MO13

FHP13

GPH 13 – holiday chalet

Hungry Changing Room

There was a bump, a bang
an awful gut wrenching twang,
then a burp and a chomp.
The door opened with a flomp!

It spat the surfer out of reach
with bits of dead chap lining the beach.

Another burp and a kite and some twine,
a bit of some child that tasted divine

Be careful when choosing beach changing rooms
always find ones that have been approved.

And not monstrous ones with big appetites
for surfers or kids flying their kites.

Dave Ashley

FHP13


A Proposal


Under clear moonlight
we were dancing, and
he was whispering,

Let the sea hold you…
Look into my eyes… 
I will not lose you…
I’m taking you home.



Elizabeth Cusack
for Wombwell Rainbow
10 April, 2026

ONLY THE REMNANTS (MO13)

She remembers the stained glass,
a flash of a white bird above,
daffodils open and singing in the grass.

She remembers the feeling.
She calls it Spring,
smiles as she works to piece it all together.

Her lungs expand at the thought of hope;
the drummers from the marching band
are still inside her.

Sue Finch

GPH 13
Holiday Chalet

Holiday here!
Palladian folly by
him who burns—The Blue

Doors—your surprised 
eyes looking within. Review 
us—every like helps. 

Next to reservoir! View of 
cricket ground. No cars, no pets.

Dave Garbutt

FHP13 

Splitting

I wear a face the world can read,
polished smooth, rehearsed to please,
a lantern held against the dark
to hide the tremor of the spark.

Behind it, something quieter lives,
the part no mirror ever gives,
a pulse of truth beneath the skin,
a voice I swallow to fit in.

The public self knows how to shine,
to nod, to smile, to toe the line;
while deeper still, the self I keep
waits in rooms where shadows sleep.

Some days they drift a breath apart,
two tides that strain the same worn heart;
some days they split like fractured glass,
a fault line I alone must pass.

I walk with both, and cannot choose
which one is truth, which one I use.

Jenni Thorne

C Oulens

Jane Sharp

13

Blue doors and blue days,
giving way to our dreams of 
clover afternoons. 

Lin Hart

GPH13

Oh, the blues always followed
Even on some holiday
Waiting in shadows
inside a chalet
Even as they were out thinking
the grass is greenly
the sun is so silky 
& the moon 
the moon may burn misty
on a wonderful 
for a wonderful holiday

by C. Oulens

Black Lines 
(GPH13, MO13) 

Black lines, 
The boundaries 
That define 
The edges 
Of reality 
On paper. 

Anything that 
Strays from 
The predetermined 
Shape or 
Crosses the confinds 
Of those black lines 

That tries to 
Redefine order 
Will be restrained 
Contained 
Behind the bars 
Of bolder, blacker lines 

And no one questions 
The quelling 
Of insurrection 
When they’re conditioned 
As children 
To paint 
Inside the lines. 

Luke Meyers

involved in the video game war
 
The final climbers made it through the murk.
There is no threat says defence advisor.
A locked up holiday chalet does not lurk,
its blue shines, is a child playing actor
 
hobbling with his nannan"s stick saying I'm
 getting there. Women are to blame for us 
men having nowt, he says  They've us int bind.
Can't do owt. May as well top our sens. Us.
 
His nannan rescues her stick bar comment.
A new handbag never really fills void.
She's scapegoating the other. A time meant
for monsters. Other folk I must avoid.
 
Competing for a husband, home, kids schools,
new jobs, on our tod. We must be damn fools.
 
Paul Brookes

Artworker And Author Bios

Molly Ovenden (MO)

Artist Statement:

In this April 2026 collection, “New Light, Returning Daily,” I wanted to explore using familiar materials with unfamiliar methods. I combined off-cuts from my “scrapings” paintings, pages from a rescued Bible that had been damaged, and a variety of mixed media materials to make something new with collage in a cohesive collection. When I consider how day-to-day life can feel mundane, the same day-after-day, or simply a repeat of dull life that offers next to no progress, I easily miss the beauty in small, secret, quiet moments. As this series of 30 pieces unfolds, I created it to capture the variety, emotions, beauty, and depth of everyday life on the daily; viewing each piece (or, each day this month) separately may reveal one thing for a viewer, but to experience each piece together may offer a new perspective, a new light, on our everyday mundane upon returning daily.

Bio:

Molly Ovenden is a contemplative poet and painter based in Leeds, England. She writes poems for people on the spot with her vintage typewriter and moments of emotion through expressive abstract paintings. For Molly, inspiration comes from running and wandering through nature, seeking God in everyday small moments, and holding spaces for people to be present with emotions. Molly believes that everyone is made to create: whether they paint or write poetry, or build literal bridges as a civil engineer or relational bridges as a great neighbour, it all takes creativity. The concept “Beauty is an arrow of Hope that points to Peace” drives Molly to capture, create, and share beauty with others–especially through poems and paintings.

Contact for Availability and Purchasing:

To view full collection, visit: https://mollyovenden.com/art/

To contact for availability and Purchasing – UK only shipping – visit: https://mollyovenden.com/contact/Facebook | Instagram – @mollyovendencreativity For Blog About Artwork, visit: 

https://mollyovenden.substack.com/

Phil Hyde

GP Hyde was born on the Wirral and now lives in Grimsby, North East Lincolnshire, UK. He studied fine art and photography at Goldsmith’s College and at the Royal Academy Schools. He worked in theatre, art centres and community arts as a photographer, writer and production manager for 14 years and as a lecturer and senior manager in creative arts for 25 years.

His photography has been featured in Underbelly Press in issues 5 and 6. His influences include Tony Ray Jones, Martin Parr and Tom Wood.

socials: @gphydeauthor

Francis H Powell

Francis H. Powell studied both painting and printmaking at art schools in Britain, obtaining a Master of Arts degree. Since leaving art school, he has participated in exhibitions in both the UK and France, including group exhibitions and solo shows. His work ranges across paintings, drawings, mixed media, sculptures, and installations, sometimes incorporating political themes, such as plastic waste in the sea. His installations also include soundscapes and video. In addition to his visual art, his illustrations have been included in books.  

Below is a list of exhibitions…

Exhibitions 20252024//2023 Salon d’art de Moret-Loing-et-Orvanne

2022 show Studio 58, Brittany 2015 One man show Style Pixie Gallery 2008 one man show gallerie L’Usine Paris 2007 one man show Theatre du Poche. Chartres. 2006 l’église de L’hôpital de la Salpêtrière 2006 Carrousel du Louvre 2005 Group Exhibition IVY Gallery Bastille 2005 Vente Art Contemporain, Paris and Marseille. (for Aides charity) 2001 Live Art Show le Divan du Monde Paris. 1987 Final Post graduate show, Wimbledon School of Art. 1987 Royal Society of Painter, Etchers and Engravers, Bankside Gallery 1986 “In and out of print”, Swiss College Library Exhibition Hall 1985 Studies in composition (the Professor studio) the Royal College of Art 1983 Leicestershire Collection for schools and Colleges Baumanor Hall 1983 Stowells Trophy Royal Academy 1983 Windsor and Newton Finalist Royal Institute of Painters Mall Gallery Studied at 1985-87 Wimbledon School of Art MA printmaking. 1979-80 Eastbourne College of Art 1980-83 Glos College of Art and Technology BA (Hons) painting  

Author Bios:

Jen Thorne

C. Oulens 

is an emerging poet and former academic from India. Winner of the 3rd Annual Poe-It Like Poe 2025 poetry contest, her work has been published or is forthcoming in The Broken Spine, Lothlorien Poetry Journal, The Candyman’s Trumpet, Eunoia Review, Spillwords Press, The Starbeck Orion, Temple in a City, Sixty Odd Poets, SHINE International, The Book Bag, FromOneLine, SciFanSat, Verseve and in haiku journals including Pan Haiku Review, 575 Haiku Journal, Poetry Pea, The Wee Sparrows, Haiku Pause, The Solitary Daisy, Folk Ku, Failed Haiku, and Heterodox Haiku. Explore her works on Bluesky @owlnsquirrels1111.bsky.social.

Jane Sharp

Donna Faulkner

lives in Christchurch, New Zealand. Free spirited and unconventional, she came to the business of writing later in life. She’s published in The Madrid Review , Alchemy Spoon,  The Bayou Review, 300 Days of Sun, Windward Review, Havik, New Myths, and many others. Her poetry book In Silver Majesty was published by the UK based erbacce press in 2024.https://www.erbacce-press.co.uk/donna-faulkner

Instagram: @lady_lilith_poet  X@nee_miller  

Website: https://linktr.ee/donnafaulkner

Lin Hart

Lin describes herself as a poet, satirist, and zinester from West Virginia. A married, mother of two who eats numbers for work and is definitely a neurospicy cryptid in disguise. Find out more on Bluesky.

Luke Meyers

Luke is a Welsh performer and poet who discovered a love of writing during the lockdown. Luke mainly writes on Bluesky @sonnetsmith.bsky.social but has also been published in a couple of publications, including the British Fantasy Journal, Icebrakers Lit. Muse Pie Press, From One Line, and Oatleaf Poetry Journal.

Sue Finch

Sue Finch is the author of Magnifying Glass, Welcome to the Museum of a Life, and Vortex Over Wave. She loves the coast, peculiar things, and the scent of ice-cream freezers. 

Mick Jenkinson

Jenni Thorne

is a writer from the Black Country in the UK, and winner of the New2theScene poetry prize for 2025, and has had her work published in various poetry collections and on-line jornals including Starbeck Orion, Ink, Sweat and Tears, April Showers, Dark Poets, Broken Spine and the Sixty Odd Poets Heresy collection. 

Her work explores the weight of the ordinary, the need for belonging, and the way the lessons of the past and the pressures of modern life shape us.

She shares her writing on Bluesky @jenthorne.bsky.social.