Upstairs at Kemi’s Cafe was packed for our last night before the summer break
We began with contradictions. Raised on an estate in Ely but, thanks to her mum’s efforts, educated at Howell’s exclusive private school Mab told how she was afflicted by selective mutism until she found her voice as a performance poet.
Mike took a job teaching English in Japan and after a magical mystery train tour found himself smothered by an almost absurd level of courteous attention.
After deciding to travel the world Phil needed cash to escape Sydney. Door to door sales of mass produced landscape paintings proved fruitless until he shaved off his eyebrows dyed his hair red and modified his sales pitch by pretending to be deaf (you couldn’t make this stuff up).
Norma painted a vivid and touching picture of the annual Corpus Christie parade (a fixture on the Cardiff calender until the 1980s) and it’s significance in the life of a young catholic girl.
Peter Cox told of his 60s encounters with struggling artist Yoko Ono in Birmingham and the mystery man who accompanied her (he was the Walrus) and we ended the evening with Sian’s searingly honest and heartbreaking account of her mostly unrequited love for Sam the boy of her dreams. We listened, we laughed and we cried. Then there were cheers and applause.
Once again we would like to thank our storytellers for their wonderful stories and the audience for their attentiveness.
We will be back in September, hope to see you then
Spread the word
Steve & Maria
