Mel Wardle
@melwardlepoet.bsky.social
130 followers 180 following 170 posts
Poet / Publisher / PhD Researcher / Deaf Partner of Sound Support Dog Kirrie
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melwardlepoet.bsky.social
Here are some photos from our first week doing The Great British Dog walk for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People

If anyone would be able to sponsor us we would be very grateful please! We are aiming to walk 100 miles throughout the month or a bit more if possible! Hoping to raise £100
melwardlepoet.bsky.social
bottom of my heart to Janine Bradford, Linda Simons, Jessie Bailey and all at Hearing Dogs for Deaf People for this wonderful cheeky girl who lights up my life and makes me smile every day with her antics and amazing sound work that helps keep me safe!
melwardlepoet.bsky.social
from Hearing Dogs for Deaf People saying ‘Dog Match’!

I think my heart actually stopped beating for a second and when I was able to breathe again I opened the email and saw this photo of my beautiful Kirrie! And that was the start of everything 🐕‍🦺🐾🐾❤️

Thank you from the
melwardlepoet.bsky.social
Exactly two years ago on 5/10/23 it was National Poetry Day. I was sitting on my settee feeling sad because we had just lost Scruffy Guinea pig, I’d lost another chunk of hearing, and everything felt impossible.

I was trying to write a poem and whilst working I received an email
melwardlepoet.bsky.social
Kirrie and I are taking part in the Great British Dog Walk this month to raise money for Hearing Dogs for Deaf People

We are aiming to walk 100 miles over the month and raise £100!

Please help by sponsoring us if you can or by sharing our post / page!

events.hearingdogs.org.uk/fundraisers/...
MEL & KIRRIE WARDLE WOODEND
I am fundraising for Hearing Dogs!
events.hearingdogs.org.uk
melwardlepoet.bsky.social
London Part 4!

We had a good ‘woof’ in Tavistock Park and a snack of cucumber for Kirrie and carrot cake for the grown ups! It was lovely to sit outside enjoying the late September sunshine!
melwardlepoet.bsky.social
or “poor” hearing has images of chainsaws and lawnmowers.’ Look at how the face of the BSL signer expresses this as well. It was very thought provoking
melwardlepoet.bsky.social
London Part 3!

We saw the Fingertalk exhibition. I found it particularly moving when the sounds all flew away, and discovered that I hadn’t thought before about the underlying metaphors running through the fact that on audiograms ‘“good” hearing has images of birds and rustling leaves’ and “severe”
melwardlepoet.bsky.social
London Part 2!

It was delightful to bump into Martin F Peagam, Janice Peagam and HD Inca!

The dogs had a good sniff of each other and the humans had a good natter! 🐕‍🦺🐾🐾❤️
melwardlepoet.bsky.social
London Part 1!

On Tuesday we went to London! Passenger Assist were fabulous as usual, putting us safely onto the train at Stafford then whisking us off and whizzing us through the crowd at Euston Station……..
melwardlepoet.bsky.social
work and the context behind the poems. A big thank you to Charles and all who attended.

Marcello and I are delighted to announce October’s special guest at our next ASP event on Monday 27/10/25 will be outgoing Staffordshire Young Poet Laureate Harry Fletcher. Please contact us to join
melwardlepoet.bsky.social
Aston Society of Poetry’s September get together was a warm and inspiring evening featuring great readings by all the poets who took part and a wonderful headline set by our special guest Charles G. Lauder Jr. who read from his new pamphlet Year of the Rat. It was excellent to hear Charles’s
melwardlepoet.bsky.social
Happy Birthday to our Munch Bunch Crunch Mr Crunchy Guinea Pig who is (we think) about 3 today!!!!!!!! We love you! From Mummy, Daddy, Kirrie and Len! ❤️ xxxxxxxx
melwardlepoet.bsky.social
It’s National Poetry Day! Here’s a poem we made earlier!

From Mel and Kirrie 🐕‍🦺🐾🐾❤️
melwardlepoet.bsky.social
When in London, one must wear one’s London socks!
melwardlepoet.bsky.social
Another racist idiot on Facebook banging on about when Britain ‘looked and felt British’ - with a Ford car in the photograph.

I pointed out that Ford cars originated in America.

So sick of this ‘when Britain was British’ crap and the underlying racism boiling away everywhere
melwardlepoet.bsky.social
Last shout out for ASP tonight! Please contact Mel or Marcello for the Zoom link!

#poetry
melwardlepoet.bsky.social
Kirrie is such a good girl! She knows to stay on the kitchen mat at her Grandma’s house when Grandma is cooking!

Slightly less well behaved in the garden with the appearance of three freshly dug holes in the lawn! 🤭
melwardlepoet.bsky.social
It would be my Dad’s 79th birthday today! Happy Birthday Dad!

I’m having a lovely mug of tea in my Dad’s honour (although with much less milk and sugar) and watching a Pierce Brosnan film with Kirrie on my knee ❤️
melwardlepoet.bsky.social
Join us for Aston Society of Poetry on Zoom Monday 29/9/25 at 7.00pm-8.30pm with special guest Charles Lauder Jr.

Open mic spots available! Please contact Mel or Marcello to take part or for the link to listen! 📖
melwardlepoet.bsky.social
I’m excited to be supporting Staffordshire Libraries as a guest poet on National Poetry Day and looking forward to sharing my words and hearing #poetry by current Poets Laureate and incoming Young Laureate! Thursday 2/10/25 6pm-8pm. There’s an open mic section for poems on the theme of ‘play’ 📖
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For National Poetry Day at Staffordshire Libraries Newcastle Library! 📖
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There are just a couple of places left if you’d like to come and write ecopoetry with me on Wednesday 1/10/25 at The Swan, Stafford.

See poster for booking details!

All welcome and no experience necessary! 📖