Not my time

[Lou]

A Santander cashier transferred a six-figure sum to a woman
who passed herself off as Gloria Hunniford, explaining she didn’t
know the TV personality because she was, ‘Not my time’.

You’re not my time, Jaxx says to me,
as if I’m Orville or Wilbur Wright,
Madame Curie or Bill and Ben;
........ not a lot to say then.

Silly of me to try and engage
Jaxx in a conversation that might
have touched on the plight of Everyman,
........ when clearly she’s not a fan.

Nothing I could possibly say
would be of interest to her, though
I might have hoped one of my time
....... could sweep away the grime

of ignorance, throw wide the door
and let her wonder what she’s for.

[Antcliff]

Good one, Lou.

Enjoyed theme and rhyme scheme.

The Wrights = nice touch.

My only quibble....and quibble it is...is that "grime of ignorance" metaphor seems slightly odd. It rather suggests that the ignorance is acquired when isn't it merely the lack of knowledge? Of course it could be that the "grime of ignorance" is not intended to be the lack of knowledge itself, but bad stuff that develops if the knowledge is not acquired. In which case, fair enough. But I thought the point worth mentioning.

Isn't it Santander?

Cheers,
Seth

[David]

It is a good one. I couldn't quite work out the rhyme scheme. Is this just me being thick?

I see what Seth means about the grime of ignorance. Is "grime" a bit too rhyme-driven?

But I like it, Lou.

Cheers

David

[Lou]

Thanks Seth,

I think ignorance can be expressed almost as a positive force, those people for instance who boast about not knowing anything about Art. Yes, of course it's Santander!

Best,
Lou

Thanks David,

The metric scheme is 4,4,4,3 for the first three stanzas, and the final couplet is tet again. I imagined the 'door of ignorance' being held shut by a long accumulation of dirt, litter, dead leaves etc. But as I have a fondness for the word 'grime' you are probably right, it is rhyme-driven.

Best,
Lou

[Firebird]

I like it! It's so important to have an inquisitive mind, and to find things which you are not familiar with interesting. Otherwise, you are not only ignorant but a bore too.

I agree that 'grime' does sound a bit rhyme driven, but it's a small point and I think the poem overall works well.

Good one.

Cheers,

Tristan

[Ros]

The only thing that confused me was whether I should know who Jax is, given that the poem's about a real event. I've come to the conclusion that I shouldn't. It's quite a metaphysical question to end with, starting from the idea of not knowing a celebrity, but I rather like the journey.

Ros

[Lou]

Thanks Tristan,

Yes, people with closed minds are often boring. We're all ignorant about some things but most of us have a smattering of general knowledge and we know who well-known people are. I felt sorry for Gloria labelled with, Not my time'. I'm waiting for someone here to say, Who's Gloria Hunniford?

Best,
Lou

Thanks Ros,

I've heard the insultingly dismissive 'Not my time' quite often recently, and I didn't want to point up the Santander woman (who's in enough trouble already) so I invented Jax - rogue spelling for Jacqueline, presumably.

Best,
Lou

[ray miller]

Not often I side with a bank, but the cashier's explanation seems entirely reasonable to me. I can't even remember what Gloria Hunniford is for. I found the ending a bit condescending, I'd prefer the poem minus the prologue and the last 6 lines.

[Lou]

Thanks Ray,

You may think the cashier's explanation was reasonable, but the police did not share your view and arrested her for fraud.

Best,
Lou

[Pauline]

Hey Lou.
I like this.
I'm crap at working out rhymn scheme.
However, I liked the context of this
but not the delivery.
I'm all for being direct.
Hey, I appreciate we are all different.
I jiggled your poem to suit me and understand it.
You may not like it, and that's ok.
Just thought I'd share it with you
and maybe you could consiser a few tweeks.
See what you think
It's offered in a friendy mannor.



I'm before her time,Jax says.
As if I’m Orville or Wilbur Wright,

Silly of me to try and engage
in a conversation that might
touch on the plight of Everyman,
when clearly she’s not a fan.

Nothing I could possibly say
would be of interest to her, though
I might hope my time could sweep
away the grime of ignorance

Throw wide the door
and let her wonder what she’s for.

[Lou]

Thanks Pauline,

I like your reduction, you've preserved the bits worth preserving, but I do feel you need the introduction to put things into context.

Best,
Lou

[ray miller]

Thanks Ray,

You may think the cashier's explanation was reasonable, but the police did not share your view and arrested her for fraud.

Best,
Lou

Creativity is far too often stifled in this day and age.

[bodkin]

Hi Lou,

Nicely written but I have a couple of bits I don't quite get.

Firstly the same question about "Jax" as others have had. Especially since it felt like a male name to me...

But the other but is the title itself. The phrase "Not my time" isn't one I know. Does it mean something like "not my responsibility" or "not my job"? I've really not heard it, if I was guessing I would think it meant "not my time _to_die_" e.g. a lucky escape or just that the end of somebody's life was a long way off...

Ian

[Lou]

Thanks again, Ray,

Creative crime is common in Sherlock Holmes stories but not alas in real life. There haven't been too many criminal masterminds (as there haven't been a lot of detective geniuses like Sherlock or Poirot).

Best,
Lou

Thanks Ian,

In Court the cashier actually said that Gloria Hunniford was 'Not of my time' as if poor Gloria had been dead for fifty years. It's a linguistic device used by young people (the cashier was actually 28) to distance themselves from anyone they consider to be grossly uncool. This is what got up my nose and why I wrote the poem. I agree 'Jax' could be M/F. Think it would look better as Jaxx actually.

Best
Lou

[JJWilliamson]

I also like this one, Lou

A contemporary sonnet with great rhythms.

The meter is fine and I enjoyed reading your poem. I remember when this story hit the news, at least I think I do, because I was nonplussed at the time.
I'm kind o' following your rhyme scheme but I'm not going to gripe.

What was the outcome? Did you say already?

For the sake of longevity you need the intro'.

Best

JJ

[bodkin]

Ah! Not _of_ my time I would have understood...

[Katherine]

A Santander cashier transferred a six-figure sum to a woman
who passed herself off as Gloria Hunniford, explaining she didn’t
know the TV personality because she was, ‘Not my time’. ... Unfortunately, she's mine.

You’re not my time, Jaxx says to me,
as if I’m Orville or Wilbur Wright,
Madame Curie or Bill and Ben;
........ not a lot to say then. Hey, Bill and Ben is recent!

Silly of me to try and engage
Jaxx in a conversation that might
have touched on the plight of Everyman, ....This made me think of the TV series 'Everyman', is that what you mean?
........ when clearly she’s not a fan.... I can't see where you had a conversation. Well, if she doesn't know Gloria Hunniford, chances are 'Everyman has escaped her.

Nothing I could possibly say
would be of interest to her, though
I might have hoped one of my time
....... could sweep away the grime

of ignorance, throw wide the door
and let her wonder what she’s for.

The baton has been passed and we're left in the dust - past it! Like Gloria, we are becoming irrelevant. Better to be a 'has-been' than a 'never-was', as my mother used to say.
This sounds like a rail against the ignorance of youth. I had a good laugh. The tide's coming in, Canute. x

[Lou]

Thanks again, Ian.

I reshaped the phrase a little - poetic licence.

Best,
Lou

Thanks Katherine,

I don't suppose I've seen Gloria Hunniford more than once or twice on TV but she comes across as a nice person.
Bill and Ben made their first TV appearance in the early 1950s.
Everyman featured in a 15th century morality play concerning the trials of the common man. Hence Everyman = Joe Soap.
Thought for the Day: We're all stupid when we're young (I was particularly stupid) but in the media, Arts and everyday life there is a creeping infantilism which is turning us into a society of morons.

Best,
Lou

[Lou]

Sorry jj, you asked about the outcome of the trial. The cashier was acquitted after 30 minutes and the Gloria Hunniford 'lookalike' is still on the run.

Best,
Lou

[Ros]

Sorry jj, you asked about the outcome of the trial. The cashier was acquitted after 30 minutes and the Gloria Hunniford 'lookalike' is still on the run.

Best,
Lou

Really? That's interesting. I thought the problem was more completely ignoring any bank procedures about security, rather than whether they recognised the person or not.

[ray miller]

Thought for the Day: We're all stupid when we're young (I was particularly stupid) but in the media, Arts and everyday life there is a creeping infantilism which is turning us into a society of morons.

Best,
Lou

There seems to be an assumption here that we all become less stupid as we grow older, which I really can't concur with.

[Lou]

Thanks Ros,

I think security procedures and the employment of competent staff are tied together. Santander has an appalling reputation where customer service is concerned. Hunniford's first name is Mary which the 'lookalike' duplicated on her forged documentation. The cashier said in court that she did not suspect the fraudster because 'she looked like a Mary'. Oh, dear!

Best,
Lou

Thanks Ray,

A deeply stupid person may not gain wisdom as they grow older, but fortunately the rest of us find that we do become wiser with age.

Best,
Lou