20 October Our First Gig at 'Folly Upstairs' with Guest Performer, Dan Simpson and our popular Open Mic

Dan Simpson, Write Angle's first Guest Performer, at our fabulous new 'digs', 'Folly Upstairs', brought science, maths and poetry together, all adding up to an original, clever and fun evening.

Starting with 'Packing a Poem': 'Imagine a suitcase is the poem'; he then spoke of tidily packing it, fitting things in places; tucking verbs into nouns like squashing socks into shoes. Mixing metaphors with underwear, Rolling verses into one another. Then, when the lid doesn't shut, sit on your poem to close the lid. His poem about 'The Passing of a 'Deadline', brought laughs. He's from Bexley, 'the home of Kate Bush and the BNP', describing his town with memories of 'sliced white bread and butter'; he worked at Starbucks. Talked of 3.59pm on the 'last day of school'. Then, a limerick about 'The Man from Lands End' who 'he's written out of existence, and the importance of 'striving to be something greater than your creator'. Inspiring ideas such as 'destiny is in our own paths'.

Dan loves writing poetry about poetry. 'It's meta poetry'. He told of the Post Modern Post Office. No packages, no postmasters, no building... only poetry. 'We are post modern, post feelings.…' Then, the study of knowledge. 'How we understand truth...when all ability to understand the world deserts you. There is no god. There is no 'why'. Maybe you don't know which toothbrush belongs to you and you've been using your housemate's for the past 3 months'.

Dan describes poetry in shapes. He took out a large sheet of paper. 'This is a big poem. '. He then unfolded it over and over till it completely hid him. But then, as he folded it back down, explaining that 'a big poem can have big problems. It can get too big for its boots.' Finally, when it was quite small, he cast it aside. 'Sometimes it's hard to get what you want to say into the shape you want it to be...such as the shape of your heart..shape of a river..The shape of love. Love is not a shape poem. Dan teaches and especially loves kids in primary school. 'There's no cynicism. 'This poem written by a 5 year old is probably the best thing you've ever read'. Not mediated by a lifetime of living. It's powered by simple cartoon coloured words.. 'Remember when imagination was everything and you were a poem written by a five year old child'.

His poem about love. 'Drunk and stumbling, they fall into love, spilling love's lager. Love's a mean drunk but he's meaner when he's sober and this was his first drink after a very long day…. Love has deep battle-line creases on his face… love is here to break hearts. Then, invited to perform at a hen party, the poem steps up onto the stage...it's a stripping poem – a hunk of masculine verse'.

Dan has a wonderful and unique way of seeing things which really stimulates the mind. He's a super and unusual poet who loves interacting with the audience. It's pretty obvious they love him as well! His imagination carries him in places that none of our poets have visited before.

At the Open Mic, Dave Allen's poem was a 'shaggy dog tale' about taking his laptop to the beach (spectatularly bad idea) then, inspired by what a friend of his saw (he just missed it): 'with water dripping down my rippling torso…' It's bikini season. Never saw the sky so blue. Something leapt from the sky and a bloody gull grabbed the flake from his ice cream...each bird steals from another...midst the lovely beach scene, but then, a big dog was about to lay some 'eggs'…it was a fun poem told in Dave's laidback way, with the audience in hysterics…

Bruce Parry had a dream that there would be a shelter. followed with 'Harvest Moon'...watching over our bewitching hours…; 'Sacred Sanctuary' – the new exodus...all our Western religions would make the ultimate sacrifice...giving sanctuary to the homeless...where will the shelter be. A Europe to read. The exodus had begun. Then, 'Blood Moon'….giving the world a madness...WW3 had begun. No bells rang and no religions survived. Very interesting ideas in an eerie tale.

Sue Millett's poem dealt with 'poet's block'. The question being, should she continue, or stop and wait. Colin Eveleigh was 'The Queens Paperboy' ...Remembrances of when all papers and magazines were sold out. As he rushed to get the bag that had the magazine with the photo of a 'naked lady', the money dropped out. He rushed to grab the coins. Fifty years later, it all came back. No naked ladies in Playboy anymore. But the adventures of young boys gazing at the photos lingers on!

Maria Hewitt read about refugees. 'Through the tears of my drowned child'...She spoke of 'Godliness' and 'what are you waiting for. The atrocities, destruction that plays the world...that you created in your own image...What are you waiting for? 'What are you waiting for?' Then, a poem on 'How wonderful is the computer...there- ready to do it's thing. But...where was the inspiration….'

Barry Smith said he loves cartoons, and told of his visit to Bath. How those in the 18th century were just as vicious as ours are. In his poem, 'Bath Comforts', he asks, 'Where are they now? The Assembly Rooms in Bath. Pictures from the 18th century ...it's easy to laugh...where are these men now who Beau Nash found a handful! ….'See they sits with stick and spy glass...eyeing out the feathered headdresses and lacy bosoms. A time of fun for men… ...very different from today..while he and wife were in an elegant apartment...all comforts supplied...moules meunière, sliced pork, apple sauce….tomorrow they 'really will' have to bathe in the natural thermal waters and visit the pump rooms for lunch. (wonderful poem - Barry certainly caught the spirit!)

He read a poem inspired by a picture in Victoria Art Gallery in Bath, by Paul Klee, called 'The Blue Rider'. Although it looked like a simple child's painting of a small harvest scene, Barry continued, it was a complex study of the tale of the last judgment of the Munich Hanging committee – the tale of transmutation..the father of chemical warfare.. the picture of the tale in the suitcase. Found in a child's bedroom. A tribal artifact requiring a final solution. 'This is the tale of a gallery's jewel'. It was read with passion, depicting ugliness at its very core.

John Smith got up and said he wanted to write a 'real poem' as he's been criticised too often for writing about writing. He said 'it's another rambling monologue only he decided to use 'menagerie'...So, what's a small zoo to do with a monologue. Big beasts like politicians, religion, traveling along all with windows firmly closed by tax credit cuts…a step to the kitchen...decided to call it 'Bacon Sandwich'...then thought of the moon…He went on to why he has been called 'Johnny the Nut' – a light beam shone on his head. So John S, in spite of wanting to write 'a real poem', once again did one of his unique monologues and had everyone laughing.

Phyllida Carr played the harmonica.. 'Blue Moon' with the audience singing along. Also, with everyone watching the Rugby, she played a dedication to that, as well as 'Oh my Darling Clementine' - all songs as ever, accompanied by voices of the audience.

Ryan Moss read a short story, 'You Never Told me That'. About a couple, married eight years, who had difficulty as the husband was unable to enbrace his wife due to a childhood trauma. He had been abused by his single mother for years. They had sex but no hugs – no intimacy. The wife met an elderly man whose wife had died and he was lonely. All they did was meet and hug. When he died, he left her a note that she's made him the happiest man and now she must tell her husband how she felt about his lack of intimacy. She, meantime, had decided to leave him and before going, she explained her inability to handle his lack of affection. He didn't know. After she left, the two had never ever been closer. It was a very good story and something new to add to poetry evenings!

Jake then read a poem, 'Listen to Father' in which he realised he couldn't learn from his father's mistakes but had to make his own. 'He used to ask me why I always did my 'thing'. His second poem, 'Fidelity and Hormones' about a woman who believed in marriage but also believed in freedom to do her own thing. She found it wasn't so easy to balance the two and it made for many difficulties. Leah then read poems about a 'Possimist', (combined pessimist and optimist) , 'Audition for Divorce', 'Adopting a Dog'' and 'Lollypop'.

Richard Hawtree's 'Panopticon' told about the prisoners from the failed 1798 rebellion in Dublin's Kilmainham jail designed by Jeremy Bentham so that the guards could see all parts of the prison. David Roberts read 'Looking at the Face in the Mirror' – 'is it me or is it you?'; 'Silver Birch' - 'if only that tree would wrap its arms around me'; and 'Old and Grumpy' – 'complaining about everything, whem you're old and grumpy'.

The raffle for a free meal for two at La Piazetta, was won by one of the lucky open mikers. A great Italian restaurant in town. Meanwhile for those who don't know it, 'Folly Upstairs' is providing special pre-show 3 course dinners starting at 6pm so you have a chance to have a great meal before watching and partaking in Write Angle's evening of entertainment!
All in all, an eclectic evening with an enthusiastic audience and very good performers and the guest performer, Dan Simpson, was certainly a 'perfect' start to a 'new beginning' at 'Folly Upstairs'. Our huge thanks to Gavin, Chloe and Ryan who provided the drinks and food – and even music during the intervals. There are still some glitches – the sound equipment needs adjusting but we'll get it sorted!