Ian McMillan is a poet, journalist, playwright and broadcaster. He’s written comedy for radio and plays for the stage, and worked extensively in radio and television. He currently presents The Verb on BBC Radio 3 and appears as a regular on Coast, BBC Breakfast, Countryfile, Pick of the Week, Last Word and The Arts Show. With the Times Education Supplement describing him as ‘the Shirley Bassey of performance poetry’ and Andy Kershaw saying ‘he’s inching towards the status of a National Treasure’, he’s been a castaway on Desert Island Discs, poet in residence for The Academy of Urbanism and Barnsley FC, resident poet at English National Opera and UK Trade & Investment poet, Yorkshire TV’s Investigative Poet and Humberside Police’s Beat poet.

My Sand Life, My Pebble Life is a fine companion

• Introduction: Coasting Barefoot in the sand in Blackpool One day that boy will be prime minister July 2020: There’s a couple there with masks on September 2020: The eternal EPCOT fridge magnet March 2020: The lost glove and the high wind Years went over and nobody found us The helicopter at the picnic Pieces to camera The coast that wasn’t a coast or maybe it was Overexposure Six and out The saxophone, the sea Jazz and bells and early morning coffee Joe’s Prize Bingo and the lockout East Coast, magnetic coast Who’s that in the picture? My sand life, my pebble life Filey fact, Filey fiction The shape of the watch on the wrist The map of getting the map Carrying the Methodist The wallet I haven’t seen one of those for years Going to extremes: North Going to extremes: East Going to extremes: West Going to extremes: South Autumn Winter Spring Summer Snow beach Like a statue Seeing the sand You’ll write a poem about that Pre-Cleethorpes dreaming April 2021: Almost forgetting the pie Drugged by the pie The running man Don’t touch the sides of that tent What the weather said Eating chips by the sea, a rhapsody Islands of midges and wasps Being a curator Into the wind The snake in the bed The oar The currency The Hunstanton Frisbee incident Coast as a series of novelty cruet sets Young man with a notebook Towels and trunks Tide out Up the path My sand life my pebble life

Ian McMillan is a poet, journalist, playwright and broadcaster. He’s written comedy for radio and plays for the stage, and worked extensively in radio and television. He currently presents The Verb on BBC Radio 3 and appears as a regular on Coast, BBC Breakfast, Countryfile, Pick of the Week, Last Word and The Arts Show. With the Times Education Supplement describing him as ‘the Shirley Bassey of performance poetry’ and Andy Kershaw saying ‘he’s inching towards the status of a National Treasure’, he’s been a castaway on Desert Island Discs, poet in residence for The Academy of Urbanism and Barnsley FC, resident poet at English National Opera and UK Trade & Investment poet, Yorkshire TV’s Investigative Poet and Humberside Police’s Beat poet.

My Sand Life, My Pebble Life is a fine companion

• Introduction: Coasting Barefoot in the sand in Blackpool One day that boy will be prime minister July 2020: There’s a couple there with masks on September 2020: The eternal EPCOT fridge magnet March 2020: The lost glove and the high wind Years went over and nobody found us The helicopter at the picnic Pieces to camera The coast that wasn’t a coast or maybe it was Overexposure Six and out The saxophone, the sea Jazz and bells and early morning coffee Joe’s Prize Bingo and the lockout East Coast, magnetic coast Who’s that in the picture? My sand life, my pebble life Filey fact, Filey fiction The shape of the watch on the wrist The map of getting the map Carrying the Methodist The wallet I haven’t seen one of those for years Going to extremes: North Going to extremes: East Going to extremes: West Going to extremes: South Autumn Winter Spring Summer Snow beach Like a statue Seeing the sand You’ll write a poem about that Pre-Cleethorpes dreaming April 2021: Almost forgetting the pie Drugged by the pie The running man Don’t touch the sides of that tent What the weather said Eating chips by the sea, a rhapsody Islands of midges and wasps Being a curator Into the wind The snake in the bed The oar The currency The Hunstanton Frisbee incident Coast as a series of novelty cruet sets Young man with a notebook Towels and trunks Tide out Up the path My sand life my pebble life