Third episode of "How I Ended Up on a Small Island" online now!

Well it's here at last. The third episode of my Canadian series is now out! You can listen here and let me know what you think: http://peopletalk.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=446841

About the program:

Episode Three: Why I'm here instead of there.

Heather Taylor is a Canadian writer and actress who left the un-congested lands of Canada's endless open prairies; where Albertans talk slower and enjoy more space: and travelled halfway around the world, choosing to live in one of the most crowded places on the planet, England.

This series highlights the strange and sometimes unexpected experiences of her new home while interacting with the local inhabitants; their strange customs and exotic architecture make Heather feel that she has stepped into a different world. She gives us, the listener an insight into her thoughts from the New World to her experiences of living in the old world of Shakespeare surrounded by millions of people.

The third episode in the series, Why I’m Here Instead of There, explores the positive and negative aspects of moving to a new country on the other side of the world and why despite that, Heather still wants to stay.

http://peopletalk.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=446841

More than like...

Today, I fell in love again with London.

It starts as another normal day. I'm running late - a usual thing that has plagued my life since childhood - and text the office. I am supposed to be in for an 8 am meeting. I am not built for 8 am. Nor 9. Nor 10. In response I get "Roger roger."

I nod my way through an hour of numbers and recession talks before a few hours of research and copy writing. As a way out into the sunshine, I volunteer to get my boss's lunch and he asks for something healthy ("soup with some kick") and something unhealthy to counter it ("like a cookie"). Those in the office explain how to get to EAT where these things must be bought from. I follow the instructions and end up going through the legs of something 5 stories high that can only be described as modern sculpture and enter a glass oasis of high end shops. Eat. Pret. M&S. Costa. All hidden away from the congested streets. Food bought, I head through the walkway of glass and glimpse a huge cathedral I'd never seen before. How could I have never noticed a church that big after living in London for 7 years. I look again. Yep. It's still there. Round the corner and it disappears behind the skyscrapers as if it never existed. I feel like a tourist all over again.

The day moves on to it's end and I'm off to an audition with a commercial agent. After having to explain the difference between a Canadian and an American accent (how do you REALLY explain how accents are different?), I'm back out in the sunshine. It's warm and windless and the city workers are jacketless, drinking pints in the street. I'm walking through the winding streets, through a leafy campus I've never seen before, past the halls of justice, over the waterloo bridge and down the southbank.

I settle on a bench across the river from the Houses of Parliment. As people head home to dinner and tucked in children, I pull out Steven King's "On Writing." It's a rare moment between rushing places and working and doing and I take a moment to read. My I-pod is in one ear and the chiming of Big Ben fills the other. After I read King's discription of the phone call telling him he sold his first novel and the joy it brought, I close the book and take London in. Jets cross the sky and leave trails of pink streamers as the buildings sparkle like discoballs bathed in firelight.

I love this place. If only I could hug London - how do you embrace one of the largest cities in the world? More than 7 years here and I can't think of any place I would rather be.

Today, I fell in love again with London.

March Newsletter

The year has started and then promptly ran away from me as it's now the beginning of March! I have some gigs and the like coming up so if you're in London and want to come out and play, please come and join me. Other than gigs, I'm also in a new anthology and have a few pieces and an interview on the intermanet that you can listen to whenever you fancy.

For those looking for a workshop in creative writing, performance or corporate training, please contact me on info@heathertaylor.co.uk or find out more about what I do in the corporate sector through Red on Black Corporate (http://www.redonblackcorporate.com ).


::POETRY::

The third tall lighthouse anthology, city lighthouse, is now available following an amazing launch at the poetry cafe on 5th February - its only £6 for 130+ pgaes of poetry from 50 poets featuring some of the best contemporary poets around at the moment (including me!)...Click here to see more: http://www.tall-lighthouse.co.uk/publications.html


Angel Poetry
Thursday, 12 March, 2009 : 7 pm
Waterstones, 11 Islington Green, London, N1 2XH
FREE
Nearest Tube: Angel
Map: http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=531690&y=183686&z=0&sv=N1+2XH&st=2&pc=N1+2XH&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf

This monthly night has now moved to a new home in Waterstones which is just down the road from Borders! Snuggled in the very cosey history section, listen to readings by Heather Taylor, Nick Field and Bros Grim. There are also floor spots available on the night, so just turn up and let the host, Agnes Meadows, know you want to read.


A Case of You - Canadian Poetry night
Thursday, 2nd April 2009 : 7 pm
Poetry Cafe, 22 Betterton Street, Covent Garden, London
£5/£4
Nearest Tube: Covent Garden

Tall Lighthouse's new regular slot at the poetry cafe is now the first thursday of every month. This month is a special feature night featuring Todd Swift, Sarah Bynoe, Pierre Ringwald with Heather Taylor (MC)

plus OPEN-MIC


Loose Muse
Wednesday, 9 April, 2009 : 8 pm
Poetry Cafe, 22 Betterton Street, Covent Garden, London
£5/£3
Nearest Tube: Covent Garden

This is London’s only regular event for women writers of all genres, with a warm and wonderful open mike sharing session, plus two featured writers each month. And there are plenty of chances for you to come read your own work in the open mike readings from the floor.


3rd Annual Haliburton Literary Evening
Tuesday, 21 April, 2009 : 7 pm
The Pembroke Pub, 261 Old Brompton Road, SW5 9JA
£5/£4
Nearest Tube: Earls Court or West Brompton
Map: http://www.streetmap.co.uk/map.srf?x=525627&y=178188&z=0&sv=SW5+9JA&st=2&pc=SW5+9JA&mapp=map.srf&searchp=ids.srf
More info: http://www.networkcanada.org/news/eventdetails.asp?EventID=685

In the tradition of this literary soirée, a low-key evening of readings, discussion and music awaits at The Pembroke Pub, a venue that provides the pefect ambiance to showcase our line-up of Canadian literary talent.

With its proximity to Earl's Court Exhibition Centre, it is the ideal stopping point after a day spent at the book fair.

Proceeds from this event benefit the Maple Leaf Trust. www.mapleleaftrust.org


The Corset Club
Wednesday, 22 April, 2009 : 7 pm
The Cavendish Arms, 128 Hartington Rd, London, SW8 2HJ
£5/£3
Nearest Tube: Stockwell
Map: http://www.streetmap.co.uk/newmap.srf?x=530124&y=176949&z=0&sv=SW8+2HJ&st=2&pc=SW8+2HJ&mapp=newmap.srf&searchp=newsearch.srf
Hothouse and Red on Black Productions presents this new Tri-yearly event. Our upcoming Corset Club includes the Singer, songwriter, multi-instrumental, alternative folk, neo-medieval experimentalist Marie-Claire Calvet, the delightful poet Katrina Naomi and the devilishly delicious caberet artist Nadia Nadif accompanied by Ada. Hosted by the delectable Agnes Meadows. Join us for a night of great performances with plenty of time to chat, network and drink with artists from all different backgrounds. Come get undone…

For more information, see www.redonblackproductions.com or e-mail them on corsetclub@redonblackproductions.com


::PODCASTS::

New UK Poetry Podcast interview and poetry online now at http://www.ukpoetrypodcast.com/ (Episodes 77 and 78)


How I ended up on a Small Island
Listen here: http://peopletalk.libsyn.com/

This series highlights the strange and sometimes unexpected experiences of Heather Taylor's new home of England while interacting with the local inhabitants; their strange customs and exotic architecture make Heather feel that she has stepped into a different world. She gives us, the listener an insight into her thoughts from the New World to her experiences of living in the old world of Shakespeare surrounded by millions of people.

Find out how she got here and why she decided to stay...
Episode 1 : http://peopletalk.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=404037
Episode 2 : http://peopletalk.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=430487

MORE EPISODES will be out over the next month or so so stay tuned!


::THEATRE::

I'm currently working on a new short play for The Story Project produced by Ugly Sister productions. My idea is to create a verbatim play (as I've never done one before and thought it would be fun to do) so I'm looking for some answers to the following questions:

1) If you had to describe what a story is to a baby/ alien/ child raised by wolves, how would you describe it?
2) What is your favorite story?
3) What does a story have to do to make you cry?
4) What does a story have to do to make you laugh?
5) What story do you tell all the time? Please tell it to us. Pleeeease. Pretty please.
6) What was the last item of news that you remember/ was moved by? Why did it have staying power?
7) When is a lie OK?

Please send in via comment, e-mail, post card or carrier pigeon - whatever works best for you by 16 March, 2009. Thanks in advance for your help - you're all brilliant!


::WORKSHOPS::

I've been doing all sorts of workshops lately. I've just started up a new writers group at the Jubilee Library in Brighton (have one more session left with them next month) and finished a writers recidency in Hastings with a Year 6 class. They were hilariously fun. When I asked what the thing that made them like a story was they said giant worms. If only their were more stories about them. In March/ April, I'll be doing some workshops in Newham for 60+ participants with Spread the Word. I'm really looking forward to it.


::FILM::

The Last Thakur @ Rich Mix

26 March, 2009 : 7:30 pm (Bangladesh Independence Day)
RICH MIX, 35 - 47 Bethnal Green Road, London, E1 6LA
Tix: £8.80
Nearest Tube: Liverpool Street Station

To book online, go to http://www.viewtickets.co.uk/club-tickets-11554.html or call 020 7613 7498.

The Blurb:
UK film-maker Sadik Ahmed directs this intense contemporary Western,
which takes place in a remote town in the marshlands of Bangladesh. A mysterious young man, Kala, arrives armed with a rifle. He immediately creates a stir in the small town and especially attracts the attention of two rival leaders: the ruthless and powerful Chairman who runs the place and purports to represent his people and the one man that stands in his way: the local Thakur, one of the last Hindu landlords, who is manically re-claiming all the surrounding land for which loans remain un-paid in order to build a temple.

Walking into the middle of this bitter feud, Kala soon finds himself approached by both men to take their side. Broke and hungry, Kala begins to bargain with them, but he is here on his own mission, to find the man that raped and killed his mother and take his revenge. Some of Bangladesh's finest theatre performers offer great performances. Ahmed's training as a cinematographer is clearly evident in the bold picturisation of haunting landscapes and hollow-face-men with murder on their minds.

Directed by: Sadik Ahmed
Written by: Heather Taylor, Sadik Ahmed
Cast: Tariq Anam, Tanveer Hasan, Rubel Ahmed, Anisur Rahman Milon
Distributor: Artificial Eye
Country: UK-Bangladesh
Year: 2008
Running time: 81min


::IN OTHER NEWS::


My poetry publishers Tall Lighthouse have just set up a facebook group http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=50232479706. Be their facebook friend and find out about upcoming events, launches and publications.


Apples and Snakes have launched a really cool virtual writers’ residency called My Place or Yours – www.myplaceoryours.org. Check it out and leave your comments online.


ABOUT HEATHER TAYLOR:
Heather Taylor is a writer, performer and educator whose writing has been performed and published throughout Europe, Asia and North America. She recently graduated with an MA with Distinction (Plays and Scripts) from City University and her first feature film, The Last Thakur, premiered at the London Film Festival in 2008. Her full collection horizon & back was published by Tall Lighthouse in October 2005 and her next collection of poetry and short fiction will be out in the autumn, 2009. As a playwright, her work has been seen at the Tricycle, Soho Theatre, Greenwich, the Pleasance, & Theatre 503 in London as well as in various venues throughout the UK and Canada.

Freaking out - Airport style

When my friend, Sara, and I travelled to Berlin a couple weeks ago, we came across a sight that was a bit disturbing. At the check out desk, a grown man, in a very nice, very expessive suit was freaking out. Now this wasn't just a yelling at the guy behind the desk kinda thing, but a jumping up and down, throwing shit, falling to the floor, flailing about temper tantrum. Now this was strange. He didn't look like someone who would be freaking out but yet...he was.

Now this seemed to be an isolated event. Seem is the oprative word. Today I was reading the Metro (the free London paper which everyone reads - really they could print anything, and as most people use it as thier main source of news, they would believe it hands down). In it, in a little side column, was a story called "Airline sorry for 'tantrum' weblink.' I think...hmmm....is this the airline that flies to Berlin? Was that the man???

Well it turns out, no. The little blip read as follows: "Airline Cathay Pacific has apologised to a customer after a video of her having a tantrum after missing a flight was posted on YouTube. The three-minute clip shows the woman wailing, throwing herself on the floor, banging the counter and trying to barge past staff at Hong Kong Airport after she narrowly missed a flight. It was filmed by an employee and has drawn 4.97m views and 18,000 comments since being posted on the web. The airline said it was sorry for the embarrassment caused and the worker responsible had been disciplined."

I watched it and it was like I was in Berlin all over again. Except with subtitles. Click here to watch it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=goGLe3B-8yk . Wonder how many hits the berlin guy woulda got if I felt so inclined to film it....

The bucket list

I saw this on facebook and thought I'd do it too. I've actually done quite a lot on there! So here are some things I've done during my lifetime:

(x) Gone on a blind date
(x) Skipped school
( ) Watched someone die
(x) Been to Canada
( ) Been to Mexico
( ) Been to Japan or China
(x) Been to Florida
( ) Been to Hawaii
(x) Been on a plane
( ) Been on a helicopter
(x) Been lost
( ) Gone to Washington, DC
(x) Swam in the ocean
(x) Surfed or body surfed in the ocean
(x) Played cops and robbers
(x) Recently colored with crayons
(x) Sang Karaoke
(x) Stolen money from your mom's purse
(x) Paid for a meal with coins only
( ) Been to the top of the St. Louis Arch
(x) Done something you told yourself you wouldn't.
(x) Made prank phone calls
( ) Been down Bourbon Street in New Orleans
(x) Laughed until some kind of beverage came out of your nose & elsewhere
(x) Caught a snowflake on your tongue
(x) Danced in the rain
(x) Written a letter to Santa Claus
(x) Been kissed under the mistletoe
(x) Exchanged the same piece of gum with someone
(x) Watched the sunrise with someone
(x) Blown bubbles
(x) Gone ice-skating
(x) Gone to the movies
( ) Been deep sea fishing
( ) Driven across the United States (more or less)
( ) Been in a hot air balloon
( ) Been sky diving
(x) Have met a movie star
(x) Gone snowmobiling
(x) Lived in more than one country
(x) Lay down outside at night and admired the stars while listening to the crickets
(x) Seen a falling star and made a wish
( ) Enjoyed the beauty of Old Faithful Geyser
(x) Seen the Statue of Liberty
( ) Gone to the top of Seattle Space Needle
( ) Been on a cruise
(x) Traveled by train
(x) Traveled by motorcycle
(x) Been horse back riding
(x) Ridden on a San Francisco CABLE CAR
( ) Been to Disneyland
(x) Been to Disney World
(x) Played a sport in high school
(x) Truly believe in the power of prayer
( ) Been in a rain forest
( ) Seen whales in the ocean
( ) Been to Niagara Falls
(x) Ridden on an elephant
(x) Have touched a live monkey
( ) Swam with dolphins
( ) Been to the Olympics
( ) Played semi or professional sports
( ) Walked on the Great Wall of China
(x) Been water-skiing
(x) Been snow-skiing
(x) Been to Westminster Abbey
(x) Been to the Louvre
(x) Swam in the Mediterranean
(x) Been to a Major League Baseball game
(x) Been to a National Football League game
( ) Installed a toilet
(x) Been the first to say "I love you"