Some people have a clear idea of where their lives are going to take them, draw up a detailed plan of how they’re going to get there, and set off. I’ve always had more of a distracted-by-the-shiny-new-things approach to the whole caper, and while that may not be brilliant from a career* point of view, it’s anything but dull.
Over the past couple of months, I’ve been working with fellow poet Emma Purshouse on producing and putting together a programme about wrestling in the Black Country. It may seem an odd thing for two poets to be doing, but it all started when the pandemonialists responded to a flyer folded under a windscreen wiper (bright shiny new thing, see?) by deciding to go along to the wrestling show it advertised. Reader, we loved it. And somehow – by following our nose, and by grabbing onto the coattails of Emma’s radio programme focussing on Black Country dialect poets – three years down the line we’ve created this programme.
It goes out on BBC Radio 4 next Tuesday 1st Feb, and we’d love you to listen to it. In it, you can expect Black Country wrestler Mad Dog Maxx to guide us all through this fascinating world of falls, submissions, and spandex. You’ll hear from wrestling legend Scrubber Daly, and from some of the local wrestlers who are part of this thriving scene today. Emma and myself are delighted to have been given the opportunity to turn the spotlight on some of the wonderful things that happen in our region. Huge thanks to Made In Manchester productions for taking a punt on it and making it possible. You’ve been a joy to work with.
So make a note in your diaries, folks. Tuesday Feb 1st, 11.30am. Grab yourself a cuppa, settle down somewhere comfortable, and give the programme a listen. Then head down our neck of the woods for battered chips, a pint or two, and a good blather. You know it makes sense.
*I have no idea what one of those is, but I’ve met people who’ve met people who do. Apparently.