Hello Friends, this episode has been a long time coming in a few ways. One, Toby Campion has been on my hit list for many many years so it was a delight to finally get him over to Margate. The last time we were on stage together was at the Royal Albert Hall (!) and this was just as magic. It has also been delayed in coming out because I've had an a…

Hello friends! Our penultimate episode of series three brings to Margate the ultimate legend that is Laurie Bolger! It's impossible to listen to Laurie and not have a smile on your face so get your cheeks ready and dive on in. I celebrate having a brand new book out and Laurie clebrates having two brand new books out. I also share some big news tha…

A lovely time with a local legend! Brigitte was on my wishlist for Something Borrowed for a while when out of nowhere I got a voice note from her asking if she could come on because she reckoned she'd be good at it - It was meant to be! Also she was 100% correct, as not only our best-dressed guest of all time, but a wonderful mix of storytelling, s…

We're back baby - February's edition saw the wonderful Georgie Jones come to Margate! It was our first time meeting in person but you wouldn't know because it was a vibey vibey time from start to finish. We talk slams, online vs in person performances, trying to write a poem a day for a whole month and much much more. Poems cover topics such as Gym…

Happy New Year! I am single handedly extending the January blues by taking 6 weeks to edit this but i think we can all agree it is worth the wait. Raymond Antrobus is a poetry legend. It has been over a decade since we first shared a stage together and it has been a joy to see his work flourish since then, and an even bigger joy to find out that he…

A mildly festive version of the podcast, in that I shoehorned Christmas into a few of my poems and Will made us delicious boozy hot chocolates while we recorded. I was having so much fun with this chat that it is the longest episode we ever recorded, before being ruthlessly trimmed down to just under an hour of pure gold. I share my epic Christmas …

Surprise! We interrupt your monthly recordings for a bonus episode with the one and only Donna Ashworth - My reading of Donna's poem went viral on instagram which means I now have a new cult following of mostly American Yoga instructors, and quite frankly I am here for it. One of the many lovely things that have come out of this is me and Donna wer…

Hello friends, and welcome to possibly my favourite episode we've ever done! Gemma is a fantastic poet and a warm and wonderful human, and in this episode we cover the big three Ps, Palestine, Pegging and Postcodes, as well as so much more. This episode was recorded live in Margate and you could feel the magic in the room, so I really hope is trans…

Hello Friends! The something borrowed train continues to steam ahead and this month we have on board the fantastic Neelam Saradia-Brayley! This was such a gorgeous conversation to have at a time when the rain outside seemed to reflect a general sense of foreboding about the world in general, and yet there was light and warmth within! We covered wed…

It's Harry and Chris! The Comedy-Rap-Jazz pioneers are reunited live on stage in front of a beautiful Margate audience. Chris shares a couple of absolute stunners, I go as old as possible for my Something Old, there is a glorious freestyle moment involving Robbie Williams, and even a spontaneous extra jazz song, something nobody has ever asked for …

We're back with a live studio audience! Season 3 kicks off in my beloved hometown of Margate for what will hopefully be a monthly occurrence of being joined by a special guest to share something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. To kick off this chapter/season I've got fan fave Helen Seymour for a glorious time including a …

Happy Easter! This week I am joined by the completely wonderful Inua Ellams, a fantastic poet and playwright who I last shared a stage with in a crowded basement in early March 2020 in one of the last gigs pre-pandemic. Since then he had had his debut full collection of poetry The Actual published and it is completely gorgeous, we also talk about h…

Welcome back! This week I am joined by fellow Roundhouse Poetry Collective alumni and brilliant musician Isabel. As well as a shared love for attempting covers of pop songs with cheap keyboards and mutual appreciation of Zia Ahmed, we discuss the sea and water in general, as well as the power of poetry to shift our view on the world. Izzy's Somethi…

Hey friends, we have a birthday special this week! Not only is it my birthday and sort of the birthday of the show (after first trying out the format on a little thing called Instagram live as a mini-party online because we were just entering a pandemic..) it is also the birthday of my mum, Grace, AND my fabulous guest, the wonderful Jake Wild Hall…

It's Episode 2! This week it was such a treat to get to speak to and hear from the Wonderful Zena Kazeme - We both shared some old old poems and some new old poems, as well as borrowing some stunners from our all-time faves, before finishing on a slightly blue mood (with a caveat of hope!). We also touch on how poems can be both light and heavy, ti…

We're back baby! Season 2 of Something borrowed kicking off with a bang in the form of the lizardy wizard Gecko. Since season 1 Gecko has released a new album from which he treats us to a new song, as well as a gorgeous cover, another creative response to something blue and a song I love so much he played it at my wedding, but which has found new l…

It's the season Finale! The Incredible Rachel Long, founder of Octavia Collective and author of the brand new My Darling From The Lions joined me on Zoom and I can't think a more perfect way to bring season one to a close. Alongside me sharing two poems on the environment 10 years apart, we talk about the shift of language and how old poems morph i…

Episode 19 brings us the unstoppable force of joy and energy and truth that is Josh Idehen. Live from Stockholm, Josh single-handedly makes up for me not having been able to perform to audiences full of people for 6 months. We have poetry wheel-ups, we discuss Arch Nemes-lines, Josh brings a new old and a new new poem as well as borrowing two that …

Hey friends! This weeks episode was an absolute delight - Featuring the wonderful Katie Ailes, we go from flooffy cats to quakerism via Norwegian death metal and insta-poetry, there's a spontaneous story time and some one-direction Karaoke, but mainly some lovely lovely poems and warm and wise chat in-between. We shared some Jo Bell and George The …

We're back baby - This week we have the glorious Hollie Mcnish! One of my favourite poets and people in general, a fellow member of Team GB slam team with myself and Vanessa Kisuule once upon a time, and all round hero. My something old this week is the first poem I ever wrote, and Hollie kicks off with a Scottish-ish theme, we talk about the joys …

Special Bonus Episode! This week marked the release of the music video for 'So Viele Leute', a song originally debuted as the 'something new' for Episode 13 with James Kiely, and to celebrate we have the full track in its mastered glory for your ears, as well as some context on how it came about. You can listen to the standalone track on Spotify He…

Hey Friends - Episode brings us the one and only Bridget Minamore! A brilliant poet and reluctant lockdown-gigger, it is a rare treat to be able to have Bridget share some of her fantastic poems with us, as well as talking all things Brainchild Festival, Roundhouse Poetry Collective, Rap Battles and beyond. As well as revealing how a bacon sandwich…

Hey friends - This weeks episode is the first one where my guest has been in the same room as me! Introducing a man who was next door to me in halls for a year and who has been quarantined with me for the last month, It's the one and only James Kiely ! As well as sharing our seminal hit 'I love Christmas', we feature a world premiere debut of an im…

Hey Friends - episode 13 brings us one of my favourite poets I've come across in the last year and my now very good friend, Helen Seymour! Helen kicks us off with the best poem about a mammoth you will ever hear before sharing something from her new collection she is working on, then calls a taxi with unexpected consequences and finishes with a ren…

Hey Friends! Welcome to episode 12 of something borrowed featuring fantastic poet and recent UK representative at the World Poetry Slam via Zoom screen share (!) Tyrone Lewis. We talk about how it is to have your poetry judged in different languages and what references may or may not make sense. I share my thoughts on So Solid Crew's 21 seconds to …

Hey friends - this weeks episode brings us the completely wonderful Tony Walsh, one of my favourite poets in the country and another guest who I feel like I could talk to for hours. We geek out over the nerdiness of rhyme and how it can be used for the serious as well as the frivolous, we both try and capture the movement of music in poems. I share…

Hey Friends - This episode brings us back firmly into the world of music with the glorious Phoebe Katis! Phoebe is a fellow fringe-r, a good friend and a brilliant musician, and her new album came out this week! We're lucky enough to hear some of the new tracks from it as well as some classic Carole King and an extra very special Something Borrowed…

Hey friends - Episode 9 brings us the warm and wonderful Malaika Kegode! I got to know Malaika when I moved to Bristol where she now runs her fantastic Milk poetry nights which we talk about in the show, she finds something really old to share with us, as well as some poems from her new (shiny!) book and her borrowed poem being Thom Gunn's The Hug …

Episode 8 brings us one of my absolute favourite people from poetry world - the wonderful Mark Grist! Amongst other things we discuss how we went head to head in my first ever slam, the art of univocalisms, the joy of performing at weddings, and what is or isn't a poem. For my Something Borrowed this week I share an absolute fave with Dr Seuss's Oh…

Episode 7 features one of my favourite poets I've come across since moving to Kent - Neelam Saredia-Brayley is a fantastic writer and performer and even managed to upgrade my textbook response of "come onn" to an "Oh My God!" in this episode. We cover #NaPoWriMo, lockdown haircuts, Shrek and whales among other things - for my something borrowed I s…

Hey friends - I hope you're ready for a whole heap of heartwarming bromance because we definitely were when we recorded this. This weeks guest is the glorious musician and dear friend of the show Chris Read! For my something old I go back to one of the first things we ever performed together, before bringing the love in our new work. I share some P…

Episode 5 brings us the wonderful poetry of Setareh Ebrahimi. We talk about the power of poetry to connect, a mutual Margate friend, and the truest interpretation of something blue yet. Also contains falafel and dinosaurs. Enjoy! You can find Set's book here (and to be honest anything by Bad Betty is worth checking out) or follow her on twitter or …

Hey Friends. Episode 4 brings us Edinburgh Fringe Festival best Newcomer and Star of Last Christmas - Bilal Zafar! Our Inaugural comedian on the show and an absolute pleasure at that. We discuss how Bilal almost died when we first met, our mutual love of Greenbelt festival, trusting yourself vs trusting your audience, and our favourite Pizza toppin…

A Speakeasy special! In place of the regular night I run in Canterbury in these irregular times, the show must go on(line) - Episode 3 brings us the wonderful Birdspeed, who is the UK Triple Crown 2019 Slam champion and was a perfect guest to have on this weeks show. I share a fave from Mary Oliver and Birdspeed brings us some Robert Georges, I ack…

Episode 2 brings us the wonderful lizardy lyrical wizard that is Gecko. SOmeone I will never tire of hearing perform, he manages to mix the heartfelt and the laugh-out-loud in ways I feel we all need more than ever. This weeks borrowed somethings include classics from the Jungle Book and Michael Rosen, we get a gorgeous acoustic version of Gecko's …

Welcome to Something Borrowed - A performance/chat/general fun time hosted by World Slam Champion Harry Baker. The first ever guest is the wonderfully warm and wickedly talented Erin Bolens! Self-described in this moment as 'enthusiastic and chaotic', she is a breath of fresh air that we all need as we are not allowed to leave our homes. We reminis…