Slip away

Good heavens time fly's by

The reason I have been absent is due to the residential poetry retreat that Paul Sutherland and myself, and our friends from Louth Poetry Group, are going to be running at Woody's Top YHA in October (Tuesday 20th to Thursday 22nd to be precise).

In the exitemenet of those early spring shoots I took on the task of producing a website...a few weeeks later and the final draft is posted...it is as they say 'a learning' process.

Anyhow the creation of this piece of information electronica gave me some virtual and real satisfaction, you can see the results at: http://www.lincolnshirepoetry.co.uk

But it is time to get back to poetry, the BBC with their Poetry Season have done a brill job over the last few weeks, Robert Webb's journey around Lincolnshire (and Paris) where he beautifully exposed and welcomed us into both his world of Poetry and through Eliots Love Story of J Alfred Prufrock...it is on the BBC iplayer for a litttle while yet. Neither the sands of Skegness or the sunsets of Horncastle will ever feel the same again, thanks to Robert (and his wife for her intricate and delicate and boundful poem).

Latitude Festival (I have waxed lyrical about this, the best of festivals before and July 2009 sounds as though it will be an equally enormous cultural extravaganza)They are running a poetry competion, I'm sure you will find it on the web site: http://www.latitudefestival.co.uk/home/index.aspx

Yes that's right it is Ummagumma

Went to the poetry reading to listen to canadian poet & community bus driver Chris Pannel, bought his sensitive book ' Under Old Stars' from which I would recommend the poem Joe Read a few of my poems including

It was such a struggle to get him to say anything at all

Sweet and simple words
No more than to say
That he brought

All around him to tears
Simply by saying
How lucky he was to be in love

I cried then
And tears again yesterday
When I re-wrote the memory

What is it, why am I so soft
That a few words
Can turn me over

I ought once
To sob substantially
Flush out my ignominious frame

Before later in life
To go pleading
You see this is not a picture

Not a painting or a photograph
But a vessel, somewhere to place
The displaced teardrops

Belong

Thats the blood test done, results on Friday...not a great event to raise the spirits but wrote a couple of poems on wondering about place and where we feel to belong...it's a great word isn't it don't you think... belong, belong, belong...5.3 million google refs and from the oxford online dictionary it is... fit or be acceptable in a particular place or environment.

Lincolnshire CAZ

Caught The Doves on Later with Jools, Latitude festival will mean much more now; also the irrepressible Marianne, I have the album & would recommend. The concept of community poet is in the germination stage...and perhaps to pursue an involvement in the Lincolnshire CAZ to regenerate our coastal neighbourhoods

Lincolnshire's residential poetry retreat

Woody's Top is booked, the poetry residential retreat is thus set for October 20th to 22nd 2009...an inspirational location, communal cooking, bunks, billets and all sorts of poetry work to shop