I performed at Bantock House as part of the 'Night of Museums'. I was booked as there was a touring Punch and Judy exhibition on at the park at the same time (very interesting exhibition and very well put together with some fantastic puppets to look at). I had some really good press coverage in the Express and Star which included a video piece on their website. The show was also recommended in the Apples and Snakes regional email release 'Snake Basket' which was great.

The show itself seemed to go well. I fluffed a couple of lines but managed to carry on without making it obvious (I think). The best thing for me was that I managed to sort out a piece of the show which never seems to register with the audience; Punch faints into the driver's seat and it should become apparent that he is actually driving a stolen car but it never seems to. I've played around with a couple of things to try and make it register but I've finally got it and all it takes is to mime the holding of the steering wheel and slow it down a little.

I also experimented with taking a bribe from Punch in the shape of an oversized £50 note. This seemed to alter the voting which takes place at the end of the show, it was 98% in favour of Judy, usually it is a bit more even than that.

There were 52 people in attendance which I was really pleased with and the feedback seemed positive.

That means there are 1,672 people left to perform to. I did get two possible offers of other places to do the show one of which I need to chase up today.

I did a performance of The Professor Vyle Show at The City of Wolverhampton college today for the art and design students followed by a session of posing while they drew. It seemed to go OK. I was a bit clumsy and managed to drop a mic and trip over my blow-up doll! After the show I was approached with the possiblity of doing another show which would be great. There were about 30 in the audience.

I've just realised that I didn't blog the fact that I did a show at Coppice High School in Wolverhampton just before Christmas and that there was an audience of 50 young people there. They received the show really well and asked some great questions afterwards.

I've got a booking at Bantock Park for May which is for their 'Night of Museums' event. It is to tie in with a Punch and Judy exhibition that will be on. The exhibition is going to be at a number of other venues across the region so I've approached the curator, Professor Glyn Edwards, and asked if he had any objections to me contacting the venues and offering the show. He didn't so I've just got to get my finger out and send some letters off.

So that's 1,724 people left to perform too!!!

1,804 people still to perform too!!!!!

I can't believe I haven't made any entries for that long. Well, I've been busy working on a play which took place in July in a limestone mine in Dudley; it took up the majority of my time but it was worth it in the end.

I did one Professor Vyle gig during that time which was to college students at Stourbridge College. They seemed to enjoy it and there were about twenty in the audience.

Last night I performed in Wolverhampton at the Alan Garner Centre. Smashing audience who were very appreciative. I was delighted to see some younger people there (as was the literature development officer for Wolves libraries). The youngest was about nine (parent was warned about the content!).

The highlight for me was when a younger member of the audience told me that his friend, who didn't like poetry, had even enjoyed it!

I'm entering a world record attempt at performing comic verse this evening in Manchester so I had better dash.

There were 26 in the audience last night so the running total now is...

Oh by the way I thought you might like to see the piece of Art Work that I selected from the student work that was done using 'The Professor Vyle Show' as its subject. The standard was soooo high. I had real difficulty making my mind up. In the end I settled on this piece by Jennene Flavell which I felt captured the mix of the modern Professor Vyle show and the traditonal Punch and Judy elements perfectly. I also liked the way she had represented so many aspects of the performance and the energy of her illustration. I will be using this for my programme covers.

On the 23rd February I took part in a Punch and Judy study day. It was organised by the WEA and the idea was that a Punch and Judy 'Professor' lectured on the history of the show during the morning and I performed 'The Professor Vyle Show in the afternoon'. There was also to be a Q and A session with Professor Peaseley and myself after the show. I was so excited about taking part (although a little worried about what a real Punch and Judy Professor might make of my take on things).

The event was great; although the audience numbers were quite low. Twenty five people turned up (the majority of who were over 60 many of them well over; I was quite nervous about facing another type of audience). I thoroughly enjoyed the morning session and learned more about the fascinating history of P and J.

The performance went well and the feedback I got was positive (although there was one lady who didn't look happy; I hope she wasn't offended. I wasn't sure what was going through her head but she looked like she was in a state of shock!). I was particularly pleased when before I performed I over heard one woman say, with a twinkle in her eye, "I do hope Punch is going to be vicious!" So I gave her vicious and played to her as much as I could and she lapped it up. I must say I have never had an audience get so into the booing, cheering and voting as this one did.

I was delighted that during the course of my performance many of the things the Professor had covered during the morning got nods of recognition when I referenced them as part of my show.

One interesting coincidence was that Professor Peasley's mother, Rosa, was the same woman that I saw very early on in my research at a P and J performance at Northicote Farm. She is in her late seventies and one of the very few women Professor's in the country.

Right, now where does that leave the running total in relations to my aim of taking the show to an audience of 2,000? That's 25 off 1,875 which leaves 1,850. Better get a few more gigs sorted then.

Black Country Touring have just confirmed that they will be adding the show into their spring and summer listings for 2008, which is really good news.

I haven't entered a blog posting for a while as I have been very busy with a commissioned poem for The New Vic Theatre in Stoke. Once this poem is done I've really got to sort out the updating of my website and it is my intention to start approaching literature festivals with a view to getting either Professor Vyle, Strip Poetry or Image Text Image Exhibitions accepted as part of their programming. I don't know if it will be effective but I'm going to give it a go between now and January.

Since I last blogged, I've performed 'The Professor Vyle Show' at Wolverhampton College in front of an audience of nine. I was keen to do this performance as the age range of the group was not an age range that I had invited to my private view so it was very useful for feed back purposes to see what an audience of 18 year olds would make of it. The comments were really positive. My favourite quotes from the evaluations were, "quite the strangest show I've ever seen!" and "I'd consider watching it again!". The group were art students who are using the show as part of a project to design a programme cover etc for a theatre event. They drew and photographed the booth, the puppets and me in costume. I was very impressed by the drawings they were doing as I peeked over their shoulders.

I also went to Cardigan to do Word Up at the cellar bar. What a fantastic welcome. There were about 40 people in the audience. I did strip poetry followed by a cut down version of 'The Professor Vyle Show' as the booth wouldn't fit. I used the scarecrows that I'd made to hang the costumes on. The show seemed to work although I wish I could have used all of the props. I was knackered afterwards. I got a fantastic reveiw too! Have a look at it www.wordupcardigan.blogspot.com.

Sue Hamblen was a wonderful host and it was good to see some of the people I'd met last time I was there and meet new ones.

Last night I did my gig at the City Bar. I promoted it via the Wolverhampton Libraries events flyer and by leafleting City Voices. There were 35 people in the audience and the response was very positive. It does seem that 40 is an average audience for spoken word events. I also got another couple of vague gig offers that might or might not come off. I was particularly pleased that in ran through at 55 minutes which means that I've got the adrenalin a bit more under control than I had initially, perhaps.

For me the best thing about the evening was that I was able to do the performance for free but by passing a bottle round I could still cover my expenses and then some. I do like the idea of basing a show on Punch and Judy and then using the traditional way of putting it on for anybody and everybody regardless of their income. I know that wouldn't be possible to do everywhere but where I can I'd like to keep doing this.

I think I need to chase gig offers up; I don't like doing that because it feels like I'm being pushy and for all I know the people might have been drunk when them made the offer LOL. At the preview I had three gig offers and one workshop offer. Only one of these has actually been booked.

Any road up, that brings my total audience to ... 125!!! Target left 1,875.

Well, I did it! Just over a year from the first word to the first performance but I did it! I had a preview show at Bantock Park last night. 41 people turned up and their reaction was really positive. I was just happy to get through without freaking out/passing out/blanking out. Rehearsals before the event had not gone well; I had a panic attack in the middle of one! But last night it all came together and I managed to do the whole show with very few mistakes which probably only myself or Dave noticed.

It was really lovely to see so many folks who had helped me, such as Mike Luckins (who had mentored me), Alison (maker of Punch's hat and puppet Judy's hat) and my cousin Ste (puppet maker) all in one room to see 'The Professor Vyle Show'.

I forgot to hand out my evaluation forms in my excitement but I've been getting emails and texts about the performance which have all been very kind. I was over the moon with Simon Fletcher's appraisal. Simon is the Literature Development Officer for Wolverhampton Libraries and a poet and novelist. He said, "The Professor Vyle Show is a whizz-bang take on the horrors of daytime tv framed by the changing concepts of Punch & Judy theatre. Infused with the language of the street this is particularly appropriate for older teenagers and young people. It deals with issues of domestic violence, drugs, the legal system and the heartless slapstick of trial by tv. Emma Purshouse has got talent and a rare sympathy for those on the edge." I will of course be using this wonderful quote to try and sell my show! A lot of people suggested I try and take the show to Edinburgh and Brighton.

In my pitch to the Arts Council I said I aimed to reach audiences of 2000 with this show! I better get on with promoting it then. Only another 1,959 audience members to go!