Captain’s Log 13/12/19 12:03
It’s Friday the 13th and I’m back at St Gemma’s Hospice. It’s the day after the general election and everything feels [amazing/apocalyptic] delete where appropriate. I’m here to deliver my poems for Lewis, Murray and Sharon, who are all patients here and are all approaching the end of their lives. Continue reading “St Gemma’s Delivery”
I first found out about St Gemma’s Hospice when I got an e-mail from Clare, whose actual job title was the ‘Head of Transformation’. She’d heard about me going door-to-door, writing poems for residents, and she wondered if I’d be up for getting involved in a different opportunity. St Gemma’s, she explained, is a charity that offers palliative and end of life care, for free, to the people of Leeds. Would I be interested in writing some poems for the patients? Continue reading “St Gemma’s Hospice”
Captain’s Log 19/10/19 11:50
I’m back on Lundy Island, delivering my poems for the residents. Continue reading “Lundy Drop Off”
From the moment I found out about the existence of Lundy, I knew I had to do Door-to-Door Poetry there. An island in the Bristol Channel, it’s 3 miles long and half a mile wide. Ran by the Landmark Trust, it boasts a resident population of 28 people, including a warden, some bar staff, and a farmer. Continue reading “Lundy Island”
Captain’s Log 14/09/19 13:49
I’m walking along the canal in Tottenham, on my way to Stonebridge Lock. Today I’m delivering the poems for Dave, Alex and Carl, who I met in some houseboats Continue reading “Back to the Boats”
Captain’s Log 19/09/19 13:57
I’m at the North Circular Road. This weekend, I’m delivering all of my 6 poems for the residents of London, and I’m starting with the people I met here, next to the Swaminarayan Temple. It’s been 3 weeks since I was in the area. Everything looks a lot smaller, maybe it was the nerves.
Continue reading “Stepping in the Temple”
My trip to Tottenham Lock left me feeling like I wasn’t quite finished in London. I couldn’t help wondering if visiting houseboats was somehow easier than visiting a house? I’d had a 100% success rate, which was unusual. And I’d been warned that there was absolutely no way this project would work in this city. I didn’t want to leave any room for doubt.
Continue reading “London- Part 2- The Neasden Temple”
London. It’s not exactly a place where people are renowned for talking to strangers, is it? A few years ago, I was doing a show about Door-to-Door Poetry at the Edinburgh Fringe. Afterwards, a lady came over to tell me what she thought about it.
“It’s a great idea,” she said. “But it would never work in London.” Continue reading “London- Part 1- Tottenham Lock”
There is one final twist in the tale of my visit to Milner Court: I ended up writing Ibrahim an extra poem. You might remember, in my last post, I mentioned that he asked for one about the physical and mental benefits of sport. The problem was, I’m a lazy poet, and I really don’t do much exercise. Continue reading “Ibrahim’s Second Poem”
Captain’s Log 01/08/19 11:07
I’m back in Milner Court, delivering some poems. I’m sat in a circle in the communal living space with Chappo, Naya, Ibrahim, Vita and a lad in a Family Guy t-shirt called Jake, who I didn’t meet last time. Continue reading “Poems for St Basils”
