5 favorite Les Barker poems

Subject: Folklore: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: bradfordian
Date: 04 Feb 12 - 08:13 AM

Voicemail
Shipping Forecast
Cosmo, the fairly accurate knife thrower
Any news of the Iceberg?
Hard Cheese of Old England
Amnesia
The Lonely Little Lemming
Custard Creams
Sparky's Magic Contraceptive
Sloop John A
Guide Cats For The Blind
Breaking Wind Suddenly
Cutty Wren
Dashunds with erections.........

Alright, I'd better stop there..........

so what's your 5 favourite Les Barker Poems

Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: Charley Noble
Date: 04 Feb 12 - 09:15 AM

So hard to narrow it down!

How about adding the "Three Bears"?

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: Acorn4
Date: 04 Feb 12 - 11:30 AM

The Church of the (W)holly Undecided.
Mark the Herald Angel
Desiderata
The Law of Unclear Physics
Amnesia

Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: Pete Jennings
Date: 04 Feb 12 - 11:41 AM

I like the one about him not being able to find his invisibility cloak...

For US 'catters, Les Barker performs in folk clubs and his act is standing there reciting incredibly his funny poems. Absolutely hilarious.

Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: Charley Noble
Date: 04 Feb 12 - 11:59 AM

There's also "History Man" for a more sober one.

Charley Noble

Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: The Sandman
Date: 04 Feb 12 - 01:06 PM

"For US 'catters, Les Barker performs in folk clubs and his act is standing there reciting incredibly his funny poems. Absolutely hilarious."
I do not find his parodies very funny and find his poems variable, some are quite funny and others mildly amusing, but then humour is a very subjective matter,I do not find them hilarious at all.
now John Foreman is someone I find a spontaneous quick witted hilarious entertainer.

Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: GUEST
Date: 04 Feb 12 - 01:59 PM

Invisibility cloak... that must be a more recent one. I only remember him not being able to find his camoflage net...

Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: Herga Kitty
Date: 04 Feb 12 - 02:44 PM

I think a few US Catters have heard Les, because he's toured there (though he's had some visa problems on account of having criticised some of the Government's policies and actions...).

I can't narrow the choice down to 5 - I agree with all of Bradfordian's choices, to start with!

Kitty

Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: vectis
Date: 04 Feb 12 - 03:34 PM

Have you got any news of the iceberg.
Guide cats

Oh! to Hell with it!

Most of them

Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: bradfordian
Date: 04 Feb 12 - 04:18 PM

An Infinite Number of Occasional Tables
Desiderata
Ben Kenobi
Heavy Plant Crossing
The Weakest Link

Les has a couple of his poems on his website.
Here
And if you want some reminders, there are also some
Audio samples

Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: GUEST,Tinker from Chicago
Date: 05 Feb 12 - 12:16 AM

Doesn't anyone but me like the one about the homing phoenix?

Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: GUEST,AEOLA
Date: 05 Feb 12 - 10:17 AM

I love them all, my main problem is that when I read them out they don't sound half as funny!! Maybe that's ''the good soldier's'' problem??

Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: Crowhugger
Date: 05 Feb 12 - 10:46 AM

What vectis said.

I'm probably not the only Canadian who discovered him thanks to CBC radio. I don't qite recall which show, maybe Definitely Not the Opera or Richardson's Roundup. Or could've back in the days of Eclectic Circus.

Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: bradfordian
Date: 05 Feb 12 - 01:19 PM

There is indeed a poem called "I can't find my invisibility cloak" as well as "I can't find my camoflarge net"

OK, 5 more (last Time!)

The Lost Elephants of Denbigh
Send In The Cones
Je Ne Sais Quoi
My husband has no porridge in him
The Ballad of Cosmo McGrew

Timing, intonation, innocence? and a sprinkling of good old SoH.
Of course Les' material won't appeal to everyone. For them as does, enjoy!

Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: Roughyed
Date: 06 Feb 12 - 01:17 AM

Spot the Zebra
There is a Rose in Lower Crumpsall
The Altrincham Line
Time Travel
Self Assessment

Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 06 Feb 12 - 06:13 AM

Spot of the Antarctic

Subject: RE: 5 favorite Les Barker poems
From: G-Force
Date: 06 Feb 12 - 01:33 PM

I particularly like the book titles: The Hound of Music, The Twa Corgis, The Extraterrierestrial ... the list goes on.