Well, they didn’t name this day the 13th of October for nothing, you know. Just another thing to go awry today, after a stressful day at work. The venue for the pamphlet launch on Sunday has changed to the Taste of Arabia . Sadly, this isn’t in Arabia, but  somewhere quite near, namely Borough Road, Middlesbrough. So I shan’t be arriving on my camel, or basking in the warmth of a gentle desert breeze, although there may be a gale blowing, if today’s weather is anything to go by.

Still, I’m looking forward to the event and the other exciting things that are happening this weekend, such as the rest of the Teesside Poetry Festival, not to mention the world music festival, Musicport, in Whitby.  Trouble with this part of the world, there’s so much going on – events don’t just appear like oases amongst the dunes, but more like proverbial buses, telephone boxes or anything else you spend a long time waiting for. Too many at once. Not really moaning, you understand – just hoping the venue isn’t changed again. Otherwise I may find myself roaming the streets looking for lost poems…and they can appear anywhere…