Of Poetry and Paradox

In other words, the open mic night at Kilvert's.
I took along a song (and Anne Brichto remembered singing from the same songbook at school - The Wild West, which went with a BBC schools radio programme) There were a couple of guitars, a banjo, and Briar learning violin by playing along. Chris brought his magnum opus along - and he is officially now a real writer. He's had a rejection letter from a real publisher! Which made three of us sitting round the table outside. I have some young adult fantasy novels stashed away that need a bit of work (the rejection letters were very nice ones) and Simon from Addyman's Annexe has had a couple too. Later, he recited some poetry which he and a friend have been translating from the Czech - and very good they were too. Islay, of course, charmed everybody - she may not perform, but she's a very good listener!
The Paradox is a beer. I don't know which brewery it's from. It's 10%, so they weren't selling it in pints - it was halves or thirds, or enough for a taste at £1. Anne reckoned it tasted like port that had been left out all night, and I could see her point, but it had a strong smoky aftertaste too, possibly because it was aged in a whisky cask. Very much a sipping beer. There was also North Star Porter from Flintshire brewery, which I started the evening with - which slipped down very pleasantly, too.