On 15th September 2023 I performed two poems at the Hastings Book Festival. This was the opening event for this year’s festival; a poetry open mic night, hosted by Henry Normal, with 16 poets competing for the votes of the 70-strong audience. I performed (from memory, apart from a stumble late in the second poem when I had to check my printout!) Don’t Buy a Cottage Too Close to a Cliff and Just the Three of Us. One of the festival volunteers who counted the votes told me I came third of the 16 contestants, missing out on second place by just one vote.