Blackburn Central Library

Amazing author event at Blackburn Central Library! 

Part of the excellent Lancashire Stories project

Fantastic Lancashire Library Events!

A huge thank you to Rebecca and her team at Clitheroe Library and Emily and her team at Fleetwood Library for brilliant events last week. Two exceptional libraries, one a beautiful old building and the other state of the art. But the Lancashire welcome was equally warm!    

Respect This Lonely Grave booklet

Just out in all Lancashire libraries!

Respect This Lonely Grave

The booklet!    

The Reading Ramble - Rob Bullock's Lancashire Story

The Reading Ramble

Rob Bullock's Lancashire Story

'Respect This Lonely Grave Interview with Rob Bullock

Excellent Event at the Dales Countryside Museum!

 

Stories and legacies of the black residents of the Yorkshire Dales and the Lancashire Coast in the 18th century.

Thank you to Martin Garside and the Friends of the Dales Countryside Museum for their hospitality for making the event so memorable. The archive at the museum was where this project began!  

 

Writer in Residence Nanjing City of Literature 2022

Rivers Flow Day and Night 

Part 2 – Flumen Somnambulist (Sleepwalking river)

Day and night, rivers flow, never ceasing, night time, sleep, human dreams, somnambulists meander, from dusk to dawn, nocturnal eyes alert and alive, human eyes drawn and drooping, minds dreaming of perfect futures and fateful pasts, loves lost, hopes and dreams, somnambulists meander, always moving, never looking back, light fades, houses darken, one by one, lights extinguished, sandman beckons, somnambulists meander, dark velvet envelops, blankets, coats, wraps, caresses, strangles agoraphobic fears, somnambulists meander, the church clocks chime the midnight hour, the dead lie slumbering beneath the gothic tower, somnambulists meander, the wee small hours arrive, silence ensues, not a pin drop to stir, grave yard shift, earning a crust, migrant workers, far from home, yawn, watch the clock, count the seconds, minutes, hours, movement, catch his eye, outside, party people, buzzing, high, ears deafened, raucous din, shared last dances, heading for beds, own or strangers, somnambulists meander, work begins, cleaning up, night time economy, taxi takes his final fare, Uber rushing here and there, street cleaners, shifts in full flow, towns and cities, garbage, trash, ever overflow, somnambulists meander, dawn first light, heading for daytime slumber, sunlight faintly stirs, beckoning life renewed, the nightshift ends, the day begins, slumberous multitudes awaken, somnambulists meander. Day and night, rivers flow, never ceasing.

 RESPECT THIS LONELY GRAVE 

by Rob Bullock

Am I dead. I am only resting facing the departing ruby red sun. 

Facing the place where endless bay sand oftimes meets grey unwelcoming squall.

Watching the seals bask in the sunshine, listening to the gulls, squeal, shriek and call.

Watching magpies as they steal and they shock.

Watching the seals basking on the rock.

Am I dead. I am only resting facing the departing ruby red sun.

https://www.lancashire.gov.uk/libraries-and-archives/libraries/lancashire-stories/  

Introducing Lancashire Stories: a new collection of short stories and poems for the people of Lancashire. Featuring stories from 17 brilliant professional authors, available for free for residents of Lancashire, Blackburn with Darwen, and Blackpool.