Welcome to the website of the Bard of Windmill Hill:

award winning poet, lyrical comedian and stand-up philosopher;
events creator, word weaver, satirist and moments of magic maker.  

In 2014 I was voted Storyteller of the Year.

In 2018 I received a Best Show Award from Shaftesbury Fringe Festival.

Here are some comments from the judges' report:

"well constructed, original and funny... sharp and often unexpected... a real pro... a clever and original voice". 

And according to Leicester Secular Society it was "Absolutely wonderful - funny, thought-provoking, original. One of the best evenings ever." 

I am available to perform at festivals, cabarets and other public events. Enquiries from private parties, WIs, Probus groups etc are also welcome.

• one-man shows
• Word Wizards Cabarets
• writing and performance workshops for schools, festivals or other organisations
• master of ceremonies
• walkabout entertainments
• bespoke poems for special occasions or promotions
• I am also a qualified teacher and offer tuition in written and spoken English

Contact me at [email protected]

or call 0117 9665514 / 07957 147464

I am a member of the National Association of Writers in Education.

"We have been doing performance poetry and plan to return to it in a few weeks, so your activity fitted perfectly. We will refer back to your teaching when we revisit this skill." S Rowe, Year 3 teacher, Bridport Primary, 2017 ...and children said: "I was really hooked", "He inspired me", "Tone of voice and facial expressions made us laugh", "I liked the fact that the audience could join in".

Here is a recent film.

It's about a man who tried to turn back time.

https://youtu.be/pnZ39zX6_OA

​The Bard of Windmill Hill shares his euphoria on hearing that

tennis is once again legal.

(Likes and comments appreciated.)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8SmUJOpwdI

... and here is a link to a performance at

The Redcatch Club on the launch night of

9th February 2019. It offers advice on the process of wooing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgC75-0MEKE&feature=youtu.be

... and finally here here is a link to a short extract from a cabaret:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUwJMBeUrfs

"Some poets make you laugh, some make you cry, and some make you think. Not many can do all these things." Mike Abrahams, sponsor of Bristol Vegfest

Banksy is in the news again, having had one of his works sell for a record price. Strange now to think he was, not so long, regarded as a nuisance. 

Cityscape

The rebels of the urban sprawl

Spray wild designs upon the wall.

Is it art or vulgar scrawl

Adorning our fair city?

Preferring to be out of sight

Always ready to take flight.

Imposing images at night –

Ghost painters without pity.

They’re all anti-establishment.

They don’t approve of government.

The nature of their art had meant

Big problems for the city.

Through their street art they would invent

The slogans of their discontent

They sprayed on walls with ill intent

That often wasn’t pretty.

From rotting squats they would emerge

To give in to their graphic urge

And many people cursed the scourge

Imposed upon the city.

They all disdain the nine to five.

Their urban art keeps them alive.

Though some think that their life’s a skive

And presence is a pity.

Art history’s a funny thing.

What starts out as a rebel fling

Ends up in praises people sing

All over the fair city.

The blank walls wait for art to show

Now Banksi’s style basks in the glow

He’s Bristol’s art scene’s Romeo –

Mysteriously witty.

Yes this new art has got respect

It’s worth so much we must protect

It in a space we all inspect –

The galleries of the city.

Now tourists come from far and wide.

Street art is part of Bristol pride.

We love this art we’d once deride.

So God bless Bristol city.

The Bard of Windmill Hill at Priddy Folk Festival

Word Wizards Cabaret 2016    

Acoustic Festival of Britain, Barnstaple Theatre Festival, Bath Folk Festival, Beardy Folk Festival, Beautiful Days, 

Bristol Folk Festival, Bristol Festival of Literature, Bristol Poetry Festival, Bristol Redfest, Bristol Storytelling Festival,

Bristol Vegfest, Buddhafield, Chagstock,Cheltenham Poetry Festival, Festival of Chichester, Chippenham Folk Festival, 

Everybody's Reading (Leicester), Hay Arts Festival, Home Farm Festival, Folk in a Field, The Green Gathering, The Lunar Festival, 

Maryport Literature Festival, New Forest Folk Festival, Priddy Folk Festival (poet in residence for three years), 

Shaftesbury Fringe Festival, Stainsby Festival (resident for four years), Towersey Festival, Unearthed in a Field, 

Warwick Folk Festival, Wirral Festival of Firsts, Wychwood Festival, Yeovil Literary Festival