Carig Bradely and Greg Smelly

I am not a brilliant typist. I have learnt to be better because i am a writer and i have to do a lot of it. I always write poems with a pen in my hand because i am a better writer than i am a typer and besides if you write a poem on the computer it looks finished when it isn't.....but when i write emails and blogs and all that stuff i have to type. But here's the thing, i type my name like this Carig Bradely. I don't know why its just where my fingers want to go and who am i to argue. Another thing about my name is when i sign autographs somethings in schools it looks like i have written Greg Smelly. Imagine that, being called Mr Smelly!!!

Jimmys

I was doing two cool things today. I was on BBC Radio Leeds. I went through the papers and tried to find sommat interesting to speak about something funny and a bit weird then after that i went to a hospital called St James or Jimmy's as everyone calls it, and read some poems out to the young people in there. It was mad and loud and frantic but all in a good way. It was red hot today and it looks like the summer has come at last!!! I plan to spend all weekend in the back garden doing nothing except cutting the grass, having a BBQ, playing football, teaching Jack to ride his bike, reading, packing for the holidays, sunbathing, more reading, maybe do some writing, stare at clouds, daydream, go for a zebra ride, fight a bear and drink cold drinks.

PS i made that bit about the zebra up but I'm dead serious about the bear!!!

The Man From The BBC

Today i had a bit of a different day. I am making a documentary about a man called Joshua Tetley. Joshua had a brewary in Leeds, years and years ago now, and BBC Radio Leeds asked to talk about him on the radio. Tetleys brewary is leaving Leeds after 189 years. I have done lots of radio stuff before but never a proper 1 hour show about anyone. I had to research Joshua's life and find out lots about him. I had to sound like i knew what i was talking about!!!! I did it with my mate Nick, who is a producer at BBC Radio Leeds. A producer is someone who tells me what we are going to do and to say my bit again if it was rubbish!!! And i was rubbish quite a bit!!!! We went into Leeds market to talk to people about Tetelys brewary. Its called vox popping. That was good fun. I am doing a lot more work on the show and it will be on the radio this August bank holiday. Doing this kind of thing is completely different to reading my poems out in primary schools but i think doing different stuff now and again is a good way to learn new stuff!!!

Raw seagull anyone?

One of the best things for me about summer is that i have more time to read. I spend a lot of time thinking about which book to read next and take ages picking books up then putting them back down and picking up another. I have just read a book about Captain Bligh who was a real sea captain back in the late 1700s. His crew stole his ship of him (its called a mutiny) and left him in a little boat. Amazingly he sailed over 4162 miles across the pacific ocean and made it back in one piece, just about!! He survived drinking a spoonful of water everyday!!!!!!! He even caught seagulls with his bare hands and ate them raw!! What a trip, what a story, the next time your train is late or you are stuck in a traffic jam just think about poor old Captain Bligh!!!

Done but not dusted

I have pretty much done for the summer now and its been a bit busy but in a good way. First i did the Coast To Coast walk, more about that to come on the website, then i got back and went straight into school visits, 2 days in Stockport school which was ace and then 2 days up in Gateshead at the Jospeh Swan school where i did 8 performances to over 400 pupils in 2 days. Then i had another week in Blackpool. I have been Blackpool Schools Poet In Residence this summer term and i have had a blast. I was in St Johns, Boundary, Thames and Devonshire and i enjoyed myself in every one of them. Doing this Blackpool residency has been great so ta for everyone at the school, especially to Mr Kirkpatrick who took me out for a curry, even if some one said that i look like James May!!!
Now i have to get my old mate Sprocket to tart me old website up, loads of stuff about the walk and Blackpool to put on and then that's me done for a bit.

Slippers out, feet up, well till the next time.....

C2C

Hi every1 !! here is a slideshow of the photos from the C2C enjoy!

WE DID IT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We finished the COAST TO COAST WALK on Saturday at Robin Hoods Bay. It has been amazing. The weather has made the trip and i feel like we have got away with it, like we skipped across the country, all 200 miles of it. The aim was to blog along the way but you can be in the middle of nowhere and just can't get a signal. I will blog some more about the trip, say lots of thanks and all that stuff later. But, yep, we did it. COAST TO COAST WALK. 3 of us. 200 miles. 8 schools. 90 hours of walking. Over £1000 for charity.

DONE.