WORDS flowed from an outdoor stage as one of Swindon’s brightest new poets launched his first book in the idyllic garden of the Richard Jefferies Museum.

Stephen Daniels read from an anthology of his work, entitled Tell Mistakes I Love Them, under a mulberry tree at the visitor attraction near Coate Water.

The evening was another milestone for the museum, which is run by a charitable trust, as came hot on the heels of becoming a base for the Swindon Shin Splints running club earlier this month.

Stephen, 37, and his wife and daughter, all read extracts from his book and fellow poets also took to a stage fashioned out of umbrellas, plant pots and pallets.

Stephen said: “It’s amazing as I’ve only been writing poetry for two-and-a-half years and I never expected to be launching a book. To do it at the museum where I’ve had some classes is just incredible, it’s brought it full circle.”

Stephen, a marketing director from Old Town, has been mentored by Hilda Sheehan, one of the driving forces behind the town’s poetry scene, who compered the evening.

The museum has been the focus of efforts by the trust to improve and restore the house and grounds.