TWO NEW FILMS - TWO NEW BOOKS...

Howdy beasties!

This week I'm going to be flagging up two new Yeti videos and two new books that I've finally released. I'm also going to share with you a few photos from a forthcoming SHY YETI ON LOCATION episode, SHY YETI BOTTLES SUMMER 2.

Let's start with the easy stuff - here are the two new films:

SHY YETI'S SEA-SIDE SHUFFLE - PART 1 is the first part of a two part series from the Folk Festival In Broadstairs, recorded in August 2012. It contains two poems and a rather silly song - not to mention yeti dancing and a whole load of other silliness. The poems included are IS IT CHRISTMAS ALREADY? and SWEATY YETI and the song is called ONCE I LOST MY HEART TO A CORNISH PASTY - the words and music are also by myself and it's "sung" by yours truly. Camera: Paul Chandler and Dan Hodges. Music: Paul Chandler and Dan Hodges. Thank you to the people of Broadstairs for their singing and dancing, especially anything that appears in this episode. The film and its contents are Copyright Paul Chandler 2012.

Youtube: http://youtu.be/OQ3mwqkRTHM

Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/49365032

The other film is the first from my SHY YETI GOES WILD - LIVE Show at the Poetry Cafe...

SHY YETI GOES WILD - LIVE 1 is a show film from Paul Chandler's SHY YETI GOES WILD - LIVE AT THE POETRY CAFE, which took place on Wednesday 5th September 2012 at The Poetry Cafe in Covent Garden, London. Poems include: INVITE A YETI ROUND FOR TEA, AN ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM, DIAGONAL CAT, DO SHEEP MIGRATE? and new piece NOT AS SHY AS I WAS. Also featured in this video is John Smallshaw, Special Guest of the night who also performs a number of his poems. There is also a yeti dance... of sorts. CAMERA: Paul Chandler, Dominic McCauley and Calum Williamson. EDITING: Paul Chandler. MUSIC: Luca. The film  and the poems contained are Copyright Paul Chandler/Smallshaw 2012. THIS FILM IS A SHY YETI PRODUCTION 2012.

Youtube: http://youtu.be/S31ODpzXSvs

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Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/49742042

Before we go on here's a rough order of yeti film releases for the next couple of months.

SHY YETI ON LOCATION EPISODES - SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2012

SUTTON PARK 20TH ANNIVERSARY SERIES

This is going to be a 2-3 part mini-series, probably entitled SUTTON PARK 2012 with episodes being released over the next couple of months,

SHY YETI'S SEA-SIDE SHUFFLE - PART 2

The second Part of the series from Broadstairs including the poems THEY DON'T RHYME THEIR POETRY IN L.A. and GRANNY ETHEL KEEPS THEM DECENT.

SHY YETI GOES WILD - LIVE 2

The second live video from the recent Poetry Cafe show.

SHY YETI BOTTLES SUMMER 2

A second episode of SHY YETI BOTTLES SUMMER... Will Mr Yeti have more luck second time around?

SHY YETI'S HALLOWEEN

This takes us to the end of October for the summeriest Halloween episode that you have ever seen!

After this I'm either going to turn to THE EPISODE WITHOUT A THEME, the Lake District 4-parter from August or by then I should have filmed my episodes from Brussels and Ghent. There are also one or two episodes that I've not yet finished, which I'm working on in slow time, like the episode that I began filming in Salisbury a weekend or so ago. This weekend just gone I was filming a second EPISODE WITHOUT A THEME episode in Oxford where I recorded two new poems YOUR CAKE ADDLED MIND and WE'RE ALL JUST BRAINS. I have no particular vision of when I intend to complete these episodes as there are plenty of instalments already in the can. Hopefully in the next couple of weeks I'll also be able to reveal where I'll be spending my birthday this year and where any holiday associated episodes will be located.

So now we move onto the two new releases - the first of which is a Mouse Of Commons short story collection:

TALES FROM THE MCWHISKERS’ ARCHIVE is a collection of five short stories and a novella that take Gladstone McWhiskers and Oliver Louse on a number of hair-raising adventures. We begin with an invasion of Whitehall by Shelving Imps, before moving on to Dublin where a mysterious piper is trying to lure pies from their homes. But that’s not all! Glad and Ollie also meet a “pie bride”, go to a pasta festival in Milan, Italy and find intrigue down on a farm where a herd of sheep are suffering from a baa-code debacle! All that and troublesome bear celebrity Charlie Grrr goes on a diet! Now something really must be wrong to cause that!! This book also features photos and a number of Auntie Astrid’s Agony Aunt columns! This is the paperback edition of a book for both big kids and little ones. The novella in this collection was written by myself and Auntie Astrid supremo, Gareth Bellis.

Paperback:  www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/tales-from-the-mcwhiskers-archive/13185291

Hardback: www.lulu.com/content/hardcover-book/tales-from-the-mcwhiskers-archive/13201276

The book has 368 pages - the paperback edition is £9.99 and the hardback is £15.99.

THE BEAST OF FRIENDS is a series of eight radio scripts concerning a number of curious characters; an amphibian journalist known as Horner, a witch called Katrina, Clive - a robotic clock, Cromitty – a voodoo doll, a werewolf named Colin and a fellow named Warren who had a very strange upbringing! This series, originally conceived in 2004, tells of what happens when they all live together!

Paperback: www.lulu.com/content/paperback-book/the-beast-of-friends---series-one/13010824

Hardback: www.lulu.com/content/hardcover-book/the-beast-of-friends---series-one/13051581

The book has 112 pages - the paperback edition is £5.99 and the hardback is £11.99

ARE WE THERE, YETI!? looks like it's going to be ready nearer the end of October now, so I intend to launch it at the same time as the 10th anniversary of THIRD TIME LUCKY.

That's about it for now. Next week I'll be wearing my party hat for the 20th anniversary of SUTTON PARK, as well as looking ahead to next month's filming trip abroad and possibly sharing with you a new poem or perhaps some photos from a future SHY YETI episode. We shall see!

More soon!

Yeti hugs,

Paul xx

This post and its contents are Copyright Paul Chandler 2012.

SO HOW DID THE SHOW GO? WAS IT WILD!?

Hello beasties!

So, what have I been up to this week? Other than the show, that is - we'll obviously come back to that in a while.

Well, the last time I wrote I was about to rush off to record another track for the new album. I did and was so pleased with the finished results that I posted it up for free on Soundcloud as follows...

MISTER MOSQUITO is a taster from my new album SHY YETI'S FRESHLY BAKED CUPCAKE COLLECTION which is currently being recorded in London, England at this very moment. This poem is from my forthcoming collection NOT AS SHY AS I WAS, which will available at all good www.lulu.com 's in Spring 2013. This recording was made in the library store cupboard at work during my lunchbreak on Tuesday 4th September 2012. Words and Music Copyright Paul Chandler 2012.

You can download this free for a limited period at: http://soundcloud.com/shyyeti/mister-mosquito

As I say, we'll return to the gig in a bit, but that wasn't the only thing I got up to on Wednesday 5th September - I also recorded another track - this time it was my piece GEOGRAPHY BE DAMNED from 2010...

The day after the gig, Thursday 6th September, I spent collating all the facts and figures about the night. It's just a me thing - it sort of helps me process what actually went on! I was also very pleased to see that the live video from Broadstairs was going down so well - having received over 50 views in just 3 days.

Friday 7th September, I saved the first draft of SHY YETI'S SEA-SIDE SHUFFLE - PART 1 and it's coming along very well. I also finished work on the new Mouse Of Commons collection TALES FROM THE MCWHISKERS' ARCHIVE. Just need to load it up and hopefully it can finally be launched alongside THE BEAST OF FRIENDS scriptbook, later this month.

Saturday 8th September... Travelled to Salisbury to see friends Friday night, on the Saturday we did a bit of filming for both SUTTON PARK and a future episode of SHY YETI ON LOCATION set in Salisbury; recorded my poem YOU'RE OWN SWEET OXYMORON near Old Sarum and also in one of the Park's in the city centre. Started work on a new poem called ANOTHER YETI POEM and pretty much finished one that I started in the week called IT WAS ME.

Sunday 9th September... Whilst visiting my parents house during the day I took the time to listen to some of the audio that I recorded from the Poetry Cafe show and selected a few pieces to include on the new album as "live" tracks. More about that once it's all done. I also recorded a version of my poem YOU, ME AND THE HOLLYWOOD HILLS. I did a bit more work on a couple of unfinished poems on the way home and wrote and completed a new piece called WE'RE ALL JUST BRAINS...

Monday 10th and Tuesday 11th September... Not a great deal to report except for a bit of typing up and I pretty much finished off the next SHY YETI ON LOCATION video which I then posted up on Wednesday 12th September... Which is today! The video is all but done now and should be up later in the week - so keep an eye out - more details during next week's post.

And now - finally... It's time to discuss the Poetry Cafe show from last Wednesday!

SHY YETI GOES WILD THE SHOW!

ANIMAL POEMS AND OTHER ODDITIES WEDNESDAY 5^TH SEPTEMBER 2012

 

FIRST HALF

INVITE A YETI ROUND FOR TEA *
MISTER MOSQUITO *
AN ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM *
BEARS AREN’T MEANT TO BE BALLERINAS *
THE BLACK-EYED GROWL *
COLIN THE CUSTARD-EATING SPIDER *
DIAGONAL CAT *
DO SHEEP MIGRATE? *
A FLEA TEA PARTY *
LIFE IN A PELICAN’S BEAK *
THE STAND-UP CHAMELEON *
UNCLE BEAR *
WHY DON’T DRAGONS CLEAN THEIR TEETH? *
THE HIPPOPOTAMASES SONG (FLANDERS AND SWANN) *
BEE-SOTTED *
MY DOG IN A DRESS *

SECOND HALF

NATIONAL TREASURE *

NOT AS SHY AS I WAS???? *
A LEARNING EXPERIENCE *
A TART IN PRUDE’S CLOTHING * (v1/2)
GLAMOUR AT ALL TIMES!
MINE OWN MINOTAUR
GLUE TO MEND A BROKEN HEART
CUPCAKE *
IS A TOADSTOOL A TOAD’S TOOL? *
A DEVIL WITHOUT HORNS *
NEVER TRUST A SKINNY FISH ‘N’ CHIP MAN *
HELLO! HELLO! I’M HALLOWEEN! *
RESPECTABLE TEXTS *
I LOST MY HEART TO A CORNISH PASTY *
I WILL EAT PIES *

* filmed

Please note: In addition to this a good deal of this show was audio recorded for a future album release.

So, how did it all go? Well, I managed to read 16 poems in the first half and 15 in the second. I had to drop one or two poems that I'd considered performing for timing reasons as we had an extra reader during the second half; I also read a piece that I hadn’t considered reading due to popular demand! Oh, and I sang… If you can call it that! I was a little nervous, but then I am the shy yeti, after all!

THE FIRST HALF…

The first half began just after 7.30 and this was mainly the “Goes Wild…” part of the evening - at least from my side and I read mostly animal poems – some new, some much older…

INVITE A YETI ROUND FOR TEA

MISTER MOSQUITO
AN ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

These first three pieces are all pretty new, the first is from my forthcoming collection, ARE WE THERE YETI!?, whilst the others are from the book I’m currently working on NOT AS SHY AS I WAS… Of course, I have to begin the night with a yeti piece and INVITE is one of my favourite that I’ve written in the last couple of years.

BEARS AREN’T MEANT TO BE BALLERINAS

THE BLACK-EYED GROWL
COLIN THE CUSTARD-EATING SPIDER
DIAGONAL CAT
DO SHEEP MIGRATE?

The next five poems were originally from a number of different collections – but were compiled earlier this year into my mini-volume SHY YETI GOES WILD. Many of you will know that I’ve been doing quite a lot of these animal pieces on the radio and during some of my SHY YETI ON LOCATION episodes from earlier this summer. The first of these I haven’t performed for a while and should probably win some kind of award for most mentions of the word bear in a poem… Do they do Oscars for that sort of thing? The other four poems have been aired a number of times this year – but not at one of my shows. They’re all favourites for different reasons. After the last of these it was time for John Smallshaw to come up to the front to read and you should get to see some of these in one of my live videos from the night that I hope to post up before the end of the month.

A FLEA TEA PARTY

LIFE IN A PELICAN’S BEAK
THE STAND-UP CHAMELEON
UNCLE BEAR
WHY DON’T DRAGONS CLEAN THEIR TEETH?

After John’s entertaining set, the next five poems returned to the animal theme – also being poems from SHY YETI GOES WILD that I’ve performed a lot this year one way or other. UNCLE BEAR was the only non-poem of the night – being an 100 word story, originally included in THE VAMPIRE COWS OF SCUNTHORPE from Summer 2011 and also in one of my Portland-based YETI HUNT USA episodes from around the same time. By now we were nearing the end of the first half…

THE HIPPOPOTAMASES SONG (FLANDERS AND SWANN)

BEE-SOTTED
MY DOG IN A DRESS

The final three pieces of the first half included a lyric reading of the Flanders and Swann tune The Hippopotamases Song, along with a new piece BEE-SOTTED from next year’s NOT AS SHY AS I WAS and an old favourite – MY DOG IN A DRESS from 2006’s POEMS TO MAKE BEARS GROWL.

THE SECOND HALF…

NATIONAL TREASURE

NOT AS SHY AS I WAS
A LEARNING EXPERIENCE

After bamboozling the audience with many daft animal poems during the first half I changed my plan for what I was going to read and began with a couple of very new pieces from NOT AS SHY AS I WAS – including the title piece. One of the audience members, Maggie Hughes, who has been following my work since I began self-publishing in 2001 had mentioned that she would like to hear me read A LEARNING EXPERIENCE, as it’s one of her favourites – and so I read did, as I had a copy of the poem with me. It was the first time that I’d performed it in 2012, at any rate - I last read it at The Poetry Cafe during my November 2011 show.

A TART IN PRUDE’S CLOTHING

GLAMOUR AT ALL TIMES!
MINE OWN MINOTAUR
GLUE TO MEND A BROKEN HEART

The next four poems come from very new collections – the first three from next year’s NOT AS SHY AS I WAS and the fourth piece from ARE WE THERE, YETI!? The first two have never been performed, the third I have recently been working on turning into a song and the fourth and final piece I’ve read previously during my November 2011 show. After this it was time for John to read again and he also brought up on stage a special guest poet called Aoowe Hamza who read poetry about war-torn Somalia. I also expect to include some of these readings in future videos.

CUPCAKE

IS A TOADSTOOL A TOAD’S TOOL?
A DEVIL WITHOUT HORNS
NEVER TRUST A SKINNY FISH ‘N’ CHIP MAN
HELLO! HELLO! I’M HALLOWEEN!
RESPECTABLE TEXTS

My next six poems are all from books that I’ve published in the last couple of years… CUPCAKE and RESPECTABLE TEXTS are from 2011’s YETI HUGS AND OTHER HORRORS… CUPCAKE sort of came alive to me when I debuted it at The Poetry Café some years ago and so I’ve been looking for an opportunity to read it there again; however it ended up shunted off the set for the last couple of shows. IS A TOADSTOOL A TOAD’S TOOL? and NEVER TRUST A SKINNY FISH ‘N’ CHIP MAN are from the forthcoming ARE WE THERE, YETI!? collection and also ones that I’ve recorded for my new spoken word album recently. A DEVIL WITHOUT HORNS is from THE VAMPIRE COWS OF SCUNTHORPE and is one that I’ve been keen to perform for a while. HELLO! HELLO! I’M HALLOWEEN is only about 10 days old – and probably the most recent piece that I read on the evening. This one will be published in NOT AS SHY AS I WAS next Spring.

I LOST MY HEART TO A CORNISH PASTY

I WILL EAT PIES

The final two were an old and a new piece. I LOST MY HEART TO A CORNISH PASTY is a song that I wrote at The Broadstairs Folk Festival in early August and I actually tried to sing it. I won’t say nerves got the better of me, because I did get through it – but let’s just say I didn’t sing it as well as I did on the “studio” version that will appear in some forthcoming SHY YETI ON LOCATION episodes. Still, the audience seemed to enjoy it, anyway and it led well into I WILL EAT PIES, which I didn’t sing – and which I often end my shows with.

I had intended to read a number of other poems, but for timing reasons had to cut them. From the first half the missing poems would have been THE BULLIER OF TEDDY BEARS, EXACTLY WHAT BEARS CAN’T BEAR, MY SELFISH CAT and THE PICK-POCKETING FOX. Poems dropped from the second half were SWEATY YETI, IN THE SOUP..., MURDERING THAT SONG..., RATTLESNAKES!!!, YOU’RE NO FRIEND – LET’S BE ENEMIES!!, A WASP IN A WIG, THE WEDDING BREAKFAST and HOORAY FOR BEARS.

Thanks to Calum Williamson for filming my poems, to give Calum a break I filmed all John and Aoowe's poems! Thanks also to everyone who came along or who donated to the charity even if they couldn't make it. The collection was for The Zoological Society Of London, in memory of John Ellis. If you'd still like to donate to the charity you can do so at: http://www.justgiving.com/In-Memory-of-John-Ellis

 

That's about it for now - next week I'll be talking a bit more about a couple of non-poetry books that I've just released and sharing links to the next SHY YETI ON LOCATION episode. We may even have a new poem or a photo gallery - let me look into it! It should be fun!! Hopefully...

 

More soon...

Yeti hugs,

Paul xx

This post and all content is Copyright Paul Chandler 2012

ALL ABOUT PIE-TRY IN MOTION AND TOMORROW'S GIG...

Hello my growly beasties,

This week I'm going to talk a little about audio yeti, another video, update you on what else I've been up to and look forward to tomorrow's Poetry Cafe show.

First up, the new video... Here's the details!

SHY YETI LIVE FROM BROADSTAIRS is a video that includes the 4 videos that I read open-mike on Saturday 11th, Monday 13th, Tuesday 14th and Thursday 16th August 2012 at The Poetry Breakfast in Broadstairs; part of the Broadstairs Folk Festival. The poems I read are: YETI SPAGHETTI, I LOST MY HEART TO A CORNISH PASTY (Lyric Version), JOHN, I'M ONLY RHYMING and A LITTLE MOUSE. This video acts as a sort of prelude to my two-part SHY YETI'S SEA-SIDE SHUFFLE series, also filmed in Broadstairs during that week, which should be up later this month; but which does not include these live performances. This video stars Paul Chandler a.k.a. Shy Yeti and Dan Hodges. Camera by P.C. and D.H. and Music by D.H. This film and all poems contained within it are Copyright Paul Chandler 2012. This is a Shy Yeti Production 2012.

Youtube link: http://youtu.be/I55D5g_-pZo

Vimeo link: https://vimeo.com/48787821

 

100%So, moving on... What I have been up to since I last posted? I'll try and keep it brief, this week! I know... I promised that before - but here goes!

Thursday 30th August... As well as working on other written projects I also began recording the new album, writing on Facebook I said "Just finished recording the first 3 audio tracks for my new spoken-word album. Not used Garageband since about 2009, but got back into it quickly, recording a number of versions of the poems ASK NICELY, BECOMING MORE CAT-LIKE and KISS ME QUICK! A long way to go to get to the 30 plus tracks that I'll need, but a good start!" Last night I came up with the title for my book after NOT AS SHY AS I WAS and having shared that title with Dominic and Dan I think I'm going to go with it... But keeping it under wraps a little longer, yet.

Friday 31st August... As well as the usual editing over breakfast and after work and the tinkering of various projects during breaks, today I recorded another 3 poems for the new CD. Once again I selected pieces from my recent SHY YETI STILL RULES OK compilation. The poems recorded were PEACE OF MIND IN A TEA BAG, IS IT CHRISTMAS ALREADY? and I'M FAR TOO IMPORTANT TO KNOW YOU... Alongside a few false starts that weren't recorded, I laid down 3 versions of the first two poems and just two of the third - partly because I'd finally got my teeth in by this stage and managed to perform the last poem without too much of a hitch!

Saturday 1st and Sunday 2nd September... Other than editing and some photos in London, I was mainly out and about with friends this weekend. That said I did manage to record two more poems whilst staying at Harry's house. These were LOVE-GO-ROUND and THE UNAFFORDABLE FJORD.

Monday 3rd September... Managed a bit of editing before work and the usual final tarting up of my next couple of books, due out soon. The Broadstairs video went up on Youtube today, too. Otherwise, I managed to get out on location during my lunch break - recording two audio tracks for my next album of daft verse. Poems were NEVER TRUST A SKINNY FISH AND CHIP MAN and IS A TOADSTOOL A TOAD'S TOOL? Two short ones that were quick to read; 3 goes at each! Secret location for recording was Belgrave Square Gardens, near my work - which we are lucky enough to have the key for. Not that you can see where I'm recording as it's an audio project! But there you go...

And here we are today, Tuesday 4th September, just in case you weren't sure - I know I had to check... More editing before breakfast, loading up the Broadstairs film on Vimeo and now, once this is recorded I am heading off to record an audio version of my poem MISTER MOSQUITO. The first episode of SHY YETI'S SEA-SIDE SHUFFLE is coming along nicely, by the way.

Anyway, as I've already mentioned, I have been busy recording a new audio album. But why, you may ask?

To be honest, with all the videos I've been making over the last 3 years I wonder whether there is any need for spoken-word yeti poetry, but on the other hand I reason that it's good to make the verse available in different formats for different situations. After all, you can't watch a youtube video in the car or on your iPod whilst you're walking along - well, you could, but it's not advised - but you might like to listen to a little yeti growling whilst you're out and about! I know, I do! ;)

So anyway, I've been doing more audio recordings this week as part of putting together a new album for release before the end of the year. This new album is going to be entitled SHY YETI'S FRESHLY BAKED CUP-CAKE COLLECTION and will probably a mixture of poems that I've written since 2008.

Anyway, more about all this when it's a little closer to being ready...

So now onto, PIE-TRY IN MOTION... What is it, why does it exist and why was it recorded so long ago anyway only to be left dust-covered on a shelf somewhere? Actually, there was no dust - the tracks were safely on my laptop and iPod, but that's not important right now! Anyway, before I try and answer any questions here's all the details you need to know about the tracks contained on the album.

PIE-TRY IN MOTION is the (until now!) unreleased sequel to SHY YETI'S HOME-BREWED VERSE album - recorded in 2008 and released here for the first time. This album originally contained multiple takes of many of the tracks and the best version of each has been lovingly selected by a gang of unemployed yeti who were forced to make a decision or else they wouldn't get any pies for lunch. Many of the tracks here first appeared in Paul Chandler's 2008 collection SHY YETI'S INCREDIBLE PIE-CRUST COLLECTION, but many of them are pieces that I still perform today.

PIE-TRY IN MOTION can be purchased for just £5 from: http://shyyeti.bandcamp.com/album/pie-try-in-motion and here are the poems included on it...

ABOVE THE CLOUDS
ALL GIVE - NO TAKE
THE BALLAD OF A GO-GO BEAR
THE BALLAD OF CAUSEY HILL
BELLY BUTTON FLUFF TEA
BREAKING UP IS HARDER...
DIAGONAL CAT
FLOOZY
GIRLS LIKE ALENA
GROOVE
HIGH HEELS
HOPELESS ROMANTIC
HOW I'D LOVE TO BE A CAVEMAN
I NEVER SAY NO TO PIE
I WILL EAT PIE
IF DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER
IN PUBLIC!!!
INSPIRATION
LITTLE PIG
MY LIFE IS A MUSICAL
MY MOMENT IS NOW
RABBITS DON'T REALLY LIKE LETTUCE
THE SOLEMN SALAMANDER
SOMETIMES I JUST WANNA...
THE STAND-UP CHAMELEON
SUPER YETI AND COSMIC BEAR
THERE IS SOMEONE FOR EVERYONE
TOO SLUSHY FOR SNOWMEN
THE UNGRATEFUL VALENTINE
WHAT BEARS DO...
WHAT IF (INNER VOICE)
YOUR KNIGHT IN PINK LAME
A LIFE TOGETHER

My dates for the two albums are slightly sketchy, but SHY YETI'S HOME-BREWED VERSE was recorded around July 2007 and PIE-TRY IN MOTION has dates on the files from late December 2008 and early 2009, although I'm not sure how accurate that is now. With the first album I recorded it all in London, I wanted there to be a difference in the sound quality between the tracks. From what I can remember I recorded some in smaller, low-ceiling-ed rooms in the college where I work - some in bigger more echoy rooms and some out in the park across the Square. When I came to the 2nd album, probably partly because of the weather, I recorded it all indoors - although I'm not actually sure where I was when I did so. Possibly work as it would have been during college holidays - but also possibly at my parents as I might have been home for Christmas. With the album that I've just started to record I have aimed to I'd like to record in different locations as I did with that first album.

One or two of the tracks from the two albums are on my Soundcloud profile at: http://soundcloud.com/shyyeti, but this is the first time I've actually gone through all the takes and decided which are the best ones. So, I guess it's finally a completed project - which is always feels good to be able to announce!

Anyway, that's about it for now - it's time to hurry off and make those final decisions about what to read tomorrow night at The Poetry Cafe, near Covent Garden. Turn up any time after 7, blast off is 7.30! It's not just me, of course, but John Smallshaw too - and the theme is animals! As you will have guessed, I'll be posting about the show in next week's post and with a little bit of luck I'll have the first SEA-SIDE SHUFFLE episode edited by then too - followed swiftly by another live video from tomorrow's show! Hoorah...

More soon, thanks for reading...

Yeti hugs,

Paul xxx

This Post and its contents are Copyright Paul Chandler 2012

SEPTEMBER BECKONS...

Hello folks and folkettes,

Well, it's definitely scary now how quickly this year is going - I always think once August is done with the year just rushes along towards its conclusion. The next thing I know it's my birthday and then it's Christmas and New Year. Still, there is a lot going in the world of Shy Yeti - which is partly why I realised how quickly the year is speeding along. As of last week on this very blog I was working out exactly what videos I aim to edit or film before Christmas - what book projects I'll be working on and what trips I still plan on achieving! *cross paws*

There are two big things coming up for me during early September - although they're both sort of connected. One is that it's exactly a weeks until my next Poetry Cafe show and the other is that I hope to release 3 new books on www.lulu.com over the next few weeks. Typical, isn't it!? I've been working on these three for quite some time - eight years on and off in the case of one of them and five years in the case of another and yet here they are ready at the same time. Oh well... They're all quite different projects so I'll try and make it sound like I planned it that way.

I'll be writing more about this when they actually come out, of course...

The first is the Mouse of Commons short story collection TALES FROM THE MCWHISKERS ARCHIVE, the second is my script book that vaguely celebrates 20 years of Sutton Park - THE BEAST OF FRIENDS and the third project is my new collection of short stories and poetry, ARE WE THERE, YETI!?

I'll be reading pieces from the last of those books at my Poetry Cafe show on Wednesday 5th September - as well as performing some of my animal poems from the SHY YETI GOES WILD compilation. I also hope to read a number of completely new pieces from the book that I am currently working on, NOT AS SHY AS I WAS... I've really been rocketing along with the new poems over the last few weeks! Anyway, I'll try and find something from ARE WE THERE, YETI!? to post at the end of this post as more of a taster for what is to come.

Anyway... There's a new video out and here are the details:

SHY YETI BOTTLE SUMMER is a film to remind us that we did actually have a few days of Summer during 2012. It was recorded in a number of locations around the UK between June and July 2012 and includes 3 new poems, NATIONAL TREASURE, SOMETHING'S WRONG WITH ROCKY LOBSTER and I'M SICK, BUT DO I WANT TO BE CURED? - all of which will eventually appear in Paul's NOT AS SHY AS I WAS book at some stage, probably early 2013. This episode contains a yeti-dance or two and also co-stars Dominic McCauley. Music is by Luca. Camera by PC and DM. The copyright of this film and all content belongs to Paul Chandler, 2012. This is a Shy Yeti Production. There may well be a sequel to this episode coming along in the autumn, but shhh... don't say I told you so!

Youtube link: http://youtu.be/HKaeruG8N8Y

100%Vimeo link: https://vimeo.com/48426527

The Vimeo link is a shorter, 9 minute version which still includes all the poems, yeti dancing and some of the silliness - but very little of the legendary Rocky Lobster... So of the two, I'd recommend the first link - but then I would say that, wouldn't I!? ;)

I'm going to try and write less in my diary of what went on this week, as there probably won't be enough to say, just the highlights... Probably...

Thursday 23rd August:

I decided today that at 12 minutes the edit of SHY YETI BOTTLES SUMMER is as short as I want it to be for the Youtube version and so I will do a slightly shorter edit for Vimeo with less "Rocky" footage and without the LA flashback and hopefully that will sort the problem! Other than that I just continued working towards getting the final two (of 3) books due out in September ready for publishing.

Friday 24th August:

I woke early today full of creative ideas and the like. Over night I was pointed in the direction of the site Bandcamp by a Facebook friend, musician - Homer Marrs who has an awesome E.P. on there called PROM KING: http://homermarrs.bandcamp.com/ Anyway, as a result I decided to load up my first spoken word album that I recorded back in 2007. The details are as follows:

SHY YETI'S HOME-BREWED VERSE

This album contains 34 poems written between 1992 and 2007, recorded back in 2007 in a number of secret locations across London. The album was only released in a limited edition at the time and although the track-listing remains the same it may be in a slightly different order as there was never any "ideal" order established at the time. The only thing I did try to do was to record the poems in different locations so that the sound quality was different across the album. The tracks are as follows:

DISCO YETI
KEEP ON GETTING IT WRONG
THE INFATUATION DANCE
THE BLACK-EYED GROWL
MY DOG IN A DRESS
THE SORRY TALE OF FRED THE DINOSAUR
MISTER BEE
I SHOULD NEVER
THE TRUE LIGHT
YOUR APRIL FOOL
GRANNY ETHEL KEEPS THEM DECENT
I AM THE GERMS
IT
PICCADILLY CIRCUS
READY-TEDDY-GO...
THE ONLY YOU THERE IS...
ALL GOOD PIES MUST END
ANIMAL CRUELTY
ANOTHER PATHETIC ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT
BEING COY
COLD-HEARTED KITTEN KILLER
BALLAD OF AN ALRIGHT BLOKE
CRASHTESTBOYFRIEND
PEACE TREATY
THE EUROVISION HERO
RHYMES BEARS STEAL PIES FOR
LITTLE BEN
THE BALLAD OF TINY ELVIS
STEAL A MILLION
DANCEFLOOR SLAUGHTER
FLAUNT TRADITION
ROLLERCOASTER
CUB UP A TREE
ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLES

A sequel to this album PIE-TRY IN MOTION was recorded in 2008, but never really got compiled. I intend to go through the tracks and put this album together over the next few weeks and then I'd like to move on to record a completely new album before the end of the year.

If you want to see more about this album it can be purchased from the following link: http://shyyeti.bandcamp.com/album/shy-yetis-finest-home-brewed-verse

Additionally, on Friday I continued editing - working on future books and took a few spooky photos and the like for my forthcoming Halloween special.

Saturday 25th August:

Today, I continued with the editing - putting on the music and titles for both versions of the next film with the intention of posting them on Tuesday. I'm now moving on to editing the first of the 2 SUTTON PARK episodes for the 20th anniversary and the first episode of 2 from the Broadstairs Folk Festival. I also began loading up tracks to make up the PIE-TRY IN MOTION album.

Sunday 26th August:

Today, I headed into London to meet my old school friend Harry and we followed one of the Olympic trails around Regent's Park. I also managed to get Harry to be my cameraman and filmed a poem from 2 or 3 years ago, THAT OLD BLOOD MOON which I have decided to include as part of my Halloween episode this year. It's a little way in advance, but there's no harm in starting early! Although it did look a little summery today... for a change! During my trip into town I also began work on two new Halloween poems, HELLO! HELLO! I'M HALLOWEEN... and I'M FEELING A BIT GHOSTLY... I also continued work on the first SUTTON PARK 20th anniversary episode and did more on the Broadstairs episodes. Once home I completed work on compiling PIE-TRY IN MOTION, which comes to 33 tracks in all - having listened to every track and selected the best recording for a number of tracks where there was more than one version recorded at the time.

Monday 27th August:

Just after midnight on the 27th I made PIE-TRY IN MOTION available - but I'll be writing about that more next week as, unlike SHY YETI'S HOME-BREWED VERSE this album has never actually had a proper release. I'd definitely like to record some new tracks soon and intend to start doing something about that this week. Today Calum and I took a long circular walk (of about 7 miles) around the village of Pluckley in Kent and I also recorded a number of scenes for my Halloween episode - although the weather was far brighter than expected! Ironic that when I start filming for Halloween the weather suddenly improves. Never mind! On the train journey up to Pluckley I completed my poem HELLO! HELLO! I'M HALLOWEEN! and recorded it during the walk. Rather in keeping with the Halloween theme we encountered a rather frisky horse who wasn't keen for us to leave his field - and also a plague of dragon-flies! Okay, so I exaggerate, but there were a lot! The horse I got footage of, so you may see him in the episode - although he wasn't pleased when we got away! I had to jump through a hole in a hedge and across a ditch like some kind of glamorous yeti stuntman! We also passed through some nice orchards of plums and apples, so I took photos of them for the forthcoming foody episode - I also managed to get a few shots of blackberries in the hedgerows and made suitable comment.

Tuesday 28th August:

I took another day off today, rather short notice but there we go. Dominic was about so we were able to get some quality time off together and also do a little filming. We did a head-to-head that should find a place in the SHY YETI COOKS episode - and also a yeti dance, but mainly we were working on the Halloween episode. In fact we finished it! Lots of silly sketches, daft props and I also recorded new poem, SHAVING WEREWOLVES; all filmed no more than 15 minutes from our flat! As well as this I also worked on editing the first SEA-SIDE SHUFFLE edition and the first 20th anniversary SUTTON PARK episode. In addition to that I decided to put together a video called SHY YETI LIVE IN BROADSTAIRS which contains the full versions of the poems I read open-mike during my time in the town earlier this month. I recorded enough new material that only brief clips of these readings will appear in the two SEA-SIDE SHUFFLE episodes. The video is around 9 minutes long and will probably be posted just before my SHY YETI GOES WILD - AT THE POETRY CAFE gig next week.

Wednesday 29th August: Today, I loaded the new video (see above) on both Youtube and Vimeo, posted this blog and worked on some of my writing projects...

I'm hoping to begin work on recording a new album as of tomorrow, if I can get DM's spare Macbook working again! It has Garage Band on it, you see!

Next week I'll be looking at the PIE-TRY IN MOTION album and why I'm suddenly releasing it now, more than 4 years after I recorded it. They'll be links to a live video from Broadstairs, as a prelude to my SHY YETI'S SEA-SIDE SHUFFLE two parter and also a little excited noise or two about the next Poetry Cafe show which is a week today, Wednesday 5th September...

I'll leave you with a short story from ARE WE THERE, YETI!?! which is due out in a couple of weeks time... More news on that soon!

Yeti hugs,

Paul xx

THE DUST OF AGES

Anita had worked in the college library for many years – her former students always seemed to recognise her though. “Oh, my dear! You still work here?”

Anita would smile and nod. “Yes... It’s been a long time now!”

“But you don’t look a day older...”

 She didn’t either, but they always did.

Anita remembered every one of them; each and every reader. She recalled them as undergraduates in their early 20s – but the earliest of those were now nearing retirement; were wrinkled and or balding – and that was just the women.

“You look just the same...” They’d say – at first casually and then with surprise when it hit them quite how long it had been. “EXACTLY the same!”

They would never truly understand the full implications, of course and it just wasn’t worth explaining; this was Anita’s own little secret.

It was the dust of ages collected in the library books that did it. When the library closed she would select a few of the oldest texts and sniff the dust; rather like someone taking snuff or something stronger. It made her cough; but it was worth it.

It really did the trick – and, best of all, it kept her young.

                                                      

Anita had been the college librarian for a little over 175 years now – and she had no intention of retiring any time soon...

The story THE DUST OF AGES appears in Paul's forthcoming collection, ARE WE THERE, YETI!? which is published next month. This Post and its content are Copyright Paul Chandler 2012.

THAT "LOST" HOLLYWEIRD VIDEO AND WHAT I'VE BEEN UP TO...

Hello folks and folkettes,

Well, finally - despite being tempted to post this a lot sooner, I am happy to announce that my new SHY YETI ON LOCATION episode is available to view. It's called SHY YETI'S "LOST" HOLLYWOOD VIDEO and it loaded up first time and well, I'm really happy with it - so here's all the information you need to know.

SHY YETI'S "LOST" HOLLYWOOD VIDEO was never REALLY lost... Mr Yeti just held it back for Summer 2012 as he knew he wouldn't be getting back to The States this year. This video was filmed at the very last minute on Saturday 12th November 2011 and hadn't actually been planned. It was filmed in LA, up in Griffith Park near the location for The Batcave from the 60s incarnation of Batman. This video features 2 poems, one filmed on location in Topanga Canyon and Griffith Park called PEACE OF MIND IN A TEABAG and the other, ALTERNATIVE LIFESTYLES appears as live footage from Mr Yeti's June 2012 show at The Poetry Cafe, London. The third piece is an early version of a story called A YETI HISTORY LESSON OF HOLLYWOOD which appears in a slightly revised version in his forthcoming collection of poems and prose ARE WE THERE, YETI!?, due out September 2012. All this and lots of silliness, a yeti dance and the Hollywood sign! What more could one ask for? This episode features Paul Chandler a.k.a. Shy Yeti and also guest stars Dominic McCauley. Camera: Paul Chandler and Dominic McCauley. Music: Luca. This film and its contents are Copyright Paul Chandler, 2012. There will be more yeti videos coming very soon!

Youtube: http://youtu.be/xDwOIEGyJ8A

Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/47919379

In addition to this there is also now a Vimeo version of the 2nd BLOG BONANZA SHOW which can be viewed at:

Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/47860567

The Youtube version remains on my MRSHYYETI profile at: http://youtu.be/cFzjsavCbNA

So what have I been up to since I last posted... Well, I think I will continue, for now, to update you with a daily diary of events - so, where were we last time?



Friday 17th August 2012:

The last proper day of my Summer holidays didn't start too well in that I left my house with my camera, but with no battery inside! Still, it was a very nice walk along The Beeches Way, starting at Burnham Beeches and Calum took a few photos which I have included in this post. Actually, it was really pretty hot - so in a way I'm not sure that I'd have wanted to walk 8 miles and have filmed a lot of stuff too! I did manage to complete two verses of a new poem called PAID AND DISPLAYED though.



Saturday 18th August 2012:

Today I was catching up with friends, however there was a bit of filming involved for my forthcoming foodie special of SHY YETI ON LOCATION. Filming took place at Borough Market with Dan and also in St James Park during a picnic with my old friends Harry, Steve and the Sean's! Other than that I did a bit of editing and it was all very nice, but nothing much else to report of note! ;)

Sunday 19th August 2012:

Today I probably achieved more than I was expecting. I knew I was going walking with Calum, but not exactly where and how much of a journey it would involve. In the end we returned to Tring, which we partially explored sometime last summer. On our way there I began thinking about writing a new poem that would go well in the foodie special that I have planned - and so I began to write a silly little piece about cake. Hardly a first! The first verse went well, but the piece was only half finished and didn't even have a title by the time I got the chance to begin recording it. I recorded the first verse up in Tring Park and then completed verse 2 and wrote verse 3 over lunch in a Prezzo in Tring itself. Verse 2 I recorded in the Memorial Garden and verse 3 along the canal near the reservoir. I also made sure to take pictures of as much food as was possible and also to do a few links for this episode. It was much too hot to yeti dance, but I should get a chance to record another poem next weekend as it's bank holiday and then all we need to do is record the cookery sequences. That said I'm in no rush to do this as I'm not expecting this episode to be ready for quite some time - in fact it might not even be posted until the Spring as I have a lot of other episodes to focus on first. Oh - and the title of the new poem is THE TRUTH ABOUT CAKE - a very Paul Chandler / Shy Yeti title!

Monday 20th August 2012:

Back to work today after three weeks off... Sob. Today I typed up a couple of poems that I wrote over the last few days, last week's THE BALLAD OF DEAD-EYED BOB and yesterday's THE TRUTH ABOUT CAKE... I also loaded up the 2nd BLOG BONANZA SHOW on Vimeo and posted it onto the usual sites. In the evening I completed the first rough edit of SHY YETI BOTTLES SUMMER, which came in at just over 14 minutes. As it stands it's much too long to be loaded onto Vimeo, so I would have to edit it - so I'm going to continue to work on a shorter edit as I prefer to load the same version of each film on each profile, if possible.

Tuesday 21st August 2012:

Today I loaded the Vimeo version of SHY YETI'S LOST HOLLYWOOD VIDEO which I made available on Youtube yesterday - only I forgot to say... This episode is the 100th video that I have posted on Vimeo since Summer 2008, although most of these are now available on both profiles. Today, I also did some work on MINE OWN MINOTAUR and I LOST MY HEART TO A CORNISH PASTY in the actual book that they will appear in. I also began two new poems MORE ISN'T ALWAYS MORE and COME FOR TEA; by the end of the day I had completed the first piece and written the first two verses of the second.

Wednesday 22nd August 2012:

Before work this morning I completed a second rough edit of SHY YETI BOTTLES SUMMER, which comes in at nearer 12 minutes. I also completed COME FOR TEA during my journey into work and did some formatting work on a number of the poems that I completed whilst I was away. This takes us to lunchtime today when I will be posting this very post!

Before I go I want to share with you my rough plan for episodes for the final third of 2012, some are definite and in the can and some are just proposed and may well end up with better titles!

SHY YETI ON LOCATION EPISODES ALREADY FILMED

"LOST" HOLLYWOOD SPECIAL - Just Posted
SHY YETI BOTTLES SUMMER - Currently Being Edited
SHY YETI'S SEA-SIDE SHUFFLE PT 1 AND 2 - September 2012
THE EPISODE WITHOUT A THEME - October 2012
SHY YETI BOTTLES SUMMER 2 - October 2012
SHY YETI DOES THE LAKE DISTRICT (4 Parts) - Provisional title - Oct/November 2012

During September and early October I also intend to work on a couple of new SUTTON PARK episodes to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the series. All the material for these is already recorded, some of the footage dates back to 2010, with linking scenes filmed this summer.

SHY YETI ON LOCATION EPISODES PARTIALLY FILMED OR PLANNED

LIVE FOOTAGE FROM SEPTEMBER AND NOVEMBER POETRY SHOWS
SHY YETI'S FOOD SPECIAL
SHY YETI'S HALLOWEEN SPECIAL
SHY YETI GOES BELGIAN (2 Parts?)
SHY YETI'S BIRTHDAY BASH (2 Parts?)
SHY YETI'S CHRISTMAS SPECIAL

Next week I'll be looking forward to the autumn and what exactly I'm going to be busy writing and recording. That's almost it for now - except for one or two photos, more soon...

Yeti hugs,

Paul xx

CALUM'S BEHIND THE SCENES PHOTOS

The first two photos were taken on Friday 17th August 2012 during our Burnham Beeches walk when I accidentally left my camera behind. The final three were taken during my Keswick trip - one is a behind the scenes shot of me reading "IT" in the rain on Monday 6th August. The penultimate one is of my friend Paul H and I, taken at Rydal Water on Sunday 5th August, whilst the final picture was taken on the penultimate day of our trip, Tuesday 7th August 2012 over lunch as I prepared to read another poem by Derwent Water. P.S. The photo at the top of the page was taken by Dan H at my last day at The Poetry Breakfast in Broadstairs on Thursday 16th August - all other photos not already mentioned were taken by Calum W during the Burnham Beeches walk on Friday 17th August.

This post and its contents are Copyright Paul Chandler 2012.

THE BROADSTAIRS SLICE OF THE HOLIDAY...

Hello folks and folkettes,

This week I'm going to be telling you about what I've been up to during my trip to Broadstairs during Folk Week there. I've also released a number of older videos that were previously only available on Vimeo, onto my MRSHYYETI Youtube channel. These six films were the first films that I ever recorded in June 2008, there are still a number of others, but I am yet to trace down the original films. Thanks to Owen C. who helped me record these back in 2008.

The films with their Youtube links are as follows and are all from my 2008 collection SHY YETI'S INCREDIBLE PIE-CRUST COLLECTION. Find out more at: www.lulu.com/content/2539199. All films are Copyright Paul Chandler 2008-12.

YOU CRAMP MY STYLE: http://youtu.be/LR4dqotWklw

Background Info: This one was written very quickly and came to me whilst I was commuting to work; I even worked on a couple of the verses whilst standing at Vauxhall bus station. I was really pleased with the finished version and it's a favourite of mine from this collection.

YETI SPAGHETTI: http://youtu.be/QUn6yKEG4Nw

Background Info: Another piece written for the postponed YETI SPAGHETTI children's collection of poems. I had the title for this a long while before the actual poem was written; as Vinnie / “Bearsoup” and I had agreed that it was a good title for the book. In the end it went through a number of versions before I settled on this.

UNGRATEFUL VALENTINE: http://youtu.be/8qpVotTW-Og

Background Info: I used to have a tradition each year where I sent my friends Julie and Jo a Valentines poem and then included them in my collections. In the end I wrote 4 or 5 of these; but this piece is written from the point of view of an ungrateful valentine who complains about the presents they are given and who is never satisfied. Contains one of my favourite words: "woo"!!

MY MOMENT IS NOW: http://youtu.be/cJb93_cTxo0

Background Info: This is another verse which celebrates discovering that things are going well in life and that it's time to get excited about it!! It has been suggested that I should read this if I ever do my Pam Bears act on stage - however, for now, the world has been saved this...

LITTLE PIG: http://youtu.be/oSVkHIVuSfM

Background Info: Another poem written during a lazy Saturday morning lie-in at my friend Vincent's house; one of my many daft poems. It's a silly animal piece, but also an anti-buIlying one and was written when I was working on new poems for my delayed children's collection, YETI SPAGHETTI. It's one of my personal favourites.

THE BALLAD OF THE GO-GO BEAR: http://youtu.be/t94PKbSoC7Q

Background Info: This continues my bear theme and looks at a furry someone who used to have a luxurious life but who falls on hard times and has to make his living by alternative methods. It could have been about a man -- but I always think writing about an animal instantly gets the reader in a daft mindset.

That's it for now on the old videos, hopefully I'll find the other batch recorded in 2008 sometime soon; anyway - now it's time for us to move on to the next stage of my holiday...

Thursday 9th August:

Not a lot to report today as I'd only just returned from the Lakes, although I did post the Vimeo YETI SPAGHETTI video that I recently loaded onto Youtube. The ratings have been good for all the ones that I've loaded so far and have boosted some of the ones that have rather languished back on the other profile. Other than buying a new outfit for the forthcoming seaside jaunt Dm and I didn't go far - but watched a couple of horror films, an Italian one - The Case Of The Bloody Iris and a German one, The Phantom Of Soho. That is all!

Friday 10th August:

Today I headed to Broadstairs with Dan and Baz, but not before I completed and posted last week's blog post. Once in Broadstairs, after dinner, I completed the lyrics for a folk song parody which I hope to film whilst I'm down here - it's called I LOST MY HEART TO A CORNISH PASTY and I intend to perform it in the same style as last year's BALLAD OF THE PIE EATER... Managed a little editing before bed - getting the finished film down to around 20 minutes, but still have a lot to do on it!


Saturday 11th August:

I began the day by posting my old 2008 Vimeo video UNGRATEFUL VALENTINE onto Youtube - I only have one last to post now from that batch until I find more. After this Dan and I headed to the Poetry Breakfast at Number 23, Broadstairs. It was a good turnout and I decided to read YETI SPAGHETTI and Dan recorded it as you'll see when I put together my folk week video sometime next month, which is to be christened SHY YETI'S SEASIDE SHUFFLE. I did a lot of work for that episode today - in fact there will probably be two. If you'd like to see a bit of what I've been up to so far, then I've posted a three minute preview at the following links:

Youtube: http://youtu.be/nT93KeNGTX4

Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/47374431

SHY YETI'S SEASIDE PREVIEW is a preview of a forthcoming episode of SHY YETI ON LOCATION filmed on Saturday 11th August 2012 at Broadstairs Folk Festival. Shy Yeti even sings and plays guitar! Song, Music and lyrics by Paul Chandler. Incidental Music: Dan Hodges. This preview and the song contained are Copyright Paul Chandler 2012. The full episode SHY YETI'S SEASIDE SHUFFLE is next month.

So, anyway - after the open-mike, which I hope to return to during the week - Dan, Baz and I headed for the beach. Dan and I went swimming and I began work on recording my poem IS IT CHRISTMAS ALREADY? I also managed to eat two ice creams - banana and trifle flavours from Chiappinis and raspberry and wild fruits from Morellis. Which did I like best? A yeti does not tell! Ice cream is ice cream! You have to try hard to make it bad! Back at Dan's parent's house I decided to record some links for the new episode, Dan did some strumming and I pretended to be a pretentious guitarist. All this and I came up with and recorded a proper tune for the Cornish pasty song that I wrote yesterday. In fact I recorded it in several different styles - one of which you can see on the preview video. After editing that and eating more fish and chips we headed down to Broadstairs High Street to see some of the torchlight procession, which I recorded; it was all very Wicker Man!


Sunday 12th August:

Today was another busy day; but with plenty of relaxing too! I began with a little editing as usual and managed to write a whole poem before we even left the house. To be fair it was more of a lyric really and I do intend to come up with a tune for it at some stage. It's called MINE OWN MINOTAUR and is kinda inspired by a poem that I wrote late last year called NEVER MIND THE MINOTAUR that appears in ARE WE THERE, YETI!? That said I started it from scratch and it's definitely more of a song... After a swim and plenty of ice cream (apple, water melon, chocolate and honeycomb), I collected more folk festival footage - some dancing and a little sea shanty-ing. I also had a chance to finish the recording of IS IT CHRISTMAS ALREADY? and get some more Broadstairs views. Dinner was Chinese and that was pretty much it as I decided to down tools to watch the Olympic closing ceremony! Why were John Smallshaw and I not called in to save the day? Ah well... These people will never learn.

Monday 13th August:

Two full days left in Broadstairs - so I'm making the best of them and as usual I started the day with a little editing and typed up both I LOST MY HEART TO A CORNISH PASTY and MINE OWN MINOTAUR.

No swimming today, although the weather was probably good enough; however Dan and I did head down to Number 23 again for the Poetry Breakfast whilst Baz and Tony went off to do musical stuff and Helen enjoyed her coffee on the Prom. Poetry Breakfast was even more fun this morning than on Saturday, I would say and I got called up pretty early. I decided to read a very new piece - in fact I did a performance of I LOST MY HEART TO A CORNISH PASTY, which seemed to go down well. There were a lot of rhymers in today - and lot of funny pieces too, so I definitely felt at home. Dan recorded my piece, so that should appear in one of the SHY YETI'S SEA-SIDE SHUFFLE episodes once it is edited. That wasn't all though - I took a few more photos around the town and some footage of Dan playing guitar by the sea and also put the finishing touches to a piece that I started soon after we arrived here called THE BALLAD OF DEAD EYED BOB, which is also another song in waiting I would say. Our afternoon was quite leisurely and I spent some of it drinking coffee and writing down at Chiapinis and then the rest of it back at Tony and Helen's nattering to my mum and Dominic on the phone. That said Dan did record me doing a yeti dance and recording a relatively new poem called SWEATY YETI. On the way home I also bought myself a Cornish Pasty so that I could take photos of it to go with the poem. Oh... And as for ice cream, today my selected flavours were blackcurrant and cherry yoghurt!

Oh yes... And I decided today that I'm staying until Thursday! Hurrah!


Tuesday 14th August:

Today began with a little editing and creative stuff, as usual and then Dan and I returned to Poetry Breakfast, where I read my relatively new piece JOHN, I'M ONLY RHYMING - which seemed to go down well and which Dan recorded. After this we headed for coffee and I continued to collect more folk week sights and sounds. Around lunchtime we all headed into Margate to visit the Turner Exhibition - thankfully the exhibition was free, that's all I'm saying... None of us were terribly inspired, however if anyone would like to pay us millions for our doodles then we'll be happy to oblige. I also had a nice chat about poetry and self-publishing with a gentleman who ran an antiques and curios shop! Felt bad about not buying anything, to be honest - but Dan and Baz were waiting to eat! Lunch was a delicious black pudding, bacon and apple sandwich closely followed by a cream tea a little down the road. I decided to leave the others at this point and to walk the few miles between Margate and Broadstairs. The weather was awesome and my camera was fully charged. In the end I recorded an old piece that I had considered for Poetry Breakfast, a piece inspired by my gran called GRANDMA ETHEL KEEPS THEM DECENT. The walk took about 90 minutes with about 30 mins for poetry reading and 15 for ice cream and wasting money on the slot machines! Ice cream flavour of the day, from Morellis, was banana and strawberry.


Wednesday 15th August:

The plan today was to have returned to Poetry Breakfast where I was aiming to read a piece called MY LONG LOST FRIEND. However Dan wasn't feeling well and so I decided that it would probably be more fun to play hooky and head off down the coast towards Dumpton Gap, near Ramsgate. The weather wasn't half as good today and the sea was pretty rough, so I recorded a short piece of mine, THEY DON'T RHYME THEIR POEMS IN L.A. in one of the shelters by the Prom in Broadstairs and then for the rest of my walk I just filmed scenery, the odd link and a couple of sneaky yeti dances. Not a lot else was planned during the day, except for a little typing up of poems that I'd been working on during the holiday. Ice cream flavour of the day - this time from Chiapini's was Mandarin Sorbet and Tiramasu. Yes... I know, they don't exactly go well together - but they were still nice separately.

Thursday 16th August:

Began the day with a bit of editing, getting a bit closer to finishing the next episode of SHY YETI ON LOCATION at last! This episode seems to have taken ages despite me spending quite a bit of time on it this holiday. Anyway... Today we were heading home, but there was still time to go to Poetry Breakfast before all that. I had intended to read my piece MY LONG LOST FRIEND, but as there is one line that's not quite kiddy friendly and because two kids turned up, I went with my piece A LITTLE MOUSE instead! It all seemed to go well - and Dan was able to video it, so I'm sure some of it will appear in a future video. Before heading back we had coffee on the Prom and I was able to indulge in one last ice cream from Morellis - Strawberry Shortcake and Chocolate and raspberry. Very good indeed! After that we all headed home around 1 and I made it back to Yeti Towers by about 4... Now all I have to do is to back-up all the footage before I press delete by mistake! So excuse me, if you will... Phew. It's done!

As usual I'll post a few more photos from this trip once I start editing the Broadstairs episodes. Next week, well - I'm not entirely decided what I'll be posting exactly, although I will definitely be releasing the "lost" Hollywood video and perhaps posting a few more photos... We shall see! I'm sure you'll all be on tenderhooks - more soon!

Yeti hugs,

Paul xx

This post and its content are Copyright Paul Chandler 2012.