June, The Month that Melted Us
Welcome to the June edition of the News in Review poetry series. This is the first monthly review that I ever wrote, and I tried to stuff as much into it as I possibly could. Unfortunately, I can’t include everything, a lot happens in a month, and so there was far more to include than I had space to fit in this piece. But I have tried to include a balance of the good, the bad, the ugly, and the fun. June was hot! (At least it was in the UK.) Unbearably so. It left us all questioning where we might be in a few years time. Hopefully though, some of what follows will remind you that not everything is bad, even if June was starting to feel like the end of the world.
I will add a disclaimer that this piece was written by me; a British poet, and as such will be recording and commenting from news in a British perspective, which might mean some events you consider important from June 2025 are not included, and some things you have never heard of are more extensively covered.
It’s Bloody Hot Innit?
It’s bloody hot innit?
It’s Bloody Hot.
Hotter than June has any right to be
So hot that it didn’t even rain at Glastonbury.
A heatwave of apocalyptic proportions
Environmentally
And politically
Heat for Stamer,
Heat for Trump,
Heat in Gaza
Heat in the Ukraine
War is ravaging
And peace is failing.
Failing badly
All talks of ceasefires crumble
A prisoner exchange happens
As bombs and missiles rumble
Ukrainian drones hit Russian bases
Bridges are burned or bombed
And we don’t know where the blame is
Cause neither side will admit that it was them.
And World war three looms overhead again.
Palistine and Israel are at each others throats,
One of them wants peace
But only one…
Outside help appears
In the small Swedish package
Of Greta bearing aid
Diverted, delayed
Deported… Never actually arrives
Where she’s needed
Because of “Safety concerns”
Her life was their priority, they swore,
Because if they blew up Thurnburg
They couldn’t play the good guy card anymore…
Hunger still raging
Hunger for blood
One war not enough
New misslies thud
Into Tehran
Bombs to stop bombs,
To stop bombs
To stop bombs
Preventative strikes
They cry,
To a slap on the wrist
From their U.S. ally
“But Mr Trump they had a bomb.”
“Okay.” BOOM! “Now it’s gone,
And the fighting can stop”
It did….. Not…
“You started it”
“No you started it”
“No you started it”
“No you started it”
“I don’t care who started it, I’m finishing it.”
Riots break out in France… again
Riots break out in Ireland… again
Riots break out in Spain….
More on that one later…
Riots break out in L.A.
New York, Chicago, and Maine
And most of the rest U.S.A.
That country knows how to partay.
Charlie is old
Can we get a Horray?
Troupes the colours for his big day,
Trump is old
But refuses to pass away
Tries to copy Charlie
Cause he wishes he was from the UK
But he gets it wrong
And looks like a tit….
Because he’s not….
Not a Brit… He is definitely a tit.
The king rolls out honours in celebration
Beckham gets one for services to a nation
He hasn’t lived in for almost a quarter of a century.
Tess and Claud keep dancing
To the tune of an MBE
For their work with charity,
And for keeping strictly on the TV
Gary Oldman, Elane Page,
And Luke Littler….
Which left me in a bit of a rage,
Because it means darts is officially a sport and I hate that….
I hate it
But most importantly,
And most deservedly
Carmela Chillery-Watson
11 years old
Fighting through pain
To campaign
For something that matters
Really matters.
Carmela Chillery-Watson *Clap*
A true British Champion.
Pouldland goes under
And is sold for a pound
Single use vapes are banned
But somehow still around
And they’re not the only thing
No ball game signs, Banned
Plastic wipes, Banned
Palestine action, Banned
Landfill, Banned
In Scotland
Now they’re exporting waste to England
To go with the rest of the garbage….
Reform wants to ban burkas
The government wants to ban furs,
Hungary tried to ban Pride
But it didn’t work
Because screw fascism!
And Trump is trying his hardest Not to ban tik tok
Half the population’s got a crick in the neck
And even though Wimbledon’s just started
It’s not because of the tennis.
Kier Starmers done more U-Turns than a Japanese drift racer
He’s a societal menace
The entire Labor party’s got whiplash
keeping up with the politics
But they’ve still managed more
Than Rishi’s Conservatives
Assisted dying legalized
Abortion Decriminalized
And being homeless can
No longer land you in prison.
200 years late,
But at least the change has arisen.
Half of Europe is in uproar
As tourists cause house prices to soar
Remember the riots in spain?
Most of the UK coast feels the same
And no one really likes the idea of Bezos
Renting the entirety of Venice
For his wedding….
Except Opra who was happy to attend the service
Like the stand up activist she thinks she is….
Hong Kong loses democracy
China lock up creators of literacy
As it cracks down on homosexuality
There’s TFA everywhere
Trump’s re building Auschwits…
Sorry Alcatraz…
And filling it with “Immigrants”
And alligators
Secretly hoping they’ll have it out like gladiators,
But trying hard to hide
That
Incase it interferes with his nobel peace prize…
Nice going Pakistan….
Less and less children vaccinated
As RFK has clearly stated
Its effect on the autism rate is.
Real…. Even though he has no proof
And the price of Freddos has gone through the roof
Not that you’d buy them in this heat anyway…
America Leagalizes A.I. scraping
Artists in upraor, and Disney are creating
A lawsuit against Midjourney
Disney’s not often the hero,
But for once I hope the mouse wins
Or It’ll be curtains
for the rest of us
No one is safe…
Not even Wimbledon’s judges.
And if that wasn’t bad enough,
Ireland beat Wales in the darts….
Honestly could a month get any more depressing
That was a rhetorical question
I don’t need an answer July…..
But it’s not all bad news
There’s still some blue in the sky
India for example are on a high
Now that women are officially women by law
And the ISS has and Indian astronaut
The search for Maddie McCann’s reebooted
The pulp are back, and did Glastonbury, suited
And Billie piper’s returned to Dr Who…
Who knew….
Maybe the future is looking bright.
Especially since MI6
Took Ian Flemming’s advice
And appointed a woman as chief!
Sorry, I tried to be brief
But I had to cover a lot
Oops, almost forgot
It was really
Really
Really
Really
Really
Really
Really
Really
Really
Hot
Is This the June You Remember?
Was there anything that you missed? Was there anything I missed and you think should have really been in there? Feel free to ask, share your thoughts, or reminisce with your comments.
Thank you for reading June 2025 – The News in Review. As with all poetry on my website, this piece is free to enjoy, however if you would like to thank me. Or want help make sure I can continue to write these news reviews. Please head over to my Ko-Fi. There you will be able to support me if you wish, either as a one off, or monthly. As well as purchase more of my poetry which is unavailable on this website.
And Of course, check back next month to read July’s Review. See if you can guess what it might contain.