Remember Remember the 23rd of November.

Hello to one and all and a happy November. Cannot believe that we're skating towards Christmas at such full speed already. Sundown turns 5 this month, woah, that means I was 23 when I helped organise this event, crikey. Our aim was to create a top quality affordable event for the people of Essex and beyond - and I think we're finally getting there. Although the audience numbers at last months event were our lowest yet and we couldn't think why - our headline act was comedian Josie Long who these days, is a pretty big name to have on yer billing. Maybe the shitty weather had something to do with it. Who knows. Please email us if you think you have an idea why not many folks came along. I reckon our November 23rd event will make up for the lost numbers, we have such great acts for this event. I'm going to be pushing for some national press for this event.

Sundown, the other producers and New Writing Partnership have started to book the headline poets for The Poetry Link 2009. It's all looking good, one thing Sundown has in mind for 2009 is even more exceptional acts, more projects and we're seriously looking into funding again.

Halloween has been and gone, hope you all went to some great parties, I ended up staying in and watching Young Frankenstein by Mel Brooks. I couldn't afford to go out anywhere as I have no money. But this Gene Wilder film was very amusing, really silly humour. I do like a Mel Brooks film. Recently went to see Burn After Reading by the Coen Bros. and although it was very amusing, it left me a bit disappointed. I'm not even sure why. I think it was the ending. I did enjoy it though and Brad Pitt was great in it. It was very cartoonish. I recently saw Persepolis as well - brilliant. I hear that Waltz With Bashir is meant to be the new animated hit this year so looking forward to that and oh my god, cannot WAIT to see The Curious Case of Benjamin Button which I've been reading about for the past two years in my various issues of film geek magazines. I seriously need a job soon. I'm not signing on so have no money, my last bit of dosh went on presents for my best pals birthday (that'll make her feel guilty, ha!). Annoying when you think you have lots to give and lots of creative passion yet no bugger will give you a job.

Lots of poetry events coming up that the Sundown crew wish to go on, it's good for the soul and good for poaching new poets. Do check out the other poetry nights on the PL tour - fantastic nights here. Rhian Edwards went down a storm last month, her poetry both on the page and live is simply awesome - www.myspace.com/rhianedwards and buy her book for £3 from Tall Lighthouse online. Stuart Bowditch is moving to London soon which will hopefully mean more gigging for him but it's a shame not to have him around so much locally. Boo and Yay at the same time. Happy Birthday to Raymond who turned 24 at the weekend.

Can you believe this Russell Brand and Mr Ross saga? Yes, they were a bit silly. Silly boys. But I don't think it deserved the reaction it got. Plus watching Friday Night With Jonathan Ross is part of my evenings entertainment when I stay in, so please don't suspend it. Or Film 2008!!

You just can't do that to a film geek!! Okay, I have to lie down in a minute as I've eaten too much birthday cake and for a girl with a wheat intolerance this is like feeding a dog curry. Pretty sure I just called myself a dog then. Okay, keep your ears peeled for a new podcast.

And buy Josie Long's debut stand-up DVD - 'Trying Is Good'. It comes with postcards and bootleg footage and all sorts of goodies. COME TO OUR BIRTHDAY BASH EVENT ON 23RD NOVEMBER 2008!!!!

Chief x

Who could ask for anything more?

Hello shitkickers, it's a Monday and I am exhausted, not sleeping right these days which sucks when you have a 7am start all week. I have a job, yes, well I'm on a trial so let's hope that I still have a job after writing this. I'm selling theatre shows to anyone that wants one, it's an entertainments agency see. I get calls from Joanna Lumley look-a-likes and magicians looking for work. Oh, I can still dream of presenting my own show on BBC6 though eh. I have a tear-out article headline on my desk: ' Secret Pioneers ' to look at on my desk everyday to keep me going, it was an article all about these influential people that pioneered things but you might not have heard of them. Delia Derbyshire for one - who I love and you must google, especially if you dig electronic music, and the founder of Warp Records was in there too which made me think I'd really like to make Sundown a record label one day. I have such big ideas and big plans.
We are applying to be a charity but it's not easy, bags of paperwork and time needed, I also have to fill in a tax return which is more paperwork, my dad is helping me make our accounts look nice and neat and easy as opposed to my MANIC BIRO ARROWS everywhere on bits of paper. Woah. A really, REALLY tall man just walked past the office. Anyway, yeah, our next Sundown is looming that we're all very excited about. The day before we're at the ' Village Green ' event, curated by the people behind Metal and held at Chalkwell House, Chalkwell Park, Essex. Sundown will be onstage 4:00-4:30pm with our Sundown poets and headline poet: Rachel Pantechnicon. 27th September for that one and it's funking FREE!! Then the next day it's Sundown at The Royal Hotel, Southend. Wahey! We just recorded a podcast which should be up on the website this week sometime. SPOILER ALERT:- THE SOUND OF RAYMOND FARTING ON AIR
Recently saw The Dark Knight - very cool, slow in parts but the mood of it, the look of it, the sound of it, is all very eerie. Heath Ledger is brilliant in it. Just rented 2nd series of 24 but it aint grabbing me like the first one did. Does anyone agree? Really want to rent The Wire as I keep reading great things about it.
Last night I almost cried at Joanna Lumley crying at the Northern Lights. I am officially 'a girl'.
Sundown now has JOSH WELLER and HEIST added to our October show.
I can't believe 2009 is quite near. It's creeping about like an old man in a mac skulking by the sausage rolls in Iceland while you're thinking "why is that man skulking by the sausage rolls? what does he want? why doesn't he just leave?" Yes. It's the same. Burn After Reading is out at the pics very soon and I cannie wait.
Sundown are making a trip to the Wivenhoe open-mic night soon to pick up some new open-mic poetry bait for our nights. We Need You. Anyway, I musn't ramble on too long. I'm always doing that.
This Wednesday I'll be performing at the Norwich Arts Centre which I'm very excited about thanks to Laura Stimson, what a top gal she is. Pop by if you're in town. We can talk about irritable bowel syndrome together and gluten-free products.

Stay strong, stay super.

love jover x

Norwich Is My Boyfriend....

...the lesser known CSS track. So it's August, my doctor tells me I have heat exhaustion, there's definitely something up as I feel like a dithering, weakly, wimpy mess. In July, myself and Raymond, hot-footed it to Norwich for a meeting with the New Writing Partnership and the other producers behind The Poetry Link. Norwich is beginning to feel like a second home, and I like it. Upon arriving to Norwich, we get a cab to our destination, and on the way me and Ray both notice, at the same time - 3 old people on a bench - the old lady on the end raises her walking stick in the air and pokes the old man sitting at front of bench. Ho ho. Quite embarrassingly this prompts us both to say at the same time: "I love Norwich!!" That's what does it for us I'm afraid. Seeing the elderly using their walking sticks to poke their friends. Anyway, the meeting went really well, we're so lucky to be working with a nice bunch of people. Met the marketing lady behind The Poetry Link & NWP, who inspired me to coin the phrase "falling off the wagon" in response to rebelling against wheat intolerances, as she too suffered from the same. There were cakes and biscuits laid out you see. Much like a plate of syringes and class A's for addicts. We had lots of poets names in our list for PHASE 2: THE POETRY LINK and some of those were names like Billy Childish, Attila the Stockbroker, Joolz Denby so we were all very excited about the second phase already.

Then came LATITUDE FESTIVAL 2008. This year I'd been programmed to perform on the Thurs night AND the Sat night which I was very pleased about. I'd been working on my 'bowel medley' poems so was looking forward to testing it out on the crowd. Thurs night went really well, mostly because there wasn't much going on in the evening so people flocked to the poetry tent, but people seemed to like my poems so I was happy. Plus I freshly painted my wellies for the weekend so I was dead chuffed to show them off. Some lovely people from the crowd came up to me afterwards, probably just to grab the free DVD's I was giving out, but it was nice all the same. I love playing this festival so much, I only hope Luke Wright continues to let me perform as I'd feel really left out if I didn't get to perform next year. Latitude feels like my favourite relative to visit, who buys me the nice full-fat milk I like to have and my favourite crisps when I pop round. On the Saturday night, I had lots of lovely friends drop by and support me and I lay witness to Rhian Edwards doing an impression of the Snoopy dance. IT WAS BRILLIANT.

Rhian?? Poetry?? Pah!! Get her to do the Snoopy dance instead man!!

We then had our SUNDOWN GARDEN PARTY on the hottest day of the year and me being a heat-phobe found this very difficult. There was a woman in the park, sitting on a bench in a massive hat shouting SEX PEST repeatedly as we arrived. Which I decided must be god's way of saying 'good luck'. We had to put up a big gazebo that we'd never put up before in our lives. There were 3 men present and with the exception of Liam, who was very helpful, it was us dames that figured out how to put it up and then eventually put it up!! OFFICIAL NEWS: GIRLS RULE. We really do. Any man or woman who comes from the 'women can't read maps' school of thought, really should have been there to see us figure out how to and then put up this gazebo. I was dead proud of my gender that day. I couldn't handle the sun/heat for too long so had to go home.

But the other Sundowners did a tremendous job and everyone went down a treat! Lots of people came too. Yay. We ended up raising £82.00 for Leukaemia Research. Good job. Shame I missed my favourite poet; Liz Bentley though.

I really wanted the Sundown crew to do a visit to the Edinburgh Festival this year but what with no money and no time off work, it didn't really happen so doesn't look like we'll go. But super good luck to all our friends performing at this years fringe festival, can't wait to read all the blogs. Just some suggestions for those going, check out: LUKE WRIGHT, LIZ BENTLEY, JOSIE LONG, VHS 3: VIDEO NASTY, RACHEL PANTECHNICON and I can't remember anyone else just now. That's just off the top of my head.

I've been jobhunting like mad. I lost my job about a month ago which is rubbish. I went for an interview as a tea-time cook for this nursery, I don't have any cooking qualifications whatsoever right but I do love cooking and I'm not bad at it. I had this romantic notion of me, whisking eggs, chefs hat hanging off my head in a jaunty fashion, doing Jamie Oliver type things to food to make it exciting for kids: "homemade burgers shaped like dinosaurs with cous cous" as children ran in and out of the kitchen with paint on their hands, me with a jovial laugh - "ah, kids!" Almost like an Iceland advert but minus Kerry Katona.

Turns out cooking yeah, is HARD WORK. So I got a reality punch in the face and thought nah, I don't want to be a sweaty cook in a tiny kitchen cooking for 99 screaming kids, fish fingers hanging out my nostrils, no sir.

There may be some job vacancies opening up at this new Antiques shop so I might investigate that. And yes, I now have a new ridiculous romantic notion of me talking about antiques: "Yah, it's a 1918 roman tea-cup original, the romans used the tea cups for their roman tea parties in roman times, yah." Even though I have no qualifications in antiques. So good luck me.

What I am actually looking for is a job in radio but apparently it's the worst time to be looking. Boo.

What I really, really want to be is a comedy writer, or writing full-stop. But this aint no one-stop-shop at LIDLS kinda career so, to sum up, good. luck. me. Sundown currently has no-one making their flyers. And I consider our flyers to be of cult status.

So if anyone out there can help us?? Please do, otherwise it all boils down to me, cutting up magazines, with sticky glue and scissors again and everytime I do a flyer, it unintentionally looks like a child has done it.

I rented I'M NOT THERE recently and was a bit disappointed. There's no arguments about it - it was a brave film to make, interesting idea and Cate Blanchett is the best thing in it (apart from Gainsbourg) but it played a bit like an arts film rather then a feature film y'know? Maybe that was the idea. Watching the extras with director Todd Haynes helped, but it wasn't an easy viewing. I've started to re-watch some of my old dvds so recently again, I saw NATURAL BORN KILLERS (makes you really appreciate all the projection imagery they had going on), BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB (old Cuban dudes talking about their life is very appealing), HOWARDS END (I can do an amusing Vanessa Redgrave impression, that I might work into a poem) and SIDEWAYS (Paul Giamatti is god).

I went to the pictures recently to see BABY MAMA because I, wrongly, thought it was written by SNL writer Tina Fey but it only starred Tina Fay and Amy Poehfler (think I've spelt that wrong without looking). However, it was really quite amusing and the other SNL veteren Amy Poehfl...(give up) was superb in it. So I, unashamedly, actually, enjoyed it!

I don't get free rentals from being a Blockbusters employee anymore so I don't get to see as many DVDs plus I only have about twenty pounds in my bank until I find a job, so films are something of a luxury when I get to see them.

Anyway, I am very excited about having booked musician ADEM for our September Sundown. JOSIE LONG in October.

Ooo and JO CAULFIELD, ISY SUTTIE and AMPLIFICO in our November Sundown. Cor blimey. It's very exciting.

We have new business cards!!! Wooooo!! So humour me when you next see me and say: "you haven't got a card have you that I could take?" "why yes, yes I have!!"

We'll have a new podcast coming soon. I think I might start interviewing some of the people that we have perform at Sundown so we can stick it on our podcast. I'm still growing courgettes at home and for the most part, they're looking good but the other day my dad casually said "you don't want the male ones, get rid of those" which I thought was highly modern of mother nature, to disregard the 'male' so nonchalant in a world where the 'male' has always been in such high regard. I wonder why, in courgette world, no-one wants the 'male ones'? Answers on a postcard please. No cocky gardeners though. They're the worst.

Ok, I think I finally, have nothing left to say. We need a flyer designer. Check. Our next Sundown is in September. Check. We've got our second phase of the poetry link sorted. Check. Oh, Scroobius Pip has a new show on RADIO 1 on Thursday evenings, on the Colin Murray show 10 - 12, where he'll be showcasing the best new poets. This is a big coo for mainstream radio so have a listen. There is so much happening in the world of poetry. It's brilliant. Colin Murray did call Mr Pip the 'King of Spoken Word' which I think is a slight exaggeration as clearly Bukowski is, but he does seem to care about spoken word and this is good so tune in to that.

Jover and out.

Chief x

Open Wide.

I've had to try all kinds of ninja ways to get into this blog and update it.
My computers are being weird at home and I can't use sites like gmail, blogger, flickr, youtube and other things too. All my favourites basically. So I'm on a computer right now in a library whilst I await going to the dentist next door. I hope I don't need anymore fillings.
I lost my job two weeks ago as well so don't have many pennies for the dentist. To my left in the library there is a Sex manual, the exact same one that was in Maldon that features in our Making of How Many Roads? DVD. We've got loads left by the way if anyone wants one. Or two. Or three.
It's been ages since anyone has written. So much has happened. I've grown two extra legs. Ray has got a beard. Troop owns a porsche. B is married to Mr T. Loads.
Firstly, Phase 1 of The Poetry Link has been and gone and it was a success!! Working with Luke Wright, Laura Stimson, New Writing Partnership and the other producers has been brilliant. We're really chuffed that people rate us and want to work with us. It doesn't feel like working when you have great people like Luke and Laura running the show. Have discovered that Tim Clare has more nervous energy than most 3 year olds. He baked a lovely cola cake the other day, couldn't taste much cola in it though. Maybe it was Panda cola and not the real stuff.
Phase 2 of The Poetry Link will kick off at our September 2008 Sundown this year. There will be a few small changes here and there, I'll know more after I've had the meeting in Norwich this week.
The comedians Jo Caulfield, Isy Suttie and Josie Long have all agreed to play our winter Sundown's which is fantastic news. Funny women to the rescue.
Jody Porter asked me and Ray to read out at The Fling festival at the weekend. A brand new festival for Chelmsford. It was very nice, cute little teepees but veggie burgers at £5 a pop mind. Why do I still have to pay full price even though I can't have the bun? (Wheat intolerant. Dairy intolerant. Life intolerant.) I might start a march. My own march. Where I'm on my own. Just me, marching. Bit pointless really. It was a funny old gig at The Fling, I liked the setting and some of the performers but it felt like an odd crowd when you were onstage. I felt a bit of tit reading out poems about poo and pubic hair. The next day I did my poems at the Level-4 Lazy Sunday/Southend Beat party, surrounded by 20 odd screaming kids but the crowd were friendly and jolly and I enjoyed it.
Oo-er my dentist appointment is creeping closer. My teeth are shaking.
Leigh Folk Festival gig was a blast. Moody McPick & Deferred Success totally stole the day. These musicians are going in my hall of fame. They should be up there with the likes of the Sex Pistols and The Stones if you ask me. What an ace weekend.
Films I've seen recently: awful ones. Just awful. Now that I can't afford to rent movies much, I don't get to see them much. And don't chant DOWNLOAD at me. I've no interest in downloading.
I saw The Water Horse and it was like a nice, old fashioned kids film that wouldn't be out of place on the tele on a sunday. Woah. Just looked out of the library window and it's chucking it down.
School children are screaming and running. Cool.
Ok, I better get in line for the dentist drill now. How much is it these days? £10? £100?
Perhaps I could read a poem in exchange for a check-up. Nah, that won't work.
Am performing at this years Latitude Festival by the way. I love it. Last year I was last on the billing in the advertisements in tiny, tiny print. But this year right, I'm about third from the bottom.
Yay!! Going up the world. Oh yeah.
It really is mental weather outside. I haven't got a brolly. Because I hate them. They're never wind proof, they break, you end up looking like a wally and getting wet. I just wear hats instead. I've only got my snoopy jumper on. Well, I've got clothes on too. This is not the most interesting blog is it?
Sorry about that.
ALBUM I AM ENJOYING AT THE MOMENT: Coney Island Baby by Lou Reed

Another blog coming soon....when I can get to another library...

Type 1.

It's been ages since I last 'blogged' or indeed anyone last blogged. Sorry about that, I've got two jobs and been working like a dog to quote some famous Liverpudlian band. All work and no blog makes Jo a dull poet.
Our Arts Council project - How Many Roads? - has been and gone and was a success!! Loved having all the poets and people involved, the slightly stressful bit now is looking at our budget forms AFTER the event to see if it all matches up. It involves numbers and I am rubbish at numbers. Next time, I think I'll employ an accountant or someone who is a like a ninja with numbers. A nin-ber or a num-ja. "I am numja. Silent digit killer." We've got tons of leftover booklets and 'Making Of...' DVDs if anyone wants one, just email in.
Myself and Raymond from Sundown, went to a Producers Workshop held in the Norwich Arts Centre last saturday, yes in the snow, with no heating in the arts centre, apart from that though it was great! Thoroughly enjoyable and interesting, thanks to Penned In The Margins, Laura Stimson and the jolly nice new folk we met on the day. Sundown is going to be working with New Writing Live on a new touring network for Live Literature for the East of England, it's very exciting. Sundown and two other producers from the East will be featuring two headline and reknown poets at their nights/venues, in April, May and June. We call this THE POETRY LINK and you can read more about it all on the New Writing Live website - http://www.newwritinglive.org/
Sunday, 30th March will be our next event at the usual venue of the Royal Hotel, I'm already panicking about lack of chairs, we need to get our hands on some chairs and find storage for them too. Nightmare. At this point I'm seriously considering bringing a load of yoga mats and we all just squat on those.
Cherryl Scott has been working on some Sundown t-shirts, I always just homemade them before but no, we have some lovely new printed white t-shirts coming your way for Sunday's Sundown. Sunday's Sundown sounds funny. Sunday's Sundown. Sunday's Sundown. See. Lost my mobile phone recently, have no idea where it went, it was in my pocket one minute and then it just totally disappeared. It could have been the 4 or 5 whiskeys I'd had before sort of clouding my concentration but still, how far can it go in a pocket?
In other news - I have irritable bowels. They moan about the weather and car tax. No, they are irritable.
I did the Bristol Stool Form Scale test the other day (google it if you don't know) and I am type 1 which puts me closely behind the poo of a tiny dog or a rabbit perhaps. I would like to eat Gillian McKeith to see what shaped poo she'd come out as. Now THERE's a reality tv programme title: I ATE GILLIAN MCKEITH AND DEFECATED HER LATER. Hee hee.
Rented Superbad the other night and it really made me laugh, silly films are needed in life. The bit where the girl does that thing on his leg while they're dancing though - that would not happen. Not to that degree anyway. I suspect that was exaggerrated somewhat. I think it's about time we recorded a new podcast soon, yes, a friend of mine has requested more The Poet comic strips too so I best ask Liam if he's not too busy to be the images behind my words. Hope you all had a Happy Easter, I was working so no egg painting for me. Where's Jesus in all of this Easter malarky? I wished I was a Dr Who fan because the easter egg cases for that were great. A tardis.....with an egg in it!!! I think that's how babies should arrive. In a tardis. Not in an easter egg package.

See you Sunday,

Yours,

Colonel Overfed

p.s I can do an impression of a tribal mask hanging on someone's wall, and there is camcorder footage to prove it. Uh-huh.

p.p.s I got locked in the toilets at the Norwich Arts Centre. I had to bang on the door and say: "I'm stuck" Don't tell anyone.

Monkey & a Miniature Thimble

I saw 1408 today - typical, average 'horror' fodder. Not the best. I do still carry a pocket torch for John Cusack though so it was worth it to see him in a Zebra-print shirt. The most recent and exciting thing to happen to Sundown was our marathon gig, our: SUNDOWN-A-THON.
The plan was to play as many venues as we could without stopping over a route of Essex, finishing in Southend-on-sea. It was such fun and a very positive day as it resulted in a massive surge of faith in humand kindness (discounting Maldon where kindness got eaten by a very big duck). No, no, I shouldn't be negative about Maldon, it was a great place to visit as a child but not the best place to visit when partaking in a Sundown-a-thon although if anyone can prove me wrong then please do. We raised about £90 and the money will go towards publicity materials, advertising, booking acts and much more so we are eternally grateful to the warm-hearted people of Essex.
Me, Chesney and Raymond had a meeting in Norwich with Luke Wright and Laura Stimson - of New Writing Live (google it) and two other producers of similar events to Sundown. Pint of Poetry in Peterborough and The Monday Night Alternative at the Norwich Arts Centre. All three of us are going to be working together on a project called The Poetry Link, where we put together a few first class spoken word acts then get them to perform at each of our nights consecutively. How exciting. This will be happening in April, May and June but I am going to keep it all as a surprise as to who we picked!
I had a panic attack halfway through the meeting, partly because it was a very hot, stuffy room and partly because I'm on a detox diet at the moment but anyway - a lovely woman gave me a Jordan Strawberry Fruit Bar and it sorted me out right good.
So yeah, the detox diet, it's for my health as I've been suffering with bad bowel pain for sometime so decided to see a homeopath. I have to go without - wheat, yeast, sugar, soya, fruit, leafy veg, full fat dairy products, alcohol - for three whole months. I have discovered that oat cakes taste like cardboard, that sugar makes my tea most certainly taste better, that green beans wear thin and I should also confess that double deckers have become a bit of an addiction.
Our 'How Many Roads?' arts council funded project looms with less than a week to go, I think we've pretty much got it planned and sorted but, as I've learnt from doing this for 4 years, there is always something that can show its face on the night to test you. I just hope it all goes well and the artists and audience come out of it feeling glad of the experience.
Raymond, myself and poet Rhian Edwards have an appearance on Resonance FM this coming tuesday, 22nd, that'll be interesting as I love Resonance FM. Jonny Trunk also has a show on Resonance FM you ought to know.
Me, Chris, Doozer, Ray and honourary Sundown-er Kathleen all did a podcast today round Malcolm's. It was really fun, I played my penny whistle (not a euphamism) but we got served stale biscuits. Watching my friends eat two hefty salad filled rolls was detox HELL an' all.
Oscar and BAFTA talk is in throw, the film geek in me both loves this and loathes this. The lady who played Edith Piaf HAS to get some sort of award doesn't she? That was a brilliant performance. I loved No Country For Old Men but am still confused by it, what an eerie atmosphere it provoked in the cinema though.
Am currently watching Melvyn Bragg interview Tim Burton on the South Bank Show as they go hair-to-hair in a hair-off (very akin to a face-off but hairier). I read Tim Burton's film diaries years ago and could totally identify with his thoughts and take on things. He's brilliant. Am gagging to see Sweeney Todd, I've been a bit disappointed with Tim's last few films so I hope Sweeney restores my faith.
Tomorrow I am going to be helping Stuart put together our 'Making of' DVD that will be free on the night of How Many Roads? with our £2.00 booklet. It's fascinating to think that in a week, our project will be over. Caputt. Done.

But I can tell you. It won't be our last.

Chief x