Postcard 70: St Govan's Chapel

Guillemot colony at Stack Rocks
near St Govan's
on the Castlemartin Range, Pembrokeshire

St Govan's Chapel
tucked in its rocky cleft
(click to enlarge)

Stack Rocks
near the Green Bridge,
Castlemartin Range
(click to enlarge and spot the Guillemot colony)

We spent the Bank Holiday in fine sunshine on the Pembrokeshire cliffs, here at St Govan's Chapel. It is a favourite haunt. Some people believe that it is the final resting place of Sir Gawain.

We failed to spot any seals today, but the flowers - including the Green Winged Orchids - were a delight. There were scores of bees and butterflies.

Some years back I took part in a Disability Arts Cymru project, which resulted in the publication of an anthology called Hidden Dragons | Gwir a Grymus (edited by Allan Sutherland and Elin ap Hywel, Parthian Books).

My poem, 'St Govan's Chapel' features in the book. It was later selected for inclusion in an Arts Council Wales report (Moving Beyond: an Arts & Disability Strategy for Wales p.7), which is online. You can follow my link through to read it here.

Postcard 69: 'Unthinkable Skies' by Juliet Wilson

Do visit my Coastcard blog here
to read my interview with Juliet Wilson,
author of the sparkling new poetry collection,

'Unthinkable Skies'.

'Unthinkable Skies' (2010)
by Juliet Wilson (aka 'Crafty Green Poet')

The collection is available from
Calder Wood Press

28pp, £4.50 plus p&p - UK £1, Europe £1.50, Rest of the World £2

ISBN: 978-1-902629-28-5

Postcard 68: Hull, Larkin and a Plague of Toads!

This should be a Toad,
but it's actually a Frog that hopped on to our back doorstep!

Gateway to Hull, The Humber Bridge

2010 marks the 25th anniversary of the death of Larkin. It was good to read in the latest edition of The Times Higher Education Supplement that back in 2001 Larkin's 'long-term partner Monica Jones' bequeathed a collection of Larkin memorabilia - including the poet's duffel coat and NHS glasses - to the University of Hull, where the poet served as librarian from 1955 until the time of his death in 1985.

Larkin wrote two poems about toads, and a 'ceramic frog-shaped money box' was included in the selection of personal items. Toads and frogs have fascinated human beings for centuries: I remember being captivated by the 'brekekekex' frog chorus (see also here) in the comedy by Aristophanes, when I was at school.

During the Larkin25 Festival, a commemorative statue will be unveiled at Paragon Station. The festival will run for 25 weeks, during which time the town will be invaded by a plague of fibreglass toads, presumably of similar construction to King Bladud's drove of psychedelic pigs in Bath (and here), which I much enjoyed seeing on my way to and from the hospital!

• Toads and Toads Revisited by Philip Larkin
• My Brekekekex blog