back to edinburgh

comprehensively burst by three days of bike in the snow i head off to edinburgh to get some writing done.

where i finally meet claire. and realise that my potential for small talk outside of the stated interests of poetry and cycling (okay and maybe the painting) are few. but that's okay as we get a grand blether. and i'm reminded again why the internet has such great potential for bringing folk together who might otherwise never have met. it's good to finally see the inside of the forest and i'm liking that they've made a go of the do-it-yourself ethos. it's easy and a comfort to surf all of claire's enthusiasm - i was so not as together when i was a student. it was good to get an insight into the creative writing ma as well. i've never been super into the idea, even tho i've considered it, and i'm less convinced now and certainly not for me. but as a means to an end who knows?

but writing it was i came to do and off i go, passing by the national gallery to clap eyes on diana and callisto, one of the touted 50 million quid pictures of which more later

and then to the vox box, an open mic claire's recommended. what a great time that was. i get to meet kevin cadwallender, robin cairns, jim oates and many more. some great readings, particularly gary death's protect the trees rap, gangsta oak, tawona sithole and sophia, whose spoken word i very much look forward to seeing again. and claire's poem about websites, which her tutor doesn't like, but it seems everyone else does. good on her for putting up with that. highlight of the night for me tho was the wild myrtles. the last thing i was expecting was to hear any swedish and maybe it's the time of year but the swiss eye definitely misted. oh yes, and maybe it was the more...mature age of some of the readers but i liked the number of poems dealing with children. i find writing about my daughter difficult and it was good to see how others did it.

a fine day. shame i didn't get to the poetry library tho. and on a day of learning many things i was reminded with all the cycling this walking business is not so easy. ouchy legs!