I first met the performance poet Potting Shed Pete about a year ago, when he came along to Bolton to appear at Scott Devon’s monthly open-mic evening George’s. He’s an engaging character, with a fully worked out stage persona of a cheerful Northern bloke in flat cap and white gloves. Most of his poem’s are light-hearted observational fare, but occasionally he’ll reveal a more serious side to his work, which is more effective by the contrast.
A little while ago he got in touch to ask if I could commit a few of his poems to video so he could use them to promote himself. I’ve plenty of experience of filming poets for Live from Worktown and related projects, but these videos are the first I’ve made entirely under my own steam. I think they’ve turned out pretty well. Especially the sound, as I used a cheap tie-clip microphone and a separate Olympus dictaphone to capture it, rather than rely on the camcorder’s mic which also picks up reverberations from the room. Standard practice of course for professional cameramen but it’s a taken a while for me to learn to do it by default.
In addition to the videos I also created a YouTube page for him which you can visit here. Please give them a watch and I hope you enjoy them.
Whilst I still think of myself primarily as a writer, these video jobs are satisfying as another creative string.
The Phantom Frame 
I`m flattered that such a talented writer and Director as Gareth Preston found time his busy schedule to elevate me – 69 yr old Potting Shed Pete – onto social media. Gareth is a great friend and contributor to the Arts, and his Panto “Rumplestiltsin” has recently been playing in New York. We must all support people like Gareth both in his film work with Phantom Frame and also in his writing and directing activities with Bolton`s Worktown and Little Theatre. “Pete”
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