Issue 337 23rd May 2014

2

What a joy it is to have a blackbird nesting right by my front door!

Dehydration: it can creep up without one realising what is happening. Shoes. What is it with hard plastic shoes? Is there anything better than comfy feet?

If fruit is so good for you ... Why does most of it taste like acidic mush?

Browser Bookmarks! ... Now and again it seems a good idea to delete bookmarks ...

Sigh! ... But why is it so difficult? WHY do you have to revisit the website to remove the bookmark?

It‟s odd how the weather here improves, just as I am about to fly off on my holiday.

Having someone in California hack into your e-mail account is a pain in the butt!

Whilst out walking my dog, I saw a red fox not twenty feet away from us on the field

behind my house. It had its eye on some breakfast, but when my dog yapped, fled, plunging through the long grass into the distance. What a wonderful sight for a Sunday morning!

Random words : red, mysterious, definitely, docket, biscuit, badger, nicotine Assignment : Risk taking PLEASE NOTE: NO library workshop on Bank Holiday Monday 26th

Front Cover: Thanks go to Stephen Pitt for images of Stafford of

our yesterdays Stafford Remembers

FB Site.

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/jan/17/turn-myself-van-gogh-painting

How I made myself into a Van Gogh painting

How difficult can it be to recreate a relatively straightforward painting such as Van Gogh's Self Portrait with Ban-

daged Ear? There's only one way to find out

http://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2012/jan/17/art-of-the-remake-paintings

The art of the remake

A website that asks people to reimagine great paintings looks like an irreverent joke. But, in fact, it is part of an

age-old tradition

http://www.booooooom.com/2011/09/29/remake-submission/

http://www.booooooom.com/2011/09/27/remake-a-project-by-booooooom-and-adobe/

The picture remakes examples on this site are well worth visiting ... Incredible images are being produced.

The

litt

le d

ancer

D

egas

The image

remake of this

Degas Is incredible!

See it on the Booooooom

website

4

The Gardening Tips series was produced by well known local gardening expert Mrs. FM Hartley as monthly gardening items which featured on an audio news-tape produced locally for partially sighted people. (Link To Stafford & Stone Talking Newspaper. Link To R.N.I.B.)

As such the articles are meant to be read individually and not as chapters of a book. The articles were written over a period of some 7 years. RBW is absolutely delighted that Mrs Hartley has agreed to some of her words of wisdom (assisted by Alan) being reproduced for our benefit.

Gardening Tips Week Ending May 2nd 2014.

Hello Folks

May has come again and it‟s all systems go in the Garden and on the Allot-

ments. It‟s time to sow Runner Bean seeds so that you can have plants ready to put

in the ground at the end of May, otherwise if you sow the seed directly in the ground

sometimes Mice will enjoy them. Cabbages, Cauliflowers, Brussels, etc should be in

now and growing away. If you only want a few of them though you can buy small

packs of Vegetable Plants from the Garden Centres, but they really should be in the

ground, although, you can still plant some vegetables to give a crop that follows on

and the benefit of late planting is that they will often be reduced in price now.

The Flowering Cherries seem to have been better than ever this year and Daffodils

in tubs have also done really well. Alan‟s Apricots, Peach

and Pear have all been covered in flowers this year, so we are

hoping for a good crop. There were Bees about for some of

the flowers, however, there may be what they call “June

Drop,” when a tree has too much fruit on it and it discards

some, but not too much we hope!

It is a busy time in the garden and on the Allotments now

with lots of potting on and planting out. We find when han-

dling the bought compost that hasn‟t got Peat in it, it needs

Horticultural grit, or Perlite mixed in to it, or it clogs up and

stays to wet. I still think when planting Tubs, or large Pots it is a good idea to add a

few Water Retaining Crystals such as Swell Gel. It also helps, if we have a very dry

Summer, to stand each Tub on a saucer, because Concrete does get very warm in the

Sun and will draw the moisture from any Tubs, or Pots standing directly on it.

PLATO'S SYMPOSIUM Friday 30 & Saturday 31 May A modern adaptation of one of the most influential books about love ever written. Actors bring this Ancient Greek drinking party to life, discussing the nature of love. With Michael Maloney as Socrates, Adjoa Andoh, Chipo Chung, Tunji Kasim, Michael Nardone, Steve Toussaint and Daniel Weyman. The evening shows include free pre- and post-show dis-cussions about whether love really is the meaning of life. 'Love is born into every human being; it calls back the halves of our original nature together' (Plato, Symposium) FIND OUT MORE/BOOK TICKETS http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whatson/platos-symposium-83110 SHAKESPEARE'S SONNETS Sunday 1 June A complete reading of every one of Shakespeare's 154 sonnets. Enjoy these famous works read by some of the finest actors and poets in the world: Simon Russell Beale, Maureen Beattie, Deborah Findlay, Oliver Ford Davies, Victoria Hamilton, David Harewood, Guy Paul, Juliet Stevenson and Harriet Walter. 'Let me not to the marriage of true minds/ Admit impediments...' FIND OUT MORE >> http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whatson/shakespeares-sonnets-82905 SHOT THROUGH THE HEART - SOUTHBANK CENTRE POETRY FILM COMPETITION Last chance to enter - closing date: Friday 30 May Calling all filmmakers and poets! We want your poetry films on the theme of love... Enter your poetry film for a chance to win: - £500 (split between poet and filmmaker) - two tickets each to Poetry International's Gala event - screening of your poetry film at Southbank Centre & the 2014 Zebra Poetry Film Festival in Berlin ENTER NOW >> http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whatson/shot-through-the-heart-film-82234

When the Forsythia finished flowering, or indeed any other late Winter flowering, or Spring

flowering shrubs, they should have been cut down. We have a White Flowering Currant, or

Ribes and it was a mass of flowers which very nicely hides a neighbour‟s garage from view - so

that is another bush to prune now. If you have any of those Lollipop type of bushes made from

Lonicera Nitidia, Buxus, Privet, etc, they might have to be trimmed to help them keep their

shape.

Now that we are into May it should be safe to put out Hanging Baskets

and after the late frosts in April it really should be safe for all the other

bedding plants to go out in your tubs and borders. The more tender

vegetables like Courgettes, Squash, Pumpkin, Tomatoes, Outdoor Cu-

cumbers and semi exotics like Cape Gooseberries, can all be planted

outside later in the month. Any other tender plants that have been over

Wintered in the Greenhouse such as Dahlias, Geraniums and Abutilons

should also be safe now. However, it is probably still a bit risky for

things like the tender Banana plants and edible Lime trees that really do

need warm nights as well as warm days.

Well that‟s all for now. Cheerio. Frances Hartley.

6

Year 1589 : The Cast : The Queen‟s Men : a group of strolling players thrown out of London where the theatres have been closed due to an outbreak of plague. Elizabeth I was on the throne. Kit Marlowe (wordsmith/detective), Harry Swann (the murderer of the-first victim who first found the chal-ice) Samuel Burball (Owner), Peter Pecksniff, Daniel Alleynes, young Hal who plays a girl‟s role very badly. Vesta Swann, Rosie Ripp-sheet. The Boar‟s Head Tavern, Trentby: Bertha landlady, Molly Golightly, Martha Goodnight wenches. Ned the bear keeper. The Trentby Abbey of St Jude : Abbot Ranulf knows something about the missing Roman hoard of silver plate/chalice etc The Manor of Bluddschott : sodden Squire Darnley Bluddschott, wife Mis-tress Anne, daughter Penelope about to be sold off into matrimony, Mis-tress Hood seamstress, sister to Penny, Mistress Tatanya

The Sheriff‟s Castle : Magistrate Squire Humphrey Pettigrew, Black Knight, the Sheriff Burrowmere Lord Haywood, man-at-arms Richard of Hyde Leigh, a constable Daniel Smithers and a scribe Modern Day: Rick Fallon and Tommy Tip-Tip McGee** Private eyes in Trentby on case for Sir Kipling Aloysius Bluddschott (Sister Christabel) to locate silver chalice and Roman hoard of Trentby Abbey + corpse Jago Swann DI Pete Ferret and Lavender Pomeroy and Rose Rippsheet PLEASE NOTE: It is imperative that those writing for the storyline read what other writers have already written before they add a new piece. AND the year has been changed and Moll Rippsheet has become Rosie.

Friday morning. It was the crack of dawn, or about ten thirty, which was near as Rick and Tip-Tip ever got to it, when they returned to the remnants of door they'd found the day before. The only thing was that the remains had been disturbed, or as Tip-Tip put it ...

„It wanna like this las' even‟, Rick. T' things been banged about, an' it's no as if 'tis easy to find.‟

Standing, looking down into the pit that had been dug, Rick agreed, „Well, now we know that there's no mine shaft underneath it, Tip-Tip. I didn't think there would be, but somebody thought there was and they've been in here with a digger. The ques-tions are who, and did they find anything by way of a clue?‟

„Treasure 'unters, Rick. Could be anyone, could be them TATSA Abbey Treasure Seekers, or the Bluddschott's, or jus' somebody wha' spotted us. Anybody!‟

Rick was amazed, this was a philosophical treatise for Tip-Tip, who continued... „They's one o' they yeller machines down t' road we come in on, maybe tha's the one t'was used.‟

„Possibly, Tip-Tip, possibly. But that's not our problem right now. Our problem‟s that

we've only got a day to find that mine shaft before we have to report to Van M'bekod.‟ „No a problem, Rick. Molly and Lavender have done it, all typed up pretty and ready

for him to collect.‟ „What! How can they know what we'll be telling him?‟ Tip-Tip laughed, „Lavender says Molly's put a lot o' words around no verra much.

Jus‟ what we foun' about t' graves ... an' Abbey Treasure Seekers … an' things. No treasure it says, jus' a lot of … wha's t' word … like them ol' heroes, King Arthur an' all his mates?‟

„I think you mean myths, Tip-Tip.‟ Tip-Tip nodded but, knowing when he was beaten, didn't try to get his head around

the word. He picked up his metal detector and followed Rick in exploring the banks and hedges.

The metal detectors picked up lots of metal, mainly small bits of wire and drinks cans. Rick had the find of the day, as he called it, of a small chunk of some sort of concrete around a tiny gold ring.

„You know, Tip-Tip, with gold at the price it is, this might just pay for lunch,‟ he said as he pocketed it. „We'll have to see what else there is, but I'd say that this is all we'll find. What about that rabbit hole in the bank there?‟

Tip-Tip waved his detector over the hole and got a squeal, „Somethin' here, Rick, t' dial says 'tis no' iron. Lemme see what 'tis.‟ A few seconds work with the shovel turned up a number of what could be coins.

„Hold up, Tip-Tip! Don't dig any more. These could be important.‟ Rick was on his hands and knees on the grass. „Sit down a minute and pretend we're having a breather. Have a fag in case somebody's watching.‟

Tip-Tip sat and said, „Rick, you getting' one o' they complexions 'bout people watchin'? We're in the middle o' a bunch o' trees an' bushes. No way anyone can see us.‟

„That's what we thought last night. What did we find today? A thundering dirty great hole right where we'd found that door, that's what! We ARE being watched I tell you.‟

Rick scooped the coins into his pocket and waited a few min-utes. „Right, back to work. Remember, we're still looking for things, so keep that detector going and dig a few holes when you get a sound. We'll go on until lunch time then back to the office and see what we've got here.‟

They found a few things in the next hour or so, but nothing im-portant. It wasn't until they got back to the office that, with the trained acuity of a professional investigator, Rick noticed ...

„Where's that shovel you had. Tip-Tip?‟ „Down tha' rabbit hole w' found, Rick. Tha's no a rabbit tunnel 'cos it gets bigger at the

back. I could feel nothin' after the first few feet. Then a lost me holt. Sorry!‟ Rick sat down, heavily, and asked, „Can you drive a digger?‟ Molly, who was sitting with them, eating her lunch, answered, „If he can't I can. One of

my cousins has one and I've used it a few times. Why?‟ „'Cos we've just found your family mine, Molly. Tip-Tip‟s left his spade in it.‟

RANDOM WORDS EXERCISES: On her first day at work, Miss Worthington sat at a desk with all the trepidation of a high-wire act or a trapeze flyer in a three ring circus. She carefully smoothed out a manuscript she had prepared earlier of the day‟s events, arranged the items she had taken from her briefcase into a row of straight lines: fountain pen, sharpened pencil, mobile phone in case of emergencies. The only thing left in the brief case was a far from tasty looking satsuma: she didn‟t care there wasn‟t a single gram of fat in a sat-suma and her diet was going very well, she‟d already lost half a pound this month. Her weight was always a challenge as was today. Somewhere far away a bell rang. This was it, she was flying solo without a safety net. The door burst open and, forty strong,

her reception class tumbled into the silent nursery all shouting at once. (SMS)

The god Pan put down his pipes and with a grave look, eyed the huge edifice rising up from the rock in front of him. “So this is going to be the Acropolis”, he turned to Zeus, his companion. “Those masons will never finish at this rate. They need sets of castors under them! “Beetroot juice is better”, Zeus told him.” That really would speed them up!” Anyway, I don‟t think they‟ve picked a good spot. I feel inclined to order them to move it to that hill over there”.

“Oh please don‟t do anything to hamper the construction, or it will be several cen-turies before it‟s completed”, Pan pleaded. “Why did they choose here, for heaven‟s sake?” Zeus asked. “Serendipity, I should say”, Pan replied. “That big pile of granite was just lying around asking to be built into something”, he said. (PMW)

Assignment : Kissing the pink

You know, it‟s amazing what you learn from being a member of Rising Brook Writers.

Never a week goes by when I don‟t come home knowing more than I did when I sat down in the library at 1.30 pm on a Monday afternoon. Granted, it‟s not always stuff that

I wanted or needed to know, but hey, information of any sort has to be a good thing, doesn‟t it? I mean, that‟s what education is about.

Take this this week for instance. ‟Kissing the pink‟ is our assignment, and having watched some snooker over the years, I know that it is an expression meaning a light, glanc-

ing and sometimes accidental touch from the cue ball, or another colour, in the process of completing a shot. What I

didn‟t know until today was that it is also the name of a 1980‟s British new age pop group from London. The eight

members were: - Nick Whitecross, John Hall, George Stewart, Josephine Wells, Pete Barnett, Sylvia Griffin, Steve Cusack and Simon Aldridge.

The first single they released was called "Don't Hide in the Shadows", under their manager, Martin Hannet, but it was not until they signed with Magnet Records, that their

records began to be played on the airways. Their first album was recorded at Air Studios and was produced by Colin Thurston. Apparently, „Kissing the Pink‟ had wanted Brian Eno to produce the album but Mag-

net seemingly thought Thurston would make a commercial impact. After a series of near-misses, their single "The Last Film" reached the

Top 20 of the UK singles chart. Their album, enti-tled „Naked‟ reached No. 54 in the albums chart.

„Maybe This Day"‟ reached No. 87 in 1983.and in 1985, following the departure by some of the members; they shortened their name to „KTP.’

They then had several hits. The most successful „Certain things are Likely‟ which spent three weeks

at No. 1 in 1987. That song also became their sec-ond Hot 100 entry when it peaked at No. 97 later

that year, and from the same album, „One Step‟ was the biggest selling single in Italy that year. „Kissing the Pink's‟ last album, „Sugarland‟,

was a blend of psychedelia and dance-pop. Since then, the band have made an album with „Ecologist‟

called „Hot Filth‟ which took the mixing of psyche-delia with jazz and other musical forms further still. Whitecross, Hall and Stewart collaborated on

many dance records in the early 1990s and made it to the top of the dance charts in 1994, on the Pukka Record label. In 2003, they made an album with jazz saxophonist

Candy Dulfer, called „Right In My Soul.‟ They also worked with Gareth Gates on his „Pictures of the Other Side‟ album. Besides this, Whitecross has written a considerable

amount of material for artists such as Shea Seger, and the band wrote and feature on four tracks on the X-Press 2 album „Makeshift Feelgood‟, alongside Tim DeLaughter, Kurt Wagner and Rob Harvey from „The Music.‟

If you wish to hear some of their stuff, you can do so on YouTube. And if you want to know more, you can ask me, because thanks to RBW, I‟m now an aficionado.

Image

Kissing the

Pink

Website

Origin

Unknown

10

http://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/

news/11190162.Tributes_paid_to_our_poet_laureate_Gerard_Benson/?ref=rss

Poet Gerard Benson has died | 03-May-2014

Bradford's poet laureate Gerard Benson has died aged 83. Gerard Benson had recently been recorded by the BBC for the Poetry Archive. He had been due to perform at a Po-

etry In the City event in Bradford this summer as part of Ilkley Literature Festival's fringe celebrations. His Memoir of A Jobbing Poet will be published later this year. A Quaker, poet and a teacher, Gerard Benson had worked in intelligence and as an actor. He was

appointed Bradford's poet laureate in 2008. He was a key figure in the Poems on the Underground movement that began 27 years ago.

Rosemary Tonks has died | 03-May-2014

The poet Rosemary Tonks, author of two poetry collections and six published novels, died aged 85 on the 15th of April.

In the 1970s Rosemary Tonks renounced writing and came to view her work as 'dangerous rubbish'. How-ever, other poets hold her poetry in high regard. She refused to let her work be reprinted. Rare Books: The Poetry Library has copies of two much sought after Tonks collections.

Obituary http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/may/02/rosemary-tonks http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosemary_Tonks

British Library's literary treasure trove –

in pictures goes online ...

The earliest known writings of

Charlotte Brontë (c1826) This illustrated short story was written for

Charlotte's baby sister Anne, and bound into

a book covered with grey flowered wallpaper.

All photographs: British Library

The launch of the British Library's digital archive, Discovering Literature,

sees 1,200 treasures from Romantic and Victorian writers published online. Charlotte Brontë's earliest story to William Blake's notebook

British Library publishes 'literary treasures' on new website

Random words – May 12th

Trapeze care manuscript pencil pen tasty gram fountain mobile safety-net The producer put down his manuscript, which was full of notes in the margin in red pencil, and picked up his mobile. This movie could turn out to be very important as far as his career was concerned, and he was taking the greatest care over every last detail. “Steve,” he said to his right-hand man, “have you checked the trapeze? I suggest you weigh all the cast to the nearest gram, to ensure that all the equipment will take their weight. We don’t want anyone having an accident.”

“Don’t worry, boss. I will have a safety net underneath, strategically placed so as not to appear in the shot”. The producer nodded. “And while you’re at it, make sure that the water pressure on that foun-tain isn’t too high. Miss Kiddmen doesn’t want her hair messed up!”

“Wilco,” said Steve. “She’s a tasty piece and no mistake. Could I borrow your nice pen, boss? I must ask for her autograph and this cheap biro doesn’t exactly create the impression I want to give!”

Assignment – Holidays Holidays can be stressful. At least, mine can. Take last year, for instance. I was due to fly from East Midlands airport, on my way to Faro, in Portugal. My final destination was Punta Umbria in Spain, but there is no airport near this particular area of southern Spain, so you have to fly to Faro, then cross the border into Spain. Punta Umbria was the place from where Christopher Co-lumbus sailed on his voyage to America. It is not a typically touristy resort, and is an undiscov-ered treasure, hence its appeal to me. Now I never use an alarm clock. For one thing, I am convinced that to be woken suddenly from deep sleep is not good for the system. And anyway, I am the sort of person who always wakens in plenty of time when I know I am to be somewhere at a certain time, and have an early start. It’s as if I have my very own built-in alarm. But I had decided it would be better to be safe than sorry, and an insurance , so I set it to wake me at 5am. As fate would have it, I could NOT get off to sleep at all that night. I tossed and turned, plumped up my pillows, changed my position, even put on the radio quietly, which often works, but no. Sleep completely evaded me. I lay there, hour by hour, feeling exhausted, until about 4 am, when I finally nodded off. I woke with a start, and grabbed the clock. It was 6.30 and I should have been arriving at the airport for my morning flight. I flew out of bed and flung my case, which fortunately I’d packed the night before, into the car and set off at break-neck speed to Castle Donnington, without my breakfast. But where was the car park, and my allocated space? Round and round I went, trying to find where I was supposed to be. There didn’t appear to be any spaces. Finally, I found one, about as far from the airport transport shuttle bus stop as it was possible to be, and lugged my heavy case

across the tarmac in the drizzle, only to see the bus disappear into the distance, without me. A middle-aged couple joined me at the bus stop. They asked which flight I was on, and when I told them, they tutted. “You’ll be lucky”, they said. “Most likely they won’t let you on. You’re so late!”

“They jolly well better had!” I insisted, “Or there’ll be trouble!”

Luckily, the check-in desk was still open, and I was rushed through and onto the plane. The pilot came on over the intercom. “The good news, folks, is that everyone is on board. The bad news is that we’re not going any-where. The French air traffic controllers have just called a lightning strike.” He went on to explain that he couldn’t let us off, in case we got a slot and were told to take off. We waited three hours before being allowed to depart. I had had no breakfast. Things didn’t get much better at Faro. The coach was miles away, and I had to haul my suitcase over acres of bumpy tarmac, before struggling on board for the hour-and-a-half drive to my ho-tel. But finally, I was there, and the luggage was unloaded and put down in the hotel’s foyer. “Shall I take my case?” I asked the porter. “No. We’ve not allocated rooms yet. Leave it there and we’ll bring it up for you shortly,” he replied. I went in to the restaurant, to get a welcome hot meal and drink. An hour or so later, I felt more human, and went up to inspect the room I’d been given. No case. Ah well, I thought. Give them time. But two hours later, it still hadn’t arrived. I rang reception. “You cannot get in your case?” the lady asked in broken English. “No. I have no luggage,” I told her. She told me they would search for it. I asked some of the other guests who had been on the coach with me, and discovered that they all had their belong-ings. The search came to nothing, and at bed-time, I still had no case. I was getting desperate. I went down to the reception desk to complain. It transpired that the porter had put my case back on the airport transfer coach and sent it all the way back to Faro airport. “But,” the receptionist told me, “we have located it, and it will be put back on the coach and you will get it in about three hours”. Whew! What a start to a holiday! And I thought the idea of hols was to be an antidote to the stresses and strains of everyday life! Just a word of caution. If I were you, I wouldn’t go on holiday with me. And I am due to fly out to Crete shortly, so BE WARNED! PS. Things haven’t got off to an auspicious start this year. I’ve already mislaid my foreign currency and had to go down to town to buy more!

I was thinking the other day about the demise of clothes-lines and the part they once played in our culture ...

Everybody had them when I grew up in the 1950s. They had their own

etiquette; they had rules which weren‟t written down but everybody knew them. Recently, I was reminded of these rules by Doreen, one of the foun-ders of RBW, and I identified with everyone of them even though we had been children in different parts of the country. Doreen says: “We had a long wooden pole that was used to push the clotheslines up so that longer items (sheets/pants/etc.) didn't brush the ground and get dirty. I can hear my

mother now...” My own mum called this essential item a “clothes prop”, but its use was the same and it was stored in the shed out of the rain so it didn‟t get all slimy and mark the sheets. Sheets were

always white in the 1950s: rotary dryers and tumble dryers were but a future dream. As a very new mum in the 1970s I did have an unfortunate experience with a clothes line.

The family had moved to Barry in Glamorgan and we were renting while our house sale went through. The little back-to-back house was lovely; it was on a steep street which dropped away towards the docks. All the washing lines in the tiny back yards were high doubles with very long

wires which could be lowered then raised on pulleys. One morning I‟d sweated blood boiling nap-pies and sheets and towels in an old mangle machine which was all the old fashioned kitchen had as „facilities‟ and had struggled in a stiff breeze to peg out. The row of dazzling undies and spot-

less nappies were a treat to see gusting in the wind: my badge of pride. But pride often goes be-fore a fall. When I got back from baby clinic that afternoon the top line was empty. The wind had

taken the single hung nappies and pants and flung them away all down the rear alleyway where they were festooned over outhouses and walls and being tossed about by kids playing in the lane. “Should‟ve doubled pegged,” said her-next-door (Mrs Proper-Welsh-Wales) with preciously little

sympathy, as she passed over a couple of nappies that she‟d rescued from her coal house roof ... “we was all watching „em go over ...” Sigh! I had obviously dropped dramatically in the estima-

tion of the older mums of the street. I‟d forever be remembered as her-who-lost-her-draws. I can‟t remember them all but here are some of the washday rules: hang socks by the toes not the stretchy tops; hang trousers from the hem not the waistbands; clean the clothesline with

a dishcloth before hanging out; always hang "whites" with "whites" and hang them out first, (this was the way washing was done in a twin tub, or a mangle washer, whites first, then colours, then darks: hot water was expensive so it wasn‟t changed between batches of clothes, so when the

wash was finished the water would be sludgy and dark grey. The smell is indescribable, especially as most men‟s overalls and work wear was washed at home.

Shirts were never hung by the shoulders always pegged by the tail. White shirts were a badge of office for the woman of the household who was judged by her peers on the dazzle of her man‟s whites. Grey shirts ... trouble in the marriage ...

A hang over from Victoriana wash day was traditionally on a Monday. Never hang clothes on the weekend, or especially on a Sunday, as this was a sure sign of household mismanage-

ment. Hang the sheets and towels on the outsides hide unmentionables in the middle. Away from the curious eyes of little boys and knicker-snatchers. It didn't matter if it was below zero, clothes still went on the line to get the fresh air; in mid winter clothes would freeze. Clothes line dried

clothes didn‟t add to damp inside the home and clothes dried over a “wooden maiden” hung on ropes from the kitchen ceiling could absorb cooking smells not to mention fag-smoke. In those

days everybody smoked like chimneys. A good home manager would always gather the pegs into a peg bag, or basket, when tak-ing down dry clothes. Pegs left on a line were noticed and greatly disapproved of by neighbours.

Wooden pegs would go slimy if left on a line and mark the next batch of washing. Very bad marks for the homemaker. Experienced moms were efficient, they would line the clothes so each item did not need two pegs but shared one of the pegs with the next item. This didn‟t work with

heavy towels and towels were heavy in pre-spin dryer days. See this was my doom ... I was try-ing to remember how my mum pegged out efficiently back in sunny Stoke-on-Trent (?) and for-

got to consider seaside onshore wind conditions ... that‟s my excuse for losing my smalls anyway. (SMS)

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/royal-albert-hall-popup-

basement-to-host-poetry-national-slam-final-9370913.html

Royal Albert Hall "pop-up" basement to host

Poetry National Slam Final

Writers published by small presses dominate the shortlist for the Edge Hill Short Story

Prize, which has been announced today. (PRESS RELEASE Friday 16th May 2014)

Among the finalists for the £5,000 prize are Jaki McCarrick whose story The Visit won the Wasafari prize for new

fiction, Rachel Trezise who has previously featured in the Orange Future List and won the inaugural Dylan Thomas

Prize for her story collection Fresh Apples, and Bernie McGill who won the Zoetrope: All Story Short Fiction contest

in the US in 2008. Also featuring in the list is multi-award winning poet John Burnside who also has a regular column

in The New Statesman and contributes to newspapers and periodicals in the UK, Germany and Switzerland and David

Rose whose story Flora appeared in The Best British Short Stories 2011.

The final list of nominated authors and short story collections competing for the prize are: David Rose, Posthumous

Stories (Salt); Rachel Trezise, Cosmic Latte (Parthian); Bernie McGill, Sleepwalkers (Whittrick Press); Jaki McCar-

rick, The Scattering (Seren Books)

John Burnside, Something Like Happy (Jonathan Cape)Prize co-ordinator Dr Ailsa Cox, Reader in Creative Writing

and English at Edge Hill University, said: “It has been an incredibly difficult decision for all our judges to draw up

year’s shortlist and it’s going to be even trickier to decide on the winner, which we’ll announce at our award cere-

mony in London on July 3. It is interesting that this year all but John Burnside are authors published by small presses,

and both Seren and Parthian are Welsh publishers, with Seren already winning the award with Graham Mort for his

collection Touch in 2011.”

Now in its eight year, the Edge Hill Prize is the only UK award that recognises excellence in a published collection of

short stories. This year the judging panel includes Kevin Barry, author and winner of the 2013 Edge Hill Prize, Carys

Bray, Author and winner of the inaugural Edge Hill MA Prize in 2010 and Katie Allen, Journalist and editor of

welovethisbook.com. The prize has three categories: The main literary award of £5,000. The £1,000 Readers‟ Choice,

chosen from the same shortlist. A £500 student prize, which will reward one of the stars of Edge Hill University‟s MA

Creative Writing course.

The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on 3th July at Free Word Centre on Farringdon Road, London.

Short biographies for the five writers are as follows:

John Burnside. Born in Dunfermline in 1955, Burnside had several occupations before becoming a full-time writer in

1994. A prolific writer of poetry and prose, he has been shortlisted for and has won many awards; he writes for radio and tele-

vision, is a regular contributor to a number of periodicals and newspapers in the UK, Germany and Switzerland and has a regu-lar „Nature‟ column in The New Statesman. Something Like Happy is Burnside‟s first short story collection since Burning Elvis

(2000).

Jaki McCarrick. London-born, McCarrick has written for the stage and television and received much acclaim. She is the

first winner of the Liverpool Lennon Paper Poetry Competition. Now living in Dundalk, many of the stories from The Scatter-

ing, her debut short story collection, are set on the Irish border. One of the stories, „The Visit‟ won the Wasfari Prize for new

fiction, and many have been published in literary magazines. McCarrick is currently editing her first novel.

Bernie McGill. Born in Northern Ireland and living in Portstewart, McGill has pursued a diverse career in the arts, writing

for theatre before winning the Zoetrope: All-Story Short Fiction Contest in the US in 2008. Her first novel, The Butterfly Cabi-net, was published in 2010. Her short fiction has been broadcast by BBC Radio Ulster and published in magazines and an-

thologies. „No Angel‟, one of the stories in Sleepwalkers, won second prize in the Sean O Faolain Short Story Competition and

the Michael McLaverty Short Story Award.

David Rose. Born in 1949, Rose lives outside west London and all his working life has been in the Post Office. He is the

joint founder and Fiction Editor of literary magazine, Main Street Journal. His debut story, „Private View‟, was published in The Literary Review and since then has been widely published in small presses in the UK and Canada. „Flora‟ appeared in The

Best British Short Stories 2011 and the same year Salt published Rose‟s debut novel, Vault. Posthumous Stories is Rose‟s long

-awaited first short story collection.

Rachel Trezise. Born in Rhondda, South Wales, in 1978, Trezise graduated in 2000 and her first novel In and Out of the

Goldfish Bowl, published the same year, attracted much critical acclaim and won a place on the Orange Future List. In 2006

her short story collection Fresh Apples won the inaugural Dylan Thomas Prize. Trezise has also written for BBC Radio 4.

She is currently working on her third novel and a third short story collection. The Times describes her as „An outstanding

young writer‟.

Latest Competitions: Sentinel Literary Quarterly Poetry Competition | Closing Date: 31-May-14 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/competitions/?id=1566 The Templar Poetry Annual Pamphlet & Collection Awards 2014 | Closing Date: 16-Jun-14 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/competitions/?id=1575 The Proverse Prize 2014 | Closing Date: 30-Jun-14 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/competitions/?id=1568

Flash 500 Humour Verse Competition | Closing Date: 30-Jun-14 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/competitions/?id=1574

The London Magazine Poetry Competition 2014 | Closing Date: 30-Jun-14 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/competitions/?id=1576

Latest News: http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/news/library/?id=1179

The Christopher Tower Poetry Prize 2014 | 07-May-14 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/news/poetryscene/?id=1178

Artist Bookmarks in Poetry Library Books | 07-May-14 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/news/library/?id=1176

Items added to the Poetry Library, Jan-Apr 2014 | 04-May-14 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/news/library/?id=1175

New Dylan Thomas books | 04-May-14 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/news/acquisitions/?id=1174

Gerard Benson has died. | 03-May-14 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/news/poetryscene/?id=1173

Rosemary Tonks has died | 03-May-14 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/news/poetryscene/?id=1172

Does this happen to you?

In town, in shop, when mobile sounds, I panic as the noise resounds. Ring-tone stops once I‟m outside, searching bag, where does phone hide? Hold my purse, my specs and pen, there it lies deep in its den. I can‟t see those crystals shine, find normal specs it will be fine. Juggle stuff in other hand, for this disturbance I‟d not planned How do I find the message sent, my hands are full, my patience spent Pile everything in bag once more, take my time, each item store, Pick out phone and specs which see, the message left, who wanted me? Call unanswered, nothing there, at empty screen can only stare. All this trouble just to find, mobile useless – what a bind!

Call For Entries!

The 8th international Welsh Poetry

Competition, 2014, call for entries!

There is just one month left to send us your entries for this year's competition. This year our 8th competition will be

judged by Welsh poet and environmentalist John Evans.

Writer and competition organizer Dave Lewis said: “The continued success of the competition shows there is a great hun-

ger for honest appreciation of the spoken word. Many feel the competition is unique because it is truly independent, we

do not use filter judges and all our entries are judged anonymously. So, whether you are an established writer or a com-

plete beginner, everyone has the same chance of winning. This, we believe, is vitally important because it allows exciting

new talent to emerge.”

“We are thrilled that John has agreed to judge this year‟s competition. He has become an internationally respected figure

both for his writing and his tireless work campaigning to conserve our wildlife and natural environment. The competition

has had seven great years already and recently published an anthology containing all the winning poems from the first

years of the competition. Copies can be obtained from the competition website, Amazon and good book stores.

As always, we hope to discover previously unpublished voices alongside the more familiar literary names. We are not

interested in dry, pseudo-intellectual writing but believe good poetry should be raw, passionate and honest! Are you brave

enough to enter and be judged by one of Wales' most famous Welshmen?”

Prizes are: 1st Prize - £400, 2nd Prize - £200 and 3rd Prize - £100, plus 17 runners-up will be published on our web site

and in a future anthology!

To enter you just need to compose a poem, in English, of less than 50 lines and send to the competition organizers. Entry

forms are available by post, can be downloaded from the web site or picked up from all libraries. It is just £4 to enter and

the closing date is Sunday 15th June 2014.

Competition Website - www.welshpoetry.co.uk Competition Judge – www.johnevans.org.uk

As we recently mentioned on Twitter, there's a new selection of tracks now playing in The Loop on Ra-dio Wildfire – playing 24/7, a selection of stories, satires, poetry, spoken word, music and interview @ www.radiowildfire.com - another continuous Loop of live literature and chat. (PRESS RELEASE) There's a cornucopia of Poetry and Spoken Word with music and soundscapes: from the UK, Dave Migman &

Spleen; Huw Parsons with a variety of collaborators; Katie Metcalfe & Project Lono; Lee Foust; Project Lono & Carl Walton; Jason Potter; from New Zealand, Michael Clifton; and from France and Tokyo, Kinsâme.

Poetry: from Emma Purshouse with Young Love, Innit; and Andy Conner with Quiet Kid. Satire and Experiment: from Robbie McInnes; and The James Worse Public Address System with the in-triguingly titled 4bloadygum. Music and song: from Monjo; and from Michael Thomas & Ian Schofield.

And Drama from Bunbury Banter Theatre Company with a production of Within Regulations by Yolande Fer-rato.

(You can upload soundfiles of your own work to the 'Submit' page of the Radio Wildfire website. Mp3s are our pre-ferred format. You can get reminders of upcoming shows on Radio Wildfire by following us on Twitter.) The Loop is curated by Vaughn Reeves and plays online continuously except during our live broadcast on Mon-

day 5th May 2014 starting at 8.00pm UK time with a full programme of pre-recorded tracks, live studio guests and conversation.

WHAT IS RADIO WILDFIRE? Radio Wildfire is an independent online radio station which blends spoken word, poetry, performance literature, com-edy, storytelling, short stories and more with a novel selection of word/music fusion and an eclectic mix of musical

styles. www.radiowildfire.com currently broadcasts live 8.00-10.00pm (UK time) on the first Monday of every month.

Listen to Radio Wildfire at www.radiowildfire.com where The Loop plays 24 hours a day. Twitter @radiowildfire

If you are a subscribing email recipient to leave RBW Online is easy just email and say ‘unsubscribe’ and you will be immediately removed from the list. If you have any suggestions for improvement to this service please let us know. You don't have to take an active part to receive this workshop bulletin you can just sit back and enjoy the ride, but if you could send feedback, it is greatly appreciated. RBW Privacy Promise: A few simple contact details are all that are required and they will only be used for this bulletin service. RBW promise to:

Only send you details via the newsletter.

To never pass on your details to anyone else.

To always allow recipients to opt-out and unsubscribe at any time.

www.risingbrookwriters.org.uk

To contact RBW please use the website contact box.

PATRON Ian McMillan www.ian-mcmillan.co.uk

Present and Previous Memberships and Funders.

Rising Brook Writers strives to be compliant with the requirements of the Data Protection Act. RBW strives for accu-

racy and fairness, however, can take no responsibility for any error, misinterpretation or inaccuracy in any message

sent by this mode of publishing. The opinions expressed are not necessarily in accordance with the policy of the char-

ity. E-mails and attachments sent out by RBW are believed to be free from viruses which might affect computer sys-

tems into which they are received or opened but it is the responsibility of the recipient to ensure that they are virus

free. Rising Brook Writers accepts no responsibility for any loss or damage arising in any way from their receipt, open-

ing or use. Environment/ Recycling: Please consider carefully if you need to print out any part or all of this message.

To the best of our knowledge and belief all the material included in this publication is free to use in the public domain,

or has been reproduced with permission, and/or source acknowledgement. RBW have researched rights where possible,

if anyone’s copyright is accidentally breached please inform us and we will remove the item with apologies. RBW is a

community organisation, whose aims are purely educational, and is entirely non-profit making. If using material from

this collection for educational purposes please be so kind as to acknowledge RBW as the source. Contributors retain the

copyright to their own work. Fiction: names, characters, places and incidents are imaginary or are being used in a ficti-

tious way. Any resemblance to actual people living or dead is entirely coincidental.

This bulletin is produced by volunteers. The editor’s decisions are final and not open to discussion.

© Rising Brook Writers 2014 — RCN 1117227 A voluntary charitable trust.