Pam Ayres on Animals

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This definitive collection brings to life the charming characters and voices of all creatures great and small through Pam’s poetry over the past five decades and is perfect for all animal lovers.

I do now have a beautiful grandchild, Arthur,” she grins. “After my performances, I do a book-signing where people come up and have a word. They always used to ask, ‘Have you got any grandchildren yet?’ and say things I thought were rather sugary and saccharine. One lady said, ‘Oh, you wait! It’s like falling in love.’ And I thought, ‘Where’s the exit?’ It didn’t seem like me at all. Ayres has long been famed for delivering entertaining performances of her work. Does she still enjoy that? I never get used to the thrill of hearing people roaring with laughter or being moved to tears by something I've written. So many say to me after one of my shows, 'God, I haven't laughed like that in years'. Generally, I try to dance lightly over the top of controversial subjects and I steer clear of politics because it polarises people. I'd like to be remembered as someone who brought laughter into a fairly sombre world." Pam Ayers has been fascinated by animals since her first encounter with a friendly golden Labrador at the age of three. She has owned sheep, hens, and mischievous puppies, as well as fallen in love with British wildlife ranging from hedgehogs to bees.From her very first encounter with a friendly golden Labrador at just three years old, Pam Ayres has been enchanted by animals. Now, for the first time, in this beautiful new illustrated work, she has gathered together her life's work of poems, new and old, dedicated to her love of them. Ugh!” she groans. “It makes my flesh creep! I saw it in the newspaper in a petri dish and it looked like an enormous amalgamation of little worms. For your chance to WIN one of FOUR copies of Pam Ayres on Animals, please submit your details via the Competition Entry form below. Recent TV appearances have included Morning Live, Alan Titchmarsh’s Love Your Weekend, This Morning, Would I Lie To You, and two series for Channel 5 TV, The Cotswolds with Pam Ayres.

Three poems in particular always really affect people and you see them being visibly moved. September Song, about the empty nest when children leave home; Pollen on the Wind, about moving out of the family home, as I've done myself, and leaving memories and a garden which you've poured love into and where family pets are buried; and Tippy Tappy Feet, about the death of a pet." I’ve loved animals for as long as I can remember,” she says. “When I got my first rabbit, I was so thrilled; then I longed for a dog; and then I longed for a horse. I liked being with animals and looking after them and making them comfortable. It’s just the way I’m cut out.” Hugely," she replies. "It's a drug, of course, this performing. You can never come off it. It doesn't take long to get hooked. It's amazing to feel you can touch people just with words, and arranging them in a certain way. (They) have an amazing effect on an audience. I used to think people expected me only to be funny, so I didn't touch on serious issues," she explains. "Now I love the fact poetry can make difficult feelings accessible. I think, 'If this is affecting me, it probably affects everyone else', and I try to express it in as few well-chosen words as possible. It might be the stress of giving a dinner party, getting depressed about the news and current affairs, or those irritations like restaurants and pubs serving food on pieces of slate, not plates. It's impractical because there's no edge, so the food falls off - and I worry about the hygiene.Of course, those performances are enlivened by her distinctive accent, which happily she's never seriously considered changing.