All Blogposts

  • End of the month blog

    End of the month blog

    Rattling off a post before March ends.  I’ve worked hard on my poetry manuscript since I last mentioned it on this blog.  Now for the final stages of editing, tweaking, rearranging lines, titles, and order with my editor, Jane Commane at Nine Arches Press.  What have I learned from writing a full collection of poetry?  Mostly,… Read more

  • The end of another term of writing at St Gregory’s

    The end of another term of writing at St Gregory’s

    I can hardly believe that after Easter, I’ll be starting my final term as Writer in Residence at St Gregory’s Catholic College, Bath.  The time has whizzed by.  This term, as well as reading and writing poetry, students have written crime fiction, particularly looking at very short stories (flash fiction).  We received the good news… Read more

  • Enter the National Poetry Library’s Instapoetry Competition

    Enter the National Poetry Library’s Instapoetry Competition

    There’s still time to send in a poem or poem film to the National Poetry Library’s Instagram Poetry Competition.  Deadline is Wednesday, 21 March. The National Poetry Library is asking poets and Instagrammers alike to share their work on Instagram, by tagging the library @nationalpoetrylibrary and using the hashtag #instapoetrylib. We are also looking for short… Read more

  • My short story ‘Algebra’ on BBC Radio 4 Extra

    My short story ‘Algebra’ on BBC Radio 4 Extra

    Last year, out of the blue, I received an email from the BBC’s Rights, Legal and Business Affairs department to ask permission to repeat my radio work, a play and a short story, on BBC Radio 4 Extra.  Naturally I said yes!  My play The Songs that Houses Sing was broadcast on February 13 and… Read more

  • The Songs that Houses Sing on BBC Radio 4 Extra

    The Songs that Houses Sing on BBC Radio 4 Extra

    My radio play The Songs that Houses Sing has been repeated on BBC Radio 4 Extra and is available on iPlayer for two more days. The play, first broadcast in 2000, stars Mia Soteriou as Alice,  Allison Pettitt as Iris, Paul Copley as Gus, Sarah Rice as Phillippa, and Joshua Towb as John. The play is… Read more

  • Trowbridge named in up and coming places list

    Trowbridge named in up and coming places list

    I’ve sometimes mentioned Trowbridge, the town that has been my home for the past 15 years, and a place which is sometimes maligned by thoughtless people.  It’s true that Trowbridge is a work in progress with huge room for improvement, but it’s also a place with huge potential, with affordable housing, good state schools, and… Read more