The Dog Who Bit The Ball by Pam Ayres

Listen to the wonderful Pam Ayres read one of the poems from her new book, Up In The Attic. Out now: bit.ly/UpInTheA....
With the same magic that has enchanted her fans for more than four decades, Pam’s new collection is by turns hilarious, reflective and profound. From the dubious joy of being an exhausted, panic-stricken hostess in ‘The Dinner Party’ or feelings of unease about pub tableware in ‘Don’t Put My Dinner on the Slate!’, to a poignant reflection of war in 'Down the Line'and the bittersweet nostalgia of ‘Up in the Attic’, this new collection will tickle and move readers in equal measure.

[@mads4it555]

Not lost anything over the years... I was only a kid when I first heard her, now I'm getting older but love her English humour so much. For me, there will never be another poet as good with her way with words, humour and clever observations. I adore you Pam. You should be The Poet Laureate Chief forever! ❤

[@paulbloom8847]

Just hearing her name brings a wide smile to my face. I love her

[@janecourtenay3676]

Pam Ayres is a genius! Love you Pam🥰

[@Fatima502]

Even though we knew the 'biscuit' was inevitable, it was still fun when it came

[@magnuswalker7957]

Happy 75 th birthday Pam, I reached that milestone two months before you, God its no fun getting old. Best wishes.

[@Blade56762]

Sweet, and I can imagine those thoughts going through his head. And also that he's contemplating the eternal question "Who's a good dog then?" and thinking "Not me, that's for sure!" I love Pam Ayre's poems and glad she's still on form.

[@carlitoalterego2709]

I LOVE PAM AYERS. Reminds me so much of my youth being ill with my Mum. When I'm ill I will always miss her. She got me in the dentist. (even though I screamed)(in the past ) She was there... God, how I miss her.💔💔💔💔💔💔💔 🌷MISS YOU MUM🌷

[@chrishannay3041]

Loved her books when I was young. Good poet x

[@llyngibson4160]

Poor little doggie, he wasn't to know. I'm so glad she gave him a biscuit.❤

[@annaread2843]

Thank you Pam Ayres - you always make me smile

[@sophiabrandner209]

Charming and brilliant

[@donnagoodwin5791]

I was having a bad day. Feel much better now. Many thanks Pam. I'm not surprised you are a Jack Russell owner, you need a cheeky sense of humour to understand one and that suits you very well xxx

[@user-gx5uk2xl2m]

What a Legend Pam is!

[@christinesmylie7059]

Wonderful....used to have a ball chasing Retriever!!

[@barrythompson]

Heard this today on Countdown, brilliant !!

[@lizard6444]

Brilliant! Love this

[@BUKCOLLECTOR]

Enjoyed your poems. And your unique word choices enhanced the poems emotional impact and kept me engaged throughout. I’m a poet specializing in Japanese forms: haiku, tanka, haibun, kyoka, senryu. I hope you don’t mind me sharing a tanka and my haiku, a tribute poem to Bashō’s frog with commentary by the late AHA founder and poet Jane Reichhold who considered my Basho haiku among her top 10 haiku of all time. What an honor. Here’s the Bashō poem and commentary: Bashō’s frog four hundred years of ripples At first the idea of picking only 10 of my favorite haiku seemed a rather daunting task. How could I review all the haiku I have read in my life and decide that there were only 10 that were outstanding? Then realized I was already getting a steady stream of excellent haiku day by day through the AHA forum. The puns and write-offs based on Basho's most famous haiku are so numerous I would have said that nothing new could be said with this method, but here Al Fogel proved me wrong. Perhaps part of my delight in this haiku lies in the fact that I agree with him. Here he is saying one thing about realism-ripples are on a pond after a frog jumps in, but because it refers back to Basho and his famous haiku, he is also saying something about the haiku and authors who have followed him. We, and our work, are just ripples while Basho holds the honor of inventing the idea of the sound of a frog leaping is the sound of water As haiku spreads around the world, making ripples in more and larger ponds, its ripples are wider-including us all. But his last word reminds us all that we are ripples and our lives ephemeral. It will be the frogs that will remain. ~~ And my tanka: returning home from a Jackson Pollock exhibition I smear my face with paint and morph into art ~~ -All love in isolation from Miami Beach, Florida, Al

[@TreasureHuntingNana]

Why isn't your best poem online??? will you take your children home before I do them in

[@johnloyns-meade1930]

she has lost not one iota of her talent

[@toni4729]

You big softie.😏