We had a very strong line up of sixteen poets competing to be Wirral Grand Slam Champion plus a fantastic guest appearance by multiple slam winner Pete Crompton and expert, professional MC work by John Gorman. Very high quality evening of poetry. Thanks to all who contributed to a successful evening.

On an administrative note, The Bards of New Brighton, The Wirral Ode Show and Wirral Words are self financing so we could only manage one cash prize of £50 which was financed by a £2 entry charge and a raffle which together raised £47. Close enough to be considered a success.

The poetry was excellent and the time keeping absolutely amazing. These slam competitors are getting very professional. Morag was the highest place poet who did not make it to the slam off and Sean and Gemma gave very powerful performances to take the runner up positions in the final round.

Many congratulations to Liam Brayd for a stunning performance that took him to the top in both rounds leaving him clear winner of the £50 prize, winners certificate and entry to the north west heat of the BBC slam. Well done Liam for a very well deserved victory.

Competitors other than those named above were:
Steve
Ray
Martin
Jason
Darren
John
Paul
Tim
Sarah
Rob
Louise
Lotzie

Judges and timekeeper:
Scott
Paul
Peter
Frank
Janet

Thanks very much to all.

Good luck to Liam at the BBC.

superb event.
my warm thanks to John and Malcolm and WOL for all their efforts in making this a success and for inviting me as a guest at this fun and exciting event,

a clear winner in Liam and I wish him the very best in the Radio4 Slam.

The scoring was very consistent. Venue was fun, Miss Madame Tallula was a gem, John was a gem and a gem was John. Super.

Well done to Liam on his win, from the comments i heard within the audience it was well deserved. I enjoyed his performance because of the audience participation element.

Well done too to Gemma and Sean.

I thought the event went very well considering it's the first time the Wirral has held a slam event. Next time it would be nicer to have a microphone though as some of the poets could not be heard at the back of the room.
Having said that, it certainly sorted the professionals from the more amateur performers. A microphone and a microphone stand can be very effective in the sense that they act as props.
While i know the rules of slam are that no props are to be used, some of the poets had a distinct lack of poise and their stage presence could have been improved upon.
One or two of the performers were nervous and it showed in their apparent inability to stand still or at least make appropriate actions to enhance their chosen piece.

The time keeping was terrific as Malpoet says.
I was the time keeper on this occasion and only got the chance to blast my horn twice, once of which was done deliberately and not from a contestant. Some came very close to the 3 minutes but i was pipped at the post on these occasions.
Beware my friends. My day will come !!!!! :-)

All in all a great time was to be had by all.
I doubt very much if this will be the last slam event at the Wirral. Tallulahs loos need plunging!
I'd rather have egg on my face than shit!

That at least explains the smell on the drive home!

Oh!!
Is that what it was Darren?
and there i was with images of a warm cosy aromatic red wine and scented pink roses all the way...
In my ideal and romantic if not a little naive world. :-)

janet...the wirral has a long established poetry group who run a brliilant mothly night ...the wirral ode show poets
http://www.wirralpoets.co.uk/

each year for 15 years we have held a competition which is well known on the north west ,past winners include dave bateman,liam etc etc

the night has caused huge ructions on the wirral poetry scene thanks to malcolms bullish attitude,fawning need to impress WOL and general incompetence
the judging lacked fairness see word war currently raging on facebook
perhaps you would like to come to an ode show...next one is june 18th ...as a veteran and winner of slams i would love to know who you bracket as the"amateur"performers?..you did well on the time keeping though it must be said
jason

Hi Jason,
thanks for your information. My comment was based on my own personal experience of the night and yes, the few SLAM events i have attended. I've only been to one other Wirral evening. As it happens, Malcolm was there on both occasions and i was given a very warm welcome on each occasion.
I wouldn't dream of naming those who in my own personal opinion could have given a more polished performance. My comment again is based on a performance poetry workshop i attended where many tips on stage presence and overall appearance comes into play and is equally as important as the poetry.
I am not on facebook and have no intention in the near or far future of joining.

I'll click the link you provided and might visit the event you speak of. My sat-nav seems to have an adverse re-action to the Wirral though and refuses to accept the details printed on the website. I always get lost on the way there. :-)

thank you Janet ...its a shame i didnt get to chat at the night im afraid i was looking for something to stab through Malcoms car tyres(only joking)..i m afraid there was a lot of fallout from this event ...emails...texts etc not surrounding Liam who everyone thought fantastic but surrounding Malcoms Tesco like attempts...do you know what im actually going to stop there...
yould be more that welcome to read at wirrals FOREMOST poetry night...failing that you could come to ours :)

Are slams meant to be fun and enjoyable? They just seem to spark controversy and debates of fairness as reflected in this and other discussions.
OR
Does this mean that it is difficult or maybe impossible and therefore futile to JUDGE poetry performances which by their nature will contain a huge variety of styles and subjects of poems.

Well as one of those people who could have and should have given a far more polished performance, in general I enjoyed the event.

If nothing else I've learnt I should never perform a piece written that day that I don't know as well......especially when I completely forget it halfway through and begin shaking because I'm so angry with myself....C'est la vie.

ive been in some great ones and some rubbish ones...if you want to see competitive and are on holiday in san francisco ,,try there!!!
nobody would mind if the rules were adhered to which in our case they were not....
an impartial table ie nonpoets/mates are sposed to get to vote
there are sposed to be (usually)5 voters of which the top and bottom marks are discounted t o avoid exactly what seemed to happen in new brighton
its usually wise to have bulletproof judges of impartiality and integrity (not just someones mate)with above all.... respect....ie an MP!....
come to our wirral ode show competition in october to see a well respected competition run proffessionally ....bring a fork to enable word eating to occur....j

I went to the Wirral Grand Slam. Hell, I even 'performed' there.STANDING at the back because my ailment doesn't allow me to sit on hard surfaces, and no, it's not 'Nobby's', but it did mean that I couldn't hear the half of what appeared to be spoken. Having no mic' didn't help the cause either. While you could argue it's equal for everyone - some are more equal than others.

Morag's words for instance, which scored a '10' from one judge, dissapated before they reached my wax filled ears. I would have liked to have heard what she was saying - especially as her words scored so highly.

Anyway, most of the judges have performed in Slams before, with the exception of I think just one. The right person won in my opinion, but those 'also rans' who pad out the event for the hot favourites, usually get disgruntled as the night progresses -and as each judge scores their own personal interpretation of a performance.

This was in effect, the same competition that ran on Monday at the Octagon theatre in Bolton. Arguably Liam could have won there too. Those who are serious about performance poetry - and let's face it - some are - need to keep entering slams and perform their work at various open poetry events in the North West - it's the only way that they can raise themselves to the standard that they now see they must achieve in order to be considered successful.
The rest of us - who do it even though we're no more than 'average' in among the 'Superheroes' of Slam, should attempt to up our game.
There are no reasons why nearly just about everyone of those who I've seen perform over the last week or so cannot improve their poetry/performance to the level required for a Slam to be considered a major success.

The Wirral night wasn't without its faults - but nothing that can't be improved upon or sorted with just a light dusting of organisation.

One interesting point made to me, was about poets using the same poem at different venues. Poems and performances that didn't win at one slam - so why would a poet choose to use the same unsuccessful work? I'm sure there are many reasons - but that's another thread, if we dare go there...

WIRRAL GRAND SHAM was not reflective in any way of the poetry scene in the wonderful wirral.....try the wirral ode show poets night in June or the Bards of New Brighton ,both as i hope people can gather are very distant from this so called wirral night.......you will be most welcome at our free to enter competition in october ,,cash prize.title of wirral poet of the year has traditionally accompanyed this award....jason

Wirral Slam! Aaaarrrghhh! What a whirlwind of wormwood it has generated on Facebook, in emails and in booze-fuelled bitchy conversations.

I'm still trying to assemble my thoughts on it ... so I can post a blog about it on this site later. What to include? What to leave out?

These are big questions and I haven't yet resolved them. The nation waits. The suspense is .... bearable.

There hasn't been such controversy round these parts since they demolished New Brighton Tower about 80 years ago.

All that pent up fury, mixed up beauty, and a doggone Bards of New Brighton open-mic ... (NO! NOOOOOoooooo! Don't mention the p***ing mic !) .... to be MC'd by little ole me on Monday night (8 June, 8pm).

It's a good job I'm thick-skinned.

"Mother, them big lads off th'estate are trying to batter me again!"

"Pull tha self together, lad. Stop skriking. Tha's the cock of Wigan ... and New Brighton."

i enjoyed the quality of the poets at the wirral slam- i felt the standard at bolton was a bit higher but it was good to hear some new voices. i particularly liked the guy who spoke about music- up early on, the lady talking about being married and i thought i would have liked morag if i could have heard her.

personally i wasn't a fan of liam- the winner- just not my cup of tea. but thought the 2nd and 3rd were well-deserved.

i chose to do the same poem at the wirral that i'd done at bolton. and have done more than once at wigan's open nights. why you may ask? i admire poets who don't need a paper copy. it takes time to get performance ready with a poem from memory. unfortunately i only have about 4/5 poems committed to memory that i deem performance ready. i chose to show my favourite.

i don't think it makes any differance if a poem 'won' at one event and 'lost' at another. i didn't feel it helped my cause that 3 of the 4 judges had already heard my poem on monday ha ha. well, you learn from experience. i enter these things because i'm competitive and want to win prizes, i want to improve, i want more people to hear my work and i like hearing the other poets. i don't enter to get feedback on my work via a points system- it's an arbitary and amusing concept to me.

anyway the slam is dead, long live the slam :-)

louise hi...the slam was not the wirral slam ..it was a slam which took place geographically on the wirral ...if you and i were to fly to new york this weekend and take lets say ..take your neighbour ...put on a slam in a bar ...get some passers by to vote and then come back to england saying that your neighbour had won the new york slam..it wouldnt be strictly correct would it....please come to the wirral ode show competition in october and see the 16 th winner "crowned "at a properly established long runnig bona fide event ...sorry for the attempt at humour and i hope your neighbour wins....with regards ..Jason

Wirral Grand Slam

Judges Scoring


First Round

1.Liam 8 10 9 8
2.Sean 8 9 7 10
3.Gemma 9 8 8 8
4.Morag 7 10 7 8
5.Louise 7 9 8 7
6.Ray 7 8 7 8
Steve 8 7 8 7
8.John 7 7 6 9
9.Jason 7 8 6 7
10.Darren 7 6 7 7
11.Sarah 6 6 7 7
12.Lotzie 6 6 7 6
13.Tim 6 6 6 6
14.Paul 6 5 6 6
15.Martin 5 6 5 6
16.Rob 5 5 6 6

Slam Off

1.Liam 10 10 10 9
2.Gemma 9 7 8 7
3.Sean 7 8 7 7

Sorry about the layout of the scores below. All the formatting was stripped out when I posted, but I think it is still readable.

pity they didnt have the old oppurtunity knocks clap o meter in the room ....

Well that would have given Liam an even bigger lead.

yes it would ,,,Liams deserved win has never been the issue here...is there a wood near you?or some trees?

Hey poetry peeps,
I seem to have come in late on this one but it seems only fair to leave a comment. I think I was the only judge who gave any ten's in the first round. I generally mark based on content, a well written piece that gets my attention and avoids cliches and obvious rhymes, a good performance, I do like them from memory but each one is unique and a good audiance reaction. If the poet does all three very well why shouldn't they be awarded a ten. I also felt that the judges, even though we were not confering did seem to be very even on our scores. Sorry if you felt robbed or as if you were the clear winner Jason but I just can't agree. As a veteran of 207 slams and a winner of 43 including the Newcastle slam champion and as a poet whose been invited to slam at the UK and World championships plus I believe I am the only poet belonging to WOL who can liquid rhyme and as a poet who is being lectured by the poet laureate I say the best poet won.
thank you

So there.

scott i never once said i was robbed,,(in my poem i alluded to my car being robbed),others said that to me and we are talking 6 or 7 not one or two.(including visiting poets to the event)..i most certainly did not percieve myself as the winner or even top 3......youve clearly missed the point i would suggest reading these comments more closely..(as i said on a personal note ,ive won many things(including the weakest link on tv....whilst far from a poetry slam it illustrates that im not bothered if i win or lose as long as its an even field..)..people were annoyed that performers who got great reactions from very good work attracted a low vote and those seemingly going through the (andrew)motions in a fairly dull way got high votes..there was enough genuine adverse reaction to warrant this criticism
again scott if you read the whole tihng youll be aware that there was animosity (now hopefully subsided)due to the event being last minute ,of a trumped up nature and badly organised...wirral has 3 v good poetry groups (at least)and we are keen to promote a united front as it were with the ode show central to this ...this night did nothing but damage (all this is in my opinion)i was glad to see the local papers only featured the new gay night and nine foot female impersonators with no mention of the preceding ..erm proceedings...

the female impersonators where:

Fi(eye eye) 1 =24/36/24/7(cut) and 7ft8 heeled
Fi(ay ay) 2 = 24/34/24/ 7.5 (uncut) and 6ft6 heeled

Source, toilets.

The last two comments in this discussion thread have been deleted as personal abuse will not be tolerated see http://www.writeoutloud.net/public/terms.php

Now then! Who's cut the naughty bits out of this?

thank you ,,,scott you would be very welcome at the wirral ode show ...and particularly welcome to perform in our much lauded competition in october

j