Well, the big day arrived for the Booming Lovelies at the Etcetera Theatre in Camden.
We got there early to the Oxford Arms where the Etcetera Theatre lived upstairs. Camden was vibrant and crowded while we had our – er business meeting!
With enough Gin inside us, we made our way upstairs at 2.30
’Our’ dressing room was bijou and delightful.
And then, at last, we were on! I adored that moody lighting and that we couldn’t see the audience! A real proper theatre again.
Our set went well on that tiny stage, and we had a great audience.
Downstairs we had our own production party. Gals on the inside, guys on the outside. I did my level best to merge them together!
Even the cold weather and manic pace of Camden could not spoil that afternoon. Thank you to all our friends for coming!
What a gig and occasion. Catch us on the 12th May at Cranleigh Book Festival. Can’t wait
Thanks for tuning in, PL’s. We’ll be back with more poetry action real soon…..
Racy title eh? Inspired by the enigmatic Alan Gregory, this is my attempt at a Shoa poem.
And who can resist writing about underwear?! And why do we get through so much of it?! This is a lament to the underwear we have loved and lost. Do read on…
Underlings
Knickers and bras
Grey and dusty
Once splendid
Your life ended
Fit for the bin
But keep in touch
Loose elastic
Loveless and slack
Uninviting
Unexciting
You’ve had your day
Don’t be strangers
Cotton gussets
So soft and new
Reassuring
Somewhat boring
Brings me new life
Give me a ring
My Petticoat
Grows discoloured
Their secret noise
Attracted boys
Now gone silent
Send a postcard
HEM 2026
So, did you think that was a fair assessment, PL’s? With the correct syllable count too!
Thanks for tuning in, PL’s. We’ll be back with more poetry action real soon….
Today we feature more of Dobby, and this time my poetry to her!
You may recall Dobby and her pals have shown us their side of it recently. This time, it’s the human’s turn.
The first piece is a free verse assessment of our felines that only a human pet can really know about….
A Cat Lover’s Lament.
In a sea of love you bask and bathe
The costly prepared food you munch
I would like to regard you as a friend
Purring as you let me stroke your fur
But let’s face it, we know who’s boss
Humans jump at your every command
Amazed how you actually bring comfort
Without a single trace of loyalty
HM 2022
The next cat section is a limerick. With a cat called Bobby involved…
There was a black cat called Dobby
Who teamed up with a feline called Bobby
They were after sardines
The stuff of their dreams
So they turned it into a hobby
Hm 2022
Don’t they sum up these impossible but loveable creatures?! I don’t go near limericks usually but I couldn’t resist this one! Any pet pieces of your own would be welcome.
Thanks for tuning in, PL’s. We’ll be back with more poetry action real soon….
Now settle down, PL’s because our esteemed guest today is the talented poet Mary Dickins!
(Audience cheer. Security look worried)
Mary! Welcome to the show.
(Cheering from the audience).
I love that crochet mini-skirt and those thigh length boots!
Now why don’t you fill us in on your background?
Thank you, Heather. You don’t think it’s a bit much?!
(Audience disagree wholeheartedly)
I was born in London in 1949 just after my family arrived from India to escape the chaos of partition.
We lived in a prefab just off the Old Kent Road. I had a turbulent childhood and was eventually taken into care when I was thirteen.
From leaving care at 16 until my late twenties I commenced what I now think of as the ‘vagabond years’ travelling and working across Europe and Middle East.
I returned to become a mature student at North London Polytechnic (now London Metropolitan University) and came full circle when I went to work there as a Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood in 2010.
In the mean time I became a writer and campaigner for equality and inclusion in education.
I am proud that I never let my difficulties in life define me and managed to have a loving family of my own and a successful career, but it definitely wasn’t easy.
Oh Mary, what a hard start you had in life but look how you turned it around! Inspirational!
(Audience applause in awe)
I’m quite sure it wasn’t easy at all.
When did poetry become a part of your life?
I remember writing my first rhyming poem when I was four and being very excited about it. It was a nonsense poem about a “man wrapped up in a pin”.
I loved a bit of Edward Lear at the time. I think writing and listening to poetry has always had the capacity to heal and uplift me.
However it wasn’t until I was sixty that I started sharing my work and taking myself more seriously as a poet.
Oh Lear! Isn’t he wonderfully eccentric, and has such a clever use of words?!
Yes, you effectively started a whole new life, didn’t you.
Who are your biggest influences?
There are so many poets that I admire, it’s hard to say but the Liverpool poets are definitely in there along with John Cooper Clarke and John Hegley.
I’ve always loved Maya Angelou and Grace Nichols for their ability to inspire great emotion with a few simple words.
Fantastic and inspiring names there, Mary.
Now, What is the best poetry gig you have done – and the Worst?!
My best gig was the launch of my second collection “Late Shift at the Pickle Factory”. I tried to create a proper party atmosphere and according to my guests I succeeded.
My worst gig was probably at a street party when a gale force wind threatened to blow me and my poems away.
I have had gigs where hardly anybody came and gigs where I felt I was in the wrong place but each time it has been a learning curve and led to new connections.
So I think there is probably no such thing as a bad gig.
Maybe you’re right, Mary. Any experience makes us stronger as poets.
I’m picturing you reading against gale force winds now!
Are you working on anything at the moment?
I am working towards another pamphlet at the moment but I am not the most prolific of poets.
I do courses at the Poetry School which keep me on track and give me a sounding board.
I was recently approached by a musician friend to write some lyrics which is exciting. I often write poems for family and friends. I’m up for anything really. Just ask.
And we certainly will! Thank you for being such a great guest!
(Rapturous applause and standing ovation)
Oh Dobby! I wondered where you were!
Well, I’d better shoot off, Heather. I’m – er – meeting someone outside the studio!
You’re going out with Dobby, aren’t you?! She’ll be after those boots you know! You’ll be going home barefoot!
She’s rumpled us, Dobby! Come on! Let’s leg it!
( Our esteemed guest legs it (cautiously) up the lighted staircase. Dobby darts after her, eyeing Mary’s boots!)
Wasn’t Mary a terrific guest, Poetry Lovers?! A very intelligent and innovative poet. Do look at her work, it’s wonderful.
Thanks for coming to the Talk Show, PL’s. We’ll be back with more poetry action real soon
Today we are back in the Cat corner, and Dobby’s close pal Perry has joined in solidarity with her recent view point.
Every bit as hard hitting as Dobby’s too! No holds barred, Perry puts over his painful account of how he gets insulted on a regular basis, and the constant lack of fish he has to put up with!
A great read. You’ll love it …..
Perry’s Answer
You know I am a cat of some refinement, yet you expect me to get excited about Dreamies with Delicious Cheese? Do you think I’m a mouse?
If you insist on serving them I will bring you one furry creature a day until you see the error of your ways.
What happened to Scumptious Salmon? At least it’s fish and I am a cat, and it is actually delish
Dreamies with cheese on the other hand… I turn up in my best tux at cocktail hour white paws licked to perfection and you serve up this concoction?
Shake a few more out, stop being mean your portions are way too small. I didn’t actually say I didn’t like Dreamies with cheese.
Forgive the very old photo there! I still think I look like that!!
Today, I’d like to feature a didactic piece. This instruction form can be great fun with a numerous array of themes. I’ve decided to cover archetypes today.
Didn’t we go through at least one of these in younger days?! Read on
Lover
Kiss as many boys as you can
Even when they’ve got bum fluff
And stink of their Dad’s Old Spice
Smoker
Smoke as much as you can
Especially the high tar ones
Take a puff at every opportunity
Fool
Get off with every single boy in sight
And tell them you love them
they’ll pay for you to get in the cinema
Outlaw
Nick everything that you can
Fags, drink and certainly lipstick
Stealing makes you big and clever
Jester
Swear as much as possible
Tell as many crude jokes as you can
Make the air go completely blue
Explorer
Go to every disco you can find
Do every Disco Duck routine
See how the floor empties
Bystander
Always blame someone else
Then run off to the wings
And snigger quietly
Shocking advice isn’t it?! Thanks for reading, PL’s. I’d love to see a didactic one of your own. Write to Dobby on a postcard please.
Thanks for tuning in, PL’s. We’ll be back with more poetry action real soon….
This week, we feature a poem from Dobby’s point of view.
You’ve seen lots of posts from mine, but this time it’s Dobby’s turn! Be prepared for brutal truths!
Dobby’s Turn
I wake up to the breakfast in my dish
That should really be a great big fish
Not those pseudo healthy bites
All cats yearn to lower their sights
Outside to hide behind the shed
Five minutes later, I’m back in bed
I dream of sardines begging to be eaten
The only way I’d feel complete then
I’ll lick my fur all over my face,
My back legs and that secret place
Before I have my lunchtime sleep
Where I fall into a dream so deep
The afternoon means nothing to me
It’s only in the dark that I really see
Because that’s the best time for prowling
My eyes go bright and my face scowling
I see other cat’s eyes so lit and stark
We come to life there in the dark
“Dobby” 2022
Thank you for indulging Dobby and her little rants. Isn’t it interesting to see a cat’s side of things? Of course their real thoughts are far more brutal, I’m sure.
Thanks for tuning in, PL’s. We’ll be back with more poetry action real soon….
Heather Moulson 