So this is what happens when I sit down to write

A free evening, and it’s a couple of hours until Downton Abbey (I’ll start watching it at 9, pause it at 9.01 so it starts recording, then start watching it at 9.15 and I can fast forward thru all the ad breaks – sorted!) So I think ‘I’ll dig out some old poem and giveRead more ⟶

Pighog night in aid of breast cancer charity

A very good evening yesterday at the Redroaster in Brighton: always lovely to hear Charlotte Gann reading, including some of the goodies familiar to me from her pamphlet ‘The Long Woman’ and some new poems I’d had the privilege of seeing ‘in development’. And she looks so striking under the lights! The photo is takenRead more ⟶

Please do not put me on after 9.30pm

The autumn poetry scene has swung into action. On Wednesday evening Clare Best hosted an evening of readings at the Needlemakers – something enjoyable from all the readers, a good mix including Jackie Wills, John Davies and Clare herself. I enjoyed it all but I do tend to very suddenly have a concentration crash atRead more ⟶

Brighton Pecha Kucha Night

Last Friday I was one of the presenters at Pecha Kucha Night at the Lighthouse in Brighton. If you’re not familiar with what it’s all about: Pecha Kucha (or PK for short, let’s say) apparently approximates to the Japanese for ‘chit chat’, and it was devised by a firm of american architects based in Japan, whoRead more ⟶

Smith, McCullough, Curtis, Lasky at the Red Roaster

Lovely evening last week at the Red Roaster in Brighton, for the launch of Abi Curtis’s new collection The GlassDelusion. Not too crowded, some familiar faces and a really nice selection of work being read. I’ve a soft spot for Abi ever since she and I were involved with the University of Sussex ‘Poetry Soc’Read more ⟶