Sunsets & Kites

There was a writing competition, sometimes back in the 1980s, out of the BBC, and a friend and I decided we would have a go. We set each other a modest challenge to get us going – she was to write a synopsis for a story, I was to write a synopsis for a radio play. In the event, she wrote nothing, and I came up with an idea for a musical radio play in which the characters were purely voices and musical instruments. My friend then challenged me to write a song for this musical play which included the words ‘sunsets’ and ‘kites’. The resulting song expresses the longing for all that would be lost if the nuclear war we all feared at the time ever happened.

That musical play is now a 15 minute script tucked away in a folder somewhere. The song has been sung many times at concerts, Open Mics, even recorded – you can find it on Spotify, Amazon Music and all the major streaming services.

My first poetry collection, also called ‘Sunsets & Kites’ covers a lot of ground, from before and after those heady days in the 1980s when the worst fate humanity thought it had to face was a nuclear winter. How times have changed. I’ve included some song lyrics and a couple of essays – and believe me, it’s not all strictly autobiographical…

Both print and eBook versions are available on Amazon (UK, USA and AU). I hope you like it!

On the Road Again

It’s September already, and I’m back in the rehearsal room with Dame June Bloom, Teddy Edward and Liam the Lamb. We’ve been invited by Live Arts, in the Scottish Borders, to bring the show to their local community, in the tiny village of Westruther.

One night only, Friday 20th September, we’ll be there! Also delighted to be able to offer a workshop on Friday afternoon, open to all comers.

My stage manager for this wee tour is Susannah Finzi, who wrote and directed “The Bottom Line” in July, at the cornerHOUSE Theatre in Surbiton, and invited me to take part in it, creating the role of The Busker.

The Busker.

Our plan is to meet up in York, (from London and Liverpool) where we both have to change trains, carry on together to Berwick-upon-Tweed, then we’ll be met and driven to Westruther.

On Saturday 21st we are hoping to head to Edinburgh, to perform the show at the Columcille centre. This is unfunded, so we are mounting a fund-raising campaign to help cover our travel and accommodation costs. With any luck, we’ll also have an audience!

If you’d like to support us in this endeavour, you can contribute here

GoFundMe

See you there?