Join Us Each Month for Our Free Book Circle & Poetry Circle
To join either group, simply contact Neil Crump, Founder of Asterion & Co., via WhatsApp on 07738 206 153 or by email at neil@asterionandco.org. Both groups will be co-ordinated through WhatsApp for ease of communication.
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. We will provide light snacks and drinks (teas, coffee, non-alcoholic beverages) to share. It’s free to join, and each Book Circle member will buy their our own copy of the book.
Each month in 2026, we explore a garden-themed and gardening themed fiction that prompt conversations about nature, creativity and the spaces we cultivate. A theme and a shortlist of three or four 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 5th January 2026.
Shortlist for Book Circle in January 2026
To get things started in January 2026, here is the shortlist where the garden is not just a setting but a force that shapes and transforms the story. So, the overall theme is: the garden as protagonist. Click each title to read up about it on Wikipedia:
The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett: the classic example of a garden with agency; a restorative force that changes every character.
The Forgotten Garden by Kate Morton: a garden drives a mystery across generations; perfect for readers who enjoy dual timelines.
The Garden of Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng: a Japanese garden in Malaya becomes a place of memory, trauma and artistry.
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis by Giorgio Bassani: a walled, secluded garden that gradually reveals itself as a psychological and social landscape.
If you can commit to joining, it will be a joy to host you each month. We’ll share a short guide on how the Book Circle will run, along with 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. We’ll confirm the dates for 2026 in the WhatsApp group which will co-ordinate everything.
Each month join a group to discuss seasonally-inspired poetry
Poetry Circle
Neil Crump, the Asterion & Co. Founder is a total poetry novice and has long wanted to explore this genre of literature. So we are creating a gentle, welcoming monthly poetry gathering for villagers who enjoy words, rhythm and ideas. We will do our best to schedule the year to meet on the second Tuesday of every month 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 will be 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 your own bookshelves or after a good Google search around the theme). Everyone brings a poem with them and reads it aloud, and then shares a little about the poem and the poet, we’ll discuss it and ask the poem to be read again.
We will 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 Twelve Themes for a Year of Poetry Circle
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
The Darkling Thrush by Thomas Hardy
Dust of Snow by Robert Frost
Winter by Sudeep Sen
February — Love, But Not the Obvious Kind: love of place, craft, nature, friendship.
March — Awakening & Beginnings: spring as metaphor.
April — Rain, Rivers, Renewal: water as cleansing and turbulent.
May — Plants with Personality: poems centred on a single species — rose, tulip, oak, nettle.
June — The Garden as Sanctuary: peace, refuge, contemplation.
July — Heat, Light & High Summer: abundance, languor, sensuality.
August — Wildness & Overgrowth: unkept gardens, hedgerows, brambles.
September — Harvest & Gathering In: fruit, plenty, intertwined endings and beginnings.
October — Shadows & Hedges: mazes, boundaries, mystery.
November — Loss & Transformation: falling leaves, the year folding inward.
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. We’ll confirm the dates for 2026 in a dedicated WhatsApp group that will be created to co-ordinate everything smoothly.
Instructions To Join
Send the following details to Neil Crump via WhatsApp on 07738 206 153 or email neil@asterionandco.org
For the Book Circle: Flag your interest for the book club by sending the following details:
your name
what village you live in
share your top two choices from the January shortlist above
leave your mobile number to join a dedicated WhatsApp group
For the Poetry Circle: Let us know that you’d like to join the poetry reading group by sending the following details:
your name
what village you live in
bag a poem from the list above or let us know you’ll find another that fits the ‘Gardens in Winter’ theme.
leave your mobile number to join a dedicated WhatsApp group
If you have any questions then let us know.