Summer Fun was the theme for this month’s Poetry workout and the weather did not disappoint – pouring rain yet again.

However, it did not take long to change the atmosphere by taking and tracking a steam train to Adlestrop for an unexpected stop in midsummer by Edward Thomas. I also recounted many of the trials and tribulations of hiking in the Peak District with my own poem Kinder Surprise as well as pondering on where to go with another self-penned effort The Getaway.

Liz brought with her a tape of Pam Ayres and chose Packing that extolled the virtues of packing for every eventuality and in doing so even managed to find a rhyme for Paracetamol.

An unexpected surprise was Mary Wilson’s gorgeous descriptions of the Scilly Isles; yes, you’re right, the wife of Harold Wilson and a fine poet in her own right. No stone or pebble left unturned.

Along with many more poets such as Jenny Joseph, William Blake and Lee Hunt we found out that W H Auden spent time in Rookhope and Bob managed to find a poem by Seamus Heaney despite Margaret not being able to recall his surname, the poet’s that is not Bob’s.

We finished the session with Marrazon Morning by Marilyn Lucy Worship from the National Poetry Anthology 2013 that portrayed the heat of a Spanish coastal town and screeching seagulls… actually that reminds me I must go and Google it.

Robert Reynolds