photos and other media

It's only been a short time that I could stand up in public and say "I'm a poet". If you'd said to me last year that I'd have over a hundred pieces of creative writing to my name by the middle of summer 2005, I'd have thought you crazy.

Now, if you'd said to me that I'd have over a hundred photos on my website, I'd have said "At last!" And why? Because I've been taking photos since about the age of 10 - and that's quite a long time ago. I've had phases - sometimes I really get into taking photos - sometimes I leave my cameras in the bag for months or even years. I probably have several thousand photos around the house - I actually have no idea how many there are.

Five years ago, someone asked me if I'd ever done any drawing - and that got me started on drawing and sketching and painting. What I found is that I really enjoy quick sketches, but long paintings bore me. And I missed the immediacy of being able to capture an image with a camera - even though it might be ages before I saw the results (the cry of the pre-digital photographer).

So, now I have multiple ways of capturing what I see - poems, photos (both digital and film), drawings and just talking about it. Hurray!

And today I got the latest batch of digital photos onto my website - after a long struggle with the technology. What's there? Nature; Art in Action; the ships lined up for the Trafalgar 200 celebrations; Arreton 1642 & the promotional shoot for 1628; and summer in the Chilterns.

Simon.

inspirations

It's funny how it goes - this writing lark. I can go days - sometimes a week or two - and not find the inspiration to write. And then, when it comes, it can produce a scrap - a fragment - or three poems in less than an hour. And then maybe more the next day! I don't exactly know what causes that. I think it may be whatever moves me - if something happens that strikes a chord in me, then the creative voice wakes up and produces something. Maybe if something really moves me, then I get a strong urge to write; when the inspiration is weaker, then the words don't flow as well.

My latest crop (on my website today 27th July) were all written last night - and from three different sources. The first was an email from a friend in which he was trying to convince his readers (and maybe himself) that an irritating problem was actually just a challenge and an opportunity. ("Hey boss, I've got this insurmountable opportunity!"). The second was when I thought about the event he's planning - our imminent return to Arreton Manor on the Isle of Wight for another bout of historical re-enactment. Arreton is a fine example of a tudor/stuart manor house, nestling in a quiet corner of a rural island (if you ignore the farm next door and the tourist attractions nearby). Much history has passed it by - and we do what we can to help visitors to understand what 17th century life might have been like. And then I thought back to Monday - and Jonathan Meades's film about Salisbury Cathedral - described as "one of England's finest medieval buildings with the highest spire in Britain".

Simon.

http://www.facilitator.demon.co.uk

thoughts at 22.35

July seems to be the month for death to play its tunes - the last of my aunts; the mother of a close friend; all those unknown and yet so dearly-loved folk in London and Egypt and wherever else.

So, today, it was in a sense a relief to find a copy of Wordsworth's poems in Borders in Watford this afternoon. And my eyes fell on a page with the poem "We are seven" which seemed to capture the spirit of the undying link between family. Here's just an excerpt:

"Sisters and brothers, little Maid,
How many may you be?"
"How many? Seven in all," she said
And wondering looked at me.

"And where are they? I pray you tell."
She answered, "Seven are we;
And two of us at Conway dwell,
And two are gone to sea."

"Two of us in the church-yard lie,
My sister and my brother;
And, in the church-yard cottage, I
Dwell near them with my mother."

And over the weekend, I was struck by the effect of anxiety and the build-up of the knocks we all feel; hence the latest of my poems - in a sense just a fragment "How long can the tap drip".

Simon.

influences

My latest poem "if no-one knows" was influenced partly by an email I read and partly by watching an interview with Lance Armstrong after he had completed another stage in the Tour de France - and collected yet another yellow jersey.

On Saturday I went to Art in Action - a huge event that takes place in a beautiful and peaceful corner of Oxfordshire. One of the artists I found was Paul Slater - who does illustrations for the Eating Out column in The Times.

Here's a link to some of his drawings
http://www.cuttergallery.com/Paul_Slater_PRINTS.htm

For me, the one that really caught my eye was "Life on Pluto". This website really doesn't do justice to it - when you see the original (which is at least 3 feet by 2 feet) - the figure of the woman is stunning and amazing - probably one of the most beautiful and sensuous I've ever seen in art. If I'd had the £400 to buy a print, I would have done it. Wow.

Simon

thoughts

So, now I have a blog. Some blogs are socially useful; some are ways for people to express what's irritating them; some are ways of showing who I like and what I like.

Which is this one going to be? Who knows.

I've just looked at the index page of my website; it's a mess. I really need to find out how to format webpages in ways that look good and are easy to follow. For that matter, the poetry table pages are a mess, too - but for a different reason - they are boring to look at.

The good news? I've got some great photos to post and I'm pleased with some of my new poems!

Simon

setting up a blog

Seems easy, doesn't it? Especially when someone has already done all the hard work - finding a site, getting it going - you just click on a link and away you go. And that's how the internet - and the blog culture in particular - has made everyone a publisher.

So why am I doing it? because I have something to say. because I find it easier than setting up my own website. because I felt like it.

Here's a link to my website; let's see if it works:

http://www.facilitator.demon.co.uk