A Report of the Meeting of 7th January 2015
Harrogate Writers’ Circle: met at Community House, East Parade, on Wednesday, January 7 for the first manuscript evening of 2015. Joan Reed in the chair was pleased to welcome Graham Lappin, returning to the Circle after two and a half years absence. There were 15 members present with apologies for absence from four. Sue Hardy Dawson told us that she had had a poem accepted in an anthology of promises hopes and dreams based on the First World War. Joan Reed read two poems. The first about Venice was called ‘La Serenissima’ and the other about a bull fight where the matador is gored, called ‘Olé’. Joe Peters related an article based on a personal view of World War One. Ann Carcas gave us two poems: ‘Beachcomber’ and ‘Satan’s Spawn’. Peter Caunt’s winning poem from the annual competition ‘My Guide Dog is Colour Blind’ was also connected to that war with its reference to the red poppies and green fields which a dog would only see in shades of grey. His other poem was ‘Gravy Boats’ that used clever homonyms as a device. His fellow members agreed that this would be more effective read on the page than heard verbally. Peter then read a chapter from his proposed steam punk novel. Daphne Peters recited a poem about a well loved cat, entitled ‘Black Jack’. Lesley Taylor’s offer was a poem: ‘Said with Flowers’. Karen Perkins’ proposed novel is about Thomas Beckett and the chapter that she read was about the actual murder in Canterbury Cathedral. Hilary Staley’s poem ‘Where is She?’ touched on the heart rending feeling of missing the real personality of a friend with dementia and ‘Waiting’ about anticipating a poem from a lover that never arrives. Sheila Whitfield talked about the current trend to send round robins, detailing the family’s year, with Christmas cards and then had everyone laughing at a fictional one from a disfunctional family. Finally, Sue Hardy Dawson gave us four poems. Two: ‘Page’ and ‘New Year’s Gifts’were laid out in what may be described as conventional fashion but ‘ On Polar Bears’ and ‘The Robin’ were cleverly crafted concrete or shape poems where the text is shaped into a picture of the subject and were very much admired by all of us. Joan Reed closed the meeting after reminding the members that the next one, at Community House on Wednesday January 21, will be the annual general meeting followed by a manuscript evening.
A Report of the Meeting of 12th November 2014
Harrogate Writers; Circle met on Wednesday, November 12 at Community House, East Parade at 7-30pm. The occasion was a manuscript evening where members read out their work for appreciation and comment. Before that it was decided to perform the three minute pantos which had been postponed when the previous meeting had been insufficiently attended to allow a vote. Hilary Staley’s Sleeping Beauty was first up; setting the mood with lots of laughter and comments from the audience. Next was Sheila Whitfield’s ‘MacJeff and his Two Witches’ with Hilary and Sheila playing Dora and Cora, the witches, and Peter Caunt as Banko’s nephew who aspires to be a witch for his work experience. Tracey Barrett had a cameo role as the cat. There were lots of references to cauldron ingredients available from spoof local supermarkets and much noisy participation from the other members. Peter Caunt’s Snow White only featured two dwarves because of cut backs. Peter was Grumpy and John Chilton was Lofty, a tall dwarf who is eventually revealed to be a prince who revives Snow White with a kiss after the wicked stepmother (also Peter) has persuaded her to eat a poisoned apple. John Chilton also doubled as the magic mirror. Peter’ panto was judged the winner with Sheila second. Hilary was highly commended. When everyone had calmed down Sheila Whitfield commenced the manuscript readings with ‘The Farmer and the Bogle’, a rewritten folk tale. John Chilton followed with ‘Rivalry’ about antagonism between two national servicemen which was eventually resolved by one rescuing the other from drowning in the local lido. Joan Reed read ‘The Homecoming’, about a young soldier returning from the Western front with shell shock which elicited comments from the members that it was most appropriate in the centenary commemoration year of the start of the First World War. Sue Hardy Dawson presented four poems: ‘Buying Time’; ‘Framed’; ‘Half’ and ‘Bag for Life’. The latter being a clever piece of sarcasm about a discarded crisp packet. Joe Peters was next with ‘Echoes from the Past’; an eerie tale about a woman who buys an old house in Cornwall and is threatened at Halloween by evil spirits until she is saved by The Lord’s Prayer in Cornish. Ron Williamson mislead us all with a monologue which appeared to be a teenage romance but turned out to be a young man’s admiration of a lady in an old people’s home. Finally, Peter Caunt read a chapter from his developing steam punk novel ‘Like Clockwork’ which raised some lively discussion including comments about the effect of picking the appropriate names for characters. Joan Reed, in the chair, reminded members that the next meeting would be on Wednesday, November 26 at Community House with the adjudication of the annual poetry competition by Joanne Ezekiel.
A Report of the Meeting of 29th October 2014
Harrogate Writer’s Circle: met on Wednesday, October 29 at 7.30pm in Community House, East Parade. 12 members and one guest were present and we were pleased to welcome local writer Helen Brandom. Helen, who comes originally from Croydon, is a former primary school teacher. She has written numerous plays and episodes for radio and television, including BBC Radio 4; Woman’s Hour; Granada Television Carlton TV and BBC Television. Helen’s one act play, The Royal Albert has been performed by several amateur drama societies but the main subject of her talk was her debut novel ‘Writing in the Sand’ which is about a young sixteen year old called Amy who acts as a carer for her mother and does not want the local welfare authorities to become involved. Amy has several other secrets, including a feckless sister and an abandoned baby. Helen related how she had been involved with several agents and publishers before taking up with Becky Bagnell at the Lindsay Literary Agency who sold the book to Stephanie King at Usborne Publishing. King describes the book as: “one of those quietly intense books that slowly works its way into your heart with each turn of the page.” Helen read a chapter from the book in which a local lady welfare officer comes to assess the family situation. Written in Amy’s voice, where she makes sure that her mother does not give the impression that they cannot cope, it came over as poignant and subtly amusing , especially when the visitor tries to retain her dignity, despite the amorous advances of the family dog, The book is described as being mainly suitable for youngsters, 14 and over and was specified by the Independent on Sunday as “Easter holiday reading for 12 to 18 year olds.” But from the quality of the excerpt it would also appeal older readers. It has been reviewed by several publications, including The Lancashire Evening Post and The Yorkshire Post. Helen was invited to contribute an article to Writing Magazine about writing for teens and young adults. She was amused when the intended title was OK, YA ( YA meaning Young Adults) but it suggested “OK Yah” ( the sort of comment that might have been made by the so called Sloan Rangers). Usborne have suggested that Helen could follow up with some historical fiction and, when she asked what era, the said “the 1940s”. (One has to come from a certain generation to find that amusing). However, as she and her family lived through the blitz in Croydon Helen’s next project may well go in that direction. In giving a vote of thanks, John Chilton commented on her relaxed and charming delivery despite the fact that Helen admitted that she was not used to giving presentations. Joan Reed closed the proceedings after reminding members that the next meeting would be a manuscript evening on Wednesday, November 12.
A Report of the Meeting of 25th June 2014
Harrogate Writers’ Circle met at Community House on Wednesday, June 25 at 7.30pm for an internal competition to write 800 words or less on one of the seven deadly sins. Jean Pedelty opened on gluttony with a narrative poem about a Gloucester Old Spot called Wilfred who trained to become a racing pig. On avarice, Joe Peters told the story of an abbot who neglected his charitable duties to amass riches for the abbey and himself. Peter Caunt chose gluttony. A young recruit to the Bullingdon Club overeats and pops all the buttons on his tight fitting waistcoat to the derision of his fellow members. Ron Williamson’s sin was pride in a description of the qualities of his younger brother. John Chilton wrote on envy with an amusing tale of a gardener who shared a greenhouse and had his prize tomatoes mistakenly eaten by his neighbour’s son. More gluttony from Lesley Taylor concerned a couple on a gourmet weekend where the husband takes full advantage of the food on offer and mysteriously disappears after his wife goes home in disgust, Bruce Hoyle read The Art Of Not Dusting as an example of sloth. Sheila Whitfield asked the members to guess the sin. Her monologue was about a lady regretting the fact that she did not have the qualities of another who turned out to be her daughter and there was doubt in some minds as to whether she was describing pride or envy. There was a ballot and Jean Pedelty’s poem was a runaway winner with John Chilton second. John Chilton, deputising in the chair, closed the meeting after reminding members that, on July 9, they would meet for a manuscript evening.
A Report of the Meeting of 28th May 2014
Harrogate Writers’ Circle: on Wednesday, May 28, at Community House, members were privileged to receive a visit from Graham Chalmers, the Weekend editor of the Harrogate Advertiser who adjudicated our annual article competition. This year we were asked to write a review of any type of entertainment and there were nine entries ranging from C J Sansom’s Dominion and John Buchan’s Greenmantle to Radio City New York; Mutant Message Down Under; The Returned and Vultures Facing Extinction in Asia. As well as paying due regard to our stock of chocolate digestives, Graham gave the Circle an amusing and informative account of his progress in his chosen profession and the internal work of the Advertiser. He told us that the overall standard of the entries was so good that he had some difficulty in selecting the three winning submissions. In reverse order: Sheila Whitfield was third with her review of the op-artist, Bridget Riley. Graham rated Sue Hardy Dawson’s article Writing a Whole Woman second for its intellectual comparison between Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca and Philip K Dick’s Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep. The winner was Lesley Taylor with her review of Ragged Kingdom by June Tabor and Oysterband. John Chilton thanked Graham for his judgements and for providing a relaxed and amusing evening. He did point out that one possible reason for the high standard was the fact that he had cut out about thirty of Graham’s articles from the Advertiser Weekend sections and distributed them to the members as examples of the way good reviews should be written. Joan Reed, in the chair, closed the proceedings, after pointing out that the next meeting on June 11 would be a manuscript evening, when members would read out examples of their writing and ask for comment.
A Report of the Meeting of 14th May 2014
Harrogate Writers’ Circle: met on Wednesday, May 14 at Community House, East Parade, for readings of the members’ work. 23 members and one visitor attended. Sheila Whitfield told the story of a racing pig. Lesley Taylor’s story was called Benefactor about a streetwise orphan who exposes a scam perpetrated by the governers and Peter Caunt read chapter two of his steam punk novel. Joe Peter’s contribution was about an old Hungarian lady with a battered red suitcase whom he met in Vienna and later in London who turns out to be not what she originally seems. Bruce Hoyle read a children’s story about a snake and a centipede called Sidney and Cedric and a second tale about a cheese eating dog which he had told people was a kaserhund. Catherine Burwell’s screen play excerpt was a fantasy loosely based on sequels to the stories of Sleeping Beauty; Snow White and Cinderella. Barbara Stone gave us an amusing short poem about talking fruit. Ron Williamson’s Zak was about a man who finds a dead body and does not report it immediately for various reasons. John Chilton’s short story, The Revelation was about a teenager who thinks that she was adopted and has not been told only to find that she was mistaken. Chris Barnes’ Thought for the Day mused on the forthcoming Tour de France visit to Yorkshire and the number of people who had taken to cycling in the area. A new potential, member, Alan Pascoe, circulated a poem In Memory of Irina Sergeevna Efron which was well received by the members. Joan Reed, in the chair, reminded members that the next meeting on Wednesday, May 28 would be the adjudication of the article competition by Graham Chalmers, Weekend editor of The Harrogate Advertiser.
A Report of the Meeting of 30th April 2014
The Harrogate Writers’ Circle met at Community House on Wednesday, April 30 for an internal competition called flash fiction. Competitors were asked to produce a piece of fiction of 400 words or less on subjects given to them by the chairman, Joan Reed. There were 14 entries of the usual high standard. Sheila Whitfield read ‘Pastures New’, her subject was a passport. It concerned a man who, inspired by the upcoming ‘Grand Depart’ bought an old tandem from a car boot sale and told his wife that they were going to use it to have a touring holiday. When she was putting her luggage in the trailer she noticed her husband had included their passports. Appalled at the prospect of a long ride abroad she feigned sciatica and the tour was abandoned. Ann Carcas’s contribution was on the subject of an unwelcome guest. It was about a little girl’s first days at school with all the initial tears followed by enthusiasm and love for her first teacher, Miss Hutchins. The information that an unwelcome guest had come from the school was viewed with some trepidation by the members until it turned out to be nits. Lesley Taylor had to write about bloody footprints. Her story ‘Last Week’ concerned a man who finds increasing numbers of bloody footprints in his house and is eventually found by his daughter dead in his own blood. John Chilton’s unwelcome guest tale was of a man who hears a buzzing sound when he wakes in the morning and imagines that it is made by a number of stinging insects getting larger and more terrifying so that he feels trapped in his bed.
His dilemma is resolved when his wife draws the bedroom curtains and reveals that the noise is caused by a bluebottle. In ‘The Good Life’ by Sue Hardy Dawson the unwelcome guest is the ghost of a wife who has recently died and finds that her husband is having fry-ups; smoking ; drinking and generally abusing her once immaculate house. When she tells him off he points out that she can only speak but can take no action so he takes out his hearing aid, puts on ear muffs, and continues enjoying himself. Tracey Barret’s ‘Ted’s Strange Adventure’ was about her teddy bear who kept bringing home various objects to try to attract her attention which results in a broken umbrella conjuring up a witch who grants the teddy the power of speech so he can tell Tracey how much he loves her. Broken umbrella was the object Tracey had been given. In her absence, Georgia Duffy had not been given a subject. Her story, ‘Do Not Drink’ was about gas getting into household water as a result of drilling an causing it to become explosive. A new member Bruce Hoyle’s highly amusing tale told of a man who went on a foreign holiday with his mates and discovered that he had inadvertently got through several airports using his wife’s passport. When this was discovered by the authorities, it was subsequently proved that this was deliberate and was a device to obtain a free foreign holiday. The subject he had been given was passport. Ron Williamson’s object was also passport and after going out on the town two friends, Bob and Bill meet two Italian girls at a hotel. Bob and the blonde girl get on well together and appear to have a mutual interest in opera. The girl gives Bob a handbill about a forthcoming opera performance which conceals a key to her hotel room; his passport to paradise he calls it. Peter entitled his effort ‘Gottle- er= Geer’ in which a children’s entertainer has a ventriloquist’s dummy called Chuckles that has a mind of its own and reveals to the children that he is an alcoholic. When he locks the dummy back in his suitcase and tries to perform the trick where he throws his voice when drinking the recalcitrant Chuckles will only say ‘Gottle-er-Geer’ Peter had been asked to write about a suitcase. Catherine Burwell wrote about a mother who, on the face of it was hard and cynical and showed very little enthusiasm when her young son scored the winning goal in a junior football match but was secretly proud of him.. She introduced her subject into the story when the mother shouts “take off those boots and get your bloody footprints off my kitchen floor”. Joan Reed also had bloody footprints as her subject and told of a wife who found a trail of blood on her carpet but could not find her husband and found out that her Siamese cat, Suki, was responsible for his death. Hilary Staley had to write about a broken umbrella. In her tale ‘The Family Heirloom’ the husband’s umbrella in question was once one of a pair as was a china dog that belonged to the wife. The wife found a matching umbrella in an antique shop and planned to buy it as a surprise for her husband by exchanging it for her only china dog. Unbeknown to her the umbrella is her husband’s which he has bartered to obtain a china dog for her. Finally Chris Barnes had to tell a story of which the subject was a torch. ‘The Torch that Lit up the Night’ was about a daughter who bought a torch for her aging father and told him to keep it near his bed in case of power cuts. A cut did happen but he could not find the torch and stumbled about in the dark until he decided to use candles instead. He managed to light a candle from the last of a damp box of matches but, in doing so, he set light to a curtain causing the house to burn down with him in it. The daughter visited the burnt out shell of the house and found the torch in the bedroom. A ballot was taken which resulted in Catherine Burwell’s story coming first and Sue Hardy Dawson being second. Joan Reed, in the chair, closed the meeting after reminding the members that the next meeting on Wednesday, May 14 would be a manuscript evening.
His dilemma is resolved when his wife draws the bedroom curtains and reveals that the noise is caused by a bluebottle. In ‘The Good Life’ by Sue Hardy Dawson the unwelcome guest is the ghost of a wife who has recently died and finds that her husband is having fry-ups; smoking ; drinking and generally abusing her once immaculate house. When she tells him off he points out that she can only speak but can take no action so he takes out his hearing aid, puts on ear muffs, and continues enjoying himself. Tracey Barret’s ‘Ted’s Strange Adventure’ was about her teddy bear who kept bringing home various objects to try to attract her attention which results in a broken umbrella conjuring up a witch who grants the teddy the power of speech so he can tell Tracey how much he loves her. Broken umbrella was the object Tracey had been given. In her absence, Georgia Duffy had not been given a subject. Her story, ‘Do Not Drink’ was about gas getting into household water as a result of drilling an causing it to become explosive. A new member Bruce Hoyle’s highly amusing tale told of a man who went on a foreign holiday with his mates and discovered that he had inadvertently got through several airports using his wife’s passport. When this was discovered by the authorities, it was subsequently proved that this was deliberate and was a device to obtain a free foreign holiday. The subject he had been given was passport. Ron Williamson’s object was also passport and after going out on the town two friends, Bob and Bill meet two Italian girls at a hotel. Bob and the blonde girl get on well together and appear to have a mutual interest in opera. The girl gives Bob a handbill about a forthcoming opera performance which conceals a key to her hotel room; his passport to paradise he calls it. Peter entitled his effort ‘Gottle- er= Geer’ in which a children’s entertainer has a ventriloquist’s dummy called Chuckles that has a mind of its own and reveals to the children that he is an alcoholic. When he locks the dummy back in his suitcase and tries to perform the trick where he throws his voice when drinking the recalcitrant Chuckles will only say ‘Gottle-er-Geer’ Peter had been asked to write about a suitcase. Catherine Burwell wrote about a mother who, on the face of it was hard and cynical and showed very little enthusiasm when her young son scored the winning goal in a junior football match but was secretly proud of him.. She introduced her subject into the story when the mother shouts “take off those boots and get your bloody footprints off my kitchen floor”. Joan Reed also had bloody footprints as her subject and told of a wife who found a trail of blood on her carpet but could not find her husband and found out that her Siamese cat, Suki, was responsible for his death. Hilary Staley had to write about a broken umbrella. In her tale ‘The Family Heirloom’ the husband’s umbrella in question was once one of a pair as was a china dog that belonged to the wife. The wife found a matching umbrella in an antique shop and planned to buy it as a surprise for her husband by exchanging it for her only china dog. Unbeknown to her the umbrella is her husband’s which he has bartered to obtain a china dog for her. Finally Chris Barnes had to tell a story of which the subject was a torch. ‘The Torch that Lit up the Night’ was about a daughter who bought a torch for her aging father and told him to keep it near his bed in case of power cuts. A cut did happen but he could not find the torch and stumbled about in the dark until he decided to use candles instead. He managed to light a candle from the last of a damp box of matches but, in doing so, he set light to a curtain causing the house to burn down with him in it. The daughter visited the burnt out shell of the house and found the torch in the bedroom. A ballot was taken which resulted in Catherine Burwell’s story coming first and Sue Hardy Dawson being second. Joan Reed, in the chair, closed the meeting after reminding the members that the next meeting on Wednesday, May 14 would be a manuscript evening.
A Report of the Meeting of 2nd April 2014
The Harrogate Writers’ Circle met on Wednesday, April 2 at Community House for a manuscript evening. 15 members were present and there were ten readings. Alan Barker related a story that he entitled ‘A chance in a million’ about his trip to the Mexico Olympics in 1968. He told of many people that he met but one became a life- long friend and, as a result Alan was in a bar in London when an American called Bob who seemed to be a complete stranger came in and they got into conversation. When Alan told Bob that he came from a village near Darlington, the American said that his great grandfather came from the same place, sketched the location of his cottage and said that he drove the train from Bishop Auckland to Darlington. Alan then told Bob that the great grandfather was called Tom Barker and to their mutual amazement the men found out that they had known each other years ago and were cousins. Several members suggested that Alan send a copy of the story to an appropriate magazine, especially as the world cup in Mexico would make it topical. Peter Caunt explained the meaning of the type fiction called Steam Punk and read the first section of a story that he had written in that genre. Joe Peters gave us a story about a young newly ordained lady priest who was visited by ghastly crones, Pendle witches, who prevailed on her to shrive them and save their souls. Jean Pedelty read two poems: ‘I wish I’d looked after me feet’ with acknowledgement to Pam Ayres and ‘Bullrushes’ in memory of her grandmother. Joan Reed read a story about a man who stays at a country inn and is visited by the spirit of his lost love when he twice detects the perfume of roses. Sue Hardy Dawson read four poems. ‘The reason I can’t spell’ refers to her dyslexia and points out the complexities of English spelling in a very humorous fashion. ‘Forfeit’ tells of a man who makes impossible demands of his girl friend to prove her love for him and loses that love as a consequence. ‘The writing of rat‘seems to be advice on portraying the rodent in a poem and ‘Heron’ describes the bird in a poem. The last one is worth reading in full (you’ll see why). It’s entitled: Big Elephants Can’t Always Use Small Exits: “If big elephants could use small exits, I would be at a loss, as how to spell because”. (get it?). John Chilton read a story about a widow who is worrying about finding the money to repair the roof until the decorator points out that an old grand piano in the dining room is a Steinway worth about £30,000. Ron Williamson’s article ‘How I came to Yoga’ told of his early attendances at yoga classes which led eventually to his becoming a yoga teacher and how the discipline helped his self confidence. Hilary Staley’s story told of a young woman on holiday with friends who is picked up by an older man. At his stage it is unfinished and Hilary says that she will let us know more at a later date. Daphne Peter’s amusing poem ‘St Patrick’s Day’ told of O’Malley the alley cat and the various people who gave him fish and other treats and danced and sang with until midnight on St Patrick’s Day. Joan Reed, in the chair, gave out the subjects for the flash fiction competition on Wednesday , April 30 to those present and closed the meeting after pointing out that the social evening would be on Wednesday, April 16.
A Report of the Meeting of 19th March 2014
Harrogate Writers’ Circle: met on Wednesday, March 19 at Community House at 7.30pm where Daphne Peters, one of the longest serving members , gave the second of her addresses on the history of the Circle during her long membership. In the 70s and 80s there were a colourful collection of characters who were multi talented and sometimes eccentric. The strong connection with Ackrills that had started with the encouragement of their chief reporter, Mr. H. H. Walker in 1951 was still very much apparent. The late Daisy Dennison who was in the chair, wrote the childrens’ page and , latterly, the womens’ page in the newspaper and another member did theatre reviews. One lady contributed to Girl Guide publications while the, then, youngest member sent childrens’ stories to the Hull telephone exchange. In those days, Hull’s exchange was independent of the Post Office and subscribers could dial for a story). Daphne’s technique was to look at the Circle’s programmes for successive years and be reminded about the various members; many of whom were successful novelists, playwrights, poets, article and short story writers. In the 70s, several members, including Daphne, found a lucrative outlet by writing stories for the BBC’s Morning Story. This paid around £30 per episode and required a certain disciplined approach as the word count had to be exactly right to fit in with the 15 minute slot. She amused us by pointing out that Radio Leeds had a similar daily programme but only paid £4. If their story was rejected by the BBC the writers would cut their losses by sending it to Radio Leeds. Among the membership was a lady who started writing a novel but never got beyond chapter seven because she was continually revising and rewriting. One member offered her house for meetings one of which was proceeding as the cat gave birth in the lounge. Although not a member, Peter Walker, on whose novels the television series Heartbeat was based, was frequently in contact; John Wainwright, a police constable from Huby, and vice chairman of the Circle, also wrote crime novels, notably Death in a Sleeping City which was produced as a play for the BBC’s Saturday Night Theatre. The prolific local novelist Margaret Allen was also a member. Ruth Bowes the author of the four novels The Quantock Quartet shared some of Daphne’s reminiscences as she joined in the mid 70s and was chairman for several years. To list all the characters from Daphne’s recollections would require a special edition of the newspaper. In the early 70s Daphne taught creative writing to children and adults in Harrogate and was later invited to take an adult class at Ripon. This was a great success to the extent that the pupils begged her to carry on when the local authority withdrew financial support because of spending cuts. This lead to the formation of the Ripon Writers Group which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2012 and is still very active. Daphne concluded by expressing her thanks to Hilary Sharpe who was not present but had introduced her and her husband, Joe, to the circle in 1973. She said that she was grateful for the privilege of being a member and for all the stimulus and companionship that she had enjoyed over the years. Ruth Bowes thanked Daphne for such an interesting and nostalgic evening. Joan Reed, in the chair, closed the meeting and reminded members that the next meeting would be a manuscript evening on Wednesday, April 2 at 7.30pm.
A Report of the Meeting of 19th Feb 2014
Harrogate Writers’ Circle: met on Wednesday, February 19 at Community House. There were 14 members present and the evening was devoted to a competition in which those who took part had to perform a monologue of not more than 800 words, The date was also the deadline for the annual article competition which, this year, would be a review of a play, a television programme, a film or a book which would be adjudicated later in the year by Ackrill’s Graham Chalmers, The first monologue by John Chilton, entitled Stop the World was a rant against the increasing tendency in the media to try to globalise the English language by introducing changes in syntax and pronunciation, often by adopting American usages. Alan Barker’s contribution was a stand up comic performance about his trip to Liverpool. Ron Williamson talked about the development of Christmas crackers which originally began as wrapped sweets known as Bon Bons. Ann Carcas’s Memories told of a group of youngsters who ventured into an old boarded up hall on Halloween where it had been said that a servant girl had been murdered years before and was haunted.
Joan Reed’s story: The Telephone Call was about the reminiscences of an old out of work actress, waiting for a ‘phone call offering work and turned out to be based on the song Lola. Peter Caunt’s Merry Christmas started with “I’m not a Scrooge But….” relented the changes to Christmas, proving that he was indeed saying “Bah Humbug”, Lesley Taylor’s monologue was read by Sheila Whitfield and was about the importance of the right title to pieces of writing. In The Dancing Years: Daphne Peter’s lady, confined to bed, related memories of younger years learning to ballroom dance as a teenager at the local Maison de Dance in which it was revealed that she was in bed because she had broken her leg trying to demonstrate that she could still perform a quickstep variation called a Fish Tail. Hilary Staley’s piece, Reduced Circumstances was about an old man who had had a knee operation when he was young and his other memories including his National Service. In The Remote and the Undead Sue Hardy Dawson’s long suffering, fictional, wife and mother took a cynical view of her children and her husband’s almost instinctive domination of the television remote control. Chris Barnes acted the part of an old lady grumbling about her treatment and regretting the loss of her husband, Bert; the pills she most often did not take as prescribed; Horlicks, her cat, who was too fat to get through the cat flap and who once took one of her mistress’s pills and slept all day. Also the various mishaps with her alarm button such as the cat sitting on it and causing a false alarm Chris’s monologue was entitled Raining Again and finished with the catch phrase of a 1940s comedienne Mona Lott: “It’s being so cheerful that keeps me going”. Sheila Whitfield gave us The Elephant in the Room which told of the re-opening of the local manor house by Sir Roland after he had inherited it and described the various guests at a party there. In On the Promenade Eastbourne: Joe Peters was the voice of a Lancashire lady on a coach trip to Eastbourne, sitting on the promenade and commenting sourly on passers- by and her fellow trippers. A ballot among the members voted Chris Barnes as the clear winner with Daphne Peters second. Joan Reed closed the meeting after reminding members that the next one on March 5 would be a manuscript evening and asking them to submit pieces of microfiction of not more than 20 words which would be displayed at the meeting and voted on after the tea interval.
Joan Reed’s story: The Telephone Call was about the reminiscences of an old out of work actress, waiting for a ‘phone call offering work and turned out to be based on the song Lola. Peter Caunt’s Merry Christmas started with “I’m not a Scrooge But….” relented the changes to Christmas, proving that he was indeed saying “Bah Humbug”, Lesley Taylor’s monologue was read by Sheila Whitfield and was about the importance of the right title to pieces of writing. In The Dancing Years: Daphne Peter’s lady, confined to bed, related memories of younger years learning to ballroom dance as a teenager at the local Maison de Dance in which it was revealed that she was in bed because she had broken her leg trying to demonstrate that she could still perform a quickstep variation called a Fish Tail. Hilary Staley’s piece, Reduced Circumstances was about an old man who had had a knee operation when he was young and his other memories including his National Service. In The Remote and the Undead Sue Hardy Dawson’s long suffering, fictional, wife and mother took a cynical view of her children and her husband’s almost instinctive domination of the television remote control. Chris Barnes acted the part of an old lady grumbling about her treatment and regretting the loss of her husband, Bert; the pills she most often did not take as prescribed; Horlicks, her cat, who was too fat to get through the cat flap and who once took one of her mistress’s pills and slept all day. Also the various mishaps with her alarm button such as the cat sitting on it and causing a false alarm Chris’s monologue was entitled Raining Again and finished with the catch phrase of a 1940s comedienne Mona Lott: “It’s being so cheerful that keeps me going”. Sheila Whitfield gave us The Elephant in the Room which told of the re-opening of the local manor house by Sir Roland after he had inherited it and described the various guests at a party there. In On the Promenade Eastbourne: Joe Peters was the voice of a Lancashire lady on a coach trip to Eastbourne, sitting on the promenade and commenting sourly on passers- by and her fellow trippers. A ballot among the members voted Chris Barnes as the clear winner with Daphne Peters second. Joan Reed closed the meeting after reminding members that the next one on March 5 would be a manuscript evening and asking them to submit pieces of microfiction of not more than 20 words which would be displayed at the meeting and voted on after the tea interval.
A Report of the Meeting of 8th Jan 2014
Harrogate Writers’ Circle: met at Community House, East Parade, on Wednesday, January 8 for a manuscript evening on their first meeting of 2014. Although only nine members were present there was the usual convivial atmosphere with an interesting mix of poems; stories and articles.
Sheila Whitfield read The Visitor, her entry for the Winter’s tale competition at Harrogate library. Lesley Taylor had entered the same competition with her story, The Frost Princess. Alan Barker read two poems. One was advice to his granddaughter and the other had been written after a visit to his aunt who was 96 and revealed that she had a new boy friend who was 82. Jean Pedelty read A Recipe for Life that had been sent to her by her daughter. Joan Reed’s story, What Used to Be, was about an old lady who had been a show girl in earlier life. This had been written for an exercise on writing a story based on a favourite song which turned out at the end to be Lola. Ron Williamson read two poems, Jubilee Terrace, about a run down part of a town and a comic version of The Lord’s Prayer. Peter Caunt’s story, The Ancestor, was about a family of witches whose ancestor had been burnt at the stake. The current mother and grandmother were concerned that the young daughter of the family had inherited the same powers and worried about where they would lead her. Peter also revealed that one of his stories, The Cool Kid, had been accepted for publication. John Chilton read an article about the problems with ‘semaphore indicators’ which led on to the amusing incidents around the disposal of an old Ford car that had been written off after an accident, Joan Reed, in the chair, closed the proceedings after reminding the members that the next meeting on Wednesday, January 22 would be the AGM, followed by further manuscript reading if time allowed.
Sheila Whitfield read The Visitor, her entry for the Winter’s tale competition at Harrogate library. Lesley Taylor had entered the same competition with her story, The Frost Princess. Alan Barker read two poems. One was advice to his granddaughter and the other had been written after a visit to his aunt who was 96 and revealed that she had a new boy friend who was 82. Jean Pedelty read A Recipe for Life that had been sent to her by her daughter. Joan Reed’s story, What Used to Be, was about an old lady who had been a show girl in earlier life. This had been written for an exercise on writing a story based on a favourite song which turned out at the end to be Lola. Ron Williamson read two poems, Jubilee Terrace, about a run down part of a town and a comic version of The Lord’s Prayer. Peter Caunt’s story, The Ancestor, was about a family of witches whose ancestor had been burnt at the stake. The current mother and grandmother were concerned that the young daughter of the family had inherited the same powers and worried about where they would lead her. Peter also revealed that one of his stories, The Cool Kid, had been accepted for publication. John Chilton read an article about the problems with ‘semaphore indicators’ which led on to the amusing incidents around the disposal of an old Ford car that had been written off after an accident, Joan Reed, in the chair, closed the proceedings after reminding the members that the next meeting on Wednesday, January 22 would be the AGM, followed by further manuscript reading if time allowed.
A Report of the Meeting of 13th November 2013
Harrogate Writers’ Circle met at Community House on Wednesday, November 13 and were pleased to welcome Miles Salter who entertained us with songs, poems and comments on various aspects of literature. The poems were from his collection, published by Valley Press of Scarborough, many of which were about various animals. They included a description of the animals going into Noah’s ark which would not be found in the bible; a lion who goes to confession and a giraffe who walks in to a bar. John Chilton gave a vote of thanks and Joan Reed, in the chair reminded members that, at the next meeting on Wednesday, November 27, Penny Dolan, children’s novelist and ex member of the Circle will be adjudicating the annual poetry competition.
A Report of the Meeting of 30th October 2013
The meeting of 30 Oct was an internal competition based on the opening line 'It all started on Halloween'
Entries were received from : Joe, Daphne, Tracey, Jean, Peter, Kath, John, Joan, Shiela, Lesley, and Chris.
The winner was Peter with John second.
Entries were received from : Joe, Daphne, Tracey, Jean, Peter, Kath, John, Joan, Shiela, Lesley, and Chris.
The winner was Peter with John second.
A Report of the Meeting of 16th October 2013
At the Harrogate Writers’ Circle: meeting on Wednesday, October 16 one of our members, Peter Caunt, gave a presentation on writing fantasy fiction. Among other published stories, Peter has had several stories in that genre published or successful in competitions. He cited the Wikipedia definition of fantasy, part of which is: ‘Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary plot element, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic and magical creatures are common.’ However, he emphasised that, in his opinion, fantasy is not only ‘swords and sorcerers’ and listed examples like Alice in Wonderland; Dickens’ Christmas Carol; Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and Rider Haggard’s She as stories which use departure from reality as part of the plot Peter said that the first known fantasy was The Epic of Gilgamesh on tablets dated as 1300 BC and went on to list other early examples such as Homer’s Odyssey; Le Morte D’Arthur and A Midsummer Night’s Dream. Among twentieth century instances were: The Wizard of Oz; Peter Pan; Winnie the Pooh and Mary Poppins. He also listed films such as Avatar; the Harry Potter films; The Lord of the Rings and Jurassic Park all of which rely on characters or events which are different from the real world. He told us that in the early 90s, Terry Pratchett was the best- selling author in Britain and by the end of the 90s, J K Rowling was the best- selling author in the world; both writers of fantasy stories. Apparently J K Rowling said she wasn't aware that her Harry Potter books were fantasy until they were finished. Terry Pratchett replied “I would have thought that the wizards, witches, trolls, unicorns, and hidden worlds would have given her a clue.” As part of his advice to his fellow writers Peter said that: the world of the fantasy story must be plausible which is not the same as believable or possible. In real-world stories, the events you describe must be consistent with the real world. In fantasy you have control to do what you want so long as it is plausible but above all it must be consistent. The consensus among his fellow members was that Peter’s presentation was relaxed and informative and Sue Hardy Dawson gave him a vote of thanks on their behalf. John Chilton, standing in as chairman, reminded the meeting that the next meeting would be on Wednesday, October 30 at Community House when there would be an evening competition to write a story of not more than 800 words beginning with the sentence: ‘it all happened on Hallowe’en.’
A Report of the Meeting of 18th September 2013
Harrogate Writers’ Circle: met on Wednesday, September 18 at Community House for the adjudication of their annual short story competition. Fifteen members were present to hear the verdicts on their efforts by Steve Toase, himself a successful writer recently profiled in the Advertiser’s weekend section. Steve gave his opinion on what constitutes a well written story and spoke of his own work and his sources of inspiration. There were thirteen entries form : Alan, Georgia, Chris, Sheila, Rodney, Sue, Tracey, John, Lesley, Peter, Joan, Anne and Kathleen. Mr. Toase commented on each one, pointing out the good points and where there may be room for improvement. One of his criteria for picking a winner was to think: “I wish I had written that.” The runner up was The Talisman, by Sheila Whitfield, about which the adjudicator commented that, though not a lot happened in the story, it was a well written insight in to someone else’s life. The winner was The Special Ones by Sue Hardy Dawson, about a survivor of what appeared to be a global devastation. Steve said that the story built well with a real, feeling for environment and a nice use of ambiguity and hints of the style of Margaret Attwood and, among others, applied his criterion: “ I wish I had written that.” in his decision. Joan Reed , in the chair, gave details of a meeting by committee members with the producer of a Canadian based short story magazine called Ficta Fabula. She pointed out that the friends of Harrogate library were running a story competition called A Winter’s Tale in conjunction with the Harrogate Advertiser. The next meeting will be on Wednesday, October 16 when Peter Caunt will talk about writing fantasy fiction.
A Report of the Meeting of 26th June 2013
The meeting of 26 June was an internal competition based on the first line of a poem.
Entries were received from : Ann, Sue, Shiela, Rodney, Lesley, Kath, Jean, Peter, Hilary, Chris and Ron.
The winner was Hilary with Lesley second.
Entries were received from : Ann, Sue, Shiela, Rodney, Lesley, Kath, Jean, Peter, Hilary, Chris and Ron.
The winner was Hilary with Lesley second.
A Report of the Meeting of 29th May 2013
The meeting of 29 May was the adjudication of the article competition.
Entries were received form : Anne, Sue, Lesley, Chris, Jean, Joe, Daphne, Peter, Rodney, John and Joan
The winner was Rodney and the runner up was Sue
Entries were received form : Anne, Sue, Lesley, Chris, Jean, Joe, Daphne, Peter, Rodney, John and Joan
The winner was Rodney and the runner up was Sue
A Report of the Meeting of 20th March 2013
The meeting of the 20 March was an internal competition with the theme of a biography of a famous person.
Entries were received form : Peter, John, Tracy, Chris , Sue, Lesley, Jean, Joan, Joe, Rodney, Hilary, Alan and Ron.
The winner was Alan with Tracy in second place
Entries were received form : Peter, John, Tracy, Chris , Sue, Lesley, Jean, Joan, Joe, Rodney, Hilary, Alan and Ron.
The winner was Alan with Tracy in second place
A Report of the Meeting of 6th March 2013
Harrogate Writers’ Circle: met on Wednesday, March 6 for a manuscript evening. The runners up trophy for winning competitions during 2012 was presented to Chris Barnes. Daphne Peters told us that she has been approached by a publisher in Ireland to let one of her poems be included in a school text book.. Karen Perkins read the prologue to her new novel Thorpes Cross. Ann Carcas read two poems, based on moonlight that she had submitted for the annual poetry competition. Rodney Noon asked us to comment on a chapter from an extract from a crime story that he has in preparation. Tracey Barrett performed a 3 minute play with the assistance of Sheila Whitfield and read part of her autobiography. Jean Pedelty’s poem ‘Teeth’ was originally written in May 1990 but was still as funny as ever. Sheila Whitfield’s short piece was a newspaper headline from her new novel. Joan Reed’s story about a secretary to an author in Venice had unforseen circumstances. Sue Hardy Dawson read three poems, including her winning submission in the annual poetry competition. Joe Peters’ Flash Fiction essay was called ‘The Chair’ and spoke of Lancashire vowels and some of other English regions. Margaret Rogers gave us a story about an old kitchen worker called Phyllis who lost her holiday money but was compensated when her fellow workers had a whip-round for her. Peter Caunt’s futuristic fantasy was called ‘Red Sky at Night’. John Chilton read two poems: ‘Pavlova’ and ‘Glacier Mint’. Ron Williams’ story was about a young lad who was studying with difficulty for the eleven plus but played with ease for the school football team. Joan Reed, in the chair, closed the meeting after pointing out that, at the next meeting on Wednesday, March 20, the evening competition would be to write a biography of a favourite writer, sports star or entertainer in no more than 800 words.
A Report of the Meeting of 20th Feb 2013
The meeting of 20 Feb was the Flash Fiction competition
Entrants were : Kath, Joe, Peter, Jean, Joan, Hilary, Marjorie, Georgia, Lesley, Rodney, Shiela, John and Chris.
The winner was Jean with Kath in second place
Entrants were : Kath, Joe, Peter, Jean, Joan, Hilary, Marjorie, Georgia, Lesley, Rodney, Shiela, John and Chris.
The winner was Jean with Kath in second place
A Report of the Meeting of 9th January 2013
Harrogate Writer’s Circle: met on Wednesday, January 9 for their first manuscript evening of the year. First they heard from Gary Dolman about his inspiration for writing his recently published novel ‘The Eighth Circle of Hell which began with his learning about the exploitation of young girls in Victorian times by what was known as the defloration mania. Gary’s talk on his experiences of writing, researching and revisions prompted by himself and his publisher were agreed by the members to be instructive and entertaining . Due to several apologies attendance was quite small but the meeting was convivial and the readings were of the usual high standard. Alan Barker, a first time member, read from his book ‘I’m Proud to be English’ an autobiography which was prompted by his grandson asking what sort of car he had when he was young and receiving the reply: ‘it was my mum’s bicycle, shared by seven of us.’ Jean Pedelty read three children’s poems and Tracey Barrett read part of her autobiography. Lesley Taylor read a chapter from her novel and Joan Reed recited ‘Moonlight Mystique’which was her entry for the recent poetry competition adjudicated by Paul Hardcastle, from Trinity and All Saints College. Sheila Whitfield asked for comments on a piece which had to include the words liquid lunch, glitterati and titfer which she would like to expand into a longer story. Earlier in the evening members heard that a shorty story by Ron Williamson had been included in the Christmas edition of The Dalesman and he related a short story with a twist about observing fellow travellers on a train journey. Finally, John Chilton read ‘Moonlight with McGonagall’ a spoof entry for the recent competition which was said by the adjudicator to be ‘the most entertaining bad poem that he had ever read.’ The next meeting at Community House will be the AGM and manuscript evening on Wednesday, January 23 at 7.30 pm.
A Report of the Meeting of 14th November 2012
Harrogate Writers’ Circle met at Community House on Wednesday, November 14 for their monthly manuscript evening. 18 members were present with six apologies. Ron Williamson read about an odd holiday in Italy where he had travelled in his youth to help to learn the language; Neil Lees read the beginning of his novel about reality shows and politics and received some pertinent comments from members; Tracey Barrett read part of her assignment concerning the lives of children in the second world war; Jean Pedelty read 3 poems that she had originally written for children in the 1960s, one about the Apollo moon landing and another about a guide dog; Karen Perkins, a new member, read the beginning of her published pirate novel which left us wanting to know what would happen next; Joe Peters read the article that he had entered for the externally adjudicated competition about a holiday with a difference with a German family; Sheila Whitfield read ‘The Best of Friends’, a monologue by a dog comparing his life with that of the young boy of the family; Hilary Staley read her poem ‘The Statue’ about a statue of a boy with a duck that has been moved at Harlow Carr and not reinstated.. John Chilton read a poem called ‘Village Life’ which he said was the joint winner of a poetry competition at the Spofforth gala when there were only two entries. Finally Daphne Peters read some of her children’s poems, one of which had been broadcast a few years ago on BBC schools’ radio. We were pleased to welcome a new member, Juliette Robb, who has promised to bring some of her work at the next manuscript evening. The chairman closed by announcing that the next meeting on Wednesday, November 28 would be the adjudication of the poetry competition by Paul Hardwick.
A Report of the Meeting of 31st October 2012
TheWriters’ Circle met on 31st October 2012 for a competition where members stage a three minute play with no more than three actors. This is the third time that they have done this and it is proving more and more popular and one of the Circle commented that members are getting better at it every year, The first performance was “ Chance Encounter” by Jean Pedelty which featured two Seagulls meeting on Harrogate Stray. This was followed by a first effort by Tracey Barrett called “Friendship”; then John Chilton’s “Chinese Capers”, a discussion between two housewives one of whom told of her husband’s ill- informed obsession with all things Chinese which resulted in a Chinese lantern causing a fire in their kitchen. Joan Reed’s playlet called “Tickets Please” was performed by Sheila Whitefield as a lady occupying a first class seat on a second class ticket and refusing to move despite the efforts of Ron Williamson as a harassed ticket collector. Sheila then combined in “Really the Thing” with Hilary Staley who was trying to get this self- important lady playwright to let her have a three minute play to put on for the Writers’ Circle competition. Joe Peters and Daphne did a skit about a vicar and a lady from the church flower arrangers discussing an old lady who is putting cannabis on the altar as part of her arrangement, called "Green or Not " Daphne’s contribution, “Sweet Discontent” was a piece about two elderly sisters, one of whom was obsessively worried about burglars whose sister inadvertently gives away a diamond ring that she has hidden in a jar of sugar. Peter Caunt and Ron Williamson shared the prize after a second ballot which resulted in a tie at five votes each In his play “Test Results”. Ron recruited Rosemarie as a nurse who misinterpreted his “are my test results back” as a request to examine his genitals. “Fifty Seven Varieties” featured Peter and Joe who were two men in a lift who had given a presentation at Heinz and had been entertained to lunch with dishes containing the eponymous beans with the resulting flatulence plainly demonstrated by Peter’s sound effects. Jean Pedelty was the voice of the automatic lift controller. Everyone felt that the evening was most enjoyable and it appears that the three minute play may become a regular fixture in the annual programme
A Report of the Meeting of 19th September 2012
The adjudication of the article competition by Meg Johnson took place on Wednesday September 19th.
Before retirement , Meg had been involved in Journalism and public relations since 1946 when she started as a junior reporter with the Scottish office of a national newspaper group. She gave an amusing tale of her interview when the editor asked her what the role of a sub-editor was. She said she thought it was to cut out the best bits of journalist’s copy. He editor introduced her to the newspaper’s sub-editors and asked her to repeat her definition. He then asked the subs whether he should give her the job. They said yes and they would, in time, convince her of the real role of sub-editors. Meg gave a summary of her history in journalism and pointed out that articles that are accepted by newspapers and magazines are often tied to topical events and linked by the editors to advertising.
She illustrated this by suggesting that Joan Reed’s piece, Starring New York, about a trip to New York could be published in December and linked to advertisements by travel agents offering package trips to New York for Christmas shopping. Similarly Lesley Taylor’s article, Chinese Takeaway, could be preceded by a reference to a disaster appeal for China as it spoke of the hard lives of ordinary Chinese people.
John Chilton’s article, Fings aint what they used to be was judged the winner partly on the basis of the fact that it was obviously well researched and traced the history of British holidays from the time when they only included Christmas Day and Easter, to the present day. Chinese Takeaway was the runner up with Starring New York highly commended.
The list of entries is shown below:-
There were nine entries and Meg said she was most impressed with the quality of all of them
Before retirement , Meg had been involved in Journalism and public relations since 1946 when she started as a junior reporter with the Scottish office of a national newspaper group. She gave an amusing tale of her interview when the editor asked her what the role of a sub-editor was. She said she thought it was to cut out the best bits of journalist’s copy. He editor introduced her to the newspaper’s sub-editors and asked her to repeat her definition. He then asked the subs whether he should give her the job. They said yes and they would, in time, convince her of the real role of sub-editors. Meg gave a summary of her history in journalism and pointed out that articles that are accepted by newspapers and magazines are often tied to topical events and linked by the editors to advertising.
She illustrated this by suggesting that Joan Reed’s piece, Starring New York, about a trip to New York could be published in December and linked to advertisements by travel agents offering package trips to New York for Christmas shopping. Similarly Lesley Taylor’s article, Chinese Takeaway, could be preceded by a reference to a disaster appeal for China as it spoke of the hard lives of ordinary Chinese people.
John Chilton’s article, Fings aint what they used to be was judged the winner partly on the basis of the fact that it was obviously well researched and traced the history of British holidays from the time when they only included Christmas Day and Easter, to the present day. Chinese Takeaway was the runner up with Starring New York highly commended.
The list of entries is shown below:-
- Tracey Barrett "My Long Awaited Trip to Amsterdam"
- Ron Williamson "Clothes"
- Peter Caunt "A Land for All Seasons"
- Chris Barnes "Over the Hills and Far AWAY"
- Lesley Taylor "Chinese Takeaway"
- Kathleen Manson "Is It worth the Hassle"
- Joan Reed "Starring New York"
- Joe Peters "A Holiday with a Difference"
- John Chilton "Fings Aint What They Used to be"
There were nine entries and Meg said she was most impressed with the quality of all of them
A Report of the Meeting of 7th July 2012
The Flash Fiction evening was on Wednesday July 7th.
This popular event asks the members to write no more than 400 words about an object that is specified to each individual in advance (such as gloves, clocks and photos).
There were 24 entries based on several subjects and including a variety of amusing and sometimes sinister stories.
A vote was taken and Peter Caunt’s performance as Uncle Vanya was a clear winner.
This competition was originally suggested to Joan Reed at Swanick by a delegate from Watford where the participants are given the subjects on the night and expected to produce their pieces ad lib. Because of the limited time available at Harrogate meetings the committee decided to give notice of the subjects beforehand.
The obvious popularity of this event means that it will probably be a regular annual addition to the programme
This popular event asks the members to write no more than 400 words about an object that is specified to each individual in advance (such as gloves, clocks and photos).
There were 24 entries based on several subjects and including a variety of amusing and sometimes sinister stories.
A vote was taken and Peter Caunt’s performance as Uncle Vanya was a clear winner.
This competition was originally suggested to Joan Reed at Swanick by a delegate from Watford where the participants are given the subjects on the night and expected to produce their pieces ad lib. Because of the limited time available at Harrogate meetings the committee decided to give notice of the subjects beforehand.
The obvious popularity of this event means that it will probably be a regular annual addition to the programme
A Report of the Meeting of May 23rd 2012
The meeting of 23 May 2012 was the adjudication of the short story competition.
Sally Zigmond, the adjudicator, started the meeting by explaining how to write a short story and giving a set of the top 10 mistakes that writers make.
She then went through the twelve entries to the short story competition, giving a comment on each story.
What an Adventure by Tracey Barrett
This story followed Zak, who takes the day off and gives himself a false name to cover his tracks. He ends up in A&E without his wallet and hets confused as to his own identity.
Cross My Heart by Joan Reed
This was an Edwardian story about a woman who lost a child and suffered postnatal depression. Her misery is compounded by her husband trying to get her committed to a mental home.
The Lie by Ann Carcas
This is a story of a young girl who’s parents inherit an old house from an Aunt. This house is found to have a locked room which eventually yields the body of a small baby.
The Lie in the Sky by Ron Williamson
This story is about a fox who returns to his lie (the place where foxes go to rest). The fox has been shot and while he is dying, he remembers his life.
Lunch at Luigi’s by Kathleen Manson
Two sisters meet up after a long time apart. One has been away in America. The two of then spend the meal arguing over an inheritance.
Meetings by Sheila Whitfield
A man and a woman meet in a café at a museum. The woman talks about getting old and the Russian Exhibition that is on at the museum. As the story progresses, we begin to realise the woman is foreign. Eventually she is revealed to be a fraud and ends up before a magistrate.
The Lie by Shirley MacLean
This follows Patricia English who is moving north to start a new life. As the story progresses she is revealed to have murdered a reverend.
The Chance Encounter by Lesley Taylor
Malcolm falls into walking with a companion. He turns out to be St Peter. The man confesses that he was unfaithful to his wife in his earlier life but never told her. This has been troubling him since his wife died.
When the Cock Crows by John Chilton
Another story involving St Peter. This one told the story of how Peter was chosen by Christ and follows through to the crucifixion.
The Camera Doesn’t Lie by Peter Caunt
A story about the conflict between the old and new in a photographic society. A competition shows up the differences between the digital and analogue pictures, as well as the temperament of the members.
Oranges and other Lies by Sue Hardy-Dawson
This story is split between time streams, one in world war II and one in 1968.
The adjudicator's decision was that the winer was Sue with "Oranges and Other Lies" and runner up was Peter with "The Camera Doesn't Lie"
A Report of the Meeting of March 28th 2012
The meeting of the Harrogate Writers’ Circle on Wednesday March 28 held a monologue competition. there were 14 entries, varying from two rants at the present trends for poor English grammar and pronunciation to the memory of a lady on the Titanic and two murders. Chris Barnes won with the thoughts of a lady in a care home entitled Another Day nearly Over.
A Report of the Meeting of Feb 29th 2012
On February 29, Harrogate Writers’ Circle heard an account of its past history since 1973 by Daphne Peters. She mentioned the many successful writers like novelists John Wainwright and Margaret Allen and talks by Peter Walker on whose books the Heartbeat series were based and H.H. Walker Ackrill’s chief editor. She had members laughing at how members once had to enter Fountains Court through the Turkish baths and committee meetings enlivened by consuming the chairman’s homemade wine. Reminiscences by Ruth Bowes and Chris Barnes contributed to a delightful and amusing evening
A Report of the Meeting of Feb 15th 2012
The Writers’ Circle held its first internal competition of 2012 on the 15th February at Community House. The requirement was to write a piece that was inspired in some way by a the lyric of a song . 14 members read and the contributions varied from two poems: ‘The Salt’ by Jean Pedelty and a poignant offer called ‘God Bless the Child’ by Rodney Noon. There was a dramatic performance by Peter Caunt in the manner of a ranting preacher called ‘Highway 61 Revisited’. Joe Peters read ‘Sing Something Simple’ inspired by a Lancanshire ditty to the tune of ‘The Keel Row’ and Ron Williamson a heartfelt piece about how he appreciated the ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ through vibrations and the intensity of the performance despite chronic total deafness. Other performances included: ‘The Folks Who Live on the Hill’ by Hilary Staley; ‘Dancing School’ by John Chilton; ‘What Use to Be’ by Joan Reed; ‘I have a Song to Sing’ by Kathleen Manson; ‘This Moment’ by Sheila Whitfield; ‘Thank You for the Music’ by Shirley Maclean and ‘Break Free’ by Leslie Taylor. The winner was Chris Barnes with recollections of visits to Famagusta over a period of years, inspired by ‘Till the White Rose Blooms Again’ and second was Graham Lappin with a funny story about a clever lawyer who persuades the authorities to cancel the law of gravity and finds himself floating uncontrollably. Acceptance were recorded by Kathleen Manson with a piece in Country Tales and Peter Caunt with ‘After the Operation’ in Brigand Magazine and ‘Crossing Cassandra’ in 'A LongStoryShort' (an eZine) A story written originally for the Harrogate Crime festival.
A Report of the Meeting of Oct 5th 2011
Harrogate Writers’ Circle: met on Wednesday October 5 for a manuscript evening. Two members read poems. One read the first chapter of his new novel. There were two articles, four stories and a ghost story which the writer will be submitting to the competition at Harrogate library. As usual the pieces were discussed by the members and positive and helpful comments were offered.
A Report of the Meeting of Sept 7th 2011
Harrogate Writers’ Circle: met on Wednesday September 7 for a manuscript evening. 22 members were present. Robin Wilson and Rodney Noon read extracts from novels in preparation. Sally Wolfe; Ann Carcass and Sue Hardy Dawson read poems. Peter Caunt; Kathleen Manson ; Ron Williamson Shirley Maclean Chris Barnes and Margaret Rogers read stories and Hilary Staley read an article. All the submissions were discussed and met with positive comments and the evening passed with considerable good humour. At the next meeting, September 21, the competition will be reviews of books, plays or TV programmes.
A Report of the Meeting of July 20th 2011
Harrogate Writers’ Circle: held a “nostalgia evening” on Wednesday July 20 as part of their Diamond Jubilee celebration. They gave brief biographies of past members and read out samples of their work harking back to as early as 1956. Included were Daisy Dennison, a past sub editor on the Harrogate Advertiser; and published novelists, Eric Beer, Owen Staley, and Margaret Allan, Kathleen Manson baked a Diamond Jubilee cake, cut by Ruth Bowes who was chairman for 14 years. The event was interactive and members responded with many reminiscences about their former colleagues. Daphne Peters, a member since 1973 finished with stories about other past members
A Report of the Meeting of July 6th 2011
Harrogate Writers’ Circle: had their annual short story competition adjudicated on Wednesday July 6 by Clint Wastling from York Writers. There were seven entries all of which Clint thought would be suitable for publication. The winner was Peter Caunt with an amusing piece about a man who hacked into God’s website and second was Sue Hardy Dawson with a lyrical story about a young girl married to an old man and their lost child. Other entries were by Joan Reed; John Chilton; Ron Williamson; Kathleen Manson; and Ann Carcas The next meeting will be on Wednesday July 20, details to be arranged.
A Report of the Meeting on 16 March 2011
The meeting of 16 March included the adjudication of the Article Competition by Alison Chisholm.
Before the adjudication, acceptances were announced from Sue Hardy-Dawson, two illustrations in Scrumbler Magazine, and 'Old Dog' in Puppy Poems by Macmillan.
Alison Chisholm is a well know poet and prose writer who regularly contributes articles to magazines such as “Writing Magazine”
She explained the criteria she used for judging the competition. She took note of how each of the articles was genuinely about 1951 and also took note of the presentation.
All of the manuscripts were interesting and the quality of the writing was overall very good. She emphasised the importance of revision. This could have removed the few errors in punctuation which occurred in a couple of articles.
She felt that all of the articles were good enough to find a market and suggested a few possible outlets.
One piece of advice she gave to all the entrants was to keep writing.
The second prize was awarded to Chris Barnes for a piece about his first car, an Austin 7, and his attempts at passing his driving test.
The winner was Joan Reed for her piece ‘Baby Boomers’ which gave a description of the post-war time which still had rationing, but offered much more freedom to young children, who were free to wander in safety on their own.
Rodney Noon gave a vote of thanks for the excellent adjudication and discussion that Alison had produced.
Titles for members Flash Fiction were handed out so that they could prepare their contributions in time for the next meeting.
A Report of the Meeting on 7 July
The evening was a manuscript evening with members reading out recent work and work in progress which were discussed. Kathleen Manson read her recent article "Keep in Touch" which examined issued of modern manners and the etiquette associated with mobile phone usage. Is it rude to answer a call in the street and to ignore your companion whilst doing so? Kathleen thought that it probably was. She also highlighted a gender difference where it is generally the girls who speak in the street but the boys on the bus or train. She went on to examine the basic human need to communicate with others and how modern technology answers (or fails to answer) our emotional needs for company.
Peter Caunt brought his new short story "Give me a Coffee Break" in which an elderly lady finds that her favorite coffee shop has been turned into a slick franchise leading to confusion but no better cup of coffee!
John Chilton also read a humorous story "Neighbours" in which two couples rashly decide to go away for a holiday in a caravan together only to find that people are not as they initially seem and devious plans had to be formed to end the holiday early.
Ron Williamson's poem "Ochre Point" provoked much discussion. Inspired by aboriginal dreamtime legends about the earth colours which were used in their rock paintings and how these were the gifts of a primeval Mother Earth.
"Retribution" by Ann Carcas was a story which had a shock within it. Begining as a light tale of teenage love it suddenly took an unexpected plunge into a much darker world of obsessive jealousy, murder and revenge.
From "Danny and the Genie of the Red Teapot" came the first two chapters of a story written by Sue Hardy-Dawson for her children. The story had more than enough mischief and magic to delight children whilst was iconoclastic enough to be equally enjoyable by adults (if the membership of HWC are anything to go by)
The final story of the evening was "Sam Benson's Plot" by Margaret Wright; a charming and gentle north country comedy in which the much maligned produce of Sam's allotment comes to the aid of his fearsome spouse when greenfly decimate her roses on the eve of the village show.
Apart from manuscripts there was also good news on the publication front with Ron Williamson and Sue Hardy-Dawson both having work accepted.
Peter Caunt brought his new short story "Give me a Coffee Break" in which an elderly lady finds that her favorite coffee shop has been turned into a slick franchise leading to confusion but no better cup of coffee!
John Chilton also read a humorous story "Neighbours" in which two couples rashly decide to go away for a holiday in a caravan together only to find that people are not as they initially seem and devious plans had to be formed to end the holiday early.
Ron Williamson's poem "Ochre Point" provoked much discussion. Inspired by aboriginal dreamtime legends about the earth colours which were used in their rock paintings and how these were the gifts of a primeval Mother Earth.
"Retribution" by Ann Carcas was a story which had a shock within it. Begining as a light tale of teenage love it suddenly took an unexpected plunge into a much darker world of obsessive jealousy, murder and revenge.
From "Danny and the Genie of the Red Teapot" came the first two chapters of a story written by Sue Hardy-Dawson for her children. The story had more than enough mischief and magic to delight children whilst was iconoclastic enough to be equally enjoyable by adults (if the membership of HWC are anything to go by)
The final story of the evening was "Sam Benson's Plot" by Margaret Wright; a charming and gentle north country comedy in which the much maligned produce of Sam's allotment comes to the aid of his fearsome spouse when greenfly decimate her roses on the eve of the village show.
Apart from manuscripts there was also good news on the publication front with Ron Williamson and Sue Hardy-Dawson both having work accepted.
A report of the Meeting on 23 June
The meeting was the adjudication of the article competition by Graham Chalmers who gave an excellent analysis of all of the articles submitted and awarded the prizes for first and second places. First place was awarded to Margaret Wright and second place to Joe Peters.
The picture shows Graham being thanked by Chris Barnes, one of our long-standing members.
The picture shows Graham being thanked by Chris Barnes, one of our long-standing members.
A Report of the Meeting on 26 May 2010
The Meeting on 26 May was a presentation by poet Tim Ellis of performance poetry.
Tim gave us a history of performance poetry viewed through his eyes as he grew up. This took us through Alan Ginsberg through Adrian Mitchell and Atilla the Stockbroker to the Open Mike sessions at the Tap and Spile pub in Harrogate.
As a finale, Tim gave us his piece "Around the World in 3 Minutes".
Tim gave us a history of performance poetry viewed through his eyes as he grew up. This took us through Alan Ginsberg through Adrian Mitchell and Atilla the Stockbroker to the Open Mike sessions at the Tap and Spile pub in Harrogate.
As a finale, Tim gave us his piece "Around the World in 3 Minutes".