Mindscape and Memory These poems cover a thirty-year period and were first handwritten in small pocket books. Originally, I called this emerging collection, Towards Poetry since it contained narrative elements and places and people that had shaped my life. Later I knew that this was poetry, and that it had become part of my life. The poetry is marked by the landscapes in which I have lived and worked, particularly Staffordshire and Galloway, but other parts of the UK too and locations that I have visited. Some of these landscapes of childhood and early adulthood, have affected me so deeply they inhabit my mind. These places and their people have become part of my mindscape. Poetry is best read aloud. Before leaving Blackburn, I was able to give a poetry reading at the Cathedral.