A childhood homeplace, both changed & unchanged, glowing in a golden hour. My ⁦Country diary⁩ from Cottingham Ironstone country, this time. Environment | The Guardian theguardian.com/environment/ar…

Poetry saved my life and can help mental health, who’d know such a niche art form could have so much power for good? Reading an exciting poem can lift my day out of depression, writing it is a sustainable act of survival! Has #poetry helped you? I’d love to hear

Thank you Steve x

The most beautiful oak on Wimbledon Common

After the excellent UNESCO 🏛️ #Education #Sciences #Culture 🇺🇳 decision to make the Flow Country a World Heritage Site, I wrote this little ode to peatlands for the The Guardian – and discuss why the decision represents a shift in how we value the natural world. theguardian.com/commentisfree/…

Over 140 calls for submissions of #poetry #fiction #flash #nonfiction #art #photography & more - competitions, literary journals, residencies, bursaries etc - open or with deadlines in August 2024. Best of luck & pls share! thisiswordbox.com/wordbox-blog/w…

Ivy-leaved toadflax—an attractive, soft-stemmed plant that poses absolutely no risk to the integrity of a stone wall! How can it be doing anything here other than prettifying, & offering a food source for insect pollinators. Pesticide use—we take one step forward, two steps back.

What a welcome sight! There have been so few Peacock #butterflies this year. I was delighted to find this one feeding on the Greater Knapweed I grew from seed.

A hornet hover fly on the knapweed

(Loving Polly Atkin and I randomly picking kids’ toys in the venue without mentioning them 😂😂😂)

Hello! Spelt editor Wendy Pratt here. You might be interested to know that my landscape/ nature memoir is now out in the works and you can order it or buy it from your local bookshop, online or even from your library. harpercollins.co.uk/products/the-g…

I'm so grateful to the wonderful poet Helen Laycock, Writer ✍ for reviewing my book 'Rescue Lines' with such sensitivity and understanding. amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/review/1…

“Some nights I am so in love with the sky, I could ask it to marry me.” As opening lines go, this from the fabulous Sarah Doyle is suitably bathed in bewitching starlight 🌟

Beautiful

Hello- a competition update - not surprisingly, we are running a little behind so results will be a little later than expected. Thanks for your patience.

We are finally able to reveal the names of the Spelt 2024 poetry competition longlisted poets! Thanks to Gregory Leadbetter for judging. Poem titles on our website: speltmagazine.com/spelt-poetry-c…

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The news you’ve been waiting for: the 2024 Spelt Nature Poetry Competition Shortlist! Congratulations to Jessica Boatright Jo Bratten lydia fulleylove Rachel Jeffcoat Tom Mclaughin Damen O’Brien Caitlin Prouatt Graeme Ryan and Carl Tomlinson! Winners to be announced soon.

Congratulations to all the winners!