We're back with another banger - Rachel Long was the season finale to our first series of the podcast back when everything was online, so it was a joy to have her in person as a new Margate Local! Recorded in October last year and released just in time for Rachel's new book, Sparrow on a Rooftop, coming out in June, it was amazing to hear Rachel's insight as an editor, her stunning work as a writer, and her warmth and generosity in everything in-between. Featuring poems about swimming, dummies, ...
May 20, 2026•53 min•Season 5Ep. 5
Hello friends - we are back with what can only be described as a classic. Returning to the glorious ARK in Margate with the glorious Caitlin O'Ryan. Caitlin is a brilliant poet and actor and was also the host for my favourite podcast guest appearance when I went on her podcast a few years ago so I was very excited to try and return the favour. We talk about poetry origins stories, slams, going viral, how to value your work vs getting affirmation from others, becoming the face/voice of a movement...
Apr 22, 2026•1 hr 4 min•Season 5Ep. 4
Hello Friends, Our final international instalment comes all the way from mighty Scotland! Streamed live at Greenbelt Festival, I am joined by the fantastic Len Pennie to talk about her new collection Poems Annaw (now a Sunday Times bestseller!), how she is the Wario to Robert Burns' Mario, her love of Scots, and her disdain for a themed collection among other things. It is the most I have ever felt roasted by a guest and I loved every second of it, I hope you do too.
Feb 12, 2026•49 min•Season 5Ep. 3
We're back, baby! Another international special courtesy of Greenbelt festival, we have the wonder that is Luka Lesson all the way from Australia! It's been over a decade since me and Luka last crossed paths and it was worth the wait in every sense. We talk about poetry slam origins to writing and performing for longer form, the lifespan of a poem, the skillset a performance poet picks up, the Joy of missing out, and so so much more. We have one more international guest to come, then it's back t...
Jan 06, 2026•50 min•Season 5Ep. 2
Season 5 Baby! We're kicking off with a collab of dreams that is enough to restore your faith in the internet. Lyndsay Rush aka Mary Oliver's Drunk Cousin has made me laugh and cry from halfway around the world and it turns out my poetry had been doing exactly the same thing to her, so what better excuse to have our first of three Worldwide International guests to kick off this season. We talk poems and jokes, faith and doubt, a truly blue finale and so much more. This was filmed at Greenbelt fe...
Nov 19, 2025•47 min•Season 5Ep. 1
Hello friends, It's been a long time coming but i think you'll agree it's worth the wait. Our final guest of Season 4 is the one and only Lemn Sissay ! Lemn came earlier in the year but the recordings were lost forevermore so we had to have him back. One of my absolute favourite poets, it was a joy to sit down and discuss old and new work, there being no one way to write a poetry book, challenging people's opinions of you, and the importance of letting yourself be magical among other bits. What ...
Oct 21, 2025•54 min•Season 4Ep. 10
He's back! With a record third appearance on the show, it's everyone's favourite lizardy lyrical wizard - singer-storyteller Gecko! Recorded back in March and release just in time for his Autumn tour of his NEW ALBUM, we talk about the origins of our friendship, the difference between a gig and a show, playing at each others weddings, regional food-based misunderstandings, the process of making an album as well as some stunning songs (and poems!) in amongst it all. I hope you love it as much as ...
Sep 14, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Season 4Ep. 9
Our superstar season continues with the one and only Hollie McNish! Hollie is one of my favourite poets and one of my favourite people and it was a joy to have her for a live recording of Something Borrowed ON TOUR in Bath. We discuss body parts we're proud of, the bits between the poems, Hollie's editing process, friendship, parenting, reviews, and Hollie brings a triple whammy blue poem to finish - what an absolute treat !
Aug 05, 2025•42 min•Season 4Ep. 8
We are joined this month by the one and only Maria Ferguson! For our Something Old(s) we dive back to the last time we saw each other at the Edinburgh Fringe for a heady mix of falafel and UK Garage and it just gets better from there. We go on to discuss Maria's fantastic new collection Swell, writing about the difficult bits of motherhood, a songs of praise poppadom-based warmup and much more, featuring a guest visit from the pope and a Harry Styles Cameo. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did. ...
Jul 09, 2025•1 hr•Season 4Ep. 7
Something Borrowed on Tour! The first of two episodes recorded at the fantastic Bath Komedia featuring fellow Poetry Team GB Alumni Vanessa Kisuule! Vanessa is one of my favourite poets and people and I could happily talk to her for hours, so it was a joy to have an excuse to do so in front of a live audience! Vanessa is constantly pushing her writing in both craft and content, and willing to tackle nuance and grey areas in a way so many shy away from, and just happens to be incredibly funny in ...
Jun 04, 2025•48 min•Season 4Ep. 6
It's the one and only Rob Auton! A long-time member of my super secret future guest wish list, we finally managed to get him back to Margate and oh boy was it worth the wait. One of the most unique and brilliant minds in comedy/poetry/the world, it was fascinating to get a glimpse into part of robs process, as well as hear his brilliant work and laugh out loud maybe more than any other episode. Thanks everyone who is still on this ride listening with us, it means the world. Please do tell your f...
May 07, 2025•55 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Hello friends! This episode brings us the phenomenal Jasmine Gardosi, and you can audibly hear the room fall in love with her from the second she starts performing. We discuss beatboxing, lockdown, rollercoasters, pushing the boundaries of performance, crying, dinosaur outfits and more. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did x You can find more of Jasmine's work here You can find out what I'm up to here...
Apr 09, 2025•1 hr 4 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Happy Christmas! We are joined by Joshua Idehen, AKA the man of the moment AKA the multiverse African Taylor Swift for a festive special that I am absolutely fine with coming out in February. This was recorded on a very good day for Josh and I am sure whenever you choose to listen to it will be a very good day for you as it is an excellent time. Me and Josh go way back and we talk about our origins, Josh's move to Sweden, the art of making poetry house music, and a hearty amount of dad content t...
Feb 10, 2025•1 hr•Season 4Ep. 3
This month we have the very excellent Theresa Lola! Another guest whose been on my wishlist for a while, Theresa shares some poems from her wonderful new book, Ceremony For The Nameless, and we discuss the power of names personally and professionally, as well as performing at the Royal Albert Hall, writing for the page vs the stage, and much much more. Let us know what you think and maybe even leave a review if you're feeling really lovely x
Jan 13, 2025•38 min•Season 4Ep. 2
We kick off the new season with the wonderful Helen Heckety! We talk about her new book Alter Ego, my new baby, name changes, therapy, ableism, hobbies, Coolio, foxes, and the joy of friendship love among other things. I can't think of a better guest to kick off with, I hope you enjoy this as much as I did Helen's excellent book ALTER EGO is out now , and you can follow her on instagram here . I am putting togetehr a tour for next year and you can find out more about everything I'm doing on IG o...
Dec 13, 2024•1 hr•Season 4Ep. 1
Hello Friends, this episode has been a long time coming in a few ways. One, Toby Campion has been on my hit list for many many years so it was a delight to finally get him over to Margate. The last time we were on stage together was at the Royal Albert Hall (!) and this was just as magic. It has also been delayed in coming out because I've had an actual human baby so my podcast baby got put on hold. This has however inspired me to get professional help (for the podcast baby, not the human baby j...
Nov 01, 2024•47 min•Season 3Ep. 10
Hello friends! Our penultimate episode of series three brings to Margate the ultimate legend that is Laurie Bolger! It's impossible to listen to Laurie and not have a smile on your face so get your cheeks ready and dive on in. I celebrate having a brand new book out and Laurie clebrates having two brand new books out. I also share some big news that I can't remember if I've shared on the podcast before or not. We talk pubs, pyjamas, writing clubs, sisters, sunshine, flowers, online dating, sexy ...
Jul 23, 2024•53 min•Season 3Ep. 9
A lovely time with a local legend! Brigitte was on my wishlist for Something Borrowed for a while when out of nowhere I got a voice note from her asking if she could come on because she reckoned she'd be good at it - It was meant to be! Also she was 100% correct, as not only our best-dressed guest of all time, but a wonderful mix of storytelling, song, punk, vulnerability, warmth and (ethical) fireworks. Featuring singalongs, univocalisms, travel tips and of course poems, it was an absolute trea...
Apr 30, 2024•1 hr 17 min•Season 3Ep. 8
We're back baby - February's edition saw the wonderful Georgie Jones come to Margate! It was our first time meeting in person but you wouldn't know because it was a vibey vibey time from start to finish. We talk slams, online vs in person performances, trying to write a poem a day for a whole month and much much more. Poems cover topics such as Gym changing rooms, The entire universe, friendship breakups, refugees, the ocean and of course Margate, as well as maybe my favourite borrowed thing yet...
Apr 02, 2024•57 min•Season 3Ep. 7
Happy New Year! I am single handedly extending the January blues by taking 6 weeks to edit this but i think we can all agree it is worth the wait. Raymond Antrobus is a poetry legend. It has been over a decade since we first shared a stage together and it has been a joy to see his work flourish since then, and an even bigger joy to find out that he had recently moved to Margate so we could snap him up for a very special edition of Something Borrowed Live. With a range of poems covering mental he...
Mar 13, 2024•57 min•Season 3Ep. 6
A mildly festive version of the podcast, in that I shoehorned Christmas into a few of my poems and Will made us delicious boozy hot chocolates while we recorded. I was having so much fun with this chat that it is the longest episode we ever recorded, before being ruthlessly trimmed down to just under an hour of pure gold. I share my epic Christmas poem containing 24 years of memories in one, we have a grown up story time with Mark reading from his new kids book, we talk about school visits, rap ...
Dec 18, 2023•57 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Surprise! We interrupt your monthly recordings for a bonus episode with the one and only Donna Ashworth - My reading of Donna's poem went viral on instagram which means I now have a new cult following of mostly American Yoga instructors, and quite frankly I am here for it. One of the many lovely things that have come out of this is me and Donna were messaging each other and despite Scotland to Margate being slightly too far for a live appearance (for now!) she kindly agreed to join me for a bonu...
Nov 29, 2023•36 min•Season 3Ep. 5
Hello friends, and welcome to possibly my favourite episode we've ever done! Gemma is a fantastic poet and a warm and wonderful human, and in this episode we cover the big three Ps, Palestine, Pegging and Postcodes, as well as so much more. This episode was recorded live in Margate and you could feel the magic in the room, so I really hope is translates to the recording. You can also watch the episode on youtube if you enjoy using your eyes as well as your ears, and follow Gemma on Instagram to ...
Nov 23, 2023•50 min•Season 3Ep. 4
Hello Friends! The something borrowed train continues to steam ahead and this month we have on board the fantastic Neelam Saradia-Brayley! This was such a gorgeous conversation to have at a time when the rain outside seemed to reflect a general sense of foreboding about the world in general, and yet there was light and warmth within! We covered weddings, funerals, wellies, dinosaurs and much much more - I hope you enjoyed this as much as I did. You can find out Neelam's latest activities (and bu...
Oct 30, 2023•55 min•Season 3Ep. 3
It's Harry and Chris! The Comedy-Rap-Jazz pioneers are reunited live on stage in front of a beautiful Margate audience. Chris shares a couple of absolute stunners, I go as old as possible for my Something Old, there is a glorious freestyle moment involving Robbie Williams, and even a spontaneous extra jazz song, something nobody has ever asked for in the history of the known universe and yet was a wonderful wonderful time. Thanks everyone who joined us live and thank you for joining us wherever ...
Sep 11, 2023•59 min•Season 3Ep. 2
We're back with a live studio audience! Season 3 kicks off in my beloved hometown of Margate for what will hopefully be a monthly occurrence of being joined by a special guest to share something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue. To kick off this chapter/season I've got fan fave Helen Seymour for a glorious time including a dragon's den pitch, some in-depth detective work, Wendy Cope's legendary orange poem and a garage track about Greta Thunberg. What is not to love?...
Jul 26, 2023•42 min•Season 3Ep. 1
Happy Easter! This week I am joined by the completely wonderful Inua Ellams, a fantastic poet and playwright who I last shared a stage with in a crowded basement in early March 2020 in one of the last gigs pre-pandemic. Since then he had had his debut full collection of poetry The Actual published and it is completely gorgeous, we also talk about his RAP Party events as well as what is coming up for him, in amongst some beautiful poetry shared. I Kick Off with something very old indeed in the fo...
Apr 03, 2021•40 min•Season 2Ep. 5
Welcome back! This week I am joined by fellow Roundhouse Poetry Collective alumni and brilliant musician Isabel. As well as a shared love for attempting covers of pop songs with cheap keyboards and mutual appreciation of Zia Ahmed, we discuss the sea and water in general, as well as the power of poetry to shift our view on the world. Izzy's Something Old is one of my favourites yet, as well as a borrowed poem 'Find The Poets' that stops us both in our tracks. Alongside poems about running and sw...
Mar 28, 2021•42 min•Season 2Ep. 4
Hey friends, we have a birthday special this week! Not only is it my birthday and sort of the birthday of the show (after first trying out the format on a little thing called Instagram live as a mini-party online because we were just entering a pandemic..) it is also the birthday of my mum, Grace, AND my fabulous guest, the wonderful Jake Wild Hall! I begin with a birthday remix, bring the pi day/mother's day crossover the world has been waiting for, borrow a poem from friend of the show Erin Bo...
Mar 20, 2021•35 min•Season 2Ep. 3
It's Episode 2! This week it was such a treat to get to speak to and hear from the Wonderful Zena Kazeme - We both shared some old old poems and some new old poems, as well as borrowing some stunners from our all-time faves, before finishing on a slightly blue mood (with a caveat of hope!). We also touch on how poems can be both light and heavy, timely and timeless, and what makes a poem a poem if it doesn't have an audience (or rules!). It's been almost exactly a year since we first went into L...
Mar 13, 2021•47 min•Season 2Ep. 2
