predencia

Work on my house to convert it from a family dwelling to a HMO (House of Multiple Occupancy) got underway properly today. It was a bit of a milestone and a huge relief after months of clearing and chucking out. It’s amazing how much stuff a family can accumulate in 17 years.

It began in June with clearing the garden, some heavy pruning, lopping and digging to make the garden as low maintenence as possible. I suppose we could have just gone for concreting the lot (all 150 feet) but what with the current flooding problems being linked to the amount of land paved and unable to allow water to drain away – not to mention the expense – it seemed more sensible and cost effective to just get my head down and do it myself. It was great during those few weeks of sunshine we got in June to be out there doing battle with the ivy. I think I may have won a few battles where that is concerned but there is still a war on at the bottom of the garden. The shed is still partially clad in the damned thing and each time I ripped a chunk of ivy it took a chunk of the felt roof with it.

We have a plan. Clear out shed at bottom of garden, then out houses, loft, bedrooms 2,3 and lounge. Begin work on all of above then when complete tackle bedroom 4 and kitchen, and finally the biggie – the kitchen. Bedrooms 1 and 5 would be last as they needed least doing to them. I’ll let you know in the next blog how the plan is working.

So….I’ve done my final bit for the Sex Education series C4 will be broadcasting next month. The first of six one hour episodes starts on Tuesday 9th September. Yesterday I joined about 80 other people at the Sunbeam Studio in Ladbroke Grove for a studio session with Anna Richardson. It was nice that they provided food throughout the day, lots of scrummy sandwiches, fruit (why was it behind the counter and had to be asked for?) and sweet chocolaty things.

I don’t mind admitting that I was a bit disappointed with the day on a number of counts.
1. I think they tried to pack too much into the day for there to be any serious debate on the subjects they raised e.g why don’t people use condoms, how many sexual partners are acceptable for men and for women, at what age should sex education begin, is porn on the internet making children more promiscuous, are people concerned enough about STIs given that Britain have the highest incidence in Europe? Of these issues I feel the only one that got any serious discussion was the STIs. The others simply skimmed the surface. The stuff on spicing up your sex life was amusing and I guess designed to bring some light relief to what could have been a heavy show – but in the end I think it was all a bit light.
2. I didn’t like the way they used the stuff I filmed with the other parents. They made it look like we were all horrified at what our teenagers could be watching when in truth they used the only clip where I was shocked. Apparently there will be a more balanced view in the real programme. 3. Those people who attended in a professional capacity like the teachers and health workers were treated with little respect at times – no wonder so many of them left at lunch time. Come on C4, if you’re going to ask people to bring their expertise at least take the trouble to listen to it. I loved the guy who talked about the work he did in schools around self esteem and teenagers loving themselves.

Of course there were pluses. Anna Richardson is very warm and friendly – no indication that she has any intention of disappearing up her own rear end. The crew too were helpful and friendly-and of course there is always the bonus of meeting new people. I came away clutching the details of the best burlesque dance classes in Birmingham and a greater understanding of the dance form. Will be checking out the Candy Box Burlesque school before the summer is out (maybe just to perform for my man).

Nearly a month since my last post. I read somewhere that when you’re busy living life you don’t have time to write about it. Maybe it’s just an excuse but I have been very busy lately (even busier than usual). Apart from the thing at the Cinnamon Cafe I did a couple of open mikes last month, Poetry Bites at the Kitchen Garden Cafe and Pure and Good and Right at the Fox in Leamington where I saw the award winning Tony Walsh who can make you laugh and cry in equal measures. He invited me to post some of my stuff on the http://www.writeout loud.net website. I will do – just not had time yet. Check it out if you have time there are some good people on it. It also has UK wide listings of poetry events.

At the moment I’ve got my head down in research on how to turn my house into an HMO. If you have any experience of this I’d love to hear from you. I knew how far I was in when I woke up this morning and realized that I’d forgotton my belly dance class last night. I NEVER DO THAT. Especially after the brilliant workshop I attended on Sunday run my Melissa Abrahams. After 3 and a half hours every muscle in my body ached – especially my abs and glutes.

Its my son’s birthday today, I’ve got to prepare for co-running a creative writing workshop with Writers Without Borders tomorrow (with the font of so much knowledge Sue Brown) and I can’t wait to see my friend Michelle who is here from Canada and coming to spend the weekend with me.

I’ll try and post things I’m in before I do them in future. Sorry Geoff for not letting you know what I was up to. Thanks for the text. A timely reminder.

It was worth the travel to Bridgnorth on Tuesday night. The first act – a fiddle and guitar band were great. Then we had a poet (Trevor) followed by a reading because the main music act couldn’t make it due to illness. The music in the second act (by their own admission) was under rehearsed. Then it was me. I tested out some new poems and got a a really good response. I’ll definitely use that set again and I got a good set of recordings too. The evening ended with a storyteller. Did I mention that they keep a good cellar?

‘Do you know what kind of porn your teenager could be watching on the internet?’ That was the question a group of parents were asked today for a new C4 series on how and where teenagers get their sex education from these days. Me and two other couples were shown a number of porn sites and asked for our reaction to them. Maybe it’s my past life as a biology teacher or maybe I’m just out of touch with current thinking about what teenagers should know but I was not as horrified as the others. Most of the sites showed either people in various acts of intercourse or various parts of the body in close up. Only three of the sites did I find unacceptable. One because it had models who looked like they could have been children; one because it had an image of what appeared to be quite a sadistic act and the other because it showed someone eating shit. While the others were all in agreement about these sites I seemed to be at odds them over the others. Children – especially teenagers know far more than parents like to think; and mostly it is only out of respect for their parents that they keep it a secret. The programme is going to be aired as part of a series in September. I’ve been invited back for a studio discussion. That should be interesting.

A few weeks ago I agreed to do a set (poetry) at Cinnamon Cafe in Bridgnorth. I can’t believe how quickly its come round. I’m there tomorrow night at 8.00 p.m. The details are on the up and coming page of my website www.predencia.co.uk Thanks to those of you who are coming – would be good to see a few more. Its a good night, they don’t just have poets – there’s music, storytelling and comedy – and really yummy home made cakes and snacks. They keep a nice cellar too and only £3.00 on the door.

It feels like my strategy for getting exposure is definitely working. It started when I got back from Spain last Sunday. There was a call from SB (Writers Without Borders) to ask if I’d do a radio promotion on NewStyle Radio the next morning. Fortunately I was free and managed to get an airing for a poem I’d only completed the day before while still in Spain.

Friday night I was dancing at the Bellydance Hafla in Sutton Coldfield – unfortunately not my best as a) I was knackered and b) I didn’t know the dance that well. It was, however, great fun. I even stayed behind to join in the free for all dancing at the end – obviously gaining in confidence being able to put a small routine together.

Saturday was the WWB Fantastico evening with Infusion Ensamble – part of Refugee Week. We were a poetry group which included refugees and a band made up entirely of refugees from different countries. I had the prevelige of performing my poem ‘Run Refugee Run’ with the drummer of the band, Zirak. Thanks Zirak for bringing a new dimention to the poem. Look out for a clip on my website soon. It was a great night- everyone was up and dancing by the end. Infusion Ensamble will be performing again at the Yardbird in Birmingham on 6th July – part of Birmingham Jazz Festival and it all for free.

And then today me and Ester from WWB did an hour interview with two charming teenage presenters at Unity FM Radio. How do you answer the question ‘What is poetry?’ It was a great opportunity to air some of my earlier poems and another chance to do ‘Run Refugee Run’ and to remind myself how much I enjoy working with young people.

Thanks to everyone who watched Trinny and Suzanna’s Great Birtish Body Monday 2nd to Wed 4th June. I missed Monday night because I was singing with Birmingham International Voices (BIVS) at Birmingham Council House . It was the presentation ceremony for the students graduating from The College for International Citizenship. It was the second time I’d done it and have been very moved by the whole thing on both occasions. I love the Council House, and especially the Banqueting Suite where the presentations are held. The rich reds and golds are so beautifully complemented by the stunning colours of the floral and plant arrangements.

I got home just in time to catch the last five minutes of The Great British Body but was able to watch all of Tuesday and Wednesday night episodes. Now, I’m not usually a fan of Trinny and Suzanna but could really sign up to what they were trying to do in this series, which was to get people to love and appreciate the bodies they are in now – even if they are working towards change. It is very much in keeping with my own philosophy in life. Living in the present.

Watching Tuesday night I was amazed at how much I missed even though I was at the Birmingham road show. I didn’t see any of that rating stuff, or the announcement of the results of the fat gene tests. Last night was also an eye opener as to what went on before I arrived at the big tent that bright and breezy moning on April 26th. I didn’t realize that they were panicing that there wouldn’t be enough people to make the statues. Watching it brought it all back and it was great to finally see the sculptures from the air.

Thanks SAS for recroding all of them for me. I’m looking forward to watching again my fear and elation as the day unfolded. It will be a reminder of how it was possible to overcome some of my deepest taboos. I must say I was a bit taken aback by how many wilies were on show ln the tv – also a bit pleased that so many people were willing to just let it all hang out. At the end of the day I think it was Trinny and Suzanna who were a bit reserved on the day, but fair play to them – they did, as they put it – get thier kit off. Check out the pics on the ITV website.