BBC Edinburgh Fringe Poetry Slam 2013

BBC at the Edinburgh Festivals

For the last two years, DorkyDad has hosted the BBC Edinburgh Fringe Poetry Slam. It’s an exciting thing – four nights of heats, with six poets competing in each one, and the winner from each night going on to compete in a grand final.

It has finally cured me of my dislike of poetry slams – I get all the excitement of watching great spoken word, and the pride that comes with watching him on the stage, without the nerves of seeing him compete.

I am super chuffed that he has been asked to host for a third time this year, and looking at the lineup, it looks like the best ever. The Slam features 24 of the best performance poets in the UK – 12 women and 12 men – including UK National Champions, Scottish National Champions, two former BBC Slam Champions and the Scottish Makar.

Continue reading

Slam

BBC Edinburgh Fringe Poetry Slam

I love the fact that DorkyDad is a poet. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve seen him perform – in venues ranging from libraries to Jazz bars – and I always come away feeling proud and happy.

Except when he’s doing a slam. I hate watching him in slams. That competitive element takes all the joy out of it for me, and rather than being able to support and encourage him I turn into a jangling, fidgeting ball of nerves. Slams have always made me feel a bit sick.
Continue reading

BBC Poetry Slam at the Fringe 2012

BBC Poetry Slam Edinburgh Fringe 2012

Whoop whoop! It’s almost Edinburgh Fringe time, and I am hugely excited that DorkyDad has been asked to compere the BBC Poetry Slam again.

The Slam took place for the first time last year, and it was an absolutely brilliant line-up of poets, but this year it’s EVEN BETTER! (It’s actually a bit ridiculous how good it is.) This year it will feature the 2011 BBC Slam Champion, Catherine Brogan; Scottish Makar Liz Lochhead in her first ever Slam competition; and a special guest appearance from the 2012 Paris World Champion, Harry Baker.
Continue reading

Listography – Top 5 Keyword Searches

There’s a fun Listography going on over at Kate Takes 5 this week, where bloggers are doing posts about the top Keyword Searches that have led readers to their blog. I’ve never done a listography entry before, but this seemed like a nice easy one to start with (much less daunting than the 5 Worst Dates posts that folk were doing last week…).

Excluding variations on my name, DorkyDad’s name, and the blog name, my top 5 searches are as follows:

1. Older Husband. Hmmm, what a shocker! That’ll be because of this post, which was originally published in the family section of the Guardian. I’ve been so touched by all the lovely comments on it, and I’m really chuffed by the number of people in similar relationships who have read it and said that it has been helpful.

2. Kids Photography. Well I’ve posted about kids a few times, and posted about photography a few times, but the only article on here which is about kids photography is this guest one from Sylwia Presley, which came about as a result of the BritMums blog swap. So thanks Sylwia and thanks BritMums!

3. Slam Poetry. I think I’ve got DorkyDad to thank for this one, with all his guest posts during the Slam Poetry World Cup.

=4. Being an Uncle and Lentil Quiche. Two more guest posts that have proved very popular. One is a wonderful post about being an uncle by my friend Adam Ramsay (who also blogs political stuff over at Bright Green), and the other is a delicious lentil quiche recipe from my friend April.

5. Peppa Pig. The number of people searching for Peppa Pig related terms online is very reassuring. Good to know I’m not the only one with an obsessed toddler… I wrote about Peppa Pig back in July. It’s now October, and the love for her is still strong in this house…

Some of the other, stranger terms that people have searched for and ended up on here are:

Sweaty the Jester * you say tomato i saw tomartato * foil wrapped sandwich * it’s all about the dorky dorky dorky * your difficult tim * perfect travel sandwich * i eat peppa pig for breakfast * mum in graffiti * my husband + mini skirt * drinks named after sharks * the perfect raccoon * old letters from paris lovers * ways to rejuvenate a midsize town * child fingers stuck in freezer * i’m in love with ben and jerry’s * fashion disasters for teens * is it dorky to take my boyfriend a flower at the airport * paris in fancy letters * what is night gatoring

Last Post From Paris

Image of the Eiffel Tower with two pigeons in the foreground

Dear DorkyMum,

Well, it is over.  The 20112 Coupe du Monde de Slam Champion is David Goudreault from Quebec.  He was simply perfect, hit all three of his poems with calm, beautiful intensity.  The audience loved him.  The rest of the poets loved him.  He is a good and true champion. Second place looked like it would go to Roberta from Brazil after she scored two 10s during her final poem, only to have Chris Tse from Canada (the guy who knocked me out of the elimination round by 0.1 point!) score THREE 10s with his last poem.  And Youness Mernissi came in fourth in the scoring, but first in his elegant skills as a writer. Continue reading