THIS year’s Wenlock Poetry Festival kicks off on Friday, April 5 with a line-up including an icon of BBC war reporting to one of Britain’s busiest poets.

The self-styled 'Bard of Barnsley' Ian McMillan, makes a welcome return to this year’s festival.

His performance on Friday, April 5 takes its title from Ian’s autobiography Talking Myself Home which tells his life story in verse.

Set in a place where coal-pits once dominated the skyline, this is a world of milk floats and jumble sales, municipal libraries and church halls.

Ian won’t decide what he’s going to perform until he’s met the audience on the night, but it’s fair to expect plenty of interactivity and improvisation, with an undeniably comic twist.

Appearing alongside Ian this year will be his son Andrew, a talented prize-winning poet in his own right. Whilst Andrew has undoubtedly inherited the writing gene from his father, the style is all his own, very human and occasionally edgy.

On Saturday, April 6, Martin Bell will be appearing at the festival to read from his new book, For Whom the Bell Tolls.

Instantly recognisable in his trademark white suit, Bell’s illustrious career has taken many twists and turns – as an icon of BBC war reporting, Britain’s first independent MP for 50 years, a UNICEF ambassador; and as a tireless campaigner for honesty and accountability in politics.

Bell draws on colourful episodes from his own life and work covering several decades as the raw material for his verse.

Tickets are available online at wenlockpoetryfestival.org or from the Festival Box Office at the Corn Exchange in High Street, Much Wenlock. For opening times, call 07561 208841.