Annals of the Eerie, pt 2.

Here’s an entry I unaccountably omitted to post. On the morning of the 16th March, while driving into work, I glanced up through the tinted glass of my sun roof, and saw a faint rainbow halo around the sun, presumably caused by high-level atmospheric ice crystals. I have previously seen this phenomenon around the moon at night, but not the sun. Looking through the front windscreen, which is not noticeably tinted, the effect was almost invisible. What caused me to glance upwards at the moment I did? I don’t usually drive in that posture, of course. Possibly not as eerie in retrospect as I obviously thought at the time.

Moving away from the eerie, I should introduce you to Tinsmiths, which has rapidly established itself within the Ledbury demimonde. They are purveyors of exquisite manifestations of quality fabrics, materials, and some art prints and a few books, each selected for its singular appeal. They have agreed to take the limited edition book of Excavations of Eternity, by Jeanette McCulloch and me. Hopefully, a more accessible outlet will mean that the rarefied exclusivity of the Turn Up site need not be such an impediment to sales. Apart from my understandable desire to get your feet through their door, I believe you would benefit from the experience in any event. Look for their sign near Boots in Ledbury High Street.

The 2010 Ledbury Poetry Festival starts on 2nd July. I am barely able to contain my delight that Michael McClure is event number one! The beat poets were one of the major forces in my version of post war culture, and were the major inspiration I needed to attack an innocent page with a nib. You may or may not regard that as a good thing. Then there’s Billy Collins and some local input, such as Jeanette’s collaboration with Graham Hartill, which I am itching to see. And the town party is back. How anyone was allowed to shut that down in past years is beyond me. I suppose salsa-dancing poetry aficionados are regarded as subversive in some quarters. I am planning to partake in the Ledbury Lyricists evening at the Prince of Wales on the Wednesday. I aim to have a few new ones to try out, accompanied by one or two refreshments. If noting else, I shall take the opportunity to raise a glass to Chloe Garner, the festival director, who has surpassed herself with this year’s programme.