Friday, January 16, 2015

HAPPY NEW YEAR... A LITTLE LATE...

THE BEASTS ARE BACK!! OUT NOW...

Hello beasties!

HAPPY NEW YEAR...

Yes, I'm a little late - but this is the first post of 2015...

Do you like the new site? Look at all the wondrous changes we've made!

Okay - so very few changes, but we are no longer really MY OWN APPLICATION AS PEOPLE'S POET, but instead SHY YETI'S SHY PLACE... At least for a while anyway! I just thought that maybe I should slightly retitle the site in the way that I'm now Shy Yeti rather than The Daffy Poet - not that I ever really used that title anywhere but on the site.

I'm sure you've been aware that over the last four or five years my books have been more than just about poetry - but also about the prose and short stories that I have been writing. I have a new collection of poems and prose out in a month or six, A YETI WAY OF THINKING - but other than that I spent most of 2014 writing scripts and only very few poems.

What I guess I'm trying to say is that this blog has long been about my writing in general rather than just about my poetry. We've been together since 2001 - I think we can cope with this slight change. We can, can't we?! Good...

So, enough with the heavy - let's move on... It's time to announce my first book of 2015 and this one ISN'T about poetry, it's the third instalment of my series, THE BEAST OF FRIENDS - although it can be read as a standalone adventure whether you've read the previous two or not...



THE BEAST OF FRIENDS - SEASON THREE!!!

THE BEAST OF FRIENDS - Season 3 is the third season of eight scripts concerning a number of curious characters; an amphibian journalist known as Horner and his shape-changing wife, Suzette, a witch called Katrina, a werewolf named Colin, Warren - a fellow with a very strange upbringing and their new housemate, Christophe - a mummy with a dark and mysterious past! This season, written between 2013 and 2014 continues to explore their adventures - all under one roof! This book is 144 pages in length.  


Pbk Ed.: www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/the-beast-of-friends---season-three/15105416 £6.99

Hbk Ed.: www.lulu.com/content/hardcover-book/the-beast-of-friends---season-three/16191840 £14.99

THE BEAST OF FRIENDS - SEASON THREE

This is the third season of THE BEAST OF FRIENDS which is set in a boarding house in Fulham. The house is owned by Horner. The first episode picks up from the end of the second season and the following seven episodes investigates the impact of the arrival of some of the newer characters in the household. Here's a little about each of the main  characters.

Andrew Horner

“Horner” is a writer who most of the time appears to be an ordinary human – accept that once or twice a year he goes through his “Skin-time” in which he goes into a coma and sheds his skin and becomes a psychotic amphibian. He is the main character in all the episodes and at the end of the second season he got married…

Suzette Horner

Suzette is Horner’s new wife… She is a shape-changer, which Horner didn’t know when he married her – he thought that she was a frog who had been transformed into a princess by his kiss. He’s a romantic fool. Suzette is far from a princess!

Colin

A Werewolf with “unconventional lycanthropy”. He is changed by a list of rather odd causes which have very little to do with the moon. During his time in the house he has become best friends with Horner, Warren and Katrina.

Warren Helix

Warren is a nervous gay man – although he is getting bolder. His parents are rather weird and they didn’t take very well when Warren didn’t turn out to be as odd as the rest of the family. When he came out to them he told them that he was also a clairvoyant vampire – which he isn’t. Warren hopes, one day, to discover what IS different about himself – but maybe being normal is what makes him different!

Katrina Hortensia

Once a force for evil, Katrina is now a reformed character where black magic is concerned; more recently has been struggling to kick the drink. She occasionally gets work as an actress and, of late, has become best of friends with Suzette.

Christophe Eversobad

Christophe is a mummy… or is he? Well, he’s certainly wrapped in bandages – but absolutely anybody could be underneath. Colin allowed him to move in to the spare room whilst Horner was getting married and loads of other things were going on…


Scripts and further information to follow... There aren't too many spoilers - but enough info to intrigue you, I hope...

SCRIPT 1: AFTERMATH OF A BIG DAY… 

Script 1 allows us to look back at Horner and Suzette’s big day to see just how it all ended – we also learn more about what’s up with the new house-mate, Christophe!

SCRIPT 2: OH! MUMMY!

Suzette’s niece comes to visit and is fixated by Christophe’s bandages! Will she have her wicked way with him? Will we finally learn exactly who dwells within?

SCRIPT 3: KATRINA GETS A DAY JOB…

Katrina has agreed to help run her friend’s newsagents for her – however Katrina is not feeling well herself – for she is suffering a cold that has trained her magic powers. Meanwhile, Colin gets ever more suspicious about Christophe…

SCRIPT 4: THE WRONG SORT OF MOON...

Colin finds himself unable to control his transformations and he suspects that Christophe has somehow caused this. Will Warren believe him and can he help?

SCRIPT 5: THE RETURN OF THE TERRIBLE TWO…

There is trouble brewing between Clive and Cromitty – both of whom are back in town and in the middle of a professional feud. Meanwhile, Christophe attempts to hypnotise Suzette and Colin is about to set forth on his greatest adventure to date.

SCRIPT 6: THE END OF… WHATEVER!

Clive has a devastating message for Christophe, Colin has an explosive encounter and a fight breaks out between the housemates just as Horner finally sees sense…

SCRIPT 7: MOTHER-IN… LURE!

Warren's mother, Ashley, offers him the opportunity to be remembered forever whilst Horner attempts to find out what has happened to Colin and Suzette has a present to deliver to Christophe. The end of the world is also still nigh!!

SCRIPT 8: HAPPY NEVER AFTER

Christophe finds that the tables are beginning to turn on him – but the game is not yet won. Clive and Cromitty reveal their game plan and more than one house mate is soon to meet their maker…Who will live? Who will die?

Before we finish here's a daft extract from script 5...

A BELL RINGS AS THEY ENTER – A YOUNG LADY DRESSED LIKE A YAK STANDS BY THE TILL; SHE IS FILING HER NAILS WITH HER ANTLERS.

THE LADY (LUCY): (cheerfully)

Hello! Can I help you at all? My name’s Lucy by the way… Pleased to meet you!

KATRINA: (impressed and amused)

Pleased to meet you too! I like the yak suit… That really is super cool…

LUCY: (enthusiastically)

Cheers… It’s just my way of expressing myself… You should get one too!

WARREN: (in agreement)

I really think we should. Do you think they have an ant-eater one?

LUCY:

I think they probably do… Ant-eaters were all the rage earlier in the year…

KATRINA: (enquiring tone)

And what about badgers? I’ve always thought that I might be the reincarnation of a badger… Black and white stripes have long been my favourite type of stripe…

LUCY:

Oh god! Me too… Although I fancy a zebra-suit myself… I just need to save up!

WARREN: (concerned)

I take it that these are all synthetic… Not real animal skins? No, of course not…

KATRINA: (tongue slightly in cheek)

I guess it’s a warning that although she may appear to be just a pretty young girl at heart – that deep inside she is a raging beast with a great deal to say for herself?

LUCY: (laughing)

Close but no… I actually dress like a yak to show cute dudes that I’m horny…

KATRINA: (impressed)

YOU really are a girl after my own heart… Even though the idea of me having rumpo with cute dudes probably makes you want to hurl… It does still happen!

LUCY: (teasing)

I’m pleased! It’s reassuring in a way… Just shows there is indeed hope for us all…
 
WARREN: (rambling – from upbeat to depressed)

It is, isn’t it? Still… She does look pretty good for her age! She is FAR older than you’d think! That said, don’t listen to me, I’ve been permanently disturbed by being taught the facts of life by my mother… It was pretty traumatic – there were hand-outs, slides, demonstrations – the works. And she didn’t just teach us human reproduction either – she went through everything from vampires to space aliens!

KATRINA: (faux-sympathetic)

Oh… You poor love… That woman has a lot to answer for… Us witches get a bad name sometimes, but really – your mother oversteps the mark every time!

LUCY: (honestly… I think!)

Hearing that disturbs me even more! I guess in truth I just like dressing up as furry things; tomorrow I’ll be an elk, on Thursday a deer and Friday I’ll be an antelope!

WARREN: (politely – getting back on track)

Wow! Look, we’ve actually come here because we’d like to buy that clock over there… Is he still for sale? We’re very enthusiastic about purchasing him…

LUCY: (levelling with them)

He is for sale, but he’s very old though; I’m not sure how his innards are doing!

KATRINA: (enthusiastic)

That’s fine! We know him! He ended up here by mistake; may we buy him back?

LUCY: (kindly)

Oh… Well… If he actually belonged to you and he was given to us without your consent then I should probably just return him to you – we don’t want trouble…

WARREN:

Oh no! It was a mistake! We’ll happily buy him back… Hi, Clive… How are you?

CLIVE: (rudely robotically)

I do not want to go back… Not with them… They bore me. The time is 18:52…



Well, I hope you enjoyed that! Just to let you know - I am hoping to release the following books this year - although the dates are a little vague at the moment; but here goes it...

SHY YETI BOOKS DURING 2015...

JANUARY: THE BEAST OF FRIENDS - 3

MAY: POETIQUETTE - 10TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION

APPROX JULY: A YETI WAY OF THINKING

SEPTEMBER: THE BEAST OF FRIENDS - 4

NOVEMBER: HOT STUFF - 1 // KENSINGTON GORE - 1

I'm also planning to do at least two Poetry Café shows - but don't have dates yet as they only book three months in advance and I don't intend to do a show until at least April or May. I'm definitely intending to do shows for POETIQUETTE and A YETI WAY OF THINKING and then we'll see where that takes us in the year. More information when I have it!!

Next time I'll share a few more of the photos... I'll try not to leave it so long next time!

Yeti hugs, Paul x

All content of this post is Copyright Paul Chandler, 2015

Thursday, December 18, 2014

MERRY CHRISTMAS FROM "THE BEAST OF FRIENDS"


MY CHRISTMAS GIFT TO YOU...

Hello beasties...

This will probably be my last post for 2014...

Firstly here are a few links to my previous Christmas posts...

2003: www.thedaffypoet.blogspot.co.uk/2003_12_07_archive.html

2006: www.thedaffypoet.blogspot.co.uk/2006_12_17_archive.html

2009: www.thedaffypoet.blogspot.co.uk/2009_12_20_archive.html

2010: www.thedaffypoet.blogspot.co.uk/2010_12_19_archive.html

2011: www.thedaffypoet.blogspot.co.uk/2011_12_18_archive.html

2011: www.thedaffypoet.blogspot.co.uk/2011_12_25_archive.html

2012: www.thedaffypoet.blogspot.co.uk/2012_12_23_archive.html

2013: www.thedaffypoet.blogspot.co.uk/2013_12_22_archive.html

Usually I write you something new and that is usually a Christmas-themed poem or story. On this occasion, and as 2014 has been so much about my scripted projects I thought I would share with you a Christmas-y sketch which you can read whether or not you have been following the BEAST adventures. The main characters are under-lined below and for those in the know this sketch takes place towards the end of the second season of the show - with season 3 due out in the new year this seems like a good time to fit in an extra scene!

Anyway, enjoy and have a glorious Christmas and a wonderful new year and I shall be back with you early in 2015, possibly with a look back at my writing highlights in 2014...

Bestest yeti wishes,

Paul xx

P.S. Apologies if there are any typos in the following script - it is a second draft... The finished piece will be published in a BEAST OF FRIENDS publication during 2015.


THE BEAST OF FRIENDS...
CHRISTMAS SKETCH 2014   

CAST:

HORNER:

A travel-writer who spends a number of months a year as an amphibian, trolling about the swamps of SW6. This Christmas he is looking pretty human, however. He is the landlord and friend of the other characters.

KATRINA:

A kindly witch with a fondness for gin, amongst other alcoholic beverages.

COLIN:

A werewolf with a rather unorthodox approach to transformation - the moon rarely affects him but almost anything vaguely circular is sure to set him off.

WARREN:

Warren grew up alongside all manner of supernatural eccentrics; however he himself is pretty ordinary by comparison. Being gay used to shock people, but when you've got a dragon in the family being gay all seems slightly dull.

SETTING THE SCENE: 

It is Christmas Eve somewhere in Fulham, London and Horner, Warren, Colin and Katrina are preparing for the festivities. Horner has just finished wrapping presents and is taking a breather, Colin and Warren are decorating the kitchen whilst mince pies cook in the oven. Meanwhile Katrina is reading a magazine - suddenly she stops, muttering under her breath until Horner enquires as to what the problem is exactly.

HORNER: (curious)

What have you seen, Katrina? Either you're furious about something in your magazine or that cheeseboard at lunchtime has given you indigestion.

COLIN: (being daft)

No wonder she's got indigestion if she's been chewing that... Did you get splinters again, Katrina? I don't think she even touched the actual cheese!

WARREN: (laughs)

More for us then...

KATRINA: (distracted)

Ha bloody ha... You'll never believe this... I was reading this article and it's all about a particular programme that's on the radio over the seasonal period - it's the pilot episode for a possible series apparently! Shocking...

HORNER: (straight-faced)

So presumably it's not the latest episode of Dessert Island Discs? I love that show - you never quite know what they'll be discussing each week?

COLIN: (teasing)

Maybe it'll be Katrina's all-time favourite...

WARREN: (faking surprise)

Not spotted dick again, surely? She must know that recipe off by heart...

COLIN:

You'd have thought so, wouldn't you?

HORNER: (affectionately)

Aww... Don't be cruel! That said don't you usually prefer a good board game to the radio, Katrina?

KATRINA: (in agreement)

Usually I do, yes!

WARREN: (reflecting warily)

I'll never forget the year she suggested we play Strip Monopoly... She kept winning too!

COLIN: (mumbles)

Kept cheating, more like...

KATRINA: (defensively)

I simply have a natural talent, that's all!

HORNER: (laughs)

...For getting naive men to slowly remove their clothes over a board game...

KATRINA: (slightly snappy)

A talent is a talent and not to be scoffed at!

HORNER: (changing the subject)

Anyway, Katy - what's this radio show that you're so in a tizzy over?

KATRINA:

You'll be in a tizzy once you've heard this... Let me read you the piece - it's only short! Do you recall a certain Shy Yeti of our acquaintance?

COLIN: (somewhat nervously)

Of course! That yeti poet bloke we had staying with us not so long ago...

WARREN: (reflecting, without pleasure)

The one who was taking all those notes about us for his script?

HORNER: (confused)

I thought we'd bamboozled him so much that he didn't know what on earth was true about us and what was made up?

KATRINA: (crossly)

I guess we did - to a point... But it doesn't seem to have stopped him writing something inspired by us... Listen to this...

"Shy Yeti is better known for his verse - this is his first radio play and it focuses on an extremely odd-ball collection of characters who all live together in a house in Fulham. Horny-face, Kate, Darren and Wolfy are a gang of oddball weirdoes who like nothing better than drunkenly scaring the neighbours. Mr Yeti claims that they are based on real people that he has had the misfortune to live with; but I'd take that with a pinch of salt..."

COLIN: (out-raged)

Horny-face! Kate! Darren and Wolfy!

WARREN: (laughing but not with much amusement)

This I have GOT to hear...

KATRINA: (grumpily)

So? What do you make of all this, Horner?

HORNER: (calmly)

Funnily enough this is not the first that I have heard about the matter... In fact I have arranged a small listening party for this very evening!

WARREN: (surprised)

It's on tonight?

KATRINA: (curious)

It is indeed... What are you planning, Horner?

HORNER: (secretively)

Ah... That would be telling... Some mulled wine, chestnuts roasting over an open fire - maybe some marshmallows - a jacket potato or two and my old portable radio...

COLIN: (annoyed)

That's all very well - but what about some right-to-reply?

HORNER:

Don't you worry - we'll come to that later...

A FEW HOURS PASS AND THE FOUR FRIENDS ARE OUT IN THE GARDEN AND WRAPPED UP IN THEIR WINTER COATS... THERE IS A FIRE BURNING BRIGHTLY, WHICH IS KEEPING THEM WARM AND THEY ARE TUCKING INTO THEIR JACKET POTATOES AS THE RADIO PLAY IS TRANSMITTED... THE SHOW IS ALMOST OVER BUT THEY ARE LISTENING INTENTLY... 

DARREN: (over-jovially)

Hey guys! I meant to ask - what is your favourite thing to do at Christmas? Other than reading the latest collection of fantastic verse by that terrific poet, Shy Yeti!? I'm too dull and boring myself to actually have an opinion about anything like that... I've probably mentioned it before but my family would rather I hadn't been born... Weird, right?

KATE: (also really over-the-top)

Really weird!! Darren, they just wanted to save money on buying you Christmas presents... Don't fret! We like you no matter how ordinary you are, dear...

DARREN: (affectionately)

Thank you, Kate... That's lovely of you! So what are your favourite things to do at Christmas?

KATE: (perky)

Well, you were obviously correct that reading Mr Yeti's poetry would be top of my list... He's such a wonderful rhyme-writer! But other than that... Well, being a witch I really do enjoy flying on my broom and putting spells on skate-boarding teenagers! Nothing beats it! What about you, Wolfy?

WOLFY: (gruff)

Howling at the moon and eating O.A.P.s is always fun - whilst reading Shy Yeti's latest volume of amusing ditties whilst I floss my fangs...

HORNY-FACE: (very stage-y)

Is it available from all good book shops, Wolfy?

WOLFY: (even more stage-y)

Indeed it is... I believe it's called NOT AS SHY AS I WAS and can be purchased from www.lulu.com for £9.99 in paperback.

KATE: (brightly)

That's terrific! So what do you like doing best at Christmas, Horny-face?

HORNY-FACE: (matter-of-factly)

I must say first of all that poetry reading is my favourite thing - but otherwise I enjoy shedding my skin messily and kidnapping frog-faced girls with my fishing net to drag back to my underwater den in the marshes... Once there I can sing limericks to them in a bad Welsh accent...

KATE: (chuckling)

Sounds like the kind of thing you do most nights, honey!

HORNY-FACE: (with fake shock)

Cheeky!

THE REST OF THE CAST LAUGH AND THE SHOW ENDS IN A RIOT OF CHRISTMAS CAROL SINGING... BACK IN THE GARDEN THE FOUR FRIENDS DO NOT LOOK BEST PLEASED...

WARREN: (baffled)

Well, if that bunch of tosh gets commissioned for a full series I think I'll give up and go and become a nun...

KATRINA: (straight-faced)

To be honest he doesn't get much at the moment - so getting none won't be much of a difference...

COLIN: (affectionately)

Oh! Katy... You do say the funniest things sometimes! But ONLY sometimes...

HORNER: (slightly out-raged)

Stop it, the both of you! That show wasn't even vaguely funny and neither was that extremely ancient nun joke!

COLIN: (apologetically)

Ah well! There's no hope for me! I actually laughed...

KATRINA:

Twice!

WARREN: (cross)

Well, I was offended... All he could come up with was a cheap imitation of us with not a single iota of originality...

HORNER: (snootily)

What do you expect from a yeti!? They're all the same! They're as egotistical as bears but about twice as useless...

KATRINA: (encouraging)

Well, I think we should demand an apology...

COLIN: (hopeful)

Can't we sue him for clearly basing his characters on us? Stop him from writing a whole series; from making money out of us?

WARREN: (gossipy)

I thought my mother was a tyrant - but she's nothing compared to that yeti... He's been hanging around all the wrong people! Someone once told me that he used to be quite a nice guy when he first started out!

HORNER: (helpful)

I heard that too! But listen... If an apology is all you need then that should be quite easy to arrange...

WARREN: (curious)

Oh yes? How exactly? 

KATRINA: (slightly excited)

Yes, how?

HORNER:

Just speak to the fire...

COLIN: (confused)

Speak to the what!?

HORNER:

Let me show you... Would anybody else like a second jacket potato or maybe a corn-on-the-cob?

WITHOUT WAITING FOR A REPLY HORNER APPROACHES THE FIRE, WHERE ON TOP OF THE HOT COALS SITS A LARGE DOME OF TIN FOIL AND A HUDDLED FURRY SHAPE THAT IT APPEARS HAS BEEN TIED FIRMLY TO A SPIT. IT IS SHY YETI HIMSELF.

KATRINA: (surprised)

Is that who I think it is? Really?!

HORNER: (fake sympathy)

Absolutely... He's terribly sorry too for all the trouble that he's caused.

COLIN: (eagerly)

Am I allowed to poke him with a sharp stick?

HORNER: (apologetically)

Only a blunt one I'm afraid..

KATRINA: (resolved)

It'll have to do...

HORNER: (addressing their guest)

Keeping warm over there I hope Mister Yeti? I do hope that the food is almost cooked!!!

HORNER FREES SHY YETI'S GAG
TO SEE IF HE HAS ANYTHING OF ANY USE TO SAY...

SHY YETI: (sadly)

I'm sorry - so very sorry...

HORNER: (brightly)

Don't apologise... Those potatoes have come up a treat...

COLIN: (enquiring)

Horner, is it true that yeti toes make an ideal topping to trifle?

KATRINA: (with relish)

Well, I certainly enjoyed them - I had them in Riga last year... They were delicious!

COLIN: (enthusiastically)

Oh yes, that was the year we all flew there on the back of your broomstick...

WARREN: (remembering as if with affection)

...And you spent all weekend howling at the moon whilst I sat there drinking breakfast tea and being excessively boring and conventional...

HORNER: (recalling with pleasure)

...And I menaced the city catching innocent tourists with just my wicked charm and a butterfly net!

SHY YETI: (pleading)

Oh! Let me go! Let me go!

HORNER: (severely)

Once you sign a sworn statement promising to never write another dodgy radio play about us, then maybe...

SHY YETI: (woefully)

I promise!

KATRINA: (warily)

I'm not sure I believe him...

COLIN: (excitedly) 

Me neither... Let's nibble his toes and see if they still taste nice!

WARREN: (in disagreement)

I'd rather have another jacket potato! From the smell of him he's not washed any time recently...

HORNER: (in celebration)

Nasty! Somebody give him a wipe down with a wet sock or maybe just don't bother! Oh well... Each to their own... Merry Christmas everyone!

OTHERS:

MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

SHY YETI: (sounding like he's about to cry)

Will whoever is nibbling my toes please stop doing so...

COLIN: (chuckling)

Spoilsport.

This sketch was written between 13th and 16th December 2014



The Contents Of This Blog Post Are Copyright Paul Chandler 2014...

Tuesday, December 02, 2014

VENICE... ONE MORE TIME!!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY "NOT AS SHY..."

Hello beasties...

This is the second of my two Venice posts... This one will be quite a fleeting visit, you'll be glad to hear - I just want to remind those of you who haven't yet bought their copies that...

NOT AS SHY AS I WAS contains over 70 new poems, stories and vignettes by Paul Chandler, a.k.a. Shy Yeti, written between January and September 2012. They include: THE BEAST OF FRIENDS, DRUNK ELK, ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM, MINE OWN MINOTAUR, ONCE I LOST MY HEART TO A CORNISH PASTY, A YETI IN A HAT and many more…

For a limited period - birthday prices... I'd like to make it cheaper, but the books do cost a minimum amount to make (about £6 for paperback and £13 for the hardback), so I'm lowering my royalty to bring you these reductions - but then I really think you'll enjoy the book and want you to read it!

Paperback Edition, £9.99 - 25% off now £7.49
http://www.lulu.com/shop/paul-chandler/not-as-shy-as-i-was/paperback/product-21335775.html

Hardback Edition, £15.99 - £2 off now £13.99
http://www.lulu.com/shop/paul-chandler/not-as-shy-as-i-was/hardcover/product-21335718.html

Next time we'll probably be thinking about Christmas - probably my least favourite season of the year... What a grumpy yeti!! Okay... Well, I'll see if I can't cheer up by then... More soon!

Yeti hugs,

Paul xx

PS When I was in Venice I spotted ROCKY THE ZOMBIE LOBSTER in an art gallery!! He blanked me...

Copyright to all content of this post belongs to Paul Chandler, 2014.

Thursday, November 20, 2014

SHOWING THE YETI AROUND ITALY... (AGAIN!)




A BIRTHDAY WRITING TRIP BACK TO VENICE...


Hello beasties!!

Apologies for my silence since the Poetry CafĂ© show back over Halloween but I have been away again - returning to Venice for the second time this year in aid of my birthday celebrations. This time I had the good sense to bring with me my laptop and so was able to continue work on the various BEAST OF FRIENDS projects (and spin-offs) that are currently on the go. Not only that but I also did a little work on a number of new poems - only a few lines here and there, but it'll all go towards any future collection that I put together once A YETI WAY OF THINKING is finally published in 2015.

This is only going to be a short post - one of two from this trip - but I do have a new piece of writing to share with you. It was actually written during my trip to Antwerp in October - but I'm reproducing it here as a cheeky taster of the new collection.

But firstly... I now present a number of photos from the recent Venice trip... It was little wetter this visit than on previous visits, but I still managed to have a good explore - eat a number of ice creams and pizza - not to mention having a binge watch of season 4 of The Walking Dead!



I hope you enjoyed the photos! We're moving on now to a new prose piece called AN APE EXCHANGE which was written on 18th October 2014... It's only a short story, but I hope it'll raise a chuckle or two. Next time I have some more photos and we'll also be looking back to last year's collection, NOT AS SHY AS I WAS which has just celebrated its first anniversary since being published. More soon... Yeti hugs, Paul xx


AN APE EXCHANGE...

The noise in the monkey house that day was pretty much unbearable; especially to those of us who do not have children. For it was not the apes who were making the most noise but the screaming human tots in their pushchairs. It was a pain, but in a way it worked well as crowd control - making us move on all the faster to escape their chatter. There was only one cage that confused me at first. It did not contain monkeys but a collection of rather stunned looking toddlers. It was only later, once we had left the zoo that I noticed a number of parents pushing their pushchairs with what can only be described as "renewed occupants" that it suddenly occurred to me what exactly had happened. Money can buy you most things and sometimes if the opportunity comes along then an exchange can be arranged - a little like taking an unwanted jumper back to the store and swapping it for something you do want. Most people are too polite to say what they see and should your friend's baby return from holiday looking that little bit hairier than when it left then most people won't say a thing; as long as it behaves itself at the dinner table and doesn't monkey about, that is.



AN APE EXCHANGE will be published as part of my next collection, A YETI WAY OF THINKING - due out in Spring 2015. This post and all contents are Copyright Paul Chandler 2014.

Thursday, November 06, 2014

SHY YETI'S BEEN SHOWING OFF AGAIN...


SHY YETI IS FREAKY AT THE POETRY CAFE...

Hi beasties!

Hello again! Just a quick post to let you know how things went with the Halloween Show at The Poetry Café... Here we go...

SHY YETI'S HALLOWEEN SHOW...
FRIDAY 31ST OCTOBER 2014...

FIRST HALF

A YETI IN A HAT
EVIL IVY
THEM VAMPIRES - SUCH CHARMERS
ON RICHMOND HILL
A LEARNING EXPERIENCE
WHY AGNES, YOU'RE LOVELY!
SHE NEVER HAD ANY LUCK
SWEET OLETA
SHAVING WEREWOLVES
SOMETHING'S UP WITH ROCKY LOBSTER
OTHERWISE ENGAGED
THE CAROL SINGERS

SECOND HALF...

I LOST MY HEART TO A CORNISH PASTY
ZOMBIE FLICKS ARE THE NEW ROM-COM
LAST OF THE AUTUMN LEAVES
SOMETIMES I JUST WANNA
PATIENCE IS THE KEY
WAVES
ROLLERCOASTER
PICCADILLY CIRCUS
SPACE-CAKES
I HAVE SEEN ENOUGH PHOTOS OF YOUR KIDS...
LOOK, I'M NO SCROOGE
I WILL EAT PIES


IN GREATER DETAIL

SHY YETI'S HALLOWEEN SHOW - FRIDAY 31ST OCTOBER 2014...

FIRST HALF

A YETI IN A HAT, EVIL IVY

These two were from my recent collection NOT AS SHY AS I WAS (2013)

THEM VAMPIRES - SUCH CHARMERS

This was an old favourite of mine from FUNERAL FOR A SHOE (2011)

ON RICHMOND HILL, A LEARNING EXPERIENCE

The first of these I've rarely performed - the second I've performed in London and L.A. They're both from ROLLERCOASTER (2002)

WHY AGNES, YOU'RE LOVELY

This one is from POEMS TO MAKE BEARS GROWL (2006) and is one of my favourites to perform.

SHE NEVER HAD ANY LUCK

Another old piece from ROLLERCOASTER (2002)

SWEET OLETA

This one is short and sweet. It went down well last time and seemed popular this time too. It's from RHYMES BEARS STEAL PIES FOR (2007)

JOHN SMALLSHAW READ AT THIS POINT...


SHAVING WEREWOLVES, SOMETHING'S UP WITH ROCKY LOBSTER


These two went well with the Halloween theme and were from 2013's NOT AS SHY AS I WAS collection.

OTHERWISE ENGAGED, THE CAROL SINGERS

Another two from ROLLERCOASTER (2002) - the latter being the first of the evening to mention the dreaded topic of... Christmas!!

SECOND HALF...

I LOST MY HEART TO A CORNISH PASTY, ZOMBIE FLICKS ARE THE NEW ROM-COM

I started the second half with two more pieces from NOT AS SHY AS I WAS... (2013)

LAST OF THE AUTUMN LEAVES

Another piece from ROLLERCOASTER (2002) - and one that fitted well as we're currently in the middle of autumn.

SOMETIMES I JUST WANNA

One of my all time favourites to perform - which was first published in THE AUTUMNAL E.P. (2004)

PATIENCE IS THE KEY

Another piece from NOT AS SHY AS I WAS... (2013) - this one is a short story rather than a poem.

WAVES

This is a piece that I wrote when my Great Aunt died many years ago now - it was first published in ROLLERCOASTER (2002)

JOHN SMALLSHAW READ AT THIS STAGE...

ROLLERCOASTER, PICCADILLY CIRCUS

Two many pieces that I have often performed at The Poetry Cafe - it's from ROLLERCOASTER (2002) There are two videos on Youtube that include poems from this collection - one of which also contains the poem AGNES that I also read on the 31st.

Rollercoaster Video 1: http://youtu.be/lmxM4nGIw3E?list=UU0-eoWU7pUumDo0WEUFzJCQ

Rollercoaster Video 2: http://youtu.be/Os6Sqv5_s50?list=UU0-eoWU7pUumDo0WEUFzJCQ

SPACE-CAKES...

The only unpublished piece that I read on the night. This one was written in Amsterdam during the summer and will appear in my next collection, A YETI WAY OF THINKING (2015)

I HAVE SEEN ENOUGH PHOTOS OF YOUR KIDS...

A piece from my eighth collection - POETIQUETTE (2005) which I have never performed before.

LOOK, I'M NO SCROOGE

One of my favourites to perform from my 7th collection, MUGSHOTS (2005) You can see a youtube video of me performing it at: http://youtu.be/vPsvG2l2bWc

I WILL EAT PIES

The poem that I end most of my shows with - it's from RHYMES BEARS STEAL PIES FOR (2007)

There was no video taken of this show - but we did take plenty of photos. Thanks again to everyone who came along and especially to anybody who bought a book. Extra-special thanks to John Smallshaw for coming to read. There will be more shows during 2015 - but I won't start getting any dates until the new year now as the Poetry Café is only taking booking three months in advance.

Next time I'll be talking a bit about my forthcoming trip to Venice and looking ahead to the end of the year...

More soon! Yeti hugs, Paul x




This post and all contents are Copyright Paul Chandler 2014.