Join Us Each Month for Our Free Book Circle or Poetry Circle
All residents of Leigh-on-Mendip, Vobster, Coleford, Nunney, Mells, Downhead, Holcombe and Stoke St Michael are welcome to join. Both groups will be co-ordinated through WhatsApp for ease of communication. Joining instructions at the bottom of this page.
Join for a monthly discussion on garden-themed or gardening-themed novels
Book Circle
A warm, informal monthly book club for residents of Leigh-on-Mendip and the surrounding villages, held in the Drawing Room of The Old Vicarage or when the weather is kind, out in the grounds. We will typically meet on the first Tuesday of each month from 7pm to 9pm (excluding August). We will provide light snacks and drinks (teas, coffee, non-alcoholic beverages). It’s free to join, and each Book Circle member will buy their own copy of the book.
Each month in 2026, we explore garden-themed and gardening-themed fiction that prompts conversations about nature, creativity and the spaces we cultivate. A theme and a shortlist of three books will be suggested a few months ahead. Book Circle members are welcome to add their own ideas, and we’ll choose the final title together by consensus. The atmosphere is friendly and unhurried, with plenty of time for reflection and lively discussion. Free for local residents. Dates and reading choices are shared via the Asterion Journal and a dedicated WhatsApp group, with our first meeting on Tuesday 6th January 2026.
Book Circle in January 2026
The January shortlist theme is where the garden is not just a setting but a force that shapes and transforms the story. The overall theme is the garden as protagonist. The group selected The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton (where the garden drives a mystery across generations; perfect for readers who enjoy dual timelines).
Joint second place was:
The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng: a Japanese garden in Malaya becomes a place of memory, trauma and artistry.
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett: the classic example of a garden with agency; a restorative force that changes every character.
Third place was:
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis by Giorgio Bassani: a walled, secluded garden that gradually reveals itself as a psychological and social landscape.
We’ll discuss at the January Gathering if we’d like to dive into one of our second place titles for February.
For each member, we have a short guide on how the Book Circle will run. We will share the Asterion & Co. values of camaraderie, craftsmanship, regeneration, accomplishment and integrity — not as rules, but as an invitation to embody them as we gather and enrich the experience for everyone.
Book Circle Dates for 2026
The first Tuesday of each month, 7pm to 9pm…
6th January
3rd February
3rd March
7th April
5th May
2nd June
7th July
August: no gathering this month
1st September
6th October
3rd November
1st December
Each month join a group to discuss seasonally-inspired poetry
Poetry Circle
Neil Crump, Asterion & Co. Founder is a total poetry novice and has long wanted to explore this genre of literature. So we host a gentle, welcoming monthly poetry gathering for villagers who enjoy words, rhythm and ideas. Our Gathering is sheduled to meet on the second Tuesday of every month (excluding August) from 7pm to 9pm in the Drawing Room at The Old Vicarage or outdoors in the garden when the weather allows. Light snacks and drinks are provided. No need to buy a specific book each month, the Internet is our friend and there are a host of websites members can search to find poems free of charge.
Each month in 2026 carries its own seasonal theme outlined below. Members choose a poem (either from their own bookshelves or after a good Google search around the theme). Everyone brings a poem with them and reads it aloud. They then share a little about the poem and the poet. We then discuss it and ask the poem to be read again.
We enjoy favourites old and new, and conversation is open and accessible — no experience or performance required, just curiosity and a willingness to share, listen and contribute. Free to attend for residents of Leigh-on-Mendip and nearby villages. Our first Poetry Circle gathering will be on Tuesday 12th January 2026.
The Themes for a Year of Poetry Circle
12th January — Gardens in Winter: dormancy, stillness, frost, memory.
To get the ball rolling, here are some poems people can select from, practice reading aloud and gather background to share with the group. Click on the poems to read them:
Winter by Annie Hunter
The Snowman on the Moor by Sylvia Plath (selected by a Gathering member)
The Darkling Thrush by Thomas Hardy (selected by a Gathering member)
Dust of Snow by Robert Frost (selected by a Gathering member)
Winter by Sudeep Sen
10th February — Love, But Not the Obvious Kind: love of place, craft, nature, friendship.
10th March — Awakening & Beginnings: spring as metaphor.
14th April — Rain, Rivers, Renewal: water as cleansing and turbulent.
12th May — Plants with Personality: poems centred on a single species — rose, tulip, oak, nettle.
9th June — The Garden as Sanctuary: peace, refuge, contemplation.
14th July — Heat, Light & High Summer: abundance, languor, sensuality.
August — no Gathering this month
8th September — Harvest & Gathering In: fruit, plenty, intertwined endings and beginnings.
13th October — Shadows & Hedges: mazes, boundaries, mystery.
10th November — Loss & Transformation: falling leaves, the year folding inward.
8th December — Light in the Dark: candles, windows, evergreens, midwinter.
If you can commit to joining, it will be wonderful to host you each month and explore poetry together. We’ll share a short guide on how the Poetry Circle will run, along with the Asterion & Co. values of camaraderie, craftsmanship, regeneration, accomplishment and integrity — never as rules, but as an invitation to embody them enriching our collective experience.
Like Book Circle, there is a dedicated WhatsApp group to co-ordinate everything smoothly.
Submit Your Details to Join…
If you have any questions for Neil Crump, Asterion & Co. Founder before you join then WhatsApp on 07738 206 153 or email neil@asterionandco.org.