NIGEL PECKETT

I was born in 1946 both my parents had been in the armed forces. We lived in 14-foot caravan parked in a farmyard through the winter of 1947, we must have been tough.  While my father retrained as a teacher we moved to Weston-super-Mare that is why many of my poems are about the sea and weather. We moved about a lot as my father got different teaching posts. I have lived in over twenty different places but for the last forty years I have lived in the same house. After University in Leeds and research for the Imperial Cancer Foundation. I taught science, maths and computingin several different schools and colleges. I have and had many hobbies somewhat curtailed by health problems but my favourites were longbow archery and re-enactment. The picture is of my wife and I demonstrating an early Stuart (1623) Christmas meal in Forde Green Hall, Stoke-on-Trent. The other picture was taken on our golden wedding anniversary.     

I write prose and poetry but I find that only poetry can express deep emotions.

Poetry is language cut down to the bone without lots of words getting in the way.  I started writing poems in the year two thousand. I was on the way to work and I spotted a boy, about 12 years old, running to school. I wrote the poem about it as soon as I got to work.  It was like switch being pressed. Since then I have written many poems. I have joined several writing groups in my area which are good company and are full of creative writers.