Next Poetry Performance is at Forty Hall Farmer's market, Enfield on Sunday 14th Aug

 Last Sunday at Edmonton 7th August went well!  Enthusiastic audience turn out for the Poetry pagoda tent and great poets.

Next Sunday !!! Poetry ...live and free !!! 14th Aug

Farmers Market, Forty Hall, Enfield - it's in the Open Barn tea area.

I'm doing two slots 12.30 noon to 12.40 and 13.00 to 13.10 p.m, but there's an excellent line-up of poets including Mary Duggan, Chrissy Evangelou, Julian Bishop,  Rob Saunders, Lenny Varvarides, Anne Alexander, Ayfer Orhan

All kinds of poetry from comedy to climate change, from mental health to buying new shoes.

Not to be missed.

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A trip to Ramsgate

I have three favourite south coast places I visit, to escape London - Littlehampton, Ramsgate and Shoreham on Sea. Since I grew up on the south coast of Wales and spent all my teenage years in summers on the beach, I have to escape London regularly,  especially in summer, to breathe some ozone and hear the seagulls crying.  

Catching the breeze

Standing by the harbour,

the summer wind blows through

the cobwebs in my brain,

 

scouring Indra’s net strand by strand,

shaking it down, scrubbing off

the dust of life and London.

 

I breathe in a blast of ozone

and the net sparkles with colours,

reds, greens and amethyst blues,

 

I’m waking up to this moment,

watching a pure white seagull,

wings outstretched, surfing the wind.

 

He swoops low over the water then

whips up over the harbour wall,

high above my head. 

 

It’s a game he’s playing

a game of nothing but what it is –

riding the wind.

 .........

 Littlehampton, 2018

This poem was blown up and displayed in the window of the Dugdale  Centre, Enfield, 2019.  It will be the title poem of my next collection, out soon.

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Back to Ramsgate where I went last week for a few nights - an expensive time of year to stay at the Ramsgate Harbour Travelodge, but hey I wasn't paying - the insurance company overseeing the building works for subsidence in my flat were.

I've been a nomad for 3 weeks - staying here and there and finally at the Travelodge. So carrying belongings with me, clothes and toiletries and trying to get used to other people's dietary habits, bathrooms, kitchens and rules for living.  How kind and generous they all were. So grateful.

Now I'm back in my own place - still dealing with residual builders, building problems etc for another week, but so nice to have my own kitchen, bathroom and bedroom back: my own food in the fridge, my own cooking etc. What a joy!  Still dealing with boxes all over the kitchen and bedroom but it's MY space at last. 

My Travelodge room overlooked the 'Royal' Harbour

My Travelodge bed

Entrance to the beach at Ramsgate

View across the harbour

Ramsgate beach by the Weatherspoons.

and the weather was hot - had to have the fan on all the time, day and night. 

Evenings were spent with daughter and partner and stepson (17) who cooked for us one night - time spent walking round the harbour,  along the beach to Broadstairs eating chips and ice cream, another visiting a vast antique's emporium, catching up with all their news. 

White cliffs on a walk to Broadstairs.

 

Ramsgate

Poetry performance -Enfield and Highgate Poets URGENT - VENUE CHANGE

URGENT - CHANGE OF VENUE - PLEASE NOTE

I'm delighted to announce that Highgate and Enfield Poets have joined forces for 

an evening of poetry 

Tues 24th May

to remember with top-notch poets from North London on the stage.

The pandemic closed down all our poetry performance outlets - opportunities to perform and opportunities for audiences to hear good poetry again.  So it's a thrill to announce an evening of poetry by experienced poets again and for such a good cause - to raise funds for the homeless, more specifically for cold weather shelters in Camden and King's Cross.  Poet Ruth O'Callaghan has been running these events for many years. The patron of Lumen Poetry is Andrew Motion who was UK Poet Laureate from 1999 to 2009.

 

THIS EVENT TAKES PLACE AT -

VENUE:                  THE UNITED REFORM CHURCH

                                        BUCK ST

                                        CAMDEN

                                        LONDON NW1 8NJ

Doors open at 6 pm, reading starts at 7 pm.  We have one half of the evening.  The other half is open mic.

It's on the 24^th May 2022

Anna Meryt will read a few poems by Milverton Wallace who sadly died in 2021. 

Milverton was a vibrant and interesting part of the Highgate Poets group and a central figure in organising its 40th anniversary celebration a few years ago.

Enfield Poets

Anthony Fisher has been writing poetry since early 1990 and he has just published his collection’ Goddess and Other Poems’.  With Valerie Darville and the late Jane Elder he founded Enfield Poets in April 2000.  He and Valerie have just been awarded the Ted Slade award for services to poetry.

Valerie Darville

Valerie  Darville has organized many events over the past 20 years including Andrew Motion, Carol-Ann Duffy and Ruth Padel.  She has been placed in the Bridport twice, the Petra Kenny and other competitions and won the Barnet.  She has been published in magazines and anthologies and is (finally!) putting together her first collection

Mary Duggan's Celtic roots inform the song of her poems.  She performs at public events, is published in anthologies and has two local residencies.

Julian Bishop is a former member of Highgate Poets, a journalist and now in Enfield Poets where he teaches poetry courses.   His poetry often highlights environmental and global warming issues.

Highgate Poets

Alex Allen

An avant-garde poet who likes to play with form and shape with his poetry.  He has had poetry on display at The Poetry Library.

Rosemary Wolfson

Joined Highgate Poets at the beginning of the pandemic. Her poetry is colourful and observational.

Anna Meryt was, until recently the Facilitator of Highgate Poets and helped organise the 50^th Birthday celebration in Finsbury Park.  She has had many poems published in anthologies and magazines in the last 20 years.  She has 2 poetry collections Heart Broke and Dolly Mix, will soon publish her third collection and writes memoir ( creative non-fiction).