APOLOGIES TO THE METER READER!!

I hate it when unwanted callers bang at my door-knocker - when I'm working on the pc I don't hear the doorbell which is why I had the door-knocker installed. Last weekend I had particular bother from people wanting to: cut the trees in my garden (I don't have any); trim the shrubs( I have loads of these); clean my driveway ( it has lots of wild strawberries growing through the paving blocks and I love them!). I am polite but firm in declining the offers.  But at 7pm when a doubtful lad claiming to be on "work experience" and standing on my step with a facial  expression like an abject wet dog I lost it, and told him in no uncertain terms to beat it. (He'd raised absolute hell with the door-knocker - making me think it  was time to 'bring out the dead', that the plague had returned, but no, the only plague was him.

So next evening when someone else clouted the knocker with an over-firm hand I got ready:  "N0 thank you," I said, "whatever it is I do not want it!" And promptly shut the door in the rather startled man's face.

Oh dear! It was the meter reader for gas and electricity. Obviously he was afraid to try the door again and have a repeat showdown  so he left me a polite card to say he'd called and I "was out", and that I could read my own meter and e-mail in the figures. Which I forgot to do.

Very doubtful that he might come across this blog but if he were to I'd like to apologise and wish him and everyone else, including the tree fellers, the shrub cutters, driveway washers, even the dubious young man

A VERY HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!

Christmas Wishes

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!

INK SWEAT AND TEARS

James Naiden, regular reviewer for the website ink sweat and tears has written a review of both of my books "The Plucking Shed" and "Rise"  (Cinnamon Press, 2010 and 2013) in which he most generously refers to me as a "significant poet, living in non-London England".

It's totally joyful to be described as a significant poet, yet I am intrigued by the non-London bit. I often hear other poets say you have to be in or get to London to make any impression on the poetry world but is this really true? There are plenty of poets living outside the metropolis who are hugely significant, surely? Manchester, Newcastle, Leeds, Bristol, Birmingham,  Sheffield, all good, active centres of poetry. I'm not far from Ledburyand Much Wenlock which both host excellent poetry festivals. And while I have given several readings in London I don't feel that's made any difference to my poetic life except, importantly,  for meeting and making some lovely new friends in the poetry world!

Besides I was born in London, and for some reason my parents couldn't wait to get out of it when I was about 2.... And I wouldn't be in a rush to go back to it. (Well, not unless I could live in Ladbroke Grove, Bloomsbury, or Highgate - all completely out of the question...!)