Last night was my last Poetry Lounge. I’ve been putting it together for seven years, at first with the help of dear friend Deborah Alma, the Emergency Poet. But now I live in Shrewsbury, not Ludlow, and it’s time to put my efforts into the Shrewsbury Poetry scene, and time for the Poetry Lounge to step into a new era with other people at the helm.

But what a last night we had! Helen Ivory and Martin Figura were our very special guest poets, who brought the starriest suitcase bookshop. The room was packed and we enjoyed absolutely excellent open mic contributions from Nick Pearson, Thirza Clout, Meg Cox, Bert Molsom, Claire Leavey, Tina Cole, Paul Francis and Steve Harrison. What a treat. And then this lovely audience gave me flowers!

My heartfelt thanks to poets and audiences who’ve supported the Poetry Lounge all this time, and to Adam Tutt and The Blue Boar, who’ve hosted us so generously and with real friendliness. And special thanks also to Steve Griffiths and Tina Cole, who are exploring ways to take the Poetry Lounge forward into what may come next.