Spotlight Club

Open Mic Event

Contact: Ron Baker 01524 381642 or spotlightclub@btinternet.com

Welcome to the first Spotlight of 2007.

This Month's Writing Line-up:

Eliza Mood is a Lecturer in English Language and Creative Writing at St. Martin's College. She'll be reading from her debut novel 'Giving Up Architecture', the story of Clem, a man struggling to re-establish his identity after serving in the Ambulance Corps as a conscientious objector during the Second World War.

'Giving Up Architecture' is available to order from bookshops for £8.99 or buy from the publisher, Seaglass Books for £7.99 plus £1.00 p&p www.seaglassbooks.co.uk - sian@seaglassbooks.co.uk

Garstang poet Norman Hadley says he once stumbled on the word eclectic in his dictionary and thought it a good basis for a writing style. Norman's poems hop from tragic to comic to sentimental weird in the flick of a metaphor, aspiring to the pigeonhole marked un-pigeon-hole-able. This month, he will talk about hidden portals in Northern pubs, attempt to paint a classical 'Madonna and Child' with words and underline his geek credentials with a paean to a Midlands roundabout.

Mark Ellis made his Spotlight debut at November's Open Mic slam and was imediately booked to appear this month. 'I have 19th January tattooed onto my left buttock... a happy coincidence!' Mark is a comic... 'a bit like the Beano. There is very little evidence of showbiz in my family although my great grandfather did 'stand up' once... and was immediately shot dead. Unfortunately, he was taking cover in a shellhole on the Western Front at the time.'

Daniel Savage also made his comedy debut at the Open Mic slam. 'Most people just know me as 'Sav' or 'The Sav Man'. I'm 18 years old originally from Manchester but am at Lancaster Uni. My favourite meal is sausage, beans and mash and I can dance like no-one else can.'

And Music:

Chris Watkins has been writing and playing live for the last 10 years. For a very long time he was standing at the front in Mob Curious and will be joined tonight by former fellow band member Nick Camm.

'As long as the last song I wrote is the best one ever then I'll be happy. And it still feels like it so far. It has been a bit of a wierd year, but it's time to get on and I have new material on the boil. If you have a hushed spotlight I would like to stand in it. Available for slots and supports anywhere I can drive to from Lancaster. I hope you enjoy the songs.'

You can check out Chris' songs (and superb artwork) at: http://www.myspace.com/christopherwatkins

The Wisemen have been playing together since 1999, during which time they gone from an acoustic duo to an electric four-piece and are now playing as an acoustic trio. They have played all over the UK, done radio shows, have had 1000's of hits on various internet sites, and have released several eps and mini-albums. Their current release is on Manchester's Timbreland Recording label, a compilation called Furthest Branches From the Trunk features 10 excellent and complimentary artists and is available to order from all good record shops. And HMV. Musically, they are genre-spanners (some just say spanners!) but given that their instruments include bouzouki, banjo, mandolin, fiddle etc, there is more than a hint of folk, with a sprinkling of blues, country, bluegrass, Django-style jazz, 60's psychedelia and contemporary lyrics. Despite the sometimes serious topics of the songs, their live shows are actually good fun, and highlight their often irreverent humour. For more info, see www.timbreland.co.uk

Compered by John Freeman the literary parade kicks off at 8.30pm Open Mic 8.45 - 9.15pm.

Price: £3.00 / £2.00

Time: 8.30