a towel in the rain

I am a citizen of the world. Welcome to my poetry abode :) All about me DIY Poets, my lovely Nottingham based collective

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Ladies and Gentlemen, meet your new Brexit Secretary.

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Brexit Resignations

Brexit has reached a whole new level of farce today, with the man who fronted the leave campaign (Boris Johnson) and the man leading the withdrawal negotiations (David Davis) resigning within a day of each other, apparently because of the negotiation plan. Regardless of how people voted, surely we have to realise that, if it's not even going to be a Brexit for the ones who want it the most, then who is it for exactly?

Every single responsibly designed process has a way to re-evaluate or cancel when stuff goes wrong, or when new factors present themselves. Brexit should be no exception to that.

A referendum on the final agreement, if one is ever made, is the politically responsible thing to do, whether people voted leave or remain. Otherwise we'll have none of that "control" that we're supposed to be "taking back".

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Interview with Martin Grey

Martin (formerly known as towelintherain) is becoming increasingly well known in his adopted city of Nottingham.  He is also a founder member of From the Word Go, but this interview concentrates on his solo activity as a poet.  There’s more information on www.facebook.com/martingreypoet

Mal: Please tell us about when you started writing poetry.

Martin: I’ve written poetry since I was a teenager, mostly dreadful angsty stuff in the early years.  I’d written a lot when I was a kid, mostly little stories, but I had an appalling English teacher who destroyed my willingness to write.  I guess those early poems were my inate love of writing sticking its head above the parapit again and, even though I’d never show them to anyone, I’m very glad they exist.

Mal: What was behind your move from Guildford in Surrey to Nottingham?

Martin: Most people want to flee the nest for a while when they grow up and I was no different.  Also I was very into rock music at the time and Nottingham had a really good rock scene, Rock City etc.  To be honest, it was pretty impulsive and, although I really wanted to go to uni, the uni course was more of a secondary thought.  It just seemed like a good idea, so I went for it.

Mal: How and when did you bridge the gap between writing poetry and performing to a live audience?

Martin: Good question: I’d wanted to for a while, but I’d never really had the confidence in my own work or seen any good opportunities to do it.  Then I was writing in a cafe one day, I think in late 2012, and I saw the diypoets free magazine in the flyers and pamphlets section of the cafe.  There was a submissions e-mail on the back and, to my surprise, the poem I submitted made the next magazine.  From there, I joined the group and a few months later took the plunge at one of their events.  It was a terrifying but great experience.

Mal: I’m told you have a book due for publication soon.

Martin: Yes, that’s the plan.  I’m hoping it will be out this summer.  It’s a very people focussed book.  All the poems are about people, some real, some not, with a lot of sub themes like peace, tolerance, hope and anti austerity thrown in.  It’ll be the very best book I can make and I hope that people will get something from it.

Mal: And finally, when are you hoping to publish the novel “Too Late for a Daydream”?  The early chapters look really promising and I do want to know what happens next.

Martin: I’d love to finish it, but I’ve absolutely no idea.  I appreciate your praise about the early chapters though.  I can tell you definitely that either my second or third book will be my first novel because, when I was a kid, I wanted to be an author and it would be great to be a novelist as well as a poet, although the finished book might be completely different; I’ve no idea!

Mal: Many thanks for speaking to us.

Martin: Pleasure.

(20/05/2018)

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Mal’s Web Party interviewed me a week or so back. He forgot to ask the question “Why are you so disorganised that it will take you eight days to reblog free publicity” but I guess he’s kind like that. Thanks for your time, Mal!

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Hey everyone, please see details of the event we’ve organised for the Nottingham Poetry Festival (Nottingham, UK). If you’re based in or around the Nottingham or East Midlands area it would be great to get you involved.

Speak Up! is a spoken word event to raise awareness of issues facing Nottingham and beyond. Come down to make your voice heard or support those who do. 

Date: 25th April Doors: 7:30pm Venue: The Lord Roberts, Broad Street, Nottingham. Entry: Free Open mic sign up on the night, limited 5 minute slots, first come first served. Please bring food for a local food bank, if you can. Exact details of what food is needed will be provided here a few days before the event. Starring: Sophie Sparham: One of Derby's finest poets, her stories of lost souls, mental health and human rights come at you with a force that pushes you right back in your seat. She's performed all over the country and her book, Please Mind the Gap, is a must read. Benjamin Zephaniah's a fan aswell, which speaks for itself. sophiesparham.co.uk/poetry Frank McMahon: King of the short poem, founder of DIY Poets and author of nine books at the last count, Frank is one of Nottingham's hardest working and most influential poets. He has a poem about pretty much everything, so the only thing you can expect is a fine performance. From the Word Go: Often described as quirky and unconventional, From the Word Go is Julian Scoffield, Martin Grey (aka me) and Kira Gatzen, who mix spoken word with performance art. Sometimes satirical, sometimes silly, but always with a point. facebook.com/fromthewordgo We Shall Overcome: With the mantra of “a raised fist and a helping hand”, WSO supports events that support local causes. Come and have a chat with them if you're interested in getting involved. facebook.com/groups/wsonottingham

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My Mini Tour for Nottingham Poetry Festival

Hello! Sorry that I've been gone so long. I'll try to be back a little more often from now on :)

The good news is that the Nottingham Poetry Festival (Nottingham, UK) is coming up and I'll be performing at this beautiful list of events:

Well Dressed Verse – Fri 20th April from 7pm – Sneinton Market – Performing solo https://nottinghampoetryfestival.com/events/well-dressed-verse-2/

Poets Against Racism – Sat 21st April from 7.30pm – Nottingham Writers Studio – Performing solo and with From the Word Go

https://nottinghampoetryfestival.com/events/poets-against-racism/

Speak Up! - Wed 25th April from 7.30pm – The Lord Roberts – Performing with From the Word Go

https://nottinghampoetryfestival.com/events/speak-up-2/

https://www.facebook.com/events/2013548122304783/

We're organising this event and also raising supplies for a local food bank, so you can support us and be philanthropic at the same time ;)

DIY Poets Present – Fri 27th April from 7pm – Nottingham Writers Studio – Performing solo

https://nottinghampoetryfestival.com/events/diy-poets-present/

World Jam: Sounds Like Home – Sun 29th April from 7.30pm - Nottingham Writers Studio – Performing with From the Word Go

https://nottinghampoetryfestival.com/events/world-jam-sounds-like-home/

You can check out From the Word Go and also some of my solo stuff here:

https://www.facebook.com/fromthewordgo/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCthvmxQJjhZSgi3q9YEBe8Q

It would be great to see some of you at some of these events. It really does feel like I'm embarking on some kind of mini tour :)

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Nigel Farage to address far-right rally in Germany

Former Ukip leader was invited to speak at event held by AfD party by the granddaughter of Hitler’s finance minister

Yesterday, Nigel Farage campaigned with the AfD (Alternative für Deutschland, German fascists) an invite that he apparently accepted “without hesitation”.

This is just the latest in a long line of fascists that he has cosied up to recently, including Marine Le Pen (French fascist), Robert Iwaszkiewicz (Polish fascist) and Donald Trump.

He has now election campaigned for both the AfD and Donald Trump, after laying into Barack Obama for getting involved in the EU referendum.

You don't order a pizza for yourself if you don't want want a pizza, so why would you voluntarily spend time with fascists unless you have fascist leanings? Do his supporters just not see fascism as a problem, or do they just not see people like Le Pen as fascist? Or do they just not think about it at all?

I would really like to understand how any reasonable person can support this man in the face of his endless hypocrisy, hate and intolerance.

[towelintherain]

An interesting interview with Rob Dickinson, lead singer of Catherine Wheel. Catherine Wheel were one of the greatest bands of their generation, but have been largely forgotten. Check them out if you can.

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Adam and Eve - A Happy Birthday for a Forgotten Gem

The summer of ‘97 was a huge time for the British music scene. In May, Radiohead released OK Computer. In June, Spiritualised released Ladies and Gentleman We are Floating in Space. July saw Primal Scream release Vanishing Point, while August saw Be Here Now by Oasis and September, Urban Hymns by The Verve.

Yet, exactly 20 years ago today, in the middle of this, one of my all time favourite albums came out and has since been almost completely forgotten…Adam and Eve by Catherine Wheel.

All music fans have albums like this. We talk about how they’re underappreciated works of art. We like to show them to people and try and get them heard a little bit more. So on Adam and Eve’s 20th birthday, that’s what I’m doing.

Future Boy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuExZAqBgNE

I’ve never heard an album that sounds quite like Adam and Eve. It’s a story that evokes itself across all twelve songs, a mood set to a constantly evolving musical style that always feels like it should have just gone where it did, an album without a song to define it yet with every song being obviously from it.

The more you listen, the more you find little parts of the album revealing themselves to you, especially with Rob Dickinson’s elusive lyrics and Brian Futter’s sparkling lead guitar that feels always present but never intrusive. From the mysterious woman’s voice that appears between some tracks, the trippy intensity of Future Boy, the raw simplicity of Ma Solituda, the euphoric sadness of Satellite and the angry bliss of For Dreaming, you can hear the care and detail that went into every single note, that you’re listening to the very best album they could have made.

Delicious: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tRYYBBuxmuI

I think that Catherine Wheel were right up there with the very best bands of the era. I’m glad they had enough success to bring us five albums, but their songwriting alone made them deserving of so much more. While the big selling albums of the summer of '97 propelled the bands behind them into British music folklore, Catherine Wheel seemed to lose the wind from their sails and split up in 2000, while Adam and Eve has since gone out of print.

Ma Solituda: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FO9WfBVx9-o

Would this album have been more successful if it was released at a different time? Who knows.

Will something happen to finally bring it the attention I feel it deserves? Hopefully.

Will the band ever reform so that I can finally see them live? Come on, lads.

Thunderbird: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sh07p8j3Umg

There aren’t many of us, but it’s great to be a superfan of this album. It’s on Spotify at least, so why not have a listen? You might really like it too.

Happy birthday, Adam and Eve. You’re going on extra loud today.

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We are far more united and have far more in common with each other than things that divide us

Jo Cox

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General Election 2017: Theresa May and the 196 Votes

I noticed something when looking at the election results. If 196 Tory votes had been different across three constituencies, then the Tories would not have been able to align with the DUP for a parliamentary majority. Specifically, if 16 had been for Labour in Southampton Itchen, 23 for Lib Dem in Richmond Park and 157 for Lib Dem in St Ives.

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Siobhan Fenton is an interesting source on Northern Ireland politics, especially relevant now the Tories need a coalition partner to get over their election results disaster.

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General Election 2017: Hard Brexit has been Wounded by the 56%

After staying up all night to watch what I consider to be two acts of national self harm with the 2015 Tory majority and the 2016 vote to leave the EU, I was fearing the worst in this 2017 election.

What actually happened was, most importantly, a rejection of hard Brexit.

In 2015, the combined Tory/UKIP vote share was 49.5%. In 2017, it was (with Kensington left to declare) 44.0%. By turning a poll lead of more than 20 points into a hung parliament, Theresa May has lost even more credibility than majority, and will be the laughing stock of EU leaders if she gets as far as negotiating with them. Jeremy Corbyn, by contrast, brought Labour back into the mainstream despite huge media bias and outright, provable lies on the front pages of many of our so called newspapers.

It was such a bad night for the hard Brexit parties that UKIP is essentially obliterated, Paul Nuttall could barely manage 3,000 votes and has now quit as UKIP leader, and the Tories are having to try and align themselves with the regressive Tories of Northern Ireland (DUP) just to scrape a single figure majority. Look them up, their views on stuff like abortion rights for rape victims make your eyes water. Not only that, but several Ukip politicians last night were cacking their xenophobic pants at the idea that hard Brexit might not now happen.

This isn't a victory, but it is an opportunity for our pro EU sentiment. It only feels like a victory because we had nothing to lose going into this. Make no mistake, the Tories are weakened, but not broken. Hard Brexit is still a huge threat. Our largest party is still a bunch of pro hard Brexit austerity obsessed fox hunting enthusiasts who like selling weapons to terrorists.

But we have more power than we did, so we should use it. Let's unite together and fight like hell against the Tories, to soften Brexit and to kick out austerity while we're at it. The battle lines may be different, but we are now the majority.

We are no longer the 48%. We are the 56%. And this is far from over.

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Oops, says Theresa May

Theresa May thinks she might have made an awful mistake.

Sometimes the joke news gets it so on point.

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The British electorate have just hung Theresa May! We might have even hung hard Brexit! Here's hoping :)

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Maybot seems to have badly malfunctioned. I wonder if she's rocking back and forth somewhere, muttering 'stray and stongble' over and over again.

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An encouraging exit poll, but it's too early to tell. Let's see how the night goes to see if the tories have shot their majority in the foot. Game on.