Podcast: A poet's life in Borth with Rychard Carrington

This podcast comes from Borth, home of poet Rychard Carrington. Rychard explains why he decided to leave Cambridge, his home for 30 years, and live in a village on the coast of west Wales. Rychard explains how this small community has become a haven for many artists, nestled between mountains and the sea in a remote and beautiful part of the country.

"There's all sorts of artists but it isn't like there's an elite or underground. The artists are very much a part of the mainstream of the village culture."

Rychard shares some of his poems and sets a prompt to write a poem about another poet. There are also poems on Dave Daggers' prompt from the last show to write about an inflatable Elvis Presley.

Scroll down to read a poem by Rychard

Albion My Way

Of all one hundred and ninety-six countries in the world
You were allocated to me
So when the team called England scores a goal
I'm supposed to shout 'whoopee'

I ate your chips until eventually
I came to hate the word 'quintessentially'
Tomato ketchup, HP sauce
Custard for the second course
Pork scratchings for the morris dance
William the Conqueror go back to France
When Queen Victoria finally dies
I'll admit I prefer French fries

Convert your feet into Shakespeare's meter
Sherlock Holmes, Geoffrey Boycott, Blue Peter
Kenneth Williams, Sting, Boadicea
Arthur Scargill, Charles I, Edward Lear
English breakfast, there's bones in your kipper
Union Jack, Jack Tar, Jack The Ripper

We live in hope but few true glories
Half of us vote for the fucking Tories
There's great scenery in England
And in other countries too
There are good people in England
And in other countries too
All the depression and mediocrity and crime
I've witnessed have been in England, each time

What I have taken I now give back to you
And no damn foreigner is going to spoil it
Plant a flag in my patriotic deposit
English shit in an English toilet

God save the Queen and the English Band
Captain Birdseye and the ship he sails
Enough merry stiff upper lip England
I don't believe your old wives' tales
Adieu boo sucks to you dear England
I am going to live in Wales

Rychard Carrington

Show: 17.09.08 With David Francis and John Guy

Here's another show from the archive featuring a terrific Cambridge poet, John Guy, and a poet and musician from further afield. David Francis from New York dropped in during a UK tour to chat and play a few tunes.

The Beastie Boys - Sabotage

Melt-Banana - Cat Brain Land

Gorillaz - Fire Coming Out Of The Monkey's Head

The Psychotic Reaction - Hand-Me-Downs (made me the man I am)
Moth Conspiracy - Turbo Funk
Alex Brooke - Prapatang Grooves
Dan Deacon - Piggled
David Francis - The Penultimate Actual
Keith Dersley - Pulp
Tom Adams and Dan Jeffries - Iceland
Justin Grounds - Bird Wings
Hamell on Trial - John Lennon
Deerhoof - Green Cosmos
22-Pistepirkko - Don’t Play Cello
Alice Wroe - Sunny Inside
Lydia Mendoza - Palida Luna
Ivor Cutler - One at a Time
Dog Latin - The Way to The Way Back Home
Melted Rubber Humans - Coming Down to Ground

Podcast: Renn Hubbuck-Melly

Renn Hubbuck-Melly talks about how she grew to love poetry and her hugely successful performance poetry open mic night Juke in Cardiff. We also hear poems on the theme of balance from Fran Smith, Clive Oseman, Will Ford and myself and Renn invites poems on the topic of fear as well as sharing some of her own poetry.

Matchwood

I have a splinter in my finger,
the needle, a slip of metal
prods like a blind prick trying to gain leverage
over the hair of wood.
The whorl distorting,
bark-eye sweet with blood.
Tweezers pinch the sloping rings,
I count them as they expand for excavation.
Thirty one arêtes shape the plumb of my thumb,
red sap curves and bleeds into the tributaries.
The chip comes loose,
small enough to be cargo on an ants back.
Does the tree feel this loss?
I wish to bring home this shard of limb
yet it is dead already,
a clipped nail forced under the lid of skin
flesh would reject
no longer as body
but as the outside we must protect against,
sapwood, heartwood whole, intact.

 By Renn Hubbuck-Melly

Podcast: Mark Curtis

Mark Curtis reads some poems and discusses his life-long passion for writing. There are responses to Des Mannay's poetry prompt and Mark invites you to write poems on balance. Share your responses in the comments below or email info@patrickwiddess.co.uk.

Podcast: Christina Thatcher

Christina Thatcher talks about how writing helped her overcome a difficult upbringing and led to her moving from the US to South Wales. In the six years she has been in Cardiff she has put herself at the heart of the creative writing and spoken word scene and completed a powerful collection of poems about coping with the loss of her father. She reads from this and other work and challenges listeners to write a poem about mundane things. You can post your responses here or email info@patrickwiddess.co.uk. You can read another of Christina's poems here.

You can also hear the abuse poem I wrote in response to Reuben Woolley's prompt on the last podcast and you can read it on the Writers for Calais Refugees site here.

Christina's website is: collectingwords.wordpress.com

Christina Thatcher by Headstand on Mixcloud

Podcast: Reuben Woolley

Poet Reuben Woolley talks about his writing and why his ambition is to close down his popular online magazine I am not a silent poet – www.iamnotasilentpoet.wordpress.com

He reads a selection of poems and invites listeners to write a poem on the subject of abuse. Some of the poems feature strong language and graphic imagery which, while suitable for the hard-hitting subject matter, may not be suitable for all audiences.

Reuben Woolley by Headstand on Mixcloud

Here's another poem by Reuben:

This episode also features poems by myself and Bel Blue written in response to Fran Smith's prompt on trees. My poem is based on the photo Country Doctor by W. Eugene Smith which you can view here. There are no trees in the picture but there are in the poem.

Show: 25.06.08

25.06.08 by Headstand on Mixcloud

The Orb - Little Fluffy Clouds
Scroobius Pip - 1000 Words
Mozzy Green - Billy’s Ghost 
Toma - This is not a revolution
Dominic Mulvey - Brotherly Love
Nick Mulvey - I Didn’t Have Time
Tiger Force - Beat This!
Melt-Banana - The Call Of The Vague
The Man From Uranus - Barney’s Dream
Robert Gonzalez - Shoos
Boom Bip and Dose One - Slight
David Francis - Rain
Moth Conspiracy - Number Five
Charles Billard - Transition Shift Final
The Trench Parrots - Irrepressible Urges Of Spring
Norville Parchment - Freedom Breakes
Aidan Smith - Living On Allotments
Clare Connolly - Call You Home
Joanna Newsom - Bridges and Balloons
Dion McGregor - The Wet Parade
The Morning People - The Hardest Word
Niall Spooner-Harvey - Intolerant
Felix Kubin - Fernwarme Wien
Soyuzmultfilm - Chunga Changa
Ivor Cutler - Lemonade
Drew Moon - Transitional Days

Show: 28.05.08 with The Pixiphones, Magic Phil, Hollie McNish and Nick Stibbs

This show from 2008 is a real classic with a live session from The Pixiphones an early band of Tom Adams – now a familiar name on the Cambridge music scene and beyond. There are also contributions from several local poets including an early radio broadcast from Hollie McNish.

28.05.08 with The Pixiphones, Magic Phil, Hollie McNish and Nick Stibbs by Headstand on Mixcloud

Drew Moon - Luke's Home
Manu Chao - Merry Blues
Aidan Smith - The Regret Rap
The Trenchparrots - Footprints
Porticillius Gate - Percyval Vanguard’s android wife
Clare Connolly - Your Hat
Melt-Banana - Spider Snipe
Magic Phil - Jack and The Genestalk
Hollie McNish - Fruit and Vegetables
Sigur Ros - Hoppipolla
Bjork - Alfur Ut Ur Hol
Radiohead - Life in Glasshouses 

Nick Stibbs on Walt Whitman
Lambchop - The Distance from Her to There
David Francis - Those Summer Chairs
The Morning People - They Did Something
The Rude Mechanicals - Frying the Neighbours
Tricky - Black Steel
Ivor Cutler - Bird Swing
Cream Cheese of Son - Lo to Hi

Show: 30.04.08 with Melanie Challenger

30.4.08 with Melanie Challenger by Headstand on Mixcloud

A show with poetry old and new. Melanie Challenger talks about her experiences in the Antarctic and shares some poems while Nick Stibbs talks about the life and work of Rumi. 


Captain Beefheart and the magic band - ElectricityThe Rude mechanicals - Beefheart's Greenhouse 
Amena Khan - Technicolour 
Aidan Smith - Morning was Your Picnic
Melt-Banana - Chain-shot to have some fun
Public Enemy - Bring the Noise
Lou Reed - Vicious
Ivor Cutler - A Bubble Or Two
Warren Zevon - Excitable Boy
Moth Conspiracy - Dracula
Yellow Magic Orchestra - Behind the Mask
The Trench Parrots - My Ex-Girlfriend Walks In
Toma - Lost In The Night
Baby Shambles - Stone Me - What A Life!
Portico Quartet - news from verona
Nick and Cherif - Rumi
Aidan Smith - Lament of a Victorian Prostitute, London 1865
Kazoo Funk Orchestra - Walking Into Lamp posts
Clare Crossman - Fenlight
Belle and Sebastian - Space boy Dream
The Nice - Rondo (69)
Wynton Marsalis - You and Me
Anne Berkeley with Martin Figura - How we learnt to tie a piece of string from the rafter
The Sparkiovoggel - Y'ar what Y'ar
Mr Maps - Life Like Little Soldiers
Muxu - Hishiko

Show: 2.4.08 with Judy Kendall and Elaine Cusack

2.4.08 with Judy Kendall and Elaine Cusack by Headstand on Mixcloud

Underworld - Moaner 
Felix Kubin - This is no dream
Jellica - I wld di 4 u 
Fantomas - 04/02/05 Saturday
Aidan Smith - Pockets
Rob Ellis - Parade in your palm
P J Harvey - Good Fortune
David Francis - In a Storm
The Broken Family Band - Honest Man's Blues
The Beatles - Good Day Sunshine
Ivor Cutler - Go and Sit Upon The Grass
The Classic Buskers - Overture to the marriage of figaro
Muzikas - swineherd's dance
Richard McGuire - J'accuse
Keith Dersley - Roughneck Road
Steph Brown - Accidental Me
17 Hippies - Schattenmann
Cream Cheese of Sun - Hadashi no sorari
Max Tundra - Pocket
Amp Live - Nudez
Chris Morris - Club News
Portico Quartet - Too Many Cooks
Dion McGregor - Mr Crench
Harry Partch - The Wayward: I. U.S. Highball-A Musical Account Of A Transcontinental Hobo Trip

Show: 9.01.08 with Alex Brooke and Patrick Sheil

In this show I was joined by Alex Brooke a musician, podcaster and teacher based in Japan. It also features Patrick Sheil once again performing his own work and collaborating with Alex with great spontaneity. 
No playlist for the show survives but it's a wild unpredictable set as always. Regular favourites include Tom Adams, Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip, Jerry Gordon and Aidan Smith on his own and accompanying one of my poems read by Graeme Cole.

First broadcast on 209radio, Cambridge.

9.01.08 with Alex Brooke and Patrick Sheil by Headstand on Mixcloud

The first ever show

Since the last show on Cambridge 105 I've dug out some early show recordings which haven't been available online since they were broadcast. I'll be sharing them over the next few months starting with this historic recording. It's a pilot show which is more or less the same as the first one broadcast in September 2007. The recording quality isn't excellent and my presenting and engineering is shaky to say the least but there's a terrific set of music and spoken word including some stories and poems recorded by Patrick Sheil, one of which I replayed on the last show.
I hope you enjoy my earliest attempt at broadcasting.

September 2007 - First show pilot by Headstand on Mixcloud

Show: 24.7.14

A random mix of music and spoken word including some of the acts at this year's Cambridge Folk Festival. Also a song by Karmadillo aka Rishi who will be live on the next show on August 5th. He will then be doing a gig with me on August 9th at CB2 as part of the Romsey Art Festival.

The Ramones - Teenage Lobotomy

Loudon Wainwright III - Brand New Dance

Balloon Ascents - Cutout

We Were Evergreen - Eggs

Laura Mvula - Like The Morning Dew

Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip - Entity

Anna Binkovitz - Asking For It

Moulettes - The Observatory

Richard Dawson - The Brisk Lad

The Antipoet - Ere’s One For The Kiddies

The Glass Set - Luckiest Girl

Sassparilla - Overture

Matsuki Ayumu - Two of Us

Fujiya and Miyagi - Artificial Sweetners

Karmadillo - Variations on a theme of DNA

Ivor Cutler - One Of The Best

Jet Jaguar - Hoops

22.7.14 by Headstand on Mixcloud

Show: 8.7.14 with Tom Adams

It was great to be joined by musician and composer Tom Adams who talked about his soundtrack to the forthcoming film The Knife That Killed Me and played a few songs including a couple of new songs from his new solo album, due to be released next year.

8.7.14 with Tom Adams by Headstand on Mixcloud

Show: 10.6.14 Night Watch

New music and spoken word including some of the artists who will be keeping me awake at Night Watch at the Junction this Saturday.

Colouring Lesson - Mea Culpa Blues (It's My Fault)

Horse Party - In-between

Japp Blonk - Cadenza

Crookram - Balboa

Ergo Phizmiz - Consequences

The Breaches - Jesus Wept

Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds - We No Who U R

Euros Childs - Give The Girl A Hand

Kate Tempest - A Hammer

Mouth - Blood Beat

Gaze is Ghost - In Love of Post Apocalyptic Watch Towers

Hollow Mountain - Untitled

Meta-Ex - Spiked With Recursive Dreams [Live Coded Session}

Girl Band - The Cha Cha Cha (Peaks remix)

10.6.14 Night Watch by Headstand on Mixcloud

Show: 27.5.14

Richard Burton - Under Milk Wood (Extract)

Hyelim Kim - Shower of Sparks

Isis Wolf Light And Rob Shipster - Finca

Nick Mulvey - Nitrous Man

Kate Tempest - Marshall Law

Adam and Bones - Me And The Liquor 

Moulettes - Elegy

Ezra Furman - My Zero

Girl Band - The Cha Cha Cha

Melt-Banana - Then Red Eyed

Korean Drama - Shotgun Legs

Luke Wright - Nigel Farridge

Einhorn - Swing All Night

Ethan’s Bucket - Chosen

[Fragments] - Constellations

Kaseijin - Aquatic Sleepwalker

Deceived By The Sun - Grinding My Teeth

27.5.14 by Headstand on Mixcloud

Show: 29.4.14

29.4.14 by Headstand on Mixcloud

A show with some of the many great tunes I've received recently including a beautiful new single from ex-Brazilian Girls singer Sabina and a couple of tracks from artists on Erased Tapes.

The Fall - Mother Sister (Peel Session)
Ezra Furman - Anything can happen
Edith Sitwell - A Man From A Far Countree [From Façade]
Motor Tapes - Sunshine Moment
David Youngs - Follow My Footsteps
Mincemeat or Tenspeed - Circle Crazy
Melt-banana - Lefty Dog (run, caper, run)
Sabina - I won’t let you Break Me
Fay Roberts with Wooden Arms - Turning Point
Russell J Turner with Wooden Arms - The Dead Start Fires
Elbow - Fly Boy Blue / Lunette
Richard Dawson - The Ghost of a Tree
Malportado Kids - Soy La Pocha
Luka Lesson - 5th Season
Tom Adams - The End
Douglas Dare - Swim
Rival Consoles - Odyssey

Headsound: Luka Lesson - 5th Season

Australian artist Luka Lesson blends music and spoken word on this track from his new album Exit. He recites lyrics assuredly over an abrasive mix of loops and beats on 5th Season the first track on the album out on 1st of May. Sounds like Australia's answer to Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip. I look forward to hearing more.

www.lukalesson.com.au

Show: 17.3.14 with Sarah Howe and Fran Lock

This show features poetry recorded for the show by Sarah Howe and Fran Lock. Look out for an interview coming up. There is also music from local favourites Tom Adams, Nick Mulvey and Alicia Catling and not so local Korean Drama from Canada and Tokyo's Melt-Banana.

Next show will be on April 1st when I will be back on Cambridge 105 from 11-midnight.

17.3.14 by Headstand on Mixcloud

Show: 9.2.14

This edition features Dan Le Sac vs Scroobius Pip who recently played the Cambridge Junction and several bands who are playing the city in the coming weeks and months including Melt-Banana who play The Portland in May and Wooden Arms and Heart of a Dog who play Shindig next Friday (14th February)

9.2.14 by Headstand on Mixcloud