A joint of the best weed I ever had

I
am
so stoned.
I feel like
when James Franco
smiles at Seth Rogen –
soft, like.
Man,
life’s good.
I dunked a croissant
in hot chocolate and Bailey’s
and realised,
PB and J
was discovered by a stoner.

---

Tried to capture a little bit of the magic in this short poem

You can read the controversial feature I wrote for SCAN about the current state of marijuana legalisation and medical access in the UK, here.

Day 3: I won so many Mario Kart tournaments

It’s day 3 of the #WritingFromLockdown Challenge by @SCANLancaster and the prompt is:

Revisit your Nintendogs. What are they up to?

---

I won so many Mario Kart tournaments

Do you ever wonder
what your Nintendogs are up to?
I’d like to blow the dust off
Mario’s Shooting Star
and take a drip down Rainbow Road,
maybe see if Doodle Jump
is still jumping,
maybe see if plants
can still kill zombies.
One day,
I know I’ll find my DS charger
and then I will finally deal
with a shiba inu called Rocky
who hasn’t been fed in twelve years.

Review: Song for Night

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 3.5 out of 5.

“None of us can remember the hate that led us here. We are simply fighting to survive the war.”

*SPOILERS AHEAD: Read at your own peril*

I read this because I had found it on a university reading list and thought it would give me an edge – I am that Literature nerd, yes. I actually read it while camping over in a friend’s field, reading well into the night so I could finish it.

This is something powerful.

It’s culturally eye-opening and moving in a way that doesn’t lecture to the masses but which drops you right into it and lets you find your own way out.

Day 2: Describe a villain

It’s day 2 of the #WritingFromLockdown Challenge by @SCANLancaster and the second prompt is:

Describe a villain.

---

It emerged out of the corner of Charlie’s eye like fire emerges through debris, with two dark-red eyes and a face of ash.

At once, Charlie recognised it as the shape in the shadows that had seemed to follow him, the sloughing wind that had sounded so much like breathing.

Day 1: Our Four Walls

It’s day 1 of the #WritingFromLockdown Challenge by @SCANLancaster and the first prompt is:

Write about your four walls.

---

Our Four Walls

If walls could talk,
ours would cough,
would tell us to stop smoking weed in the living room
because clearly the window is too small.

2 or 3 Gin and Tonics

What if all the fish grew wings –
would they go on swimming?
Or would they sail into the sky
like birds?

#WritingFromLockdown Challenge

We’re deep into lockdown and there’s never been a better time to crack open that notebook you’ve been saving and start our 30-writing challenge.

Poetry, prose, screen or articles – just follow the prompts below to join in!

So, I wrote this article for SCAN about their creative writing challenge over lockdown. I will be following it along, trying to go down the list of prompts and write daily for a solid 30 days.

Everyone’s invited to join! Make sure to tag #WritingFromLockdown in any posts you make for the challenge. Tag SCAN (@SCANLancaster) in any posts!

Review: Are You There, God? It’s Me, Chelsea

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4.5 out of 5.

“I have no doubt that my mother’s pregnancy with me was an accident. Mostly because on several occasions, she told me I was an accident.”

Chelsea Handler is a force to be reckoned with.

I picked up this book in my school library to take a break from revising for A Levels and haven’t let it out of my bedside table since. It is the drinking woman’s pick-me-up. It is what pulled me back and flung me into student life, drinking and dancing and perfecting a quick, dry wit that could cut a man down.

This is such an easy book to dip in and out of. I usually prefer a story that I can sit and wolf down in one go but this was perfect for a busy schedule and some light relief.

Review: Looking for Alaska

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating: 4 out of 5.

“I would always love Alaska Young, my crooked neighbor, with all my crooked heart.”

*SPOILERS AHEAD – Read at your own peril*

So, this is John Green’s first novel, about a boy, Pudge, who transfers to a boarding school. The story is divided into the Before – where Pudge grows close with his new friends, Chip, Takumi and Alaska – and the After – following Alaska’s sudden death in a car crash. Green says he wanted to write ‘meaningful‘ young adult fiction and I would argue, he succeeds so completely.

2 Red Bulls + A Library All-Nighter

Why does no one look at the moon?

It’s been a shit day
my feet are wet
my hair needs a wash
was up til 5 writing an essay
half-drunk on gin that tasted like Christmas
half-drunk on that boy who tasted like Jager.