Helen Cross Writing

01/10/2026

What a lovely surprise on National Poetry Day today to see my poem come to life. It was so special to spend time with the artefacts of our ancestors from Britain's Pompeii. You can see the items that inspired mine and Tanya Cornwell 's poetry on display in Peterborough Museum.

19/09/2026

Coming soon!

04/09/2026

It was very cool, pardon the pun, to be chosen to appear on this new podcast and I love the soundscape they have created for my poem 'A Mother Remembers Antarctica'. ❄️🐧 Have a listen on your favourite podcast platform!

Now I Get It: A Poetry Podcast · Episode

19/08/2026

💥 Thanks Marv Gadgie for this fantastic review. It was great to trade zines with you and I'm looking forward to the next swap! 💥

Zine of the Day!
Since the start of the year, there has been a steady flow of fanzines arriving at Gadgie Towers, so let's have a geg at 'em all. Give em a like, a follow, a share and all that, but more importantly, much more importantly ... buy a copy! Go on then!

Zine of the Day Number 10
RAGIN' #5
Out of Peterborough, Ragin' is a new one to me, and a welcome addition to the zine pile in the Gadgie Towers Thrash Parlour. Helen invites contributors to pen an article, write an opinion piece, conjure up a poem, paint a picture, put together a collage or whatever and adds it to her own work. This particular issue has responses to a day out at the Natural History Museum, online adverts, people joking about nationality, ageism in music (by our good mate Paul Initonit), trees (and I do love a good tree me), religious belief, aging ... there's quite the mix of subjects to get in to and the formats vary greatly - poetry, thoughts, rants, paintings, collage art. A most impressive work of art before you even get to the content. Very much an old school cut n paste approach, it looks like it was created with a typewrite, glue stick and scissors in the 1990s, which is a recommendation if you hadn't realised. Helen creativity is not confined to Ragin' though; a second zine came along with this one, dedicated to cats! "A love letter to feline friends!" is one for all you who have a moggy for a mate. There's plenty more writing online by the look of it too.

#5 has art, poetry, rantings and ravings and as the cover says is "hormonal, hysterical, had enough of your s**t".

I believe there are at least another two newer issues out there since this one arrived too and there's plenty more writing on line from Helen.

https://www.instagram.com/rocktheroadlesstravelled/

01/08/2026

I'm really looking forward to running a poetry workshop at the Wild about Cambridgeshire festival. I've had some of my most special animal encounters in Nene Park and protecting their habitats is a cause close to my heart.
🦦 🦊🦔🐿🦌🦉

Celebrate nature, wildlife and the great outdoors at Ferry Meadows as it hosts Wild About Cambridgeshire, a fantastic free family festival in September.

09/07/2026

It was truly inspirational to attend the celebration of the five year 'Your Community Greenspace' project at Nene Park today. The magnitude and impact of the project shows how much can be achieved when passionate people engage with communities with open ears and hearts and a real desire to make life better. Dr Lindsey Holmes showed by the exchanging of skills, supporting local businesses and paying artists fairly you can be the change you want to see in the world. I really enjoyed Teddi's speech about the identities project and how important representation and safe spaces are for the lgbtqia+ community. Nene Park has shown putting up a Pride logo once a year is not enough.

I had never visited Nene Nursery before but the site is fantastic and brimming with possibilities for the future. I was interested to hear how local schoolchildren have enjoyed the space. It made me think about the possibility of engaging those who have missed chunks of education and suffered with their mental health due to struggling in academy schools.

Here's hoping this important work can be built on.

07/07/2026

Warning: this podcast may lead to more books entering your TBR pile! What an absolute honour to have my poem 'A letter to the alpaca who broke my sister's shoulder' feature on this episode and then hear what Joelle Taylor, Mark Grist & Charley Genever thought about it. 🦙🦙🦙 Have a listen and be inspired to write something outside of your comfort zone!

New Episode now live!
We sat down with Joelle Taylor and discuss; Why poetry is a verb, not just a noun.
Building worlds beyond the page.
Writing with cinematic imagery.
Community, collaboration and supporting other writers.
Stage fright, confidence and finding your voice.
How poems can become theatre, opera and much more.

Featured poets:

Edalia Day
Helen Cross

Featured book:

Maryville by Joelle Taylor

📚 Buy a copy of Maryville: https://www.poetrybooks.co.uk/products/maryville-by-joelle-taylor?srsltid=AfmBOorq7P-_kt4qTiY6CoDR60nxUERH6-Rm1e2mRxX2JTCYQzYFbOrw

📝 Edalia Day: https://www.edaliaday.co.uk/poetry

📩 Send us your poems or questions:
[email protected]