Monthly Archives: March 2018

Joanna Skelt

Posted on March 27, 2018 by garylongden

    One of the unattractive aspects of growing older is that increasing numbers of people whom you know die. I was saddened today to learn of the death of a past Birmingham Poet Laureate, Joanna Skelt. I did not … Continue reading →

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My Ten Favourite Albums

Posted on March 19, 2018 by garylongden

Mal Dewhirst has been promoting “My ten favourite albums of all time”, along with Gary Carr and Jayne Stanton. Just ten was agonising. Favourite? But there are so many. How coud I leave out David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust” and “Low”, … Continue reading →

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Trump, Brexit & Beyond – Paul Francis

Posted on March 18, 2018 by garylongden

Paul Francis is an inveterate, irrepressible, poet. His content and preferred topics are contemporary, his choice of form traditional. His poems are conversational in style, it is as though you are sitting down in a pub with him. “So Paul, … Continue reading →

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Inspired in Caersws FESTIVAL – Mid Wales, 21/22nd April 2018

Posted on March 15, 2018 by garylongden

I want to do a feature on this forthcoming wonderful festival. Gregory Leadbetter was one of the star turns of Lichfield’s Poetry Alight in 2017, David Calcutt and Keith Chandler, who are appearing on July 2nd and May 22nd respectively, … Continue reading →

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The Kite Runner – Birmingham Rep

Posted on March 14, 2018 by garylongden

**** First told as a novel, now retold for the stage, Khaled Hosseini’s 2003 book has sold 31.5m copies in 60 languages. It was adapted for film in 2007, this stage adaptation is by Mathew Spangler, first appearing in America … Continue reading →

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World of Sport Wrestling

Posted on March 12, 2018 by garylongden

I was in Derby market, sitting down for a cup of tea when I Iooked up at the walls. To my surprise and delight, they were covered in framed posters of wrestling bouts at the Derby Assembly Rooms in the … Continue reading →

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An Audience With Martin Kemp – Derby Theatre

Posted on March 12, 2018 by garylongden

I was a punk fan. I was also a music fan. As punk splintered into New Wave, which in turn spawned the New Romantic movement, Spandau Ballet stood out alongside Duran Duran. They were cool, they looked different, borrowing the … Continue reading →

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NME – RIP

Posted on March 7, 2018 by garylongden

Another time, another place. At its peak, in the 70’s, it could sell as many as a quarter of a million copies an edition. The Guardian and the FT would be pleased with that today. This Friday will be its … Continue reading →

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Two – Derby Theatre

Posted on March 7, 2018 by garylongden

  ***** Playwright Jim Cartwright created this little theatrical gem in 1989, almost thirty years on, he was in the audience to see how it was faring, and no doubt to personally check the bums on seats versus the royalty … Continue reading →

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Jolene – Dolly Parton, An Appreciation

Posted on March 3, 2018 by garylongden

  When this song was released I was a teenage boy. Apart from a magnificent bust, there was nothing about Dolly Parton that interested me. There are not many good things about growing older, but one of them is the … Continue reading →

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