Archive for the 'Performance' Category

Norfolk and Norwich Festival 2014

Sunday, May 18th, 2014

I was in Norwich today for the Norfolk and Norwich Festival and it was wonderful. Of course the lovely warm sunshine helped the day go with a swing but the entertainment really was superb. As we were only there for the day we didn’t have time to do most of the things. The Festival is […]

Newnham, Friday afternoon, blackberrying and Neil Morrissey

Friday, August 23rd, 2013

Oh such a perfect day! After just two hours of work (who wants to do more than that), Ellie and I tramped slowly to Trumpington via Grantchester and back again, via as many plum trees and blackberry bushes as we could find. Ellie took the blackberrying really quite seriously and managed to get a significant […]

Cambridge Shakespeare Festival 2013

Friday, August 2nd, 2013

The Cambridge Shakespeare Festival is back again and as I’ve never actually managed to make it to any performances before I was keen as mustard to make sure I made it this year. Consequently Andres and I have just spent an immensely pleasant evening at Robinson College watching The Two Gentlemen of Verona performed in […]

Schubert at Madingley Hall

Sunday, April 21st, 2013

Spring is finally sprung, the trees are in blossom and the t-shirts are out. In celebration of this Andres and I headed up to Madingley Hall to hear Schubert’s song cycle, Die Winterreise, brilliantly performed by Charbel Mattar and Martin Ennis. I guess they knew they might well be performing to a room of non-German […]

Michael Schmidt at CB1

Thursday, January 24th, 2013

Michael Schmidt was reading at CB1 Poetry last night. It was a short and very compelling reading. His work is steeped in a narrative that draws you in and a historical weight and literary tradition that lends it gravitas. Not only is he the MD of Carcanet Press, editor of the PN review but he […]

Fame at last

Monday, December 17th, 2012

Last night Grahame and I made it on to Patrick‘s radio show – Headstand. You can hear us reading some of our poems, talking about the Free Inkers and some interesting music here…. 16.12.12 with Grahame Johnson and Suzi Shimwell by Headstand on Mixcloud

Will Self at The University of Leicester

Wednesday, November 7th, 2012

Will Self was reading extracts from his latest book at Leicester Uni this evening and what a fun evening it was. The the Peter Williams Lecture Theatre was packed with an audience and hanging on his every word. After the reading Harry Whitehead interviewed him. It inspired me to write this poem: Will Self has […]

Your words: other objects

Sunday, October 28th, 2012

In the dark of the Judith E Wilson Drama Studio tens of tiny balloons, with minute funeral hearses attached as baskets, float silently above your heads. The room is also completely black except for a single bulb. That is how

Headstand has a birthday

Saturday, September 29th, 2012

Upstairs in The Fountain underneath the strings of coloured light bulbs is a larger than life confessional booth. Surely the most bizarre addition to a pub. It’s also fairly irrelevant too as I was in the room to celebrate Headstand’s 5th Birthday and so sat with my back to the intriguing wooden structure all night […]

Tall Tales with Marvellous Mike Gowar

Sunday, May 27th, 2012

It’s the third day in a row I’ve been to the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology and why not I say. It’s only just reopened – Friday say the first day – some of you may have spotted the new entrance on Downing Street decorated with balloons. Today I was lured there by a storytelling […]