Winning the Bang Said the Gun Poetry Slam!

I've come second and third several times. But this was the first time I actually won a poetry slam! And not any poetry slam ... Bang Said the Gun is a poetry collective that runs a weekly poetry night in south London. They took their show to Edinburgh Fringe Festival and were awarded with 5 stars. I can only but agree!

I happened to be a London for two reasons:

1. Taking part in Jacob Sam-La Rose's excellent masterclass on running poetry workshops for young people (organised by Apples & Snakes)
2. The yearly YLG (Youth Library Group) Conference

I had no idea that the third reason for my London stay would be Bang Said the Gun. I only found out about it a few hours before the show kicked off, and decided on a whim to perform Making Over My Landlord, so maybe the spontaneity contributed to winning: I was quite relaxed, and did it for fun. And fun it was. On the tables were empty plastic milk containers filled with little stones (???) for the audience to rattle. It felt like being part of a massive maraca orchestra.
Here is special guest Will Stopha performing a very topical piece about robots. Note his matching top!
I was also very impressed by Richard Marsch's and Katy Bonna's poet duet. They performed a piece about stag and hen nights ...
Me with my trophy: a golden welly boot gun! And best of all I got invited back to perform at the next event which is Thursday this week! 8pm at the Roebuck Pub in Great Dover Street, London (nearest tube is Borough) Join the Bang!