I heard the slap of the paper this morning as it landed in the hall. Turning the pages of the Waltham Forest News, an article catches my eye “A summer of culture for E17”. Just yesterday, I met the team from Artillery at The Mill. We were talking about plans for 2013 and getting feedback from those people involved in this year’s E17 Art Trail. Yes, it has been a remarkable summer in Walthamstow. For me it has been a highlight in the year when I have “gone freelance” as an arts marketer and project manager. It’s been a little bit scary but fun. This year Artillery commissioned me to curate the second annual Walthamstow Poetry Trail and to coordinate the publicity and media relations for the E17 Art Trail. Over the last month I have been interviewed on BBC Radio London, enjoyed poetry under a fig tree in a garden, selected my “Desert Island Poems” on Streetlife Radio, displayed poems by local poets and artists in Estate Agents’ windows and strolled round poetry tours in the beautiful William Morris Gallery. All of this has kept me away from my blog for far too long. It’s also kept me away from my writing. It is time to take a breather and take stock of all the things that have been happening this summer – in my own world and the wider cultural hub that is Walthamstow. Phew!