CRUMB #35

JUNE 2025

THE WORD

A SOUND OF JOY

We strike the match, we light the fire and pull up the chair to make the most of these cosy winter evenings.

We open the curtains though, let the moon glisten on the cold metal of the microphone. Then we hear it speak and sing. And the winter blues succumb to the sound of joy, to the warm heart dancing in the sweet embrace of this community thing that we have got going.

Let not this winter lock you away behind your front door. We have a few good things happening in the month of June. And our venues are always warm and always welcoming. So wrap up, step out and let the light of the moon lead you to an evening of song and poem at The Dangerous Kitchen, The Mussel Inn and NgAng’s Gallery.

All the details on the following pages.

Peace
Mark Raffills
Golden Bay Live Poets Society

 

 

 

 

 

 

standing by winter

…light the fire in winter’s hearth
watch the spark leap and laugh
close the door, open the curtain
the moon outside is looking in
a cold tear slides down its face
a sad river, a heavy burden
won’t you button me in your coat
won’t you stand by me in the swirling rain
won’t you delight in my poem and song
tie me to the pounding of your heart
shun the misery of the broken stone
standing on bleaker street alone
shovel the snow from off the path
strike the match among the stars
and pull the dark, night sky down
within the reach of the dancing flame
eating wood with a crackling sound
rest easy in the old easy chair
hold the cracked cup of cocoa
in your shivering, shaking hand
and hope like crazy in the morning
that winter is just a red glow,
a spark still breathing in an old ash can
like how you once held my hand…

Mark Raffills

LIVE MIC ACTION

Winter & The Dangerous Microphone

This will be the last month of The Dangerous Microphone until spring. We will bring our third year to a close on Wednesday 25 June. The Dangerous Kitchen will operate for two more weeks after that until mid July and then it will close for the winter. The re-opening will occur on Wednesday 3 September with The Dangerous Microphone taking centre stage then as well.

For now, we, our wonderful audience, will gather each Wednesday to be entertained, challenged and informed by courageous performances and strong community connections. This is open mic central!

There’s a change a’coming too, to the format. Going to slot 30 Minutes of Glory into the middle of the evening rather than at the end. This will give a little more opportunity for open mic participants at the end of the evening and allow the guest performers to enjoy a little more audience in the middle of the night.

So here we are in June – every Wednesday at the Dangerous Kitchen. where the food and beverage service is fantastic and the hostesses and hosts make you feel right at home. We pass the koha bowl to support our performers on the 30 Minutes of Glory evenings.  Here’s the programme!

Wednesday 4 June

DANGEROUS MICROPHONE 
Oprn Mic: 6.00pm – 8.00pm.  MIX UP THE JAM from 8.00pm. Bring your acoustic instruments and make the kinda music that replenishes the soul and boosts your playing confidence.

 

Winter & The Dangerous Microphone

LIVE MIC ACTION

Dangerous Microphone Lineup

Wednesday 11 June

DANGEROUS MICROPHONE
Open Mic: 6.00pm – 7.30pm. 30 Minutes of Glory featuring BEAU  7.30pm – 8.00pm. Open Mic 8.00pm – 9.00pm.

Says BEAU,Thank you for the opportunity of 30 Minutes Of Glory at the Dangerous Mic this June. I can promise a great time with lots of dancing, rocking and grooving. It’s great to be home, and I’m making the most of it, despite it being a relatively short time before I’m off to start arrangements for the next gypsy fair season… with love Beau

Wednesday 18 June

DANGEROUS MICROPHONE
Open Mic: 6.00pm – 7.30pm. 30 Minutes of Glory featuring MARC BURTON 7.30pm – 8.00pm. Open Mic 8.00pm – 9.00pm.

A self-taught guitarist, Golden Bay’s Marc Burton has loved music his whole life. And he chased the song down until he caught it! Some classic rock is his liking, Pink Floyd, U2, but he is not above Bacharach and David either. He says he learnt to sing by accident but some times accidents have unexpected and positive outcomes!

Wednesday 25 June

DANGEROUS MICROPHONE
Open Mic: 6.00pm – 7.30pm. 30 Minutes of Glory featuring alanjahjah  7.30pm – 8.00pm. Open Mic 8.00pm – 9.00pm.

alanjahjah was born Alan De Boeck in Belgium, with strong ever living Liverpool Roots, which reach, ever deeper, to Eire/Ireland. Through his Daughter, Uisce, alanjahjah has Eire/Ireland Fruits, too, and Aotearoa/NZ Fruits through his Son, James.alanjahjah has called Mohua/’Red Golden Green Bay’ Home for 14 years (and counting) and is proud to bring his ever evolving Acoustic Reggae Folk to a place that is extra hearty for its ever inclusiveness, majorly augmented by Mark and Family’s Kaupapa. alanjahjah Sings and Plays Guitar and Djembe.

Dangerous Microphone Lineup

LIVE MIC ACTION

Open Mic and Pot Luck Tea Again

That’s right! Fighting hard to believe this is one kind of gathering we need! Come this Thursday 7 August we are dishing up another WINTER POT LUCK TEA, a poem and a song at NgAng’s Gallery. 

The POT LUCK TEA will start at  6.00pm. Bring some food and drink and hang out together and remind ourselves just how lucky we are to be in such a gem of a community.

And then, starting around 7.30pm, there will be the very fabulous and very intimate Moonshine on the Microphone open mic session hosted by Mr  Mark Raffills.

Moonshine on the Microphone
Thursday 7 August 2025
NgAng’s Gallery
POT LUCK TEA – 6.00pm
Open Mic – 7.30pm. Koha

Open Mic and Pot Luck Tea Again

LIVE MIC ACTION

ACID in July

Irish singer/songwriter Diana Ní hÍceadha is our guest at July’s edition of ACID ON THE MICROPHONE presented by Golden Bay Live Poets Society.

Our regular open microphone session for poets and musicians will run from 7.30 to 8.30 pm.  The open mic always throws up some unexpected treats as new and established performers present their work.  Participants can put their names on the performance list on the night. Musician alanjahjah will kick the evening off from around 7.15pm with dinner music to dine to.

ACID ON THE MICROPHONE presents
Irish singer/songwriter
Diana Ní hÍceadha
Thursday 24 July
Open Mic from 7.30 pm.
Diana from 8.30 pm.
 $5 on the door.  Mussel Inn

ACID in July

STORY TELLING MAGIC

IAN BROWN – unhinged improbability

Ian is a storyteller. He tells stories and he will be telling a few when he takes the guest spot at Golden Bay Live Poets Society’s June gathering.

Ian tells all sorts of stories –  myths, fables, fairytales, legends, yarns, parables, true story’s and of course fisherman’s tales .
Brought up in a working class town in Wales ( Cymraeg ) , Ian learned pretty quick the importance of being able to story your way out of or into a situation .
A lot of water under the bridge since then, a professional clown, a trained drama teacher and a busy Daddy. Ian tries, using often slightly irreverent mischief, to stretch the boundary’s of your inner world. He does this to highlight the archetypal magnificence of you in a world that is quite literally completely made of story’s and also as it happens (possibly not coincidentally) is completely made up.
Come and share an evening of unhinged improbability.

Note: This bio was NOT written using Artificial Intelligence

poet & story teller
IAN BROWN
Thursday 26 June
Mussel Inn
$5 on the door

IAN BROWN – unhinged improbability

COMMUNITY STRENGTH ON SHOW

July @ Aroha Ahora

July @ Aroha Ahora

LIVE AT THE MUSSEL INN

JULY AT THE MUSSEL INN

Thursday 3 July
QUIZ NIGHT – All welcome

Saturday 12 July
HOBNAIL Trio (pic to left)

 Thursday 17 July
QUIZ NIGHT  – All welcome

Thursday 24 July
ACID ON THE MICROPHONE
LIVE POETS featuring Diana Ní hÍceadha

Saturday 26 July
THE AMBER TEMPLE – dramatic music and dance

Thursday 31 July
QUIZ NIGHT – All welcome

 

JULY AT THE MUSSEL INN

Make Use of CRUMB

subscribe to CRUMB

In CRUMB you will find all the events sponsored by Golden Bay Live Poets Society plus a few other gigs and community happenings.

If you would like to be kept up to date with open microphone events happening around the Bay, then subscribe to CRUMB here

And you can even submit a gig or event that you want us to know about.

 

 

 

 

 

GOT A GIG, EVENT, NEW BOOK or RECORDING COMING UP ??

Got events or gigs coming up that you’d like to let CRUMB readers know about, please email the details, jpeg pics and jpeg posters to: mark@drycrust.com  or use the link below:

submit a gig or event 

And if you have a new book of  poems, stories coming out, or a new recording of songs, let us know and we can let our small but dedicated readership in on the action.