Some Like it Hot - Designer Coffee Addiction

They say there is a Starbucks on every high street in the world. That means temptation is never too far away. The aroma of espresso wafts across the station concourse as I go to catch my train. Billboards and advertisements catch my eye and direct me like a lamb to the slaughter towards the coffee shop.

"Regular Americano with milk please".

"Would you like a pastry with that sir."

"No thanks. I can't really afford the coffee nevermind that pastry."

We have all been there. The coffee habit is almost irresistible. If the caffeine hit doesn't get you then the smell of the coffee plus the advertising will almost certainly mean that you will never escape temptation.

Designer coffee isn't cheap. A months worth of Americano could feed a third world village for a year. The western world has fallen in love with coffee shops. Global mega business has sprung up on the back of our cappuccino cravings.

In a world recession you don't see many coffee shops going out of business. The coffee craze has turned us into latte junkies.

Working full time there is not too much time left over to write. I get out of bed at 6 AM every day to write. I catch the underground and a main-line train to get to my office. I always carry a small notebook with me. You never know when inspiration will hit you. This poem was written on the train.

I am the odd one out in a carriage full of people on their phones and iPads and kindles. They look at me scribbling in my notebook and I think they are thinking, is he writing about me? Their paranoia is correct sometimes though on this occasion my muse was the coffee cup in front of me.

I'm a coffee cup, go on, pick me up.

Dressed spic and span by a marketing man,

I give beverage bliss to good to miss

I'm hot and I'm warming and come with a warning,

If you cause me to spill I could maim scar or kill,

All part of the thrill.

You can't really afford me and you bought me becuse you are lazy.

I'm a self indulgent luxury but your convinced I'm a necessity.

So go ahead have your fun,

Get your caffeine fix while you're on the run.

Don't feel guilty I'm not a sin,

Just spare me a thought when you chuck me in the bin.

If you make our documentary based on a poem in my book that makes it an odeumentary. My partner came up with that name so I can't take credit for it.

The video was made using a cell phone. My phone is a Nokia Lumia 610. It's about the cheapest smart phone you can buy, but it is perfect for filming in situations where you don't wants to attract attention.

The phone records VGA video. It's not the best but it gives a feel of being a fly on the wall documentary.

I have an old white 2009 13 inch MacBook that I edit on. You can synch the phone to the laptop easily with the Windows 7 app. Then I use iMovie 11 to edit the footage together and export for upload. Because it's VGA the files are small and easy to upload.

Sound recording with the phone is okay it's not top quality but like the video footage it has that fly on the wall edge to it. I was lucky enough to be walking past a pub which had karaoke blaring from the open door. So I stood outside with the smokers for a few minutes and recorded the guy singing which seemed to fit perfectly with the 'good life' theme of the poem.

If you already have the words of your poem they can act like a shooting script. Because there is hardly any time to go looking for situations you have to film whatever presents itself. This is another reason why a cell phone is so good you only have to press one button and you can be filming without anybody realising.