Welcome to the Love Cafe. My friend recently gave me this beautiful collection from poet Sally Crabtree
Isn’t it exquisite?! The most beautiful pamphlet. The poems inside are just as wonderful. I particularly love 10 p Skirt but I didn’t know how to illustrate it!
So I’ve chosen these two lovely pieces below. Ms Crabtree kindly gave me permission to publish these….
Crumbs
The good bits of the past
Are the tea and toast
In bed
&
The bad bits are the crumbs
That won’t go away,
However much you Sweep
Them aside.
They’re there, digging
in
Until the day the moment picks
up the sheet, shakes it out
And
gently lays it down, Saying
“There,
I’ve made your bed
Now lie in it.”
Coffee
One look from you and it’s Sugar
in my coffee
I melt.
Dissolving
desire
Spreading
To
Every part of me.
Sweetness reaches my lips.
Drink me.
Sally Crabtree
Weren’t they stunning, PL’s. Thank you, Sally. Love them.
Thanks for tuning in, Poetry Lovers, we’ll be back with more poetry action real soon…..
Now, hands up who has always wanted to find yourselves. Yes, I thought so, nearly every poet!
And how about actually meeting oneself?! How would it go? Would it be the highest point of your life so far?! Or a real bore and let-down?! Suppose you had nothing in common and they bored you rigid?! And they never left?! Nightmare!!
Anyway, I’ve penned a piece that hopefully sums up how we feel. Do read on
Meeting Myself
How I would love to meet myself
But I don’t know the first place to look
I could be hiding on a dusty shelf
Or pressed up in a yellowed book?
Am I hiding in an old spice jar?
Watching me cook the family meal?
This self-searching is very bizarre.
But the need to find me is real
I’d swoon if I met myself, I’m sure
And would there be an awkward silence?
Will I show myself to the front door?
Before it ends with blows and violence.
HM 2024
Thanks for reading, PL’s. I hope this captures our fears and needs. You might get on with yourself more though, you never know!
Thanks for tuning in, Poetry Lovers, we’ll be back with more poetry action real soon…..
Welcome back to the Talk Show studio (rapturous applause)
Now, settle down as we welcome our guest the wonderful musician and poet Elaine McGinty!
(Loud applause and standing ovation as our esteemed guest glides down the lighted stairway)
Welcome to the show, Elaine.
Fill us in on your background. When did music and poetry become a part of your life?
Pleasure to be here, Heather.
They always have been, my parents had music around, mainly Irish and then with older brothers and sisters, raiding their record collections and like most people, at school sharing about new bands.
I’ve always written poetry, from an early age. Then I had a period in my life when I just stopped completely. I’d been exploring music and wanting to make my poems into songs as a teenager, I learned bass guitar. Then I was in a situation where it wasn’t ok to do music and writing so gave it up for some years.
Later in life I started again, joined bands, but the band Joe & I founded, Phoenix Chroi was the first time I felt able to share my poems, the songs were an amalgamation of my words and Joe’s bass.
The responsibilities of setting up and running Phoenix/Fiery Bird made being in a band too difficult logistically, Joe and I went to it as a duo doing spoken word/songs and bass. It was also more liberating to include more fluid styles.
We also feel the venue should be run by gigging artists who know what it feels like to be on both sides of the stage.
Yes, I grew up with music too. It does give you a different outlook in life. What a great background.
And yes, they really know what it’s like.
Tell us about Fiery Bird and how it came about
Fiery Bird Venue is a project run by & within the community benefit CIC we founded- Phoenix Cultural Centre – in 2011.
It was a combination of things really. We were original musicians but my own home town (Joe is a more recent adoptee of Woking, he is Hackney born & bred with spells in Ireland) despite being known for it’s music & writing heritage had no original live music venue.
Also, no grassroots cultural centre despite ethnically the highest diversity in Surrey. I was working in community development and learning as well, and people I was working with were saying they felt left behind by the regeneration of the town with nowhere safe and welcoming to go at night.
Friends of ours had taken over empty buildings elsewhere in the country, Tottenham for example, and made them into vibrant and welcoming creative places. We saw that opportunity for Woking, to celebrate and welcome new art of all disciplines and cultures and provide a space where people could unlock their creativity again or practice if it they were already connected. It seemed to make sense to have all those things in one space for everyone, every generation, background, wealth, sexuality, gender, whatever.
Woking didn’t have a single dedicated music venue or grassroots arts centre. It felt obvious to be honest.
We’d started putting things on in pubs, cafes, on the street, in the park and then opened a small shop space (right opposite where are now) in 2013. The Public Living Room in the current Phoenix Centre where Write Out Loud takes place is what that space looked like.
Then we moved to a 1000 capacity nightclub in 2018 and were due to go to our permanent space in 2020 but the Council went bankrupt and couldn’t complete it so the owners of the building we are in now offered it to us for three years to keep us going. That now houses the Phoenix Centre on one side and Fiery Bird music venue on the other.
So we are making the best of it while we have it and hope a permanent space can be found during that time.
Yes, that was a real blow about the Council.
That’s admirable and innovative, Elaine. Are you working on anything at the present?
Yes, I am finishing my Song Therapy qualification for community based music and I would love to get a collection of poetry together. Joe & I have more songs/spoken word to record too.
Right now, I am a bit bombarded with venue stuff, we recently had a break in, there’s always some challenge to deal with, but I really want to set myself that goal as I have a really bad habit of putting my own creative work last.
It makes me a bit of an ironic hypocrite when here I am telling everyone to come and express their creative life when the place I am setting up for people to do that is the excuse I use for not doing it myself!
That was devastating news about the break-in. We were all stunned. The malevolence of people!
Now, ( audience gasp) what’s the best gig you’ve ever done? And the worst ?!
There’s been loads of lovely ones both with the band and the poetry gigs. Generally it’s meeting some great people and hearing their work and the variety of it that has led to more gigs with them.
I love how different people are and the perspectives they bring. The kindness too. The best I think was in a working men’s club night where it wasn’t poetry and when we started with the songs/poems and bass. People were ‘ok wtf is this going to be like’ but talking like people do on a night out.
Then halfway through the first piece, there was silence and it went on like that to the end and there was a great response. A woman came up to me and said ‘I hate poetry but I loved that, that sounds like my life’
Then Al Pacino came in and carried me out on his shoulders
(Ok the Al Pacino bit isn’t true, it’s obvious I’d crush the man with my matronly girth)
I think the worst was a feeling that we had been booked for something and I felt like it was being a sideshow, performing monkey, fulfilling a stereotype to make something look inclusive. It made me remember that people that could make change, don’t always want to listen to make that change, but know enough to show that they at least look like it. We were literally their lip service. That didn’t feel good. It reminded me to discern.
Al Pacino?! If only!! Stranger things have happened, so you never know! What a learning curve.
Thank you for coming on the show, Elaine.
Believe you’re out on the town with Dobby tonight
I tried desperately to get you an invite, Heather but….
I know. (Sighs resignedly)
Thank you for coming on the show, Elaine and being such a fascinating guest
(rapturous applause and standing ovation as our esteemed guest wafts elegantly up the stairs )
Wasn’t Elaine a wonderful guest, PL’s.
Thank you for tuning into the talk show studio. We’ll be back with more poetry action real soon….
I’m finally back on Southern soil after a great trip to Newcastle. What an adventure! Durham, Angel of the North, Whitley Bay and wonderful moments discovering The Toon and all its intricacies and character.
It was also great catching up with old and new friends. So lovely to see Greg and Gillian Freeman and our night at Yellow Line Poetry in Whitley Bay’s former ticket office. Also to see the vibrant Pip MacDonald on her home ground. Fabulous!
Thank you to the wonderful Haley for hosting this. A great poet and MC, and all the other fantastic people I met there.
I finally came up with a poem about this amazing city. It’s by far not my best but read on anyway
Oh Newcastle, I’m coming to read to you But you look a hard nut to crack When you hear my speaking voice You may think my poetry is crap
I’m drawn to your pride and colloquialisms But you might not take to mine If I whinge and moan too long You may throw me in the Tyne!
The fog on the Tyne is NOT all mine Don’t let me think otherwise And if you lot turn nasty I may have to leave in disguise!
Thanks for tuning in, PL’s and reading about me adventures. We’ll be back with more poetry adventures real soon…..
Well, after a fantastic Booming Lovelies gig yesterday, I’m off to
I am hoping the people of Newcastle will forgive me for my rough sketch of their city’s outline. I got it as accurate as I feasibly could. Some of the buildings look a bit dicey. I’m so sorry.
This drawing is slightly better – just. I’m looking forward to seeing this bridge today.
Now then, I promise to come up with a poem about Newcastle. My attempts at one the last few days have been abysmal, I will try again.
Open to North East pieces from you, PL’s. On a postcard please…..
Here’s a really rough version of Newcastle’s proud skyline, I think the Millennium Wheel looks better in this one.
Tonight I’m going to Yellow Line Poetry at Whitley Bay with the wonderful and much missed Greg and Gillian Freeman. Wish me luck! They could run me out of town!
Thanks for tuning in, PL’s. I’ll keep you posted, and Dobby will man the desk while I’m away.
Recently I posted about the rooms I have never had. Now talented poet Trisha Broomfield has taken this up to a higher level with The Houses I have Never Had! Love it, just up my street(!). And needless to say, a dream to illustrate.
Today, we are proud to review Sharron Green’s latest collection Willing Words. A thoroughly absorbing and versatile pamphlet that one is very willing to read. Absolutely worthy of the hot review below. Do read on….
Willing Words by Sharron Green
A well-presented collection and a slick title makes any poetry journey worthwhile. This is certainly the case with Willing Words, subtitled An Ode to Poetry, by prolific poet Sharron Green who draws us into an intricate route of true and painful roads that poets head down many times.
Many a True Word is a very apt opening piece, with a vibrant first line that jumps out at us. ‘Never trust a poet’ – such very true words and valuable advice! Yet we rarely heed it.
Stand out pieces such as Unread Pages, Confessions of a Poet’s Lover, and Drunken Syllables, have just the right level of poignancy and humour, with a profound subtext that will inspire us as poets. Writer’s Block reflects our ultimate paranoia. Dawn and Dusk stays with us in a strong couplet structure, and the title poem is witty and wistful.
Shall I Read You? has a sensual quality, and Tomorrow has a real tinge of sadness and tragedy. Poetic Pox or Paean is cleverly done with a vivid use of language. To Please, Prickle has an edgy and biting rhyme scheme, and there’s a strong empathy in Poeting.
My Poetry Style is thorough and vivid, and enticing language of Where the Truth Lies and its conflicting conversations. A good potential for two voices.
Reflections on Rejections is so true, it’s almost painful. Every wordsmith will feel that pain. Modern Rhymes is very strong, funny and a touch brutal. Taking the Plunge is written in a classy structure.
As our journey nears its end, Green’s poems draw strength without losing its consistency. The reader doesn’t get tired, nor want to stop on the way there.
A classy collection with an impressive variation of structures. An inspiration to poets generally. I’ve bought a return ticket!
For a real treat, click on Sharron’s website http://rhymesnroses.com to purchase a copy of the innovative Willing Words.
Thanks for tuning in, PL’s and sharing this review. Get buying that book, and we’ll be back with more poetry action real soon….
I know this is worldwide news now, about the tragedy they have called Storm Dobby. An unsuspecting cafe run by Mrs Slagg had a very unwelcome visitor recently. The worst tragedy since King Kong!
Now, what can we say to this disaster?! Well, clever poet Sharron Green has summed this incident up beautifully. It even cheered up Mrs Slagg. Do read on….
The Cat in the Caff
The cat sat in the Slaggs cafe, she licked it very much.
Her paws purrused the decor, it had a hint of hutch. She felt a little oversized, fur it was such a squeeze,
it would be a catastrophe if she were to sneeze. A full house was a feat indeed
though not with one mouth solely, one that mewed for tuna melt and sardine roly poly.
The Slaggs tried hard to shoo her out but Dobby swished away
she was a feline squatter in the latest cat cafe.
rhymes_n_roses 2024
Thank you so much, Sharron for this terrific piece. Wasn’t it wonderful, PL’s?!
As you can see in the above photo, there is not a shred of remorse from that furry whiskered whirlwind! And as to Mrs Slagg’s cafe owning future, well, watch this space…..
Thanks for tuning in, PL’s and reading this fitting tribute. We’ll be back with more poetry action real soon……
Now settle down as we welcome the wonderfully talented poet, Julian Bishop!
(Standing ovation as our esteemed guest elegantly glides down the lit staircase)
Welcome to the show, Julian. A great honour.
Oh! You didn’t bring Sid the Cat?!
I think Dobby whisked him off for tips and advice on how to be annoying!
Great to be on the show.
So glad you could be here.
Now, Julian, tell us a bit about yourself…
I don’t think I had a very high opinion of poetry until I discovered Ted Hughes and Seamus Heaney in my late teens. I was more into “Hawk in the Rain” than Led Zeppelin, I can still just about recite it off by heart. And weirdly Thom Gunn’s Tamer and Hawk too.
I did English at University and wanted to write my dissertation on Heaney but was told “it’s too modern”. I ended up doing it on Wordsworth’s tedious The Prelude.
Even though I hated Led Zepp, my first job was as rock reporter for the South Wales Echo.
Unbelievably I got to “interview” Michael Jackson and asked him if he had a message for Wales to which he said “I love whales, they’re so cute”. My story was headlined “Michael’s Message to Wales: I Love You”. Pure poetry.
Fantastic! What a great story! The iconic Michael Jackson! Love it!
When did poetry become a part of your life?
I went on to work for BBC Wales then got a job at ITN’s News At Ten when they were relaunching it with Trevor McDonald. Unbelievably stressful job.
I don’t think I picked up a book of poetry until I’d stopped working full time as a journalist and came across an Alice Oswald poem called Flies (2015?) which captured the fabulous yuckiness of flies so brilliantly.
I was hooked. I started to devour as much contemporary poetry as I could and of course that led to trying to write some myself…
What a turning point, Julian! Sometimes that’s just how it works.
Who are your biggest influences?
I’ve already mentioned three, I’d also add my namesake Elizabeth Bishop for her amazing multi-layered poems, Mark Doty for his opulent language and Kei Miller for his gentle dexterity with language and form.
If ever I need inspiration, I’ll grab one of Heaney’s books – I have three copies of his first volume of Selected Poems, not sure how that happened…
Fabulous influences, Julian.
Tell us about ‘We Saw It All Happen’ and how it came about…..
While I was at BBC Wales I spent some time working as their first environment reporter. Those were the days before climate change was a “thing” and most of my time was spent covering weather stories, usually floods given this was Wales. I owned five pairs of wellies because most of them were usually drying out.
Climate change has crept up the news agenda but statistics only appeal to the head not the heart. And I thought this was where poetry could fill a gap. I called it We Saw It All Happen because like me, we’re all witnesses to what’s going on and all equally guilty of not doing enough to tackle it, bar the odd bit of recycling perhaps.
I’m not sure poetry makes anything happen but it can at least make people think a little deeper about their choices. I should add it’s not an entirely gloomy book, there’s humour in there although admittedly it’s quite dark humour.
Oh I loved the wit in there. Beautifully written without judgment or finger pointing.
So, (sweeps everything off the desk. The audience gasp) What’s the best poetry gig you’ve ever done – and the Worst ?!
I’m sure the gig you’ve kindly asked me to take part in this summer will be the best Heather!
And I did enjoy a gig you arranged for me at the Vauxhall Tea House in London which is the first time in my life people chanted “more, more” after a poem!
The worst was at a venue I won’t name where only four people turned up. At least one of the other poets had brought along some Pipers Cheese and Onion crisps.
Well, Julian, if it’s the one I’m thinking of, they were very nice crisps indeed!
Thank you so much for coming on the show. You’ve been a fascinating guest.
Are you and Sid out on the town tonight ?
Well, Heather, I think I’ve lost Sid to Dobby. So it’s best I find him and take him home.
(Thunderous applause as Julian Bishop legs it up the stairs calling for Sid)
Wasn’t Julian a wonderful and fascinating guest?! To treat yourself to this wonderful collection, click onto Julian’s website now
Welcome back to the Trimeric Corner, it’s been a while.
I have composed a Trimeric piece containing one of the most unhealthiest, but quite frankly, delicious foods. See if you can spot what it is! Read on….
Food Parcel
They say ham and eggs are nice
But their charm passes me by
I prefer something with rice
Or a steak & kidney pie
But their charm passes me by
ham is really unexciting and dull
Of cold meats, I’ve had a belly full
I prefer something with rice
sweet & sour or chow mein
my daily menu is never plain
Or a steak & kidney pie
especially Fray Bentos in a tin
their processed meat draws me in
Thanks for reading, PL’s. I think there’s a Fray Bentos in all of us somewhere. A guilty pleasure that one covers up! Now it’s time to reveal those indulgences.
Heather Moulson 