inner west 15 minutes
The Drive
Bright sunshine dazzles and      out of the wind      warms
Blue tits explore the nest box         that hangs in the elder
Bang thud tinkle     builders come and go        and windchimes

inner west 15 minutes
The Drive Westfield Drive Parker Avenue Beechfield Road
Old bricks   dropping mortar     and crowned in ivy
The whine and growl of builders  ricochets around   hard to localise
In bright sun  passing walkers are well wrapped up  a chill wind blows

inner southwest 1 minute
The Drive Leslie Crescent
Bushes soften alleyway bricks          a child cries

inner northwest 2 minutes
The Poplars High Street Elmfield Road North Avenue
Green and blue       bins in a back-alley      Ivy drapes the wall
Pigeons peck at the cobbles      two display        one is lame

outer southwest 6 minutes
The Drive Moor Place Woodlands Woodlands Avenue Westfield 
 Grandstand Road
Back on rough grass     a lark sings beneath the wind
Distant figures   insect small       a lone runner strides
The smooth horizon north     prickles with buildings in the south

inner west 16 minutes
The Poplars High Street Elmfield Road North Avenue
A slate     slipped from a ridge      lies in the garage gutter
A man with two dogs     curious     stops to talk
The song of the reversing ambulance       echoes along the avenue
Marks on the window frame    beneath the eaves   possibility of a nest

outer north 12 minutes
The Poplars High Street Salters Road Elsdon Road Henry Street 
 Hedley Terrace
Tucked into the laurel as the rain begins    to the chat of sparrows
On the seventh floor   workmen shout     as they hand down planks
On a far skyline      jackdaws dot and shuffle

outer east 3 minutes
The Drive Moor Crescent Moorfield Little Moor Jesmond Dene Road 
 Osborne Road Mitchell Avenue North Jesmond Avenue Newbrough Crescent 
 Osborne Road St Georges Close
Tidying up the courts  a steady drone from over the broken-down fence
A remembrance garden crucifix gazes down

outer southwest 8 minutes
The Drive Moor Place Woodlands Woodlands Avenue Westfield Grandstand Road
A lark sings  from an unseen perch    somewhere in the rough grass
The squall hits        a chocolate labrador   comes to explore
Crows criss-cross the grassland below me

outer southwest 12 minutes
The Drive Moor Place Woodlands Woodlands Avenue Westfield 
 Grandstand Road
Down the hill  down the wind      comes the traffic noise
From nowhere   golden plover lift   a skylark     and then the merlin