Maintaining a Foothold in Modern Times

A combination of turning eighty with the onset of covid stopped me in my tracks, prompting me to ponder on the vicissitudes of modern living together with echoes of a vanishing past. ‘Maintaining a Foothold’, a collection of a hundred-or-so verses appeared as the outcome, reflecting my struggle in getting to grips with the frenetic nature of living in today’s world.

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Maintaining a Foothold in Modern Times · Limited Edition

Maintaining a Foothold in Modern Times · Limited Edition

Book cover of 'Maintaining a Foothold in Challenging Times' by Antony Le Fleming, featuring an illustration of a person balancing on one leg surrounded by plants, with a blue patterned background.
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This work showcases Antony’s ability to navigate the complexities of modern life while drawing from a rich tapestry of past experiences. ​

Full synopsis of the book:

Octogenarian Antony le Fleming ruefully attempts to come to terms with today's mystifyingly changing and challenging world, highlighting its many contradictions and absurdities.

Looking back over his shoulder he conjures up his early years, bringing to light nostalgic echoes of a vanishing post-war age.

Sample of my favourite poems

  • I love the constancy of trees

    Their immutable presence

    Breathing the essence

    Of continuity

     

    In winter, stalwart and unyielding

    Sturdy together

    Withstanding all weather

    Against adversity

     

    In spring, they are life transforming

    Offering hope

    Fresh energy, scope

    Optimistically

     

    In summer, taken for granted
    But they’re there

    Like a prayer

    To eternity

  • You no longer need a girlfriend for real

    Just throw yourself under AI’s spell:

    Anything within your imagination

    Can be conjured up for your delection.

     

    Short or tall, blonde, brunette

    May now be acquired on the internet:

    Demure or assertive, false or true

    Can be synchronized ready for you.

     

    The degree of intimacy is yours to condition

    Depending on your disposition:

    You needn’t convene or even touch

    If that all seems a bit too much.

     

    You’ll be able to stay comfy at home

    Make your moves via the online zone:

    You won’t even have to actually meet

    Or envisage the patter of tiny feet.

  • The other day I had an inkling

    I could benefit from ‘Smart Thinking’.

    So off to Waterstones, with shelves galore

    Inviting study of this and more.

    I went along with the objective

    Of gaining a positive perspective –

    How to notch my life up a gear,

    Proceed intrepidly, without fear.

    I trod wary of sudden revelation

    That could throw me into consternation.

    Authors ranged from the professorial

    To smiling females, winsomely tutorial.

    Which might possibly be a winner,

    Pass on to me, a rank beginner

    How to sidestep life’s palaver

    Lead me on to find Nirvana?

    ‘How not to go wrong’ appealed to me,

    (I’m sure my wife would readily agree.)

    ‘How to teach philosophy to your dog’ begged the question,

    Had the book been put in the right section?

    A novel entitled ‘Sorrow and Bliss’ –

    Was this something I could afford to miss?

    ‘Skin in the game’ evinced a smile,

    ‘Trans Britain’ made me run a mile.

    Soon I discovered I’d had enough,

    Needed to escape the heavy stuff.

    Does it occur to no-one that a good laugh

    Can put one onto an upward path?

    Escaping any more virtuous contamination

    Following this literary examination,

    I upped and left away from harm

    With ‘Alice in Wonderland’ under my arm.