Greetings good people!

I would like to take this opportunity to announce the death of the Poems & Pints evening.

Words & Things is proud to present our new event: The Open Mic Roadshow!

Following the success of the last Poems & Pints evening, it has been agreed to re-brand this event. The reason for this is to take it away from solely being about poetry and to introduce a more open forum for people to air their talents. The likes of Chris Bellamy, Duncan Miller from Random Acts Productions and Peter Beeston of the Cornucopia Radio Show, added an extra dimension to the proceedings with their mixture of wit, humour and precision performance, taking the spotlight away from poetry and creating a new and exciting edge to the event.

The Open Mic Roadshow will now be held on the first Monday of the month in the Roebuck Tavern, Charles Street. The next one being on Monday 1st September at 7.30pm.

There will be the usual motley crew of Paul Amber, myself, the Pompey Pirate, the "Bard Of Broomhill" herself Ruth Grimsley and friends in attendance; as well as performances from Joe McGee, the resident W&T blues/folk guitarist, Phillip Hartley, an extremely talented local folk musician, and anyone else who wishes to perform on the evening.

There will be a buffet provided by the good people at the Roebuck Tavern, a raffle and prizes to be won throughout the night, some of which have been provided by one of our major sponsors, the Union Fish Bar.

So, if you're writer, a poet, a genius and know it, a musician, even a budding comedian, come and entertain the masses. Even if you're not willing to perform, just come along for a raucous night of fun, frolics and laughter. Entry is free as we do it just for the love of the spoken word!

Hope to see you all there - Monday 1st September, 7.30pm @ The Roebuck Tavern.

Well, all I can say is, if you weren't there you missed a treat!

That was our best night so far. So many people to thank.

Firstly, a huge thank you to the musicians who performed. I'm going to start with Sophie who was a newcomer. She'd only found out about the night by accident after trying to find information about open mic events. It was a stroke of luck for us that she turned up as she gave a beautiful performance. Sophie, if you do read this, please contact Words & Things as we'd like to be in contact with you about our future events.

Then there was Matt and Tom who played their hearts out and gave a quite progressive edge to the evening. P.S. Sorry about the lack of mics! We'll sort it for next time.

There was a slot by our resident guitarist Joe McGee who was, as always, outstanding. Thanks dude, you know we love you!

Finally, there was Iona who gave her all in delivering a folk vibe that harked back to simpler times with a beautiful voice and melodies.

There was the usual crowd to provide the poetry, including the Bard of Broomhill herself Ruth, Paul Amber, the Pompey Pirate and even I crept in with one.

To offer a hilarious slant on the evening were Chris Bellamy and Duncan Miller. Their second performance with us was an absolute treat and had everyone in stitches. I advise you to listen to the stream of the event on the Words & Things website and hear their performance. If you don't, there really is something wrong with your head!

Thanks to everyone else who performed, especially two poets who came all the way from Stoke On Trent. It would appear that world domination is afoot afterall!

Please keep an eye out for our future events. It's the best fun you can have for free!!!