Bards of the Round Platform

The last few days in Scotland were quite busy and I did not have much time to update here. We're back in Columbus safe and sound.

Let's go back a few days and refresh.

Saturday afternoon we headed to Tollcross Park to take part in a monthly poetry reading I found on the internet. Did this on a whim, was not sure if the group was still active, or what to expect.

Took a commuter train there, got to the station just in time to catch the train to Tynedale, which was a short walk and one asking for directions to the park.

While headed up the road there we heard a marching band just down the road. Had no idea what was going on. Was it a rally for the Scotland/Czech Republic match?

Turns down, it was a political march. Take this wikipedia entry with a few grains of salt, but this was the gist of the march.

As we got closer to it I asked Emma if I could take a picture without getting beaten up, "Do it discreetly," She said.



At the end of the parade, I noticed someone taking video of it with an iPhone. Quite the culture shock.

The park itself, is quite lovely.



We got to the place for the reading a bit early and asked the worker at the Winter Gardens where the poetry would be read. He pointed is us in the direction of the Secret Garden.



While waiting here we discovered that Poet's Time exists in Glasgow too. One poet showed up, we introduced ourselves and about a half an hour later the rest of the group showed up.

"You're the American that's looking for the group?" I was asked by Colin, the organizer. I guess word got around at the Winter Gardens.

A small group of poets were sitting in a park in Glasgow on a not too bad Saturday afternoon sharing their work with each other in what I'd say you could call a cypher. Only eight people were there so we read in a round robin fashion. It was great. Funny work, political poems, personal. I got a few asides asking if I could understand the accents. We discussed our disgust for neo-cons and the Chicago School of Economics. The group has been together for about eleven years. Attendance was small this particular day due to a few illnesses and a football match.




It was fantastic. I ended up reading: Pantoum for a Child with Insomnia, Gaythiest, David's Rock, For Daredevils, After Birth and Nobody's Poet. A mini-feature.

I asked Emma to get a picture of me reading, and the group forced me to get up on the platform where people would read if they had a better crowd. So I did.



At the end we exchanged names, emails and I vowed plan my next trip around the first Saturday of the month, when Bards in the Park meet at Tollcross Park.

Our next stop was the Parkhead, we were given a ride to Celtic Park by one of the poets, a very generous and decent man.



After the photo-op we got on the bus and headed into town for a bite to eat before headed back to Lenzie for dinner. I'm glad I finally got a picture of this.



Still recovering from a long trip home yesterday. More to come.