The Fool – My New Collection

Just preparing to set sail for Masson Mills, Matlock Bath in the Peak District for the launch of my new book, The Fool at the ninth Derwent Poetry Festival, hosted by the inestimable Alex McMillen of Templar Poetry.

I’ll also be running a poetry workshop at 10.30am on Saturday morning on the theme of collisions. If getting to the festival is an issue, due to living in New Jersey, Australia, or other good reason, and you’d like to have a go at this at home, you can find the details here.

At 2pm I’ll be reading from my new full collection, The Fool, which is also available to purchase from the Templar website, with, I believe, free postage and packing. It includes the award winning poems The Ancient Egyptian in the British Library and The Medieval Flood, plus many more. It’s a little darker in tone than some of my other books, but there’s still plenty of humour and surreal adventures aplenty. Hope you like the arresting cover, painted by an unknown Finnish artist two hundred years ago. Suitably spooky for Halloween, don’t you think?

Stop shopping and start living

Have you noticed how we spend most of our money in those large glass boxes on the edge of our towns? This is a new song about supermarkets. Avoid them if you can . . . buy local kids!

Introducing the superhero ukulele

Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s a superhero ukulele. Of course it is! And if you click on the picture, you’ll hear my new song about superheroes. You won’t believe your ears!

In The Plink – My Ukulele LP

Somebody once said, ‘if everyone played the ukulele the world would be a better place.’ It would also, I suppose, be rather too chirpy and perhaps a little annoying, but there’s no denying the special magic contained in those four strings.

Over the past three months I have done little but write songs and play the ukulele. On the face of it, this makes me sound rather idle. But I now have these songs to show for my adventure into musical hall eccentricity and here they are for you to enjoy. And if you don’t like the plink, there’s always the plonk.

The Radio 4 Song

The Jogging Song

The House of Our Dreams 

Simply Mad About Trad

The Age of Hats  

It Always Rains In Mundesley 

Pining for a Pudding 

Wait for the Thing to Go Ting 

What’s So Super About Superstores?

Superhero

Live reading: 19 October 2014

Jazz-Poetry. One or both of these words may strike fear into your heart, however, if you’re intrigued, read on . . . I’m performing at the Rhyme and Rhythm Jazz-Poetry Club on Sunday 19 Oct at 6pm. Dugdale Centre, 39 London Road, Enfield, EN2 6DS.

I rehearsed with the band last Sunday and they are not only the most musically accomplished, but the nicest gentleman you are ever likely to meet. Some great tunes, hopefully won’t be spoiled by me reading some poetry with the music.  See you there!