Portland Poetry - Tapa blanda

The poetry in this book covers the beautiful county of Dorset, Thomas Hardy country, there are many poems about Portland, an Island that reaches out into the English Channel, this island is where most of the stone that Sir Christopher Wren used to build the most prominent buildings in London, Portland Stone. You will read poetry of the sea, poetry from before the mast, sailing ships, poetry about the massive tankers carrying crude oil, storms and hurricanes that seamen took for granted, poetry of nature with a twist. You will read classic poetry, poetry that will make you laugh, and poetry you have never read before in this unusual book written by a retired merchant seaman. You will read stories of ships that have sunk, ghost ships, stories about the seven seas, the poet takes you through real events to the supernatural, and then takes you through a tour of the unusual Island of Portland. Portland was an island, folklore then tells of a massive storm, when the storm subsided it left banks of shingle, now called Chesil Beach that now connects the island to the mainland of Dorset. The poet has written of this event and also tells the reader of the wonders of this amazing Island.

The author was born on the Island of Portland, Dorset. As a boy he used to spend most of his time watching the ships sailing through the English Channel, at the age of fifteen he decided to join the British Merchant Navy. He spent twelve weeks of training on a vessel anchored into the Severn River in Gloucester, called 'Vindicatrix' and then joined his first ship in 1959, the Cunard White Star liner 'Ivernia' picking up Canadan occupation troops from Germany and returning them home to Halifax. He crewed other great ocean liners, and acted as quartermaster (helmsman) on the Cunard Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth. He then spent twenty five years at sea, sailing on many other different shipping companies, he often jumped ship and lived ashore in many countries, Australia, New Zealand and then rejoining other ships to make his way home. When he tired of the sea he took a contract as rigger, working in the South African gold mines, from sailing the seas, then working two miles underground. He returned to England and worked as an engineer until an accident made him retire, he now lives in Lincolnshire. He started writing poetry after he retired and has been writing ever since. In 2007 he was voted poet of the year by an American web site, Echoes of My Heart. He continues writing novels and poetry.