Hope this note finds you all enjoying the sunshine
where-ever you are.
After some time of rain and the usual rubbish in the British
summertime,
The last few days have been a pleasant surprise.
News anyhow now in short doses as always:
1) First
of all I attended Write Out Loud, Stockport
last month which was fairly
Quiet but gave me chance to debut
the day N C died, a new poem originally
Drafted during Napwrimo but
finished for this and which got me a standing orvation.
2) Not
long after that, me and Manda did our last Writers of the third kind for this
season on 22/05/2013 (Will re-start probably in August but watch this space).
Had our biggest turn out so far for it (12 people) which was hard work to
control but which was very, very pleasing and from which it looked like
everybody had a great time in it. I’ve had interest from other people about the
re-start, so it looks like the third season will prove just as fun.
3) The
following Thursday on 30/05/2013 as a favour for John Dawson, one of the members
of the workshop, me, Manda, Rob Goodier, Joe and Martin Bailey all took up 10
minute slots at a charity reading in Radcliffe for Bury Hospice which raised
just over £100 I believe. I did Longford Theatre, Yesterday, Open Door Closed,
Conversation on the train and as a conclusion Hope. It was a nice night turn
out of around 23 or 24, week and as the video footage proves which I am still
editing I was on fire!
4) This
Monday just hone on 03/06/2013, I did another set at Poetic logic at 3MT
Theatre in Manchester
near Afflecks. Sadly this was quite a poor turn out, but I enjoyed myself and
did a 10 minute set including the live debuts of several new poems ‘Fathers’,
‘Kissing your every scent’, a formal live debut of the day NK died and one old
favourite ‘the ghost of Liverpool empire.
5) This
Thursday coming 06/06/2013 is Guitar and Verse for June where as a headline
poet we will have a young lad called Barrie Schofield who is a major tip as a
writer we think and a band Jeff has worked with before called Unipunk. I think
on the night as a Means to an End we will be testing out a majorily revised
piece called ‘Up on the Roof’ which was one of our first pieces back in 2011,
and only played live once before I believe and I’ll slip in another poem too
(not revealing what).
6) After
that, A Means to an End will be playing maybe 20 minutes or so at the Cadence
Café as part of the Cadence Festival in Tyldesley on Saturday 15th
June, and headlining Open Mind on Monday 24th June. Jeff is also
doing a guitar and verse special sadly without me on Thursday 28th
June. I think also there is going to be another charity do happening for John
Dawson at the end of July, and the band are in action again as part of the
Inspire Festival in August and hopefully Ramsbottom Festival / Salford Music
Festival in September and have other things in October and November also.
7) Had
a email from Amanda Silbernagel also which was pleasing and I think our little
project there will be back up to speed in the Summer now her studies have
calmed down and in a ideal world would like to get a EP done before the end of
Summer.
8) I
have been working on a long narrative poem with the writer P.R. Mcdowell too
for his upcoming debt solo book due out in October time I believe which is
taking time also but looking good.
9) My
own book ‘the end of summer’ is going slow I can be honest in admitting but I
do have several new poems on the way for it, and I think it’ll be done by
Spring of next year, and if all goes to plan – there’ll be another A Means to an End book before the
end of 2014 (I’ve wrote about four pieces for it and have a couple of sequences
wrote for it also with Jeff and will be working on some stuff with Petrova for
the book too)
More soon folks. Hope you are all good!
a
(Picture is me at Stamford on Sunday last week enjoying the sunshine!)
