Wednesday, 29 January 2020

Burns Pastiche from 2019

Tess o’ Westminster  or

Sham no Banter

 by Louise Ramsay


When Oor Theresa leaves The House
And nosy journalists wi’ nouse
Pit questions tae her in the street,
Her answers, polished, aye sae neat
Are jist as rigid as her plan
The one she’s tried so hard to ram
Doon MPs throats wi’oot success
How does she stay sae cool and fresh?
While loud Remainers in the square
Ca’ for a People’s Vote that’s fair
And MPs from her own back bench
With far less loathing of the French
And Germans than the other rebels
Are busy cooking up mair troubles
And join with Jeremy to demand 
A guarantee to countermand
A No Deal Brexit - and defer
The deadline, kenning  she’d prefer
That to Nae Brexit.  Whit a mess!
Pair Theresa May. Pair Tess!

Oh Tess! Had’st thou but been sae wise
An ta’en thy own dear Phil’s advice
He tauld thee well thou was a skellum
A blethering, blustering, racist blellum,
That as Home Secretary had sent 
Aboot the racist vans in Kent,
And London, Essex, Tonbridge Wells
Oxford, Cheltenham, the Yorkshire Dales
To trust that Boris was a folly
HIs lies on buses! Aff yer trolley! 

Phil prophesied that late or soon, 
Tae think aboot it made him fume,
Thou would be found deep drown'd in shit;
His own Theresa, slim and fit 
Keeping company in the bars
An’ meetings in their armoured cars
Wi Westminster’s maist sleekit fowk.
Tae think of them it gars him boak.
Ah, gentle dame, it gars him greet, 
Tae see the company ye keep.

Loud, deep, and lang, the internet roared
Through Twitter, Facebook till you’re bored: 
You’d think, a child might understand, 
The Deil had business on his hand.
Weel mounted on her private plane 
A better never lifted wing-- 
Tess skelpit on o’er dub and mire;
Despisin' wind and rain and fire. 
Whiles holding fast her Tory bonnet; 
Whiles crooning o'er some English sonnet; 
Whiles glowring round wi' prudent cares, 
Lest Europe catch her unawares: 
Brussels was drawing nigh, 
Whare Eurocrats do nightly cry
In Tess’s mind.  She crossed the channel, 
And listened to their cant and flannel;
Those Eurocrats sae drear an dour
There, in Brussels Barnier smoor’d
Her ca’ for changes tae her deal.
Poor Tess, she tried sae lang and weel!
And flying back she’s tired and weak
And fa’s into the deepest sleep,
And dreams a dream, the strangest dream
A dream filled a wi foulest fiends.
She hears, in Westminster’s auldest bar
As she strides boldly up the ha’
Some loud resounded mirth and dancing.
And there she’s spotted Boris Johnson
His wild hair flying in a jig
It’s clear he disnae gie a fig.
What dangers thou canst make us scorn! 
Wi' tippeny, we fear nae evil; 
Wi' usquabae, we'll face the devil!-- 
The thoughts sae reamed in Tess’s noddle, 
Fair play, she faced the deils wi bottle. 
She ventured forward on the light; 
And, vow! Tess saw an unco sight
Warlocks and witches in a dance; 
Nae cotillion brent-new frae France, 
But hornpipes, jigs strathspeys, and reels, 
Put life and mettle in their heels. 
By stained glass windae in the east, 
There sat Rupe Murdoch, in shape o' beast; 
A towzie tyke, black, grim, and large, 
To gie them music was his charge: 
He scre'd the pipes and gart them skirl, 
Till roof and rafters a' did dirl.-- 
And though the bar is dimly lit, 
Below a filament bulb they sit 
By which heroic Tess was able 
To note around the drinking table,
Weel intae a drinking game
Wi usquabe - their claes all gaen - 
And weel awa wi cant an blether
- They had been fu for hoors thegither -
David Davis, Farage, Banks
The European Research Group, in their pants!
Michael Gove, Jacob Rees-Mogg
(Their faces jist like owl and hog)
Besides some ither low life rabble
That kept their comp’ny at their table
A thief, an MP charged wi rape, 
And even now his flies did gape; 
Three lawyers - their tongues, turn'd inside out, 
Wi' lies seam'd like a beggar's clout; 
Three bishops - hearts, rotten, black as muck, 
And stinking, vile in every neuk.
As Tess glowr'd, amaz'd, and curious, 
The gruesome sicht grew fast and furious; 
The piper loud and louder blew; 
The dancers quick and quicker flew; 
They reel'd, they set, they cross'd, they cleekit, 
Till ilka MP swat and reekit, 
Dave coost his undies to the flair, 
And danced aroond wi buttocks bare
Oor Tess, she’d never seen the like
Her Brexiteers in sic a light!
Then Boris ca’d in peremptory bark
‘Another flask of  Cutty Sark!’
They passed it roon, a’ took a slug
Farage, Johnstone and Rees-Mogg
As Murdoch played, they danced aroon
Tae every nuance o’ the tune.
She ca’d oot ‘Boris! Jacob! Dave?
This is no time to dance a rave!’
But never did they heed her aince
They pranced aboot at greater pace
They looked like dafties in their pants
But paid no heed tae a’ her rants.
The penny drops, she mutters ‘No,
It’s to the Chamber I must go,’
Still in her dream, still here in Blighty
She’s feeling regal, high and mighty,
Tess sees herself, forever bolder
Riding high on Maggie’s shoulder!
She sees her chance to get her deal
Through Parliament while these men reel.
She hurries quickly doon the ha’
Her high-heels echo off the wa’
She’s on the benches making speeches
She pleads, implores, cajoles and preaches,
Her time is short for she mun get
O’er the line ere it’s too late
Afore the Brexiteers cam back
Fae drunken dancing wi that hack.
(This is her life’s work, no’ her hobby!)
The Members a’ pass through the lobby
And in her dream she wins the ballot
Even Arlene’s team are gallant.
The Labour Perty asks her pardon
She’s through by an enormous margin!
In her triumphant leader’s bark
She ca’s out ‘Well done Cutty Sark!’
And in an instant all is light -

She wakes up on her private flight.
Pair Tess. Awa home fae th’ airport 
Phil asks her “Did get the deal you sought?”
She says  “I told him - you must simply drop 
That ridiculous  backstop,
And then I’d win it  with a song,
But bloody Barnier said “Non.”’





Burns Pastiche from 2018

ADDRESS TO A POTUS by Louise Ramsay


Fair fa your orange faketan face
Great chieftain o’ the human race
Aboon them a’ ye tak yer place
Paunch, tripe an’ tweet,
Weel are ye worthy o’ my grace
As lang’s a week.


Piers, Nigel, a’ your golden shower
Ye gather in your massive tower -
To satirise this mighty power
Would be atrocious.
Sic modesty!  Ne’er swaggering
Or braggadocious. 


The groaning snowflakes aye ye’ll irk
Wi yer plans for makin’ a things work
Fae’ firing staff ye’ll never shirk
Like Steve’s fake news,
Ye’ll flush them oot whe’er they lurk
An tak yer dues.

Ye are the brightest by a mile
Nae fire, nae fury and nae guile
The things you say are rarely vile
Mike Wolff is  bitter
And enviously views your style
And skill wi’ Twitter


Yer yellow hair’s sae fine and thick
On your smooth pate it lies sae slick
It’s natural colour - a great pick
For a young manny
Yer enemies would tak the mick
Except they cannae.


Yer foreign policy, sae wise
Ye challenge Kim and mock his size
World peace will clearly be the prize
For sic a line
As this: ‘Your war-heed isnae half
As big as mine is.’


Although you ne’er touch a dowd
O’ lovely ladies you draw a crowd
A wee bit gropy, maybe, and loud
(Though Harvey’s gropier)
But only beauties are allowed
In your Utopia.




Yer way wi women is weel famed
For pussy grabs, they’ll gae insane
Clapped wi a ‘medium’ nieve they’re tamed
And on their back …
At bedtime, aye a willing dame
An a Big Mac.

Though Jared spoke wi Russian spies
An’ aboot the election strategised
And Vladimir’s a great bunch of guys -
There’s been confusion.
In spite of a’ appearances,
There’s nae collusion. 

Your immigration policy
For international harmony
We’ll a’ feel like ane family
This is your goal.
Ye’ll mak’ sure that lot bide at hame
In their shit-hole.

Is there that owre his French Macron
Or Merkel, that wad fright a mon,
Or May scrabblin’ tae get Brexit done
Wi frantic fever
Look doon wi sneering spitefu’ scorn
On sic a leader?

Proud son o Lewis, twas in the runes,
Ye’d stabilise the Menie Dunes
An trample on the local loons
And Greens and Commies,
For a game of gowf wi a yer goons.
Ye trumped us dummies!

Your mental health is quite superb,
You never tak a pill or herb
In spite o’ whit they journo-perves
Say, - Its heinous!
The Congress and the Senate serve
A stable genius.







For Burn's Night 2020

Brits wha hae 

By Louise Ramsay

Brits wha hae wi Nelson bled
Brits by Boris ably led
Welcome to your Brexit bed
And to poverty!

Now’s the day and now’s the hour
See the front o Brexit lour
See the end of EU power
Claim your sovereignty!

Stem the flow of migrant work
Halt investment in your works
Stop those foreign student jerks
Screw the economy!

Now to fix the NHS
Trust Boris to do what’s best
Go - EU doctors and the rest
Brits can do or die

Free from EU ‘Flus and bugs
(Also EU food and drugs)
Brits will celebrate wi’ hugs
The freedom they will see!

Wha will be a traitor knave?
Wha will fill a coward's grave?
Wha sae base as be a slave?
Let him turn an flee.

Free from rule of Eurocrats
Free from EU food and rats
Foreign languages and prats
Tak your liberty!

No more right to live abroad
Or workers rights we can’t afford
Or green protections across the board
Stem the misery!

End the EU’s book o rules
Health and Safety Protocols
Industry, research and tools
Have a cup of tea!

No more need to deal with knobs
No more markets, cash or jobs
From rights to hold an EU job,
Britons shall be free! 

Scots were raised when Boris won
(Scots wha don’t want Brexit done)
Nicola ca’ed to every one 
Come and follow me!


So Brexiteers may find your freedom
Freer e’en than you could dream on
Free of Scots you’re no sae keen on
Here’s tae liberty!


Tuesday, 14 July 2015

Back in the autumn of 2006  I was asked to write some lines for my brother-in-law's Civil Partnership with his Taiwanese partner Kuei-Lin to read at the celebration.  This was how it went. 

The Ballad of Nigel and Kuei-Lin.

Hunting amidst packets and bottles and tins,
(Soya beans Nigel’s quarry, chicken tikka Kuei-lin’s).
Nigel caught Kuei-lin’s eye, held his gaze for a while,
In Sainsbury's, The Angel - the ready-meals’ aisle.

What did Nige see in that lingering glance?
Did he know he could sing?  Did he know he could dance?
For Kuei-lin had once, in distant Taiwan
In an all-male Swan Lake, danced the part of a swan.

Nige stood in the queue, and the child in front stumbled
The time hurried by – the checkout girl fumbled
But Kuei-lin had gone through – would he wait?  Would he wait?
Or hurry off home to Nottinghill Gate,
Or Barnsbury, Kentish Town, Hampstead, or Cheam
Had Nige really seen him?  Or was he a dream?

He did not know yet, as his poor heart was thrumming
That Kuei-lin had once been an expert at drumming,
The drummer-in-chief to Taiwan’s combined forces
At their annual review of men, tanks and horses.

Nigel watched while his bachelor shopping was scanned,
His foot tapping tensely, his Switch-card in hand,
Would the hanging around just have taken too long?
Would he be on the pavement, or would he be gone?

Heading off, crossing continents as he’d done in the past
Overland from Taiwan he’d come, not travelling fast.
As he passed through Moscow they attempted a coup
But Yeltsin got back in and Kuei-lin got through.

He began to learn singing when studying in France
And progressed on to opera from modern dance,
And then headed for England  to continue his training
And quite liked the climate even when it was raining.

As the tired check-out girl swiped his card in slow motion
Nigel was struggling with powerful emotion -
“Perhaps he’s gone off to Heathrow to jump on a jet?
Oh he won’t have gone, can’t have gone – don’t be gone yet
For we’ve only just … hardly yet …. haven’t quite met!”
(Those that know Nigel will know he can fret)

But what Nigel did not know, or at least not that day
Was when Kue had reached London, he’d decided to stay
He had loved London, especially the Proms,
And swimming in Hampstead’s all-male swimming pond.

To Nigel, who’d followed a lifestyle of caution
(An accountant in London, amassing his portion)
And came from a family so British and normal,
Conventional, stable, perhaps a bit formal –

(A financial advisor in London – one brother
And a stick-in-mud dyed-in-wool farmer the other
To an Edinburgh lawyer is married his twin)
What could be more different from artistic Kue-lin?

Yes, Nigel, a Warner, had gone a safe way
But perhaps he was yearning for drama that day.
Had he glimpsed in that moment, oriental adventure?
And freedom from Shell’s enslaving indenture?

Did he know that quite soon he would set himself free
And become so much more of what he could be
And swim in that Hampstead pond, flexing his muscles
Director of ILGA, flying to Brussels -

Campaigning for gays, over here, oversea,
To have rights and freedom, and equality
That his campaigns would lead to the fact that today
You can register your partnership, if you’re gay.

Did he foresee that he’d change  his house for a palace
With a shrine dedicated to Maria Callas -
And Taiwanese cooking from a hot wok
And a garden of roses and night-scented stock.

Did he know what was coming, though maybe not yet
Because of the stranger he hadn’t quite met?
Would Islington’s Angel now intervene
With a miracle?  Wait, and all will be seen.

Nigel has hurriedly bagged up his stuff,
Will Kue-lin have waited?  Has he been fast enough?
He steps out on the pavement, his composure in rags
His heart thumping wildly, in his hands Sainsbury’s bags.

But Kue-lin has waited, so sure and so calm
The way Nigel’s heart leaps could do him some harm.
And what happens next? Well let’s leave it a mystery -
It’s better that way.  And what follows is history.