Poetry Readings Pippa Roberts, Cheltenham

MY POETRY READINGS Pippa Roberts, Cheltenham


Hi everyone,

My last post was so sad I thought I'd better follow it up with something more upbeat, now I'm feeling slightly better. I still wake up crying in the mornings, but I do firmly believe that, if your love is not wanted in one place you should give it in another.

I have had a wonderful idea for another children's play - but more of that another day. Suffice it to say that it concerns some wicked witches and a cat called Humphrey. :)

I thought I'd tell you about the poetry readings I do in residential homes, and for senior groups, today. These give so much pleasure to me, and (I'm told) to the people I read to. Sometimes I'm asked to read my own poems, but I usually do a selection from a variety of poets, with poems from different periods, linked by a common theme.

Today I read poems that were about winter and Christmas. We went from Thomas Hardy to Robert Frost, to Louis MacNeice, to Ted Hughes, to Maya Angelou, and, (of course!), to my dear Effie M R. This is one of her poems about Christmas:


Do you realise Christmas is near?
I'm afraid there'll be but little of cheer;
It just seems a farce when hearts are sore
And war's destruction lies right at our door;
Still I suppose we must see it through
And say yet again, "A merry Christmas to you."

I guess you are hoping that I will make
A nice rich spicy and iced Christmas cake,
Well, there will be a cake of some sort, it's true
Of currants and raisins, I have just a few;
But icing! - dear me, you may look aghast, -
But icing sugar's a thing of the past!

A Christmas pudding, with brandy sauce! -
Really good people, - I'd love to, of course, -
But that's disappeared, along with the whisky,
There's nothing this year to make you feel frisky;
But we'll be thankful for what we can get,
Even though the fare's plain, we haven't starved yet.


Thank goodness we don't have to worry about a lack of brandy sauce or whisky. :D

I came out and met a man who offered to give me my own baby. Hadeha. I suspect he'd have enjoyed the making more than the childcare.

I just want to play with my sweet Isaac again. All blessings on his dear dear head.

Pippa :)x

Pippa Roberts, Cheltenham EFFICIENCY, TIDINESS AND WRITING: Working Fast

Hi everyone,

Another quick update... I've had a wonderful holiday on the Gower. I stayed in Port Eynon and did some of the coastal walk, and tried to swim in the sea. The waves were huge and I was pretty exhausted, so I didn't stay in for too long, but it was really lovely. My mother came to the rescue, lending me money for food. It's rather horrible at my age to have to borrow from my mum, but maybe someone will pay me sometime soon. :/ (Incidentally I noticed that Fractal Publishing's website linked to this, and I should make it quite clear that I own Fractal and none of the problems I've described relate to them! It is confusing for people but there are two strands to my work. I write for other people, publish other people, and never publish my own work.)

I've come back to the end of my spring clean. Every admin paper in my house is being filed on my computer, or the Internet (Google, goodreads etc). It's a lot of hassle, but it will make me more efficient, and that'll make me even faster. I don't believe the myth about creative genius being chaotic. I am extremely organised, although I have to admit that things usually get out of control when I'm working on a big project! :D

People often ask me how I can work so fast, and the answer is very simple. Firstly I spend a huge amount of time reading and thinking before I begin anything. Secondly I (more or less) know where to lay my hands on any research I need.

This system is far from infallible as I have a shocking memory, but, I try...

I'm actually falling asleep on my feet, so I'd better say goodnight to you all. I'm hoping to go to sleep and dream about beautiful sunlit bays, and lovely people who, if they were not friends before, are likely to become friends now! (Thanks to all of you for sharing a brilliant holiday, if you are reading this.)

I think I'll sleep well.

Pippa :)xx