Wow! It's been a while since I've posted in here!

In this modern age of Substacks, Bluesky, Insta ect etc the humble blog seems incredibly retro. I still miss the height of the blogger days and the little blogging community which seemed so much more connected and manageable compared with todays mass of subscriptions, consumer posts and ad-filled socials.

Which is why I like to pop back to the simplicity of this space and maintain it with very occasional posts - a sort of diary of my writing publications, my 'poetry in progress'. 

I've had a very pleasant start to 2026 with, first of all, the publication of my slightly gothic poem 'Apples' at Black Noir Review which can be read here, and then the total surprise of winning 1st prize in the Wolverhampton Literature Festival poetry competition judged by the brilliant Helen Ivory and Martin Figura with my poem ' O'Keeffe's 'Ram's Head, White Hollyhock-Hills' is the Month of December'. You can hear me read my poem and the other prize winners reading their poems here. 

I also recently received copies of the latest Poetry Salzburg Review with a Glasgow poem of mine called 'Wren Moon'. Always a joy to have a poem in this journal as it really is one of my favourite poetry journals.