Time Travel Opportunists

Hello There!

2011-04-03T16:22:00.000+01:00

It's quiet in the world of the Time Travel Opportunists now that Nathan has moved down to London.

Although not working that much as a trio anymore, Emma has never been busier writing and getting published, Biff has finished lots of songs and pieces of music and put them on a compact disc, and Nathan has been honing his craft.

You can read about all this new work on the label website: Time Travel Opps.

A Fine Evening Of Travelling Through Time

2009-09-13T14:34:00.004+01:00

Tonight, QUAD are showing The Time Traveler’s Wife. They contacted us lot at Time Travel Opportunists to put on a night of words to follow a literary adaptation (of which there are a few kicking about at the moment). Now, The Time Traveler’s Wife is looking like it might disappoint a bit, but it’s still about TIME innit, so we’re putting on a night all about time to follow the film that should either extend the enjoyment (if the film is as good as the book that it’s based on) or flood it out (if it’s not) with time themed wonders from the worlds of short films, fiction, and music.

Here’s what the evening is looking like:

WORDS:-
Time Travel Opportunists – me, Nathan Good and Emma Lannie, reading our original ficton.
Dr. Paul Hammond OBE – local actor, entrepreneur and savant shares his theories of time…
MOMO – We’ll be reading selections from Michael Ende’s classic throughout the evening.

FILM:-
‘On Time’ by Ted Chung – an incredible short film made in 24 hours at the 2008 Berlinale Talent Campus.
‘Back To The Future The Musical’ – one-man, one-theme tune. That’s all that needs saying.
‘Chronos’ by Ron Fricke – a visual journey through time (we’ll be playing this ambiently throughout the night)

MUSIC:-
Time themed musical journeys will be spun throughout this merry evening by DJ Emmett L. Brown. Great Scott!

All this is FREE as well. Seeing the film isn’t (it’s the usual price of about five or six quid), but the whole night afterwards is. We’ll start at 8:30pm, after the 6:10pm showing of The Time Traveler’s Wife. Join us. JOIN US.

Festé Wrap Party

2009-08-28T21:04:00.005+01:00

On Sunday 6th September, as well as it being Nath's Birthday, NO PARKING are taking over Déda with their 'Buildings Without Walls' exhibition. Hello Hubmarine have joined forces with them for the Festé Wrap Party that night. Me, Biff and Nath will be reading TTO stuff, and Joe Coghlan and Jonezy will be doing amazing things with words and microphones. Our special guest Mike Wilson will also be performing poetry there. There will be music from Bell Hagg Orkestar, FUNfun, Dulcinea and The Dust Collectors. There's even a foyer band AND a puppet show!

It kicks off at 7pm, and tickets are £3.

You can see what other things are happening over the Festé weekend here.

Keeping The Present Inevitable

2009-08-28T20:22:00.005+01:00

This poster is from a series by Amy Martin for the Federation for the Advancement of Time.
We definitely need to pay a visit to The Echo Park Time Travel Mart, and more specifically, here. They are doing good things.

City-Zen

2009-08-20T15:26:00.006+01:00

We're proper chuffed to be doing our Hello Hubmarine set again within a week of Summer Sundae. I'm not sure if we've talked that much about the Time Travel Opportunists involvement with Hello Hubmarine - it's quite a difficult thing to 'nail down'. Basically, when doing our TTO stuff (books, parties, stories) we met a load of other folks who liked doing that stuff as well. So we joined up and called ourselves Hello Hubmarine and did some workshops and are planning to take over the world with the power of the pen. Or something. More on that another time probably.

For now, though, we're performing a half-hour showcase/set of stories, poems, and a song. We go on stage one after another, in quick succession, not stopping for introductions or rambles. It's a half-hour that's all about the pieces themselves. It's about the performance, not the performer. We did this at Summer Sundae at Phrased & Confused and if I hadn't seen the set a load of times before I seriously would have fallen off my chair. Jonezy and Joe Coghlan in particular raised the bar significantly for me personally.

The contrasting colours of each of our different strands of creativity are celebrated, not segmented. I play an Emphemetry song, Emma reads a story about kissing and newts (not kissing newts though), and Nathan talks crayons and spray paints; Jonezy delivers two pieces - a tragic lullaby and a call to arms; Joe Coghlan gives both sides of the story in an epic poem about suburban alienation and despair; Aimee Wilkinson nearly drowns trying to catch the attention of a lifeguard, and Catherine Rogers introduces it all.

So yeah, we're doing it all again this Friday at City-Zen, and are pretty prepared to do it anywhere and anywhen we can.

How We Spent Our Weekend

2009-08-19T01:36:00.002+01:00

You can read all about our roadtrip to Wales and our Summer Sundae shenanigans here.

TTO go to Wales

2009-08-03T17:41:00.004+01:00

We're doing a stall at the Book Arts Fayre in Cardiff on Saturday 15th August. We've been looking at photos of the last one and it looks brilliant. Lots of lovely handmade books and badges and cakes! We'll have copies of our chapbooks for sale, and there might even be some new, very limited edition bits and bobs too. Biff will be performing an Emphemetry set, and we'll be reading stories as well. Then it's back to the Midlands for the Summer Sundae on the Sunday. Busy times!

TTO and fellow Hello Hubmariners at Summer Sundae

2009-07-21T23:58:00.005+01:00

Phrased and Confused very kindly invited Hello Hubmarine to come along to Summer Sundae and do our thing. So on Sunday 16th August, me, Biff, Nath, Jonezy, Joe, Aimee and Catherine will be reading stories and poems and doing songs and spoken word things. Woop! We're on the website programme under "Hello Hubmarine" (very bottom right corner) so now it's official.

We are all very excited!

Hello Hubmarine 0906

2009-06-18T23:43:00.003+01:00

NOW we have a poster! Thank you Jim Cork.

Hello Hubmarine #5

2009-06-08T15:03:00.003+01:00

We don't have a poster, we're still waiting on the line-up, but what we DO know is the date - Saturday 27th June. It's going to be the last one for a couple of months, as we're taking a Summer break. We will be back in September, though, maybe with a TTO book, maybe just with words and wine and chocolate pennies. We'll see.

The date might ring a bell to you literary folk, as it's the same as that of Lowdham Book Festival. We'll be making a day of it: listening to great readings, buying books, eating cake, marvelling at the way the whole village gets in on the act. And then we'll be heading back to Derby, to the Big Blue Coffee Co. to finish the day off perfectly.

See you there!

Hello Hubmarine #4

2009-05-30T14:58:00.000+01:00

Better late than never.

Invisible Girls With Green Eyes

2009-04-22T11:42:00.001+01:00

Our Nathan's only gone and done a story. You can read it here. You'd be silly not to.

Hello Hubmarine 0903

2009-03-22T11:39:00.002+00:00

Hello Hubmarine 0903 : WHY HAVE ONE HEADLINER WHEN YOU CAN HAVE SIX?

Fiction – Jenn Ashworth
Poetry – Ivoryfishbone, Lemn Sissay
Music – Amy Scott & Adam Gallagher
Comedy - James Hately
Film – 3 short films from the vaults of Luniere

Step up step up, for it’s time for the third Hello Hubmarine! Hear ye, that this time we’re chuffed to pieces not only with our line-up (as usual), but to be part of what we think is the first literature festival in our fair city – Shout!Fest – a long weekend of events including the return of John Hegley, a Lemn Sissay workshop, and much more including, yes, Hello Hubmarine on Saturday 28th March.
As usual it’s free and everyone is welcome to come and enjoy a selection of fine contemporary fiction, poetry, music, and short film. Here’s what’s coming at you:
JENN ASHWORTH has just had her debut novel published by Arcadia Books and was going to be in Derby anyway signing copies of the down-right amazing thing in Waterstones. So we nabbed her with promises of red wine and pink things for presents. Needless to say she accepted, and good for you she did because all her stories, while funny and absurd, are based around the same minutiae and experiences we all go through everyday and so carry with them a sincerity that lifts her writing far above the absurd. Her novel, although not even out a month, is already in its second pressing so a lot of people must agree.

On the poetry front we’re very proud to have laid our hands on two big names. LEMN SISSAY is the author of 5 poetry collections. The latest 'Listener' was published by Canongate last year. He has been commissioned to write poems for various bodies including the World Service, and his work has become public art, particularly in Manchester where his poems appear on the buildings and streets. In 2007 he was appointed artist in residence at the Southbank Centre. He reads his work all around the world, and his work is featured on many albums most notably Leftism by Leftfield. After growing up in care he is now patron of Letterbox which focuses on improving the educational outlook for children aged 7-11 in foster care by providing them with a parcel of books every six months. The Independent on Sunday says of his work , “His poems are the songs of the street, declamatory, imaginative, hardhitting,” – we say they’re funny, real, warm, honest and inspirational.
Second on our poetic roster is the lady who goes by the name IVORYFISHBONE is a poet, novelist, short story writer, film maker and performer, teaches writing in the community, prisons and universities. Her first chapbook ‘April's Fish’ was published by Koo Press in 2006, and since then she has been widely published including commissions for Tripod Magazine and BBCRadio 4 as well as performances at the Edinburgh Fringe and Bloomsbury Theatre. She can be sensual , lighthearted and risque with her sardonic spin on love , sex and relationships. You can't help feeling an intimacy with the poems and will find yourself nodding your head in recognition and, just maybe, wiping the tears from your eyes.
JAMES HATELY is all about drifters, wasps, and dinosaur briefs – a man mischievously inconsiderate of the sleeping patterns of bears…but in a way that makes perfect sense to everyone. Come hear him speak, and think deeply about what he has to tell you about the world that, to him, is exactly as it seems.

Music on the night will be provided by AMY SCOTT’s voice and guitar with the djembe of ADAM GALLAGHER, with films interspersed throughout the evening. Open Mic slots are available for those who wish to take the baton in the breaks and express themselves. Either get in touch with us before or turn up and take the mic.
Links:
www.jennashworth.co.uk
lemnsissay.com
ivoryfishbone.wordpress.com

Contact:

Hello Hubmarine info: 07973 480098 | info@timetravelopps.co.uk
www.timetravelopps.co.uk

Hello Hubmarine 0902

2009-02-23T15:29:00.006+00:00

2. Feb '09

FICTION - CHRIS KILLEN, SOCRATES ADAMS-FLOROU, SIAN CUMMINS (Manchester Invasion)
POETRY - STEVE ROONEY, MICHAEL FREARSON
FILM - 3 more short films
MUSIC - JO LEWIS

Okey Dokey. It's nearly the end of the second month of 2009 so WHAM it's time for Hello Hubmarine #2. This one is a blinder n'all - we've got some amazing fiction for y'all.

If you haven't heard of Chris Killen then you're about to. His debut novel The Bird Room was published by Canongate last month to rave reviews. We've all read it and flipping love it. It's funny, weird, romantic, horny and skewered. If it were to be made into a film it would be directed by Chris Morris and star Mark Heap. If you haven't picked up a copy of it yet you may well get the chance on the night as we hope to get our hands on a few. Chris is coming down from Manchester with his friend and accomplice in disjointed-but-wildly-inventive contemporary fiction SOCRATES ADAMS-FLOROU (author of the (now sold out) chap book Flesh Feast: The Human Brain). Chris is responsible in part for the amazing 'There's No Point In Not Being Friends With Someone If You Want To Be Friends With Them' night of stories and poetry in Manchester, and so is our next surprise: SIAN CUMMINS. As if there weren't enough of a Northern invasion going on! Sian is a bit of an internet dark horse, but I've seen her name after the word 'by' on a story at Pygmy Giant.

Remember January? Well, in that month, there was a poetry slam up at the University of Derby. A man from Leicester came and made everyone laugh and won it. That man is STEVE ROONEY. You may remember him from Michael Frearson's book launch last summer. You would have been laughing, probably, at poetic narratives that take in dysfunctional romance, white transit vans, and chavs. MICHAEL FREARSON will also be making an appearance, which will be one of the last in a good long while. Michael's going away exploring, we think, the remote regions of Nepal. So as well as coming to enjoy some honest, powerful, intimate and intimidating poetry from Mr. Frearson, come down to cheer him off on his merry way (and tell him to come back soon, and to not forget to write, and to not be stranger etc.)

Everyone seemed to enjoy our little selection of short films in January so we'll deliver another three or four straight into your ears and eyeballs. Musical accomplices still to be confirmed...but still...how about that for a FREE night, on a Saturday, in the heart of the city eh?

Are you game? Then come to Big Blue on Saturday 28th of February. It's FREE. If between now and then you would like to meet other people who will be there, you can do so on our Hello Hubmarine Facebook event page.

UPDATE: We didn't think there were quite enough people from up north playing in Derby on Saturday night, so we're well proper chuffed to have JO LEWIS with her lovely voice and acoustic guitar. Jo's played at TTO nights before, as well as Michael's poetry collection launches, and every time it's awesome, and every time people sing along, and every time it's la la la la la la.

TTO goes Gonzo

2009-01-30T16:45:00.008+00:00

This man, above, is Hunter S. Thompson. He's responsible for Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, The Rum Diary, Better Than Sex, and some of the most incredible journalism of last century. So good was it in fact that it got it's own name - Gonzo. There's a new film about him that's called that as well, and it's on at QUAD from Sunday 1st Feb.

To celebrate this, they're putting on a special GONZO night afterwards with music, drinks, and a large collection of pharmaceutical to weapons grade pills and powders. Well, definitely music and drinks...and us as well. Yep, us three are going to read a story each.

So, to recap, FILM ABOUT HUNTER S. + TIME TRAVEL OPPORTUNISTS + MUSIC FROM MR.G = QUAD THIS SUNDAY EVENING.

(oh yes, and Hello Hubmarine's first voyage on Saturday (see today's earlier blog post)

Busy,

TTO
x

Update: The film is on at 5:45pm, and the evening thing starts at 8pm. The evening thing is free, but the film costs the usual five or six quid.

Hello Hubmarine 0901

2009-01-30T16:28:00.001+00:00

1. Jan '09

MUSIC - LUKE WYNNE
FICTION – DREW GUMMERSON, EMMA LANNIE, NATHAN GOOD, DUNCAN CHESHIRE
POETRY – JOE COGHLAN, JONEZY, JO BELL
FILM – 3 short films

2008 saw the introduction of Rhythm & Blue’s live literature based open-mic(ish) night, as well as local writing/publishing collective Time Travel Opportunists holding release parties of a similar ilk at Big Blue on Sadlergate in Derby.

In 2009 the two have joined forces with other local promoters and artists to create HELLO HUBMARINE, the first manifestation of which is a free monthly night of highly varied high quality music, fiction, poetry and film in the warm and welcoming setting of Derby’s finest outlet of coffee, tea, cakes, biscuits and booze.

This first HELLO HUBMARINE event will feature music from Luke Wynne, whose performances have been raved about all around town. Thrashed out yet melodic acoustic songs with an incredible emotional depth that is introspective yet in no way indulgent, put across with a giant and often spine shatteringly powerful voice. Before that we’ll have Leicester based writer Drew Gummerson, author of the acclaimed 2008 novel ‘Me And Mickie James’. We don’t know what Drew is going to do this time, but based on the story he contributed to last year’s HOME collection (by Time Travel Opps) with accompanying sound-effect laden audio track, we can’t wait to find out.

Social warrior and passionate rhyme-master Jonezy will follow up his success at the Derby Poetry Slam earlier in the month. His pieces are at once powerful and moving, and he just gets better and better, mining new depths from his urban style. The same can also be said of Joe Coghlan, who takes you into the hidden details of social change in a way that makes jaws drop and foreheads sweat. Versing about sweat in an entirely different way will be boater and National Poetry Day wizardess Jo Bell. Expect something saucy...

In the realms of short fiction, Emma Lannie and Nathan Good from Time Travel Opportunists are making waves with their intensely personal yet highly accessible stories, read in a way that gets you every time. Duncan Cheshire, second on the baton of Untitled Supermarket Nightmare and relief worker at the interactive library SH, will be floating over from Nottingham with his gorgeous fiction featuring, among other things, hot air balloons.

Add to that a selection of largely unseen magical and inventive short films from around the world, and that is that. A line-up to be proud of, and one we’re frantically trying to match for the months to come. We hope you’ll join us at kick-off and come warm yourselves around our fire.

Fry It Up

2009-01-08T14:27:00.003+00:00

"Do they ever yoke impossible words together for the sound-sex of it?"

Ace, ace, ace. Stephen Fry's new Podgram is all about Language.

"Use it, use it, if you've got it, use it. Don't be afraid of it, don't believe it belongs to anyone else. Just let the words fly from your lips and your pen. Give them rhythm and depth and height and silliness. Give them filth and form and noble stupidity. Words are free, and all words - light and frothy, firm and sculpted as they may be - bear the history of their passage from lip to lip over thousands of years. How they feel to us now tells us whole stories of our ancestors."

Get it all here.

P.S. I like the way he says "books" at the start of the thirty-second minute.

Drew Gummerson's 50 Words Of Christmas

2009-01-06T17:16:00.002+00:00

Good timer and great writer Drew Gummerson set up a competition before Christmas. He likes his 50 word stories, see, and he likes competitions as well. The rules were simple - it had to be 50 words long exactly, and be about Christmas (or at least have something Christmas-y in it.)

Well, our very own Nathan only went and won it didn't he!

You can read his story, and the eleven runners up, on Drew's blog here.

TTO*8 Is Very Very Far Away

2009-01-05T13:29:00.007+00:00

2009 is the International Year of Astronomy, so we are releasing something special for the new year...
It's out now, and has been for millions of years. It is a limited edition of one and is only available from one location very very very very very far away. If you did go and find it, it would almost certainly decimate everything else on your bookshelf, both literararily and literally. Yes, our next release is a Star.

The chance to name a star was given to us by our animator and National Space Centre visual artist Aaron Bradbury. Thanks Aaron.

Just in case you are more able than Google Sky (or me with the map that came in the package) to get a gander at our shining contribution to the world, the co-ordinates of TTO*8 are as follows:

Right Ascension: 11h22m10s
Declination: 6º0'30"

Time Travel Opps & The Four Calling Birds

2008-12-04T13:12:00.007+00:00

Actually, it should probably be more a case of Three French Hens, but where the 'French Hens' are actually 'places that the Time Travel Opportunists will be appearing in December'. Does that make sense?

In chronological order the three things that we'll be at are:

1. Xmas On Christmas Island at Big Blue on Saturday 6th December.
2. Carol Of The Bell at The Old Bell on Tuesday 9th December.
3. TTO Christmas 'shindig' at Big Blue on Saturday 20th December.

Let me elaborate...

Xmas On Christmas Island
Saturday December 6th - Big Blue Coffee Company - 8 'til 11pm - FREE entry.

Mr. Kevin Wallace is marking the 50th anniversary of the first hydrogen bomb test. Yes, we (Great Britain) blew up a bomb on Christmas Island. Kevin has written some new material especially and has invited us along (and asked us to write something special) to perform.
Here's the poster with the other people on it and snow and baubles:

Carol Of The Bell
Tuesday 9th December - The Old Bell (Sadlergate) - 8pm 'til whenever - £2 entry

Not strictly a TTO thing. In fact, as well as being the only TTO person 'performing' I'll probably be the only TTO person there due to work parties and The Hold Steady. Still, I'll be playing guitar and singing some songs there. I might also read a story. Other people will be playing and singing and some people will be doing comedy or showing short films. It will be REALLY good. Here is the poster (festive colours but no baubles but good use of the exclamation mark):

Time Travel Opportunists Christmas Party
Saturday 20th December 2008 - Big Blue Coffee Company - 8 'til 12pm - FREE

We're not launching a book (officially), and we're not 'organising' a line-up of any kind. We've hired out Big Blue to have a bloomin' nice time, play some music, and generally thank everyone for making our year by supporting what we've started as Time Travel Opportunists. We'll post more about this after this weekend...

Turrah,

TTO
x

This Side Of Poetry by Michael Frearson

2008-12-01T09:22:00.005+00:00

Hot on the heels of Being That Person, the first day of November saw Michael release his second collection of poetry on our little publishing imprint. 100 copies were made, hand-bound stamped and numbered. As is becoming the tradition with Michael there's a top trump for you to use in competition with your fellow poetry diggers, a badge featuring cover star Arthur the Zebra and also a CD:

Whoo! The CD packaging is particularly nice, and was designed and printed by the Searston brothers. On the CD are all the poems from the book, but performed out loud. Why deny your ears a bit of poetry eh? This one is a more varied affair than the acoustic sounds of the Being That Person CD, with each track accompanied differently by different local talented geezers and geezettes. There's Alex Blood taking the poem 'Somebody' into cut-up funk soul territory, Alex Bowen soundtracking 'Coming Home' on piano, and DJ Wax On taking live favourite 'The Day Supergirl Cried' into the bold territory of dramatic vinyl crackling Clayderman and low end hip hop beats. There's also me strumming along to 'Goodbye', probably my favourite of Michael's new poems that takes in all of the sentiment and references of previous pieces from both collections but with a whole new sense of perspective.

Hear some of these pieces here. You should also check out Michael's blog here, where he swears a lot and talks about, among other things, his increasing amount of poetic excursions. Busy as he is, he's also finally got round to writing a chapter for Emma and Jenn's interactive library novel SH.

If you would like to get your hands on this whole bundle, e-mail us and we'll sort out getting one off Michael for you.

A Book About Home

2008-11-03T11:28:00.007+00:00

Here it is. The behemoth. The thing that nearly killed us making...but was worth it in the end. The third Time Travel Opportunists collection, a book about HOME.

Back in early 2008, we emerged from a long dark winter thinking about writing and releasing books. We planned to do three. The first would be COFFEE, the second would be TIME. These two would only include our stories, but we'd open up the third for submissions. So, as we move into another winter, we complete the cycle.

The book is in two handbound parts, housed together in a card box tied together with string around a key. In the box you'll also find a print by Tracey Meek, a mini-envelope made out of a map containing a badge, and a booklet about the writers. There are stories by each of the Time Travel Opportunists, and we're chuffed to the rafters to be releasing previously unreleased stories by Drew Gummerson, Chris Killen, Jenn Ashworth, Gareth Draper, and Aimee Wilkinson; poems by Michael Frearson, Joe Coghlan, Richard Barrett, and Rob Hodkinson; plus lovely illustrations courtesy of Tracey Meek and Sarah Crane.

All this for £4.00 from the TTO Bookstore.

P.S. Thankyou to all of the writers for contributing, and for performing their pieces at the launch night...photos of which will follow.

This side of poetry

2008-10-27T17:23:00.006+00:00

TTO are pleased to announce the upcoming release of Michael Frearson's second poetry chapbook, entitled "This side of poetry". The launch party is this Saturday, at Big Blue Coffee Co. on Sadlergate (we like it there).

There will be one hundred hand bound copies of the book, stitched by Fierce, Nath and myself over the coming week. I'm hoping that Fierce has been practising his needlepoint. Our shining star of the Mythbusters Sewing Circle, Biff, is away doing busy things, so it's going to be tough. But I'm sure we'll be okay.

For more info on the event, click here.

Hopefully, we'll see you on the night. Free Party Rings for all!

This Saturday...

2008-09-18T09:26:00.002+01:00

Clickety click the picture to make it BIGGER.

Cosy And Green

2008-09-12T09:36:00.003+01:00

Pods Of Wisdom (by Tracey Meek & John Goncalves), originally uploaded by rjbirkin.

I went to Big Blue yesterday to pick up Tracey Meek's illustrations for our upcoming HOME book, and John Goncalves was there with her. They were injecting pea pods with wisdom to sell at this weekend's Riff Raff festival. If you see them there, you should buy one. They're lovely. I bought two.

One is called 'Mustafa', and the other (pictured) is called Clare, "a wonderful peas of misfortune wrapped up as snug as a bug in a cosy green shell called home." Very apt.

Tracey's illustrations are awesome. Go here to see some on your computer screen, and come down to Big Blue in Derby on Saturday 20th September to see them in frames on the walls, and buy a book with some of them in.