"Making a Splash" Poetry Evening with Cramond Writers

Published 14:50 on 1 Apr 2025

In partnership with the Cramond Association, CBC was delighted to play host to the Cramond Writers Group on an otherwise dreich March Monday evening. Setting the scene for this literary soiree, master of ceremonies David Bleiman highlighted our location's existing literary claim to fame. During his law student days the writer Robert Louis Stevenson frequented the Royal Oak Inn just along the quayside from here. Dubbed The University of Cramond by RLS and his classmates, he praised the inn's lack of pretentiousness: "The device, sir, of the University of Cramond is Plain Living and High Drinking". Words that could just as easily apply to the clubhouse bar today!

Following on from David's own poem inspired by this, which specifically name-checks the boat club, another eight local poets read from both their own work and that of other writers. Bookending the readings were laid-back grooves from Colorblind Slim, an acoustic blues duo comprising Alex Nisbet skilfully playing a clutch of various exotic guitars, including a cigar box and a Tasmanian Myrtle Weissenborn guitar, alongside John Hay driving the rhythm with a funky electric upright bass.

The raft of writers who performed their work -- David Bleiman, Ian Gilmour, Clair Bunch, Judy Arrowsmith, David F Thomson, Vicki Feaver, Anne Hay, Margaret McGhie and Mark Saundersall -- touched on a wide variety of aspects of water (the evening's theme chosen as a nod to the boat club), from tap-dancing gulls through to nuclear submarines and everything in between.

All-in-all a highly enjoyable evening and a fitting springboard for the new nautical adventures awaiting us in the forthcoming sailing season...