I shouldn’t be writing a blog post today. I had managed to secure tickets in this year’s ballot for the first day of the test series against the West Indies at Lords, where I have never been for a match before. In the grand scheme of things, it’s not a big deal. But it was something I had been so looking forward to. Especially as today is my 26th wedding anniversary. Oh how I miss…
Second post today – this time to flag the deadline for Write Out Loud’s current poetry competition (which is today). The competition, which is free to enter , is looking for entries on the theme of the Covid-19 crisis. Donations are requested for the NHS Charities appeal should you decide to enter. The competition can be found at www.writeoutloud.net/beyondthestorm
A quick post to share an event this weekend that I am performing at (virtually obviously) Campfire.World is an online festival running from today, Friday 19th , through to Sunday 21st June. Full details can be found at Campfire World https://www.campfire.world/?fbclid=IwAR0l2Ox1snVwTyMVyamkl73ozX2Ju46GVLKW7m1dZ2El6NHkzq4P-eAX-WA Lots of great acts, talks and events. I’m appearing as part of the Front Room series of events on Sunday afternoon – under my stage name “plus many more” :-). You can download the…
We truly are living through momentous times. Of course this may be just a foretaste of what is to come over coming decades, but still it seems that something is changing, has changed. Perhaps permanently. Blindfolds have slipped a little to reveal a world as it really is. How do we as poets respond to events such as these? How do we write with credibility about events for which we have no personal experience. Maybe…
A quick post today, just to mention an impressive new directory of poetry, set up by Colin Bancroft. Have a browse at https://www.poetsdirectory.co.uk Lots of poems from featured collections,(including one of mine), magazine links, publishers etc. Plus there is 192, a new online magazine worth submitting to.
Built in 1932, HMS Swordfish was one of the first batch of S-class submarines to be built. With a normal crew of thirty-six, these were primarily designed for British coastal patrol duties, and as a consequence were smaller and far more vulnerable than later boats (in naval parlance submarines are always known as boats, not ships). Of the twelve that started the war, only three made it to V.E. Day. After eleven relatively uneventful patrols,…