Hastings Poetry Host and Legend, Tim Barlow wows us with his wit and wonder.

Tim Barlow was an absolute hit with our audience on Tuesday. His set was a masterclass in entertainment and full to the brim with life lessons and observations.

From trying to keep Poseidon from usurping Tim's clifftop home to the romance of 'Horsepower of Love' where the 'petrosexual' man gets his kicks from beneath the bonnet. Tim provided us with not only laughter but a greater understanding of the human condition. Modern competition with computers was highlighted by 'Software Ravaged' where IT programs provide services that cuckolded and was a dystopian ordeal to dread but the belly laughter it incurred demonstrated just how close we've come to his vision!

We heard tales of rats invading and about the tawdry state of the life of poets across the ages.

Perhaps Tim's final poem in the set, 'Life in Five minutes', best displayed his ability to touch nerves that made us both think and laugh, enjoy in the moment and remain with us to digest at our own pace; it was a remarkable keynote in spoken word. There was much appreciation in the room and we hope that Tim will make a return visit soon.

You can find Tim's book 'Poems from the Edge of England' on Amazon and more of his poetry can be found on his website https://timbarlow.co.uk/ both of which I thoroughly recommend.

An absolute charm of poets at our February open mic

Not only did we have an amazing guest poet but we had an array of brilliantly shining first time Poetry Cafe open micers - all of whom are very, very welcome to return and treat us to more of their fabulous work. Our newcomers were: Della, whose encounters with neighbours over a 'Border Post' was hilarious and brilliantly delivered; Gio whose use of language about a 'too rough sea' was beautifully deft; Pauline gave us uproarious poetry with some totally unforgettable imagery including a, 'Dutchman with his clogs hanging on'; Rebecca was a force of recovery in 'Pebbles'; Charlotte's 'Love is Dead' perfectly drew the pain of young love, and Jaqueline's hauntingly beautiful 'There are no deer in the forest now'. All first time readers and all wonderful additions to our community. We really do hope to see them return. There is such a wealth of talent right on our doorsteps - let's share it freely!

We return to the Frontier Bar on March 11th, 7pm, with Guest Poet Mara Bergman. Please do come and join us if you can.