Our October meeting should have seen Helen Hoyte MBE, the Norwich Shawl expert, share her detailed knowledge with us. Unfortunately acute laryngitis prevented her visit. At such short notice Margaret did well to track down Paul Binney to talk about his poetry. In his words, he came off the subs bench!
Paul's presentation was on behalf of Christian Aid in Burkina Faso. For every pound raised the European Union adds four pounds for the cause. Posing the question “Where do poems come from?” he explained that his love of travelling in Norfolk and elsewhere is the source of his inspiration.
Travelling to Burnham Overy Staithe via South Creake he noticed a sign for an old razor blade factory which triggered a humorous poem about a close hair cut. Next came reference to Arthur Mee's book 'King's England' which is divided into counties. Inspired by 'Norfolk', he wrote a poem about its old churches including Little Snoring.
Discovering the duplicated blac and white memorials to Edward Thurlow, who died in 1847, in the cloisters of Norwich Cathedral, Paul realised that this was surrounded by similar memorials to the whole Thurlow family. This produced a rhyming comic poem imagining the story of the family.
A visit to Dubrovnik in Croatia inspired a poem 'The Rector's Cat'. The multi-coloured roofs of the town with a sleepy cat had to be remembered. Nunnington Hall,a National Trust property in Yorkshire, was the most interesting example of inspiration for poetry. Gaps in the floor-boards at the Hall have revealed three playing cards, chess pieces, toy bricks a mummified mouse, toy scissors and needles amongst other things. His poem imagined Lord Preston's young daughter Catherine handling these objects. He even found a portrait in the Fitzwilliam Museum which he imagined to be of Catherine.
Paul finished his fascinating and well illustrated talk with the words “This is where poems come from”.
Anne Jones