First Home?

Come on then you lot, fill us in on the juicy details!

It was fun, everyone was lovely, I didn't get to talk to anyone nearly enough. There was birthday cake.

It was a wonderful evening - thankyou to all who came. The readings from the deep soulful poetry of t. imaan tretchimanicova through to maddan to yutka and milkstone and all in between were great. for those who missed it - you missed a treat. Thankyou all.

The ABCtales Fifth Birthday Bash: Some Poetry, Some Stories, Some Cake As those people who attended will testify, The ABCtales Fifth Birthday Bash featured a hugely varied line-up of readers, all of whom brought something to the party. Sadly, for a birthday party, there were no games of Musical Chairs or Pass the Parcel, but there was a cake. The cake in question, bedecked in candles, sat mysteriously on a table next to the microphone, forgotten and forlorn until the final moments of the evening when a smiling Tony Cook distributed it to all present. The evening saw T. Imaan Trechicovmanicova give short set of heartfelt poems, followed by another all too short set by Milkstone. Maddam gave a great reading of his current greatest hit story ‘Statistics’. Marcus read a frankly unnerving story of the fate of a blind woman at the hands of a gang. Fergal lived up to her onsite reputation as one to watch with a story about how the reaction of someone to the death of a loved one is never what other people expect. Poetjude performed a profoundly personal poem dealing indirectly with her life-threatening experiences of the recent past. Catkin read a set that made it plain that she wasn’t very keen on the people who run the passport office, or the current government in general. Regular ABCtales fixture Bobblehat2000 read the same poems that Tony always makes him read at ABCtales events, which were as well received as they always are. Yutka gave a performance of poems that ranged from happy to sad, to a bit in-between. Barely Black Francis was completely black Francis. Dressed like a Stars In Their Eyes Johnny Cash, he made the room his own by performing very tender poems in a manner similar to someone holding up a Post Office, even taking time to remonstrate with an unseen heckler bellowing Kum Bay Ah from outside. Interspersed with the performances ABCtales founder and driving force Tony Cook enthralled the audience with discussions of the merits of different ways of measuring internet traffic, the virtues of ABCtales mugs over other mugs and other topics. He also read Kai by Karl Wiggins, an ABCtales favourite of some longstanding, and the latest story of the week from PurpleHaze. At the climax of the evening, Mark Brown, who spent the majority of the evening looking worried, presented Tony with the cake in celebration of the fifth birthday of his unruly child, which led to an embarrassed but heartfelt chorus of 'Happy Birthday Dear ABCtales' from all present. And, as those of you that missed out on being there will be glad to know, the cake was very, very nice. Cheers, Mark Brown, Editor (on leave), www.ABCtales.com

see - I knew I was unobservant.. this was here all along. I am a tool.

nice poem Tim!

Had a great time, thanks all. Some sterling performances, it's hard to pick one out so I won't. Purely from a jealousy point of view, I now hate Dan. He's my official enemy. A wonderful story and a magnificent performance. Like I said to him - one of those times where you don't simply admire the work, but you actively wish you'd written it. A rare treat. Top man. Sorry I had to leave early - I had a weekend at Center Parcs to scoot off to. I did falconry and archery and had a massage. It was fun. Enzo.. www.thedevilbetweenus.com