No M or P please

What sounds like a duck but isn't a duck?

Unless it were a duck that fell out of a hot air balloon and landed at the top of a tree.

I took Daughter on the walk to Ilston that Toby and I explored last week and that's where we heard the duck in the tree.

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After seeing a woman in the library with a book journal I bought one for myself. I can check it to find out if I've read a particular book before - unless, as sometimes happens, I didn't write it in my journal.

That aside, I have noticed two interesting things:
I read more books beginning with M (I ignore 'The' or 'A') than any other letter;
I DNF (did not finish) the last four books I borrowed that began with P.

My M collection has taken over all of O and is spreading into the end of N. And the books prior to the last four P all only scored 3 or 3.5 *. 

From this I deduce I should avoid books beginning with P, and for the sake of my journal, M.

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For Christmas Daughter gave me The Magic Words by Joseph Fossano. Its tag is, "Unlock the poetry that lives inside you."

Yesterday afternoon we had writing group and I got everyone to have a go at a few of the poems. It was amazing the variety we produced. Everyone grumbled a bit but all eventually conceded it had been interesting and helpful. I saw progress in a couple of people so I was very pleased. For myself the exercise proved that I do not have poetry living inside me - unless it is buried deep in those miles of intestine.

Because my printer wasn't working I had to write the templates on a flipchart and, in case you'd like a go, here they are.

I suggested to the group that they could take away their basic poems and fill them out, because it wasn't always easy fitting in exactly what was required. But I doubt they'll do that! Although we have one lady who is very poetic and descriptive in her writing so it would be interesting to see her expanded version.