A Voyage of Discovery

Good afternoon readers, and happy Easter to all of you.

This week, on my voyage of discovery, I saw an article on The Guardian online about the British Pathe archive coming available online.

Having visited the excellent Manchester Museum with Lara last week, I have already found plenty of inspiration for a poem I'm now working on redrafting. I found the whole place fascinating with all the nooks and crannies filled of wonderful old things- and I mean stuffed.

I've long been a believer that the internet is just as full of treasure troves but, admittedly, find myself on the same seven or eight sites all of the time. So, as it isn't actually one I frequent too often and the kids at school rave on about it, I've decided that this Pathe archive going up on YouTube must have some creative inspiration in it.

It seems it is a pathway to a by-gone era. A chance to see from the comfort of your armchair what life was like in the the early part of the last century, without having to sit through the dodgy sky channels and adverts.

It can consume hours of your time just the same though, so I've picked out five videos that may just be that kick of inspiration you were looking for today. Hope you enjoy.

With Eve At Blackpool (1926)

10,000 Guides and Scouts... (1930)

1890s Traffic Scenes

New Paint for Blackpool Tower (1926)

The Champions (1931)

Thanks for reading,

S.

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Free erotic fiction

 by Ashley Lister

 Our theme this week is reasons why we’re proud. Thursday night exemplified many of the reasons why I believe I’m entitled to feel proud. Thursday night was the night of the erotic fiction reading at the No. 5 Café.

Two dear friends, both highly respected colleagues, visited Blackpool for Thursday evening. These were the writers D L King and Remittance Girl. They read some of their work.

They were superb.

Award winning poet, performance artist, author, workshop facilitator and blogger, Vicky Ellis, had kindly agreed to read some of my work because I was committed to a conflicting engagement for the first part of the evening.

Vicky did an awesome job.

There were a host of authors on the open mic, reading their work and sharing their intimate writings. The parts I caught were stunning. Blackpool really does have a hell of a lot of talent that is consistently overlooked.

My son, Ash JR, kindly compered the evening. His professionalism made me blush.

Below are links to the performances of some of the stories that were read. Please keep in mind that most of these links are probably NSFW (Not Safe for Work). These stories are on an adult theme and contain descriptions of sexual acts. If you're likely to be offended by any of these stories then please don't follow the links. And, to reiterate my original point: the fact that I’m lucky enough to work with such capable professionals who can produce and perform material of this calibre is one of the reasons why I’m deservedly proud.

NB - These are just three clips from the evening. I'm working on getting the others uploaded as soon as I'm able. It was a grand night and public opinion is insisting that we have to do something like this again in the near future.

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