Competitions are springing up all over the place. Competitions in competition with competitions.

The deadline for Ambit reviews is tomorrow. That means I have to stop thinking and start writing.

It always rolls past somehow or other. This time I was dipping in and out of three books I'm reviewing this week, while wondering (this thought continually recurs to me) why somebody would read a collection of poetry. By choice, I mean.

It was a close call. During this last week of college work, I wasn't sure I would actually make it to Friday. But it's amazing how this always somehow happens (or has always somehow happened so far). I've just read that Adrian Mitchell has left the world. People are fragile. We don't continue forever.

Somehow, I seem to have missed flagging the fact that Eleanor recently won the Second Light Poetry competition. Yeay!! (http://www.secondlightlive.co.uk/news.shtml#Comp). Please cut and paste that link - Wordpress won't let me add it as live link, because I should have put it in back at the start...

The launch of four pamphlets and the seasonal merriment last Saturday went beautifully. There was a really lovely atmosphere, especially with Edinburgh bathed in frosty chill outside. The Mai Thai restaurant did us proud - -and I think it was the most packed launch we have ever had. All four poets did masterful readings, and there were poet pop-ups in between.