World Oceans Week Celebrations this June

It's World Oceans Week Celebrations in Dumfries and Galloway!  For free family fun at the beach, come along to Rockcliffe on Sunday 3 June and to Port William on Sunday 10th June.  There's lots to do and I'm very excited to be offering Poetry on the Beach at both events. 

The sea and the shore has long been a source of inspiration to poets and artists.  We'll find beach treasure and turn it into verbal gems...  To make it easier I will be providing little booklets and a pencil.

Poetry on the Beach will be happening 1.30pm to 3pm at Rockcliffe on the 3rd, and 11am to 12.30pm at Port William on the 10th.  Free.

The Moffat Gallery - new art for spa

Moffat has a gorgeous new art venue - The Moffat Gallery.  Find it here on Facebook and here on the web.  Founder Elizabeth Roberts has created gold from the workaday lead of an 18th century cottage and builders yard.
It launches on Friday with 'Paths', a suite of 12 black and white photographs by Jennifer Gough-Cooper, of Ian Hamilton Finlay's garden at Little Sparta.

The Joy of Science

Well, the 3rd annual Dumfries & Galloway Science Festival electrified the region all the way from Stranraer to Langholm during the first week of May.  Almost 2000 schoolchildren took part in science workshops, demonstrations and hands-on activities provided to 15 primary schools and 7 secondaries.   

And on Saturday 5th May Wild Science Family Mayhem! Day drew 620 avid young scientists and their families to the Crichton Campus in Dumfries to experience a real extravaganza of free science workshops, interactive displays and (actually) explosive demonstrations for a public audience.

Wearing my other hat, I had a great time being Writer in Residence, making nanoBOOKS and Poetry Postcards with lots of lively-minded children.  Here's Luke with his Science Fiction in a Flash thriller, 'Steamworks'.

This little girl was 6 years old, working with English as her 2nd language.  She wrote:

The salmon dreams in the stream.
I saw the fish in my sleep.