The poor weather has meant I’ve not been spending time in the garden as I normally would at this time of year. Still too cold to plant out courgettes and tomatoes! So instead I’ve been keeping myself out of mischief with ‘deskwork’… A poet friend whose website I created a few years ago has askedRead more ⟶
Category: Podcast
Been reading and about to read…
I recently took advantage of a World of Books Buy 3 Get One Free offer on books under a fiver, and today they arrived – Matt Haig’s The Midnight Library, which sounded intriguing, two books by historical fiction writers (research for the blockbuster I’m writing!) and The Beauty, a poetry collection by Jane Hirshfield. AlthoughRead more ⟶
Festive reading and giving
The concerts are over – Sunday’s Lewes Singers event was a major thrill, and it was lovely and amazing to see Claire Booker there – of all my local poet friends, none has ever been interested in coming to hear beautiful choral singing, so Claire is a real one-off! As the year closes out I’mRead more ⟶
Subs, pods and mags
It’s been a busy couple of weeks but I’ve allowed myself time off to decorate the Christmas tree, which is always a joy. Next job: Christmas cards (yes, we still enjoy sending – and receiving – them! One analogue tradition I can’t bring myself to give up…) I did manage to get a pamphlet submissionRead more ⟶
Self-sabotage, womansplaining and other poetry joys
I should be preparing for a recording session this afternoon, for a Planet Poetry episode that’s going out on Thursday, but I’m feeling a bit guilty about neglecting this blog. So herewith a quick update. Subheadings are here to help you skip forward (or skip it all if you so wish!) Reasons/excuses for not writingRead more ⟶
Oh hello! Quick catch up
What was I doing all last month? Mostly singing (I passed my Grade 8 with merit – hurrah!), the odd party (friends with birthdays and/or launches), gardening (what was possible with the scaffolding up), executor stuff for my sister, making jam & chutney from all the rhubarb, and seeing an old friend from my adidas/NikeRead more ⟶
Currently inspired by…
Writing inspiration comes in all shapes and sizes I suppose. I was recently at a Charleston Festival event (Sheila Hancock in conversation with Joan Bakewell – combined age 182 and a huge inspiration/advertisement for a good old age). But I digress. In the bookshop marquee I was casually browsing and came across a single copyRead more ⟶
Chewing the cud & going off-piste
A small window has opened up between sinus headaches for me to write an overdue blog post… the cold-y sinus-y stuff prevented me from going to Hastings Stanza last week (BOO), but I still have plenty of positive things to report so please don’t leave yet… The Planet Poetry podcast has kept my busy lately,Read more ⟶
So this is Christmas, and what have I done?
Oh no! I can see I haven’t posted for several weeks, has there really been nothing to talk about? Let me see… First of all, nothing to do with poetry but my Covid experience was pretty mild in the end. So as far I’m concerned the jabs were worth it. Plus we’ve made it toRead more ⟶
Meet-ups, currently reading & other distractions
Nothing wrong with distractions, and goodness I’m certainly welcoming them with open arms. But scroll down if you’re only here for the poetry stuff. Distraction #1: Singing A couple of weeks ago I was at Westminster Abbey with members of the Lewes Singers, for the fifth time, where we sang two evensongs in a spookilyRead more ⟶