Poetry reading at Burberry, 5 Virgo Street, London 21 Nov 2016

My dear friend and fellow poet Greta Bellamancina asked me to read a few poems at a poetry reading she was hosting at Burberry at their Thomas Burberry Café, off Regents Street. As Burberry is such a great British institution, the theme of the night was poems based loosely on the idea of Great Britain.

The first person I saw when I arrived was Rosalind Jana, although we hadn't met before we recognised each other and began discussing the pro's and con's of the city Vs the county side, and which was more conducive to writing. We were quickly joined by our fellow poets George Khayat, Greta, and Robert Montgomery for the poetic communion. I read my poem Ocean and a new unpublished piece. George also read some new work from his laptop, something he had written that day in fact. It is always great to see George, he took part in my first poetry reading at the Worlds End Bookshop in 2013, so it always reminds me of how far we have both come.

It was such a treat to finally hear Rosalind Jana read her poetry live, she is a wonderful performer and there was a strong voice in her poetry. She too read something she had finished that day. Greta and Robert both read from their collections, published by their New River Press, and as always I loved hearing them. Robert said how great it was to see so many creative women together, in true Bluestocking Style. He also emphasised that we were all peers and that anyone who wanted to should get up and read a favourite poem or something that is meaningful to them even if they are not a "poet". Musicians Rae Morris and Oscar Dunbar read some of their beautiful lyrics, and Poppy Jamie, Lillie Rage and Gala Gordon shared some poems that were dear to their hearts.

Everybody was connected and attentive to each reader. I loved it, and sometimes feel most relaxed when I'm able to share and listen to poetry. Thank you to Greta for inviting me and having the vision to pull us all together and thank you to Burberry for having us!