DUE to serious family illness, poet Nigel Pantling, has had to pull out of Saturday night's Poem and a Pint event at Ulverston's Laurel and Hardy Museum.

Stepping in for the gig at Ulverston's Laurel and Hardy Museum will be one of Manchester’s rising stars of poetry Mark Pajak.

Mark Pajak was born in Merseyside. His work has been published in Magma, The North and The Rialto and been highly commended in the Cheltenham Poetry and National Poetry Competitions. He is this year’s apprentice poet-in-residence at Ilkley Literature Festival. His poem Spitting Distance won first prize in the 2016 Bridport Prize, and his pamphlet of the same name was one of 2016 Laureate’s Choice Pamphlets, chosen by Carol Ann Duffy and published by Smith/Doorstop. He won an Eric Gregory Award in 2017.

Providing the music for Saturday's Brogden Street gig will be local musician John Lamb, a founder member of The Bluegrass Project in 2013, who now performs solo with a mix of Americana and soulful ballads.

PP's Antony Christie said that John is adept at making his audiences rethink their interpretations of well known songs and his own music explores human successes and failures.

Antony added that Poem and a Pint's February event was a great success with the largest audience PP''s has had at the Laurel and Hardy Museum: "Even our most conservative followers seem to have taken to our new regular venue.

"We are about to embark on publicity for the second Poem and a Pint poetry competition and if last year’s winners and runners up have remained as enthusiastic as they were at the presentation and reading evening last September we expect them to spread the word and recruit more entrants.

The event also features the traditional open mic slot with MC Mark Carson for the evening.

Pay at the door.

For further information go online at www.apoemandapint.co.uk.

John Lamb is adept at making his audiences rethink their interpretations of well known songs and his own music explores human successes and failures.