Christmas in France

Of course, the day we decide to do the Christmas food shopping it's pouring with rain. The water table needs topping up here in the Aude valley if the vines are to survive next summer, which if anything like this last year will be very hot and very dry. Vignerons around and about have lost many a vine to climate change in recent years, this and over-production for a lessening demand, especially from the young, does not bode well for one of the main parts of the rural French economy. 

But onwards, it's Noel and time to look for the light and eat far too much rich food. We've bought all kinds of things that we never normally consume like langoustines, oysters, foie gras and a capon, and have tired and failed to buy things we'd rather like, especially fresh cranberries. Oh well, when in the Languedoc...

Seasons Greetings all and more in the New Year, when I will be doing a huge number of readings all over the UK to promote my new book. Prepare to be thoroughly fed up with me until you give in and buy a copy. Details of where and when are on the Sublime Lungs page of this website. Do check back to see if I'm going to be near you as gigs are being added all the time.

What's in a Name

For years people have been asking me where the name for this website comes from, why the tree snake and so on. Here's the rationale:

Boomslang is indeed a rather deadly African snake that likes to hang out in trees - boom is the Dutch/Afrikaans for tree and slang for snake, but in English boom and slang seemed to me to be rather appropriate words for poetry, especially words read out loud and words played with. So there you have it, nothing too mysterious and the name does enable me to say something rather cheesy about poetry with a bite!

Here's an ancient preserved Boomslang from the museum in Swakopmund, Namibia for your delectation.