Hello my Substack friends,
It has been so long since I shared a long post. Hello to all new faces and new subscribers. Apologies to the old guard for being absent. I have been home in Hastings, looking after my mum and my kid sister. It’s been a tough winter. I’ve been making soup and feeling time plays tricks, how fast it all catches up with all of us. My lovely mum will be ok, but she gave us a scare. My lovely sister is more than ok, she has got all the sticky toffees and caramel promises out of me she can in mum’s absence. I’m now back at my desk madly trying to catch up with books and admin and stuff. It’s a juggle navigating this time of life, this big scary world, this terrible age of distraction, and all this patriarchal fuckery.
Take a deep breath. Here’s a walk along the beach and something from the archives. A love letter to Hastings and those 1980s teenage years. The poem ‘Under The Pier’ was originally written for a walking tour of Hastings, where you would have poetry playing in headphones at different historical and tourists spots in the Hastings area. ‘Under The Pier’ was also the title poem of a pamphlet published by Nasty Little press in 2011. Then later in 2016 this poem featured on the LIVEwire album, a solo performance poetry album, released with Nymphs & Thugs and Matt Abbott - The video was shot on location in Hastings, East Sussex in 2016, the video was filmed, directed, and edited by Jordon Scott Kennedy of Idle Work Factory, and it accompanies audio of a live performance of the poem recorded at the BBC Radio Theatre.
Time is such a trickster, somehow this all feels like last week, and also so long ago now. Ten years have passed, so much water has passed under the pier. I’m gonna see my friends soon, excited to do a show with Matt Abbott and Toria Garbutt next week, so, if you are up in Yorkshire and local, I’m at Barnsley Book Festival on March 2nd, please come, details below, it will be lovely to see everyone again.
Talking of water under the pier, are you watching the Channel 4 programme - DIRTY BUSINESS - It is so brilliantly written and so well done, watch this, share it, see how they are raising the roof about the privatisation and greed and neglect and corruption of the UK water companies. I feel it is as impactful and beautifully executed as the drama about the Post Offices, Mr Bates V’s The Post Office, with Toby Jones. I hope people watch it and see the truth. We used to spend every day all summer swimming in the sea in Hastings, sadly, I am not so sure we can trust them to keep us safe and our rivers and seas clean. Watch Dirty Business, the first episode was on last night, phenomenal script and powerful cast, the three-part series, airs on consecutive nights from 23-25 February, and charts the real stories of the pollution of England’s waterways since the water companies were privatised by Thatcher in 1989: David Thewlis and Jason Watkins lead this shocking real-life drama of victims, whistleblowers and England’s water companies: https://www.channel4.com
Ok. I hope you enjoy this jaunt to the seaside and into the past, this walk along Bottle Alley, smoking fags and sharing cider Under The Pier. Oh, those were the days! Now I must get back to 2026 and my beautiful books and admin and a kerzillion other jobs, not to mention making magic soup and procuring more sticky toffees and caramels for my sister.
I’m slowly coming back to the gigs: I have three wonderful poetry shows in March, come see me if you can. On March 2nd, I am up in Barnsley Book Festival. Then on March 12th I’m in Manchester raising funds for Jamaica and Hurricane Melissa. Then back home in London doing a sold out show at the glorious Hackney Empire with Hollie McNish on March 21st! See you there!
Thank you for finding my poems and reading my words,
Keep fighting the good fight,
Xxsg
MARCH 2 - BARNSLEY BOOK FESTIVAL - Performing with my old N&T family at LIVEWIRE in Yorkshire, alongside gorgeous Toria Garbutt and Matt Abbott, it will be wonderful and this one is free entry and supporting libraries too.
MARCH 12 - MANCHESTER, SOUNDS OF SOLIDARITY - Hurricane Melissa, Fundraiser for Jamaica with the beautiful talents of J Chambers, Lisa Moorish, Genesis Elijah, Tsana, and many, many more, come along to Band On The Wall, help us to help Jamaica.
MARCH 21 - LONDON, HACKNEY EMPIRE -We return for the second year to the mighty Hackney Empire alongside brilliant Hollie McNish, supporting the release of Hollie’s brilliant new book VIRGIN alongside the spectacular Michael Pedersen come and watch us LIVE, glorious venue, big stage, it’s gonna be epic.
