I’ve had a break from the monthly update for a couple of months while I took a bit of a break—although looking back on June, July, August, it turns out I’ve been pretty busy.
First off, of course, was the eighth Leeds Lit Fest. Thank you so much again to everyone who came to events, volunteered, chucked us a quid or two, and not only made the festival happen (it’s entirely run by volunteers with no major funding) but gave it such a great vibe. My personal favourite was my mate Joe Williams interviewing Kim Moore, and hearing from her new collection The House of Broken Things. This was at the Hyde Park Book Club, which is brilliant all year round and always buzzing with events, but no more so than during LLF.
The Lit Fest hosted a very special guest this year—Miss Bianca giving her (erm…) unique poetry reading all about gay life in London in the Eighteenth Century. There was gin, there were poems, there were…songs about buggery. Miss Bianca was most grateful for the turn-out, and having rested after a nasty bout of ennui, she has said that she will be happy to reprise her performance. Full information on Miss Bianca can be found on her special page on my website (which she insisted on, even though she hasn’t got a clue what a website is…).
It was wonderful to read at Grand Plans in Linthwaite, which is run by Sarah L Dixon and runs monthly every second Sunday, 6:15pm - 8pm. The Sair Inn (and its beer) are worth a trip in their own right, as is the wonderful range in the room where the poetry night meets. Sadly it was too warm to have a fire going.
I was delighted to be part of the line-up at Poetry at the Old School Rooms in Haworth in July, where I met up with Tom Weir and Matthew Hedley Stoppard. There’s no photo of the occasion, but we ate some very nice bread, cheese, and olives sitting on the pavement at the top of the hill. And the next morning, Tom and I got the steam train. Thank you to Gill and Mark Connors for organising such a mammoth programme, ten years after Poetry at the Parsonage.
I spent a few days in York with my dad. My hotel room looked out over Dick Turpin’s grave, at no extra charge. While in York, I went to the newly-opened Toppings for the first time - and the shop and their range of books is stunning. Do go and support them next time you’re in York—or make a special trip.
My side-quest into bookbinding saw a milestone as well, as I completed my first real project—rather than me just practising at home. The magazine I edit at the Leeds Library (Speaks Volumes) had its 10th anniversary and 50th issue, so it seemed a good moment to hoik digital copies from various locations, print everything off, and bind them together, to give them a shot at preservation longer than the average .pdf file. I was pleased with the result (even though there is one error that hopefully no-one will spot when they open the finished book…).
I have three readings coming up in September—maybe see you at the Beehive Poets at Bradford City Library on Friday 4 September, 7pm - 9pm (possibly with a second guest). Then there’s Poetry at the Dusty Miller on Tuesday, September 8 2026 at the Dusty Miller Inn in Mytholmroyd, starting at 7.30pm. Then on Saturday 19 September, I’ll be at Soul Shed at Wakefield Exchange 7pm - 10pm, hosted by Tim Brookes at Faye Marshall, with a line-up including:
Music from MYLS COHL
Comedy from Claire Oliver Claire Oliver
Poetry from Carla Mellor
Music from Sally Tucker