Happy New Year

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Happy New Year to everyone! It finally snowed here in Cumbria - follow us as we do our trek to the shops for new year supplies.

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Winter Shadows

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Commoners are tricksy folk - they hang around in the shadows on bright winter days...see if you can spot one in this vlog...

This is our cat the illustrious Madame Boudicca making her videoblog debut.

Around the World

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I teach Film and Media at Lancaster & Morecambe College in the north west of England, one of my students created this fantastic pixilation animation and finally convinced me to get in front of the camera. A big thankyou to Peter Adams, the creator who I am convincing to create his own vlog.

Lost Glass Slippers

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Last one from Sarah Gasson. A big thanks to all who took part helped out and enjoyed the event. And please if you like these videos, poems and ideas then please, please add a comment or two, all the performers really do appreciate it. Thanks folks.

Holder of the Sky

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More poetry from Sarah. If you what to find out more about this promising poet visit Wild Women Press - people section.

Cabillaud a la Grecque

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New poet Sarah Gasson reading 'Cabillaud a la Grecque' at the lastest Wild Women Salon. I am still editing the footage (I had a wee break from it recently) so worrie not there will be a DVD of the event soon.

Speak to me

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John Challis reading one of his poems at the recent Wild Women Salon. We have so much footage of this event - stay tuned for much much more.

Scarlet Carnival

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All the way from Kentucky, USA - share a little of the Troubadours of Divine Bliss magic. Here performing Scarlet Carnival at the latest Wild Women Salon.

Devil's Advocate

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Fresh from our lastest Salon, we bring you Gill Hands, performing Devil's Advocate, from her latest work, Rilke's Tattoo.

Anyone who has ever faced a funding form will get this one!

So here you go...enjoy it - we laughed so much it hurt.

big thanks to Gill Hands - we love her style!

Etude

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Up at t' Common, we like our music hand-made. Here is a little snippet from our lovely Simon. Just an average evening in the wild west...

odyssey part 3

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Part 3 as promised. Well that's it for this experimental video, and as I look out of the window I see a bight sunny day calling me. ta tah for now.

odyssey part 2

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Part 2 for your viewing pleasure. The footage includes a microwave, washing machine drum, garden, TV, TV standby light, my sister's lava lamp and lemonade and cherry fizzy pop bottle lens filters.

odyssey part 1

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I continue to get excited about all the creative videos I see from around the world, so I dug out this experimental video I created a couple of years back. It is a long piece so I cut it into three sections, so come back for part 2 and 3.

Danger shaft

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Global warming, freak weather - call it what you will, it didn't stop us from going out to the slate quarry near Coniston, Cumbria.

John, Mel, Vik and Simon and I (Adam) on camera.

The Alchemist and Sharp Enemy

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These are a couple of short films to poems by Gill Hands and Vik Bennett, first published by Wild Women Press.







The Alchemist

The sky, stictched from squares of bruised blue,
reminds us of change -
the way the future seems
both clear and dangerous.

Our eyes search out brief moments of sun,
the spaces between,
in which our word becomes flame,
suddenly hopeful.

Like the alchemist,
we long to find the secret
that will turn our base metals
into gold.

(Fragile Bodies, Wild Women Press, 2004)

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Sharp Enemy

You were nettles and brambles
surrounded by thorns.
Surprisingly your kiss
was a sweet briar fruit.

(Internet Love Slut, Wild Women Press, 2004)

Go on have a Mini Break

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We were out and about in Ambleside this weekend, when this little gem caught our eye.

Halloween Post

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"I will kill the despot in my head,
let my body riot for independence..."

(from State of Emergency by Vik Bennett - see below for full poem)

Inspired by a poem by Vik, this is a short extract from an experimental piece done in 2004. Shot with a very basic digital still camera, the images were then manipulated by photoshop software. Happy mischief making this All Hallow's Eve!

State of Emergency

For this
I will risk
everything.

I will kill the despot in my head,
let my body riot for independence,
throw tear gas into the squares of my eyes,
send my limbs scattering down cobbled streets.
Before long my blood will break from its cells
and storm the walls of my heart.

Lights flash behind my eyes, warning ships
away from the needle-cliffs of my bones.
Wreckers strip these shores. They've looted
the stores, snatched words from silk pouches,
stolen the eyes of memory and left
the sweet smell of narcissi in the air.

People are frightened,
hiding behind closed doors, whispering my name.
They want to take charge, send in the police
before it becomes dangerous.

All those men and women, busy
watching from their window-boxes,
terrified of civil unrest.

I will do my best
to give them
what they expect.

c. Vik Bennett
(first appeared in Orbis Magazine, No. 130, Autumn 2004)

Wild Women at Glastonbury

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To kick the summer off, 4 of the crew (Vik, Gill, Sarah and Adam) packed up the air-conditioned hire car and headed south to Glastonbury, complete with fairy wings, poetry books and rosewater. Like all poetry gatherings, it was a fine community of souls that kept smiling, even though the heavens opened and flooded the site ‘til it resembled the slime pits of hell. Well, you know the rest from the various broadcasts – flooded tents, rivers of mud, smiling happy people, and more than a few trashed lost boys and girls wandering around, but the poetry kept flowing along with the mud and the beer. This is a photo montage diary of our trip we hope you enjoy it - and if you like it, come visit us at the Wild Women Press site. Cheers!

Here are a few poems composed in the mud by our very own Wild Woman Gill Hands (far left on picture)...

Dirty Mud Slut

I am the element I sleep on,
under my nails,
the tip of my toes,
welding pink rosebuds to my head.

Let Kate Moss boast skanky chic;
I did it bigger and dirtier.


Fairy Wings

Everyone wears them
with glittery dresses
and wellies,
all day,
even men.
I wave my wand and wish for someone’s
hair to put bunches in.


Wishes Come True

A pixie boy falls from an oak tree
into my lap.
His pinpoint pupils widen
in soft full moon.

I’m tempted to twine his hair through my fingers
but let him escape to play djembe.



Glamour…

on stage.
In wellies.

We all wear wellies,
even Mango in his glittery dress and curls.

Except Rachel Pantechnicon
who arrives pristine,
Venus on a half shell,
tights, court shoes,
full librarian’s outfit.

I hang around his tent
waiting for signs of transformation.



Making Coffee for Carol Ann Duffy

with Dreadlock Alien
in a tent.
Life may not get any stranger than this
but I hope it does.

Getting started

Hello Vik and I were thinking about starting a poetry blog and creating some video poetry blogs as well. This is just a test post to make sure it is all working come back for more soon.