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” →

As I go around the country, knocking on people’s doors and writing poems for them, it felt right to acknowledge the fact that, for many, having a home of your own is a very distant dream. Continue reading “St Basils Emergency Accommodation” →