Globe arts critic Peter Grant talks to the President of the Poetry Society and the best Poet Laureate this country never had ... Roger McGough, CBE and Freeman of the City of Liverpool.

Did you hear the one about the Bishop and the poet?

Roger McGough - the rhymester extraordinaire - has the answer.

There is, however, no punch line.

Next month the Litherland-born, one-time Kirkby teacher-turned-poet-and-popstar will be playing a gig with a dfference - holding spiritual court with Richard Harries the former Bishop of Oxford.

Both live in Barnes in West London and both poets will be discussing 'Hearing God in poetry.'

This will be a curtain-raiser for a show closer to home and more familiar territory three days later - this time just Roger reciting his own work.

He was last here on Merseyside at the Chester Storyhouse in November part of the Literary Festival.

"'What a lovely theatre and I enjoyed that very much - I always do like meeting the audiences. I do like being on stage just don't like people looking at me," he laughs, while taking a break from his computer.

Late last year he had played a gig at St George's Hall with wordsmith Ian McMillan who has since announced his retirement from doing anymore live poetry readings.

Wirral Globe:

Picture: Allan Melia

Roger (pictured, above) will be 85 this year and, happily, for all his fans - many of whom have grown up with him (so to speak) - he says he has no intention of stopping while he is still enjoying playing live.

He said: "'I always look forward to any Liverpool Playhouse show because it's a chance to catch up with people from the place where I grew up.

"Some old school friends are coming to the next show on February 11.''

The Playhouse is where Roger enjoyed critical and box office success wth his best-selling stage adaptations and tours of three Moliere classics working with former artistic director Gemma Bodinetz.

"I'd love to do more of them - I really would. When I did French at University I used to do it wth a Liverpool Irish accent and at first I had to be talked into doing Moliere but I am so glad Gemma persuaded me," says Roger who posted a 'Happy 400th birthday' to the playwright on Twitter.

Roger says he has been invited to Columbia for a literaty festival but as he's getting older he is thinking long and hard about it whereas years ago he would have jumped at it. But the modest writer is so glad he is still invited to such prestigous events..

Sadly, it looks as if one creative collaboraton is no more. Little Machine - who put poems to music - are no longer together.

One memorable gig was a show in West Kirby's Westbourne Hall in 2019 where Roger even sang one of his hits with Scaffold - the 1968 Number one song Lily the Pink.

''They used to call, me Guv' - it was a lot of fun touring with a band again. Now my wife Hilary drives- because I can't.''

His Playhouse show will see Roger read from his last critically-acclaimed collection Safety in Numbers.

There are more than 60 poems and feature his love of turning news items into poems from Covid to world leaders.

Covid certainly altered his working patterns.

He recalled: "Like everyone else you had to change what you were doing which, for me, meant no gigs. I wrote a lot and revisited old poems and had plenty of time for rewrites."

Roger has also been busy writing for children.

He has two new projects ready to go.

In May there will be a book Over to You and he is working on 100 Christmas Poems for Children.

"I think it's so important that we think of chidren as poets" he said, "They have imagination and yet we concentrate so much on information and education.

"These books are dedicated to all the children who stare out of the classroom windows ... we must keep imagination alive."

Tickets for Roger McGough's return to the Liverpool Playhouse on Friday, February 11 are from 0151 709 4776.