Two Poets, An Author And A Promotion

This week was quite a cultural week.

On Tuesday I have somehow been talked into seeing a couple of poets at Nottingham Playhouse. Brian Bilston to his credit comes on to Elastica and turns out to be more comedian than poet. For instance writing a poem called ‘Pedants’ or is that ‘Pedant’s’ because he’s fed up with people pointing out all the mistakes in his poetry.

He’s also very heavy on the politics which naturally appeals to me. He has even written a poem for Boris Johnson, a reworked version of Rudyard Kipling’s ‘If’. ‘If you can keep your job when all around you lies ravaged from what it is you’ve done’. Excellent stuff.

The evening is a double header with Nottingham’s own Henry Normal, who takes the second half. Normal comes on to Thunderbirds and takes an hour to drink his mug of tea (or whatever beverage it is) and is a lot coarser in his poetry than Brian Bilston but is still very good.

Then on Thursday I settle in with the popcorn to watch Angela Van Den Bogerd, or the weasel as L calls her, on the Post Office Enquiry.

But my cultural re-education continues that evening when L takes me to see someone called John O’Farrell, who’s an author, at Waterstones. It’s a nice bit of politics (again), so I enjoy myself. We pop in the Barrel Drop afterwards for a pint and in L’s case a 10%er.

We have this week's night in the Plough on Friday instead of Saturday and then oiled by a few drinks we come home and watch the new Gary Glitter documentary. A few drinks are needed to get through what perhaps doesn't count as culture.

Then on Saturday I have a very good birthday which includes Wollaton parkrun (well perhaps not that bit) and the final match of the football season that Derby win to get promoted on my birthday.

My Dad and I don’t invade the pitch. He wanted to but my knees weren’t up to it. Son was there too, did invade the pitch and still got over to Nottingham before me.

My birthday treats continue with a romantic meal for two with L at Iberia Tapas. We have the meat and cheese board along with seven diverse tapas which include octopus, beef, salmon, mackerel, lettuce with Manchego cheese, a tortilla that looked like a pizza but wasn’t and open chicken wings. We washed this down with a bottle of Moldovan wine and two no doubt headache inducing Alfonso Oloroso sherries. The Manchego and the Alfonso Oloroso promptly go on the Sainsbury’s shopping list.

Sunday is a foul day and we walk the Lad in the rain. Sadly as they’ve closed the gym for the weekend in honour of my birthday, or maybe they said something about doing maintenance, there’s no joint gym session. 

(Sunday 28^th April)