Thomas Fletcher Waghorn

On the anniversary of his death, to celebrate the memory of Chatham born adventurer Thomas Fletcher Waghorn, 3 Confluence poets walked from his grave in Snodland to his statue in Chatham. Details of where to find his grave are on the find a grave website.

Snodland historical society have some information about him here. He embodied the unconquerable spirit of Kent and we salute him.

Fire in the Head launched in a Roundabout Way

Performers at Fire in the Head Launch.
Photo by Sam Fentiman-Hall 

It was a dark and dreary winters night...

I'll start that again. It was standing room only at the Poco Cantina at my book launch last night.

Thank you to everyone who participated by reading, listening or by joining in on our #Invicted poem.

Copies of Fire in the Head are available from me at a gig or from the Wordsmithery website.

Turning the tide at Turner

When did it happen? I was convinced that the Medway poets had moved on and for poetry now you had to look to London. But here we are - drowning in a sea of artistic talent in Medway. I was wrong. And now I've discovered the Thanet poets are giving it some.

Image credit: S.M Jenkin

My perception is that the Medway poets of the 70s moved around much in pubs. As much as I can admire pub culture - and frequently do - I've noticed that something has changed. We're being noticed outside of the pubs now.

Among the pub and cafe events, there's a regular poetry gig at the Turner Gallery, run by the extraordinarily energetic Neanderthal Bard. Does this mean we're respectable now? I'm not entirely convinced that poets should be. Aren't we supposed to say the unsayable? Are we anything more than an event that ticks some funding box?

Try the Neanderthal Bard's social media feed - his listing of events is not to be missed. It's one way of holding onto the horses neck on the current merry go round of open mics, poetry slams and gigs.

Either way I'm going to be reading at the poetry gig at the Turner on Sunday, 9 July. The event (please note the new date) will be part of the Margate Festival. The poetry starts at 1pm. See you there...?

  

Silent Sunday - Beltane

Keep WOW in print

WOW magazine really is the best of what's on where in Kent. It's the only magazine that lets me know what is going on in and around Medway and beyond. While there may be other listings they are somewhat scattered and lack WOWs range, and the space for people to post reviews. However...

Photo: David Robinson

it's been a labour of love for Emma Dewhurst and her team since it launched in 2010. Since the Beatles don't rule the world we really do need more than love. To make it sustainable it really needs to attract some additional funds. One way that we are being invited to help is by becoming a wow subscriber - there will be other ways to help out too.

To find out more, the ‘Keep WOW in print’ Launch Event is on Sunday 8 November at Sun Pier House, Chatham (between 10am-4pm). The campaign will then be live for 30 days, until midnight on Monday 7 December.

News about the crowdfunding campaign to keep WOW in print is posted to the WOW web page at: WOW Kent Campaign 

WOW on facebook
WOW on Twitter
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Picture of WOW magazine October 2015 edition: detail wheel of fortune, medieval wall painting, Rochester Cathedral. Photo: David Robinson.

Wandering Words

I am very excited to see the blossoming of the Medway and Swale Wandering words  project.

A number of writers have, essentially, walked the land and created some beautiful and original pieces in response to what they have experienced and seen.

Urban Fox, Stood
Image credit:SM Jenkin

The range of responses has surprised me, as well as the flashes of unexpected beauty shared in words and posted on a map. Medway and Swale is made up of many different landscapes, histories, identities, ideas.

The best part, though? Anyone can join in. Are you feeling inspired? You can sign up here

Happy seasonally effected!

Happy Christmas!

Holly

We have a special delivery from Santa for all you good people out there, a double helping of the seasonally effected podcast.This includes the two latest open mics, from November and December 2013.

I love the variety on offer, and wonder how much the words change according to the season we hear them. I hope you enjoy it, too!

Follow the link to the seasonal stories here...

City without a head - floating in the air

In the run-up to Christmas, are you feeling lost? Hassled? Do you feel like you are running about like a headless chicken?

The ME4Writers have the solution for you - you are no longer alone! Come and join us in the City without a head, floating on the airwaves. 

Yes indeed, the ME4Writers will be sailing by on Radio Sunlight on Monday, 25 November from 8.30pm. We shall share some of our work with the effervescent Fizzer. And you too, I hope!

What is the city without a head? It is our attempt to define, confuse, capture, expound, tangle, twist, label, and generally riff on life in cities. Entries range from story fragments, poems, faux-definitions, found writing to short stories. Will you enjoy it? Who can tell....

The only way to find out of course, is to join us at Fizzer's radio show - online here  or tune in at 106.6FM

Be seeing you.....?

[EDIT] You can listen to the show again on Fizzer's blog here. The ME4Writers kick in at 41 minutes into the show. Enjoy!

The Skywatcher - coming soon

Strange things have been happening in Rochester: Unexplained lights in the sky, bizarre disappearances, and what is that odd sound? The Bureau for Unexplained Crisis, Knowledge and Extraterrestrial-ism or ‘B.U.C.K.E.T.’ is set to investigate as part of the Other Worlds, Other Voices festival.

Join us for an afternoon of interactive story gaming, examining the unlikely side of Rochester. The game will be followed by a final performance at an undisclosed location. Can you discover what’s been happening? The truth is out there, somewhere…

We are raising funds for this investigation using an unusual site called indiegogo. It’s important we get the right tools to locate the alien disturbances (or at least to make them from semi convincing items we can lay our hands on!)


The Skywatcher is an interactive story game that will take place on Sunday, October 6^th during the Rochester Literature Festival.  The starting point for the event will be the coFWD coworking space at 161 High Street, Rochester. Tickets are £6 and need to be booked in advance via the Eventbrite page here. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

Keep your eyes on the skies and ask yourself, what do you believe?

Medway is beautiful

                                     Have you ever heard of Darnet island?

It exists, and its part of the beautiful Medway estuary. It's full of history, a beautiful place and until this year, I hadn't even known it existed.If it weren't for the wonderful Creatabot, I'd be just as ignorant today.

Dave Wise and spent six weeks on the isle of beauty during the summer of 2012, living alone and exploring the island. Most of the legacy there is part of the industrial-military heritage of the area, but the island also housed a pub. And there are owls, and seals, edible plants and how did I not know it was there?

I wonder at my own ignorance, sometimes, about the place where I was born and have spent the majority of my life. How is it possible, that I don't know this place exists?

Habit, for the most part. Ignorance. It's s easy to take the place you live in for granted after all. And all it takes is a shift in perspective to see the beauty again - from a stranger. From someone who has been away. Not much...

Peter Cushing - happy 100th Birthday!

I spent a splendid time in Whitstable making a dalek with my friends EMMa and Steve. We did it to celebrate Peter Cushing's 100th birthday.By all accounts, he was a talented and nice man.

Here are the fruits of our labours - enjoy!

Budget cuts at the BBC
Image credit: SM Jenkin

And if that isn't too much fun for you, how about a little a little ditty from the Jellybots?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=deTGYinacYg The pub is the Old Neptune