Unacceptable Part

The home secretary is making garments from waste yarn.
She is a fashion hothouse born in a row of lock-ups.
'We had just moved in and were raring to go.'

Protesters and partygoers breaking distancing rules,
a heap of old tyres and a mouldy old mattress.
All it needs is the models and the photoshoot can begin.

The police responded with baton charges, tear gas,
crisp new garments and other rule breaches. Seamstresses
face the full force of the law. Paris fashion explodes.

-- Rupert M Loydell

Patel slams protesters and partygoers for lockdown breaches
The fashion hothouse born in a row of lock-ups
Horror as Paris riot police attacked by mob of HUNDREDS