No use crying over spilt soup

It was all going so well. I’d set myself the challenge of writing a quick post while the cake I am making is in the oven. I just had to finish blending the soup I was making (Turns out I was making the wrong soup according to my wife, but hey ho)….I turned around for a second and then heard the hand-held blender, the jug of unblended soup and the jug of blended soup crashing to the floor I had mopped a few hours ago. I am not ashamed to say that language was used. The wonderful poet (check out his latest at the FRIP) Christopher James described my language as “emergency language” on Friday when I commented on his poem. I like that.

Anyhoo, it’s been a good week for the poetry stuff.

1. Two new poems have gone up at Wild Court. I am pleased to see new work getting out there. And I am very pleased Kimono has found a home. It was written a while back, before CtD, but it wouldn’t fit in. I think it’s possibly one for consideration in terms of the next book, perhaps…there seems to be a seam of work-related poems happening/appearing, so this one could fit, but who knows for now…

Either way, I like reading this one at gigs…More on that anon.

Sticks feels like a bit of a throwback to older material..(NB I like it no less and think it’s very good, but I want to, if possible, move on from the “dad poems”. Incidentally, it was the first anniversary of John Rance dying this week, and I “enjoyed” this Adrian Chiles article. I sent it to one of John’s sons).

I suspect I’ll come back to the theme; it’s almost impossible not to, but it makes sense to me to move on for a bit. Let’s see…After a flurry of poems a few weeks ago things have dried up again, but such is life and the like…

The poems seemed to go down well, and I was especially pleased when my mate Nick said they had been a hit with his Hiking WhatsApp group. If that isn’t diversifying the audience, well…quite frankly…

2. A lovely review of CtD appeared in the latest Frogmore Papers. Sadly, my copy hasn’t turned up yet, but Sarah Barnsley has distilled the book into a few short, but amazing paragraphs.
My favourite bit: “Precision is key, but, here, never clinical, from the grief-induced A hatchet is Excalibured/in a chopping block…to the hilarity of a lover’s morning ‘hair’ which offers it’s own tribute to Van Der Graaf…Pardon the pun—this pamphlet is full of riches.

Go, subscribe to Frogmore Papers (and see the review of Matthew’s latest collection too). Go, buy Sarah’s book too.

My thanks to Nell for emailing me photos of the review.

3. I was long-listed for a magazine I’ve been trying to get into for a long time. I’ve seen a few people shouting about their long-listing on the social medias, and they absolutely should. It’s a fine achievement to get this far. I think the mag said they had over 2000 poems in during the subs. I’ve not said anything this time as I’ve been here before…Perhaps I should just be grateful, and I am, and say something. Maybe I’m tempting fate in reverse this time…Maybe it’s Maybelline..

4. I entered a competition to win a copy of Will Burn’s latest book, Natural Burial Ground via the wonderful Caught By The River newsletter. And I only went a blinking won it.

5. My book made it to South Korea, and as such gave me the chance to get reacquainted with one of my oldest friends. He’s been out the for a couple of decades now and we’ve sort of drifted, but this week has seen us chatting via various apps. Time differences make video calls tricky, but we will get round that eventually. It’s his birthday today too… Hopefully he will send me a photo of the book in situ soon.

He’s one of these three people. I am one of these three people.

6. I’ve sold a few copies of CtD via some emotional blackmail online. I am not against it. One copy has gone to Boston, in the US of A to my old mate Derek.

7. The next Rogue Strands event has been announced. See you on 23rd April. We won’t mess with the St George’s Flag (topical, liddle bit of politics, etc), purely because we won’t be displaying one.
Line up looks ace. Rebecca Farmer, Paul Stephenson, Christopher Horton, Suzanna Fitzpatrick, That Stewart bloke and me. See you at the barricades (as the Bunnymen say).

8. Perhaps most importantly, Mr Scruff…the missing cat that has caused my street WhatsApp group much consternation this week turned up unharmed this week. No photos of Mr Scruff, but here’s one of Margot enjoying the fire on Saturday night.

A song that seems appropriate

The Wedding Present, Soup. Incidentally, I met Derek of Boston via The Wedding Present fan forum.

THE LAST Cough WEEKS IN STATS

HEALTH STATS
25K running. Mostly running. Knee improving! Runs have been pain free. Early days, but encouraging..Just need to get my lung capacity up
1 x work outs to build some core strength, fix knee knack and sort my back out
3 days without cigarettes…
1 days since drinking
1 bouts of insomnia

LIFE STATS
1 conference
1 leaving do
1 car windscreen resealed
1 batch of soup spoiled
1 cake baked
1 back garden tidied
1 lawn mown

POET STATS
0 loose ideas/articles gathered: 1
0 poem finished:
0 poem worked on:
0 poems committed to the reject pile
0 submissions: Propel, Black Iris
0 acceptances: Wild Court
0 Longlisting: Butcher’s Dog
0 reading at:
0 reading attended: Broken Sleep Launch
0 rejections:
23 poems are currently out for submission. 1 simultaneous sub
107 Published poems (including what’s in the book)
4 book sold
3 poems written and finished this year
1 batch out for 46 weeks…Oooh, will we make a year???

Reviews
0 review finished:
1 reviews started:
0 review submitted:
1.5 reviews to write:

READ/SEEN/HEARD/ETC

Music
r= Radio, A = Audiobook, P=Podcast. The rest is music
The Verb: Cute (P)
Blindboy Podcast: When I was 13 and my da gave me the sex talk  
World Party: Goodbye Jumbo, Egyptology 
Anna Butterss: Activities 
Yo La Tengo: This Stupid World  
Yorkston/Thorne/Khan: Navarasa – Nine Emotions 
Youth Pictures of Florence Henderson: Unnoticeable in A Tiny Town, Invisible in the City 
Zwan: Mary, Star of the Sea
The Archers (P)
Dropsonde playlist 
That’s How I Remember It (P)
Galaxie 500; Copenhagen 
Oisin Leech; Cold Sea
VA: The Holdovers OST 
Men From S.P.E.C.T.R.E: The Living Eye
 Four Tet: Three 
My Morning Jacket: Live Vol 2 Chicago 2021
Black Belt Eagle Scot: ST, The Land, The Water, The Sky
The Black Crowes: Shake Your Money Maker, the Southern Harmony & Musical Companion
Yosuke Yamashita: Fragments 1969
Tanya Donelly: Lovesongs for Underdogs
Belly: Star, Dove
Ted Barnes: Underbelly 
Teardrop Explodes: Kilimanjaro, Wilder
The Smile: Wall of Eyes
Teenage Fanclub: Endless Arcade, Nothing Last Forever, Songs From Northern Britain
Kacey Musgracves: Deeper Well
The Loyal Seas: Strange Mornings In The Garden
The Cure: Paris
Jesus & Mary Chain: Glasgow Eyes
Waxahatchee: Tiger Blood
Shana Cleveland: Manzanita
True Staves; All Now 
Charles Lloyd; Canto, The Sky Will Still Be there Tomorrow, Discovery 
Halo Maud: Celebrate
Planet Poetry: Sean Hewitt
Held By Trees: Solace
The Wedding Present: El Rey