Geoff Pegg's Knotted Sheets - Poetry at the Belgrade Theatre

In 1970 Geoff Pegg was one of the leading poets at the Umbrella Club and Chairman of it's Drama and Literary Committee. In that year his chapbook of poetry - Knotted Sheets - was published by Outposts.
Now a presenter on Cumbria's Community Radio Station Indigo http://www.indigofm.co.uk/presenters/geoff-pegg.htm

In order to promote the book and involve a range of Umbrella poets and singer songwriters, Geoff organised Knotted Sheets at the Belgrade Theatre in 1970 with over 30 contributions from nine poets or songwriters. here is the programme along with the biographical details.

THE COVENTRY ARTS UMBRELLA CLUB PRESENTS…KNOTTED SHEETS
At the Belgrade Theatre 1970 - Title taken from Geoff Pegg’s booklet of poems.

POEMS & SONGS AUTHORS
1 What I can’t Properly Understand - Terence Watson
2 Communicate - Rosalyn Dack
3 Caroline Smith - Charles Fogg
4 There Should be - Norman E. Wheatley
5 The Visit - Rosemary Bull
6 Locked In - Terence Watson
7 Summer poem V1 - Geoff Pegg
8 Dinosaur’s Lament - John Leopold
9 Twenty tons of TNT - Geoff Pegg
10 News at Ten - Geoff Pegg
11 The Tragic Roundabout - Geoff Pegg
12 Imagine a Cave - Terence Watson
13 The Battle of Trafalgar - Terence Watson
14 Two’s - Norman E. Wheatley
15 An Another Thing - Terence Watson

INTERVAL

16 I’m Sorry - Norman E. Wheatley
17 Ice Cream Van - Norman E. Wheatley
18 Dark Red Shirt - Norman E. Wheatley
19 The Forty First shade of Green - George Desmond
20 Simplicity of a seven Day Wonder - Geoff Pegg
21 Skinhead Calypso - Norman E. Wheatley
22 Poem for the tender of the Grave of Dylan Thomas - Mark Richardson
23 Peacocks Mating Season - Warwick Castle - Rosalyn Dack
24 Mind…For Hire. - George Desmond
25 Summer Poems V - Geoff Pegg
26 Did You have a Nice Christmas - Norman E. Wheatley
27 Summer Song - Geoff Pegg
28 How Her Hair Falls - Terence Watson
29 Summer Poem III - Geoff Pegg
30 Julia - George Desmond
31 Goodbye Now - Geoff Pegg
Performers -
Lynda Bellingham -
Paul Becque
Sheila Ferris
Michael Hadley
Jeffrey Holland - Director - Chistopher Honer

AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL NOTES

Geoff Pegg

Geoff Pegg
An apprentice draughtsman at B.O. Morris Ltd., and the current chairman of the Drama & Literary section of the Umbrella Club. Apart from individual poems being published in magazines, he has had a booklet of poems published which bears the title of today’s recital; Knotted Sheets, which is available at the door. Born in Coventry in 1950, Mr Pegg collected the material for this performance. ( additional information 2011) - Geoff was a DJ for the Walsgrave Hospital Radio in Coventry and a musician too and now a presenter on Cumbria's Community Radio Station Indigo http://www.indigofm.co.uk/presenters/geoff-pegg.htm

(A more recent biography of Geoff Pegg from http://www.2qt.co.uk/authors/geoff-pegg/)  
Born in Coventry in 1950, he left school at 16 to become an apprentice design draughtsman, entering local industry in much the same way as his forbears who worked in most of Coventry’s various specialisms – weaving, watchmaking, cycle manufacture and car production.

After finishing the apprenticeship he trained to be a teacher because of a yearning for something more than existed in factory life, graduating in 1975 as an English and Drama teacher.  After five years teaching in Nuneaton he moved to a job at The Queen Katherine School in Kendal, becoming Head of Drama and staying for 26 years until early retirement beckoned in 2006.

Norman Wheatley

Norman Wheatley

A poet and songwriter whose contributions at the Umbrella Clubs Tuesday poetry and folk session have been invaluable. He has excellent wit as can be seen from the poems included today. He has written several songs, one of which, Skinhead Calypso, is again in this selection. At present he is taking a communications course at college.
Terence Watson
A qualified schoolteacher and one of the strengths behind the Umbrella Club at the present time. He serves on the committee of the west Midland’s arts Association and has his own personal style of poetry. In the Battle of Trafalgar he shows he can also produce highly effective sound poetry. This poem is one of the highlights of today’s performance. More on Terrence Watson and his new poetry book here 

Rosalyn Dack
Ex-secretary of the Coventry poetry society, Miss Dack shows that she too has a very individual style in which her words possess tremendous strength of image. Communicate is a very good example.

Charles Fogg
A writer who has a deep insight into today’s problems. His recent work (from which today’s piece is chosen) shows excellent imagery when dealing with sex, drugs, illegitimacy etc. These poems are mostly lengthy , but Mr Fogg’s skill is such that the effectiveness is always captured perfectly.

George Desmond
By trade a maintenance electrician, George Desmond has written literally hundreds of poems and is now a respected poet in the city.

Rosemary Bull
Another schoolteacher, Miss Bull has an MA and a BA. She recently returned to the city in which she grew up. An ex member of the Coventry Poetry Society, which regrettably is now a thing of the past.

Mark Richardson
Another Coventry poetry Society member who since its breakdown has switched his attentions more seriously to the Umbrella Club as an outlet for his work. Mr. Richardson is a poet who takes care to be sure each word in his poems are to his satisfaction. The result is a very solid style of poetry.

John Leopold
The writer of the other song, Dinosaurs Lament. A talented songwriter and guitarist who takes personal preference to the 12-string variety. His songs are apart from anything produced by other writers and they use some excellent chord sequences.

TWENTY TONS OF TNT
(written on learning that for each person on this earth there is the equivalent of twenty tons of TNT and rising)

By Geoff Pegg

The nuclear stocks are growing
With piles of TNT
There's twenty tons for you
There's twenty tons for me.

Who will pres the button,
Who will light the fuse,
To start the bloody confict,
Which everyone must lose?

When all the bombs have fallen,
In one great holocaust,
Will the deaths be measured
In twenty tons of force?

The countries are building piles
Of death and TNT
There's twenty tons for you
There's twenty tons for me.

So everyone be happy,
Enjoy life while you can,
Don't worry about your twenty tons
Don't let it spoil your plan.

For cigarettes are burning,
with flames of TNT
There's twenty tons for yu
There's twenty tons for me.

SUMMER CAME SUDDENLYby Geoff Pegg

Summer came suddenly,
surprising the bare-branched trees.
The eternity of grimly faced frosts
has at last been turned through its
cycle; the blossom overflows from
the top heavy heights of a painted
fruit tree; the shadows on the garden
are clearer and more defined.

Summer came suddenly,
easing through the winters
half-opened shutters; relaxing on the
atmosphere in a swinging cradle;
opening doors for the desparate lovers
with no place to go: grafting daily,
looking in vain for a shift in energy.

But as summer came, so summer must go,
leaving the tiring sun to give us
only occasional comfort; leaving no
explanations as to the crime of an
exiled season forced to live in winter.


Geoff Pegg - 1970 - From Knotted Sheets.