Publications (3): Winter Warmers

The Mumbles Lighthouse: Swansea in the Snow, a year ago

I'm sitting here on a fine sunny afternoon, but there have been hard frosts in our neck of the woods. On an equally chilly note, I have just received the Winter Edition of Wendy Webb's 'TIPS for Writers', issue 80. The magnificent cats on the cover, painted by Kay Weeks, have the right idea and are curled up inside on their best cushions.

The city dogs in my poem, 'Ice Floe', are not so fortunate. My other poem in this number is also on a snowbound theme; 'Ötzi the Iceman', whose death has sparked so much archaeological controversy since his body was discovered. My light-hearted poem about Santa's unruly reindeer has been accepted for the Christmas edition of the online Writelink magazine, Writelinkers, edited by Maureen Vincent-Northam, David Robinson and Trevor Belshaw. My time as Writelink 'Writer of the Month' is drawing to a close - and as the snowy season is definitely not too far away, you might enjoy a peep at the Fenwick's Christmas window, in Newcastle, where I lived and studied many years ago ... 

... Meanwhile, a very Happy Thanksgiving to all my friends in the USA!

Window on Wildlife (14): Red Kite

David (Gill) took this photo of a Red Kite at the weekend. I thought I was posting it on my wildlife blog, 'Wild and Wonderful', but since it ended up here, it seemed a shame to remove! 

                                

I have posted a close-up of the Kite here.

Anthology Alert (6): Writelink and my Puffin poem, 'A Chink in the Sky'

Puffins: the Clowns of the Sea

I wonder whether other poets find it increasingly rare to be sent a proof these days. I am always pleased to be given the opportunity to check my work once it has been prepared for publication. I am grateful to Sue at Writelink for allowing the contributors to do this for the anthology arising out of the Spring Fever competition. We hope the collection will be out in time for Christmas orders. 

• A Chink in the Sky

Seasonal Splash (4): Bonfire Wordle

A corner of our Bonfire Night WORDLE

I have made a 5th November Wordle, thanks to word contributions from fellow writers on the Writelink site. I have posted a corner above, but thought you might prefer to see the whole thing here ...

You can find out more about this strange date in our UK calendar if you follow this link. 

Animals and fireworks do not go together. Please follow the safety code suggested by organisations like the RSPCA.

Going Green (1): Writing Workshop on Climate Change

I have been continuing to enjoy the annual Dylan Thomas Festival in the Dylan Thomas Centre in Swansea.

I spent Saturday afternoon at an enjoyable, informative and highly stimulating workshop on the topical theme of 'Climate Change'. The afternoon was organised by Emily Hinshelwood and led by eco-poet, Susan Richardson (and here). It proved a very popular event, and a good time was had by all. We balanced a spell of organic writing with a time set aside for a more structured approach, in which each participant began to create a poem in response to various prompts around the given theme.

Emily Hinshelwood and Susan Richardson

The workshop was delivered under the auspices of Awel Aman Tawe. This organisation is running a poetry competition to encourage people to write their own 'Climate Change' poems. Gillian Clarke, the National Poet of Wales, and Menna Elfyn, award winning poet have agreed to act as judges. The closing date is 30 November 2010. There are categories for adults and children, with prizes of £200, £50 and £25 (adults) and £20, £10 and £5 (children). Further information is available from the Awel Aman Tawe website, if you tap 'competition' into the search box. It's time to formulate those ideas.