Sometime in March, I made an impulse decision after talking to my friend Charlotte Faulconbridge about the Cheltenham Poetry Festival, and I joked about going to watch and about wanting to watch her perform sometime. To put it into perspective, it is 258 miles from Sunderland to Cheltenham. And the journey I did by National Express racked my mileage up to 367 miles there and the same back.

Was I nervous? Of course! I was about to go on an almost 12-hour trip there and the same coming back. And to add to that, I was going to meet my friend Charlotte in person for the very first time. Was I crazy for travelling that distance to watch her? Yeah, I did it on an intrusive thought, as in imagine if I did it. I was excited to watch some poets perform, as I do love poetry.
Everything was fine. Fast forward to the 16th of May, one day before I leave for the festival. And Charlotte messages me that there was a dropout and the festival is looking for replacements. She talked me into applying, saying I was going anyway. 10 minutes later, and I got my acceptance email and couldn’t believe it. I was now a performer, and I had less than a day to prepare.

Despite the long coach ride to London and then to Cheltenham, I was still happy and excited to be there. I had my poems ready despite needing to read from my phone, which is allowed. I met with Charlotte, and it was amazing to talk to her in person, and we got on great. There was so much talent performing. There was Charlotte, whose poems came from the heart; the Worrier Queen, whose poems are very on the nose and don’t hold back; Sam Cohen, whose poetry screamed, literally, comedy, Shakauille, who brought heavy emotion; Han Newton, who spoke about her life; Spike Zephaniah, Ali Harwood, Ryan The Poet, and Rebecca Rocker, who spoke of true experiences, Chris Cage, Rich Lansley, and more.

When all was said and done, Shak was third, Sam was second, and the reason why my hands hurt from clapping and what made me happy through the journey home, CHARLOTTE WON!!! It was incredible, and the poem she performed in the final, which she mixed with British Sign Language, really tugged at the heart. She is through to the UK slam in London, and you can bet I’ll be there cheering her on.