Just a Minute
- Details
- Written June 2012
Without repetition, hesitation or deviation,
For 60 seconds on the subject: Just a Minute, starting now.
We’ve just heard Chopin’s Waltz which was planned
To be as precise in timing as this show,
But only a few manage to finish it in time.
Buzz - Deviation. The waltz uses three-four time – we don’t.
This show has a distinctly irregular rhythm
Well, that’s a little debatable,
But I’ll give you the benefit of the doubt
So a point for a correct challenge
And you continue the subject: Just a Minute
Without repetition, hesitation or deviation,
For 50 seconds, starting now.
Just a minute is what you say
When someone knocks on the bathroom door
And you’ve been there for ages, relaxing at the end of a day
Soaking in the tub after a tug-of-war
With the rest of the nation who think you can
Defeat an enemy, finish a bath
And sign the peace treaty all in
Just one Minute and ... a half.
Buzz - Hesitation.
Yes, I’m afraid that’s what happens when
You’re exhausted, managing to regain your rhythm,
But get stuck for a rhyme.
You get a point for a correct challenge
And continue the subject: Just a Minute
Without repetition, hesitation or deviation,
For 26 seconds, starting now.
Just a Minute is what you say
When you want your steak done rare
Juicy, crunchy, dripping blood on the way
So you stake your claim ......Buzz: Repetition. Steak again.
Well it sounds the same
But has a different meaning.
You get a point for an incorrect challenge
And continue the subject: Just a Minute
Without repetition, hesitation or deviation,
For 12 seconds, starting now.
Just a Minute is a radio word game
That’s been going for 45 years, no less,
With Nicholas Parsons rising to fame
As he’s chaired the panel without distress.
Buzz - Deviation. Without distress?
That’s impossible, sitting here between the four of us,
A cross between cricket umpire and rugby referee.
Well I’m going to give you a point for kindness
But it’s an incorrect challenge
Because Just a Minute is the highlight of my week.
I love it.
So carry on with the subject Just a Minute
Without repetition, hesitation or deviation,
For two seconds, starting now.
The midwife says Just a Minute before .....
Fweet!
That’s the end of the final round with .....
In joint second place all three of the contestants,
Other than Paul Merton who is today’s winner.
I suspect it takes more than just sixty seconds
To discover the poet within,
So in future I’ll suggest we just stick to our usual banter
When we play: Just a Minute.
June 2012
On watching a TV series in celebration of ‘Just a Minute’.