Ripon Writers' Group

Our friendly group meets once a fortnight in the Lounge of the YMCA, Waterskellgate and is always open to new members from the Ripon area and beyond.

Whether your interest is in poetry or prose, novels, short stories, plays, wacky humour, a more analytical style of writing, or just listening for the time being, you're very welcome. Many of our members have been published, but some just write for the fun of it.

Themed evenings alternate with Open Manuscript sessions and we have a rolling programme of competitions, workshops and speakers.

Programme for 2010

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Talk by Michelle Styles

Five of us went along to Knaresborough Library to absorb as many tips as possible from this prolific writer of historical romance. The evening was arranged as a lead up to the Mills & Boon New Voices competition and gave us plenty of food for thought.

Six objects in search of a story

The challenge for the meeting on 20th July was to incorporate all six of the above objects into a story or poem. The Frenchman and the camper van could be used as seen or as representations of the full sized versions of themselves. The water fowl is a loon, the state bird of Minnesota.

The story that I came up with can be read in My Fiction.

Going the Distance in Hebden Bridge.

On 4th July, four of us attended the novel writing workshops run by Anna Chilvers as part of the Hebden Bridge Festival.

The morning session was focussed on getting going and the afternoon on keeping going; both equally valuable. A group of 13 was led through a set of carefully planned exercises with plenty of time allowed for sharing and feedback.

Anna Chilvers’ first novel Falling Through Clouds was published this year by Bluemoose Books.

Staveley Arms 2010

For our annual lunch, we chose a venue just outside Ripon and were offered a very good choice of dishes. As ever, though, the conversation predominated over the food and a good time was had by all.

Poetry Competition

Pat Borthwick's love for and deep knowledge of poetry made hers a very detailed adjudication. Elizabeth Spearman retained the Susannah Carr trophy for her poem Memorial in Ripon Cathedral, inspired by the recent 6 million+, Every Person Counts art installation about the Holocaust. Jan Maltby was second with The Ghost in the Train and Phil Cook came third with Summit.

Competition successes.

Our very own Lindsay Trenholme has won the short story prize in this year's round of Swanwick competitions and will be enjoying a free place at the Writers' Summer School in August. We're also delighted that Joan Reed of Harrogate Writers' Circle has taken second place in the children's story competition.

Theatre in the Round

There were twelve entries for this competition, which was adjudicated by Audrey Hewson of the Ripon Rowel Players.

Audrey presented me with the Hilary Trenholme cup for my article about theatre ghosts. Phil Cook was second with his recollections of a production of 'La Boheme' and Jan Maltby's account of the history of the toy theatre came third.

Programme change

Due to circumstances beyond our control, the adjudication of the Theatre in the Round competition has been postponed to 13th April. The meeting on 30th March will now be for open MSS.

York Literature Festival 2010

Six of us accepted an invitation from York Writers to take part in their showcase evening at The Yorkshire Terrier. Members of Harrogate Writers' Circle were there too, everyone who wished to read was given the opportunity and we all had a very enjoyable evening.

Sharon Mail on Ian Richardson

On 16th March, we were delighted to welcome Sharon Mail, author of We could possibly comment. Ian Richardson remembered. As a friend both of the late Ian Richardson and his wife Maroussia, Sharon was very well placed to produce this tribute to a great actor.

His skills honed by fifteen years with The Royal Shakespeare Company, Ian went on to a highly successful career in television, as well as appearing in several films. It is probably as Francis Urquhart, the scheming Chief Whip of the BBC House of Cards drama series that he is best remembered, although that role was only one of many that he played to perfection. The book weaves together information gathered by Sharon during the time she spent with Ian and Maroussia and tributes from more than fifty people who had worked with him over the years.

As writers ourselves, we were very interested in the nuts and bolts of the publishing process and Sharon was very happy to share her experiences with us.

Mini-Saga Competition

Our adjudicator this time was Anne Perugini Powell, who presented the Twinks Perugini Kenyon trophy to Cathy Grimmer for Before the Uprising, a thought provoking glimpse at the horrors of slavery. In second place was Jan Maltby with Essex Girl and Eileen Walters came third with The Body in the Vestry.

Anne, whose mother Twinks had been a child star in the silent films and later became a well known figure in Yorkshire amateur theatre, can also count artists Carlo and Kate Perugini, the youngest daughter of Charles Dickens, amongst her ancestors. After the adjudication, she gave us a very interesting talk about her own writing.

The wrong kind of snow?

The first meeting of 2010 (Tuesday, 5th January) has been cancelled due to adverse weather conditions.

Owen Staley RIP

It is sad to end the year with an obituary but Owen Staley, who passed away on Boxing Day, was a good friend to many in our group. A talented writer himself and an expert on self publishing, he was also generous with both his time and his advice. He will be greatly missed and our thoughts go out to Hilary and the rest of Owen's family as they mourn his loss.

2009 Christmas party

There was the usual mixture of merriment and mayhem, supported by ample supplies of food and drink.

It's a tough job, manning the bar, but Bruce was more than equal to the task.

The proceedings began with the Chair's quiz, followed by the reading of specially composed Christmas limericks and a game of Call my Bluff, after which a group of volunteer (ed) musicians, conducted by Eileen, came to the fore.

Hot in pursuit of glory were the stars of this year's panto, ordered by our director, Frances, to be as deadpan as possible: Cinderella (Lindsay), Prince Charming (Jan), Fairy Godmother (Maggie) and Ugly Sisters (Audrey).

I was surprised and delighted to be presented by Frances Demain with the President's Cup for my literary efforts this year.

Committee 2009-10

President: Frances Demain; Chair: Audrey Blackburn; Vice Chair: Maggie Cobbett; Secretary: Jan Maltby; Treasurer: Cathy Grimmer; Members' Member: Lindsay Trenholme

New Life Members

The 2009 AGM saw the creation of two new life members. Daphne Peters, who founded Ripon Writers' Group, has been one of its mainstays ever since.

Gill Michell, now living in Dorset, was a regular attender for many years and occupied most positions on the committee during that time.

2009 Article Competition

Rodney Noone, adjudicating this competition for the second time running, observed that we seemed to have taken to heart his caveat on the previous occasion. Not only was there far less nostalgia for a mythical golden age amongst the entries, but the article he placed third, Frances Demain's 'The Good Old Days', had turned the tables on him by stressing the drawbacks of life in the past. Cathy Grimmer's 'Painting by Numbers', a humorous account of a single woman's struggles with home decorating was second. The winner of the Jack Moss Trophy was Eileen Walters whose article 'Collector', has made us all take a fresh look at the range of £2 coins issued over the last few years.

Evening with Diane Holloway and Trish Colton

The sisters, co-authors of The Knights Templar in Yorkshire and The Creative Heritage of Yorkshire, spoke about their writing partnership, research methods and path to publication. With two non-fiction books out already and a third in the pipeline, they were able to give us plenty of helpful advice. Trish stressed that today’s writers cannot just sit back and let it happen. Self promotion is the key, with no place for shrinking violets.

Swanwick 2009

In August, Audrey, Cathy and I attended the Writers' Summer School again and Bruce came along for the first time to see what it was all about. As ever, it was good to catch up with old friends and make new ones. We all learnt a lot from the smorgasbord of courses, workshops and talks on offer over the six days and enjoyed the very varied programme of entertainment.

There is always a break halfway through the week and we took ourselves off to Kedleston Hall, where many scenes for 'The Duchess' were filmed. Some of the costumes were on display and also many of the treasures brought back from the Far East by Lord Curzon, former Viceroy.

The grounds were spectacular and the sun shone on us all afternoon.

One of the pleasures of Swanwick is meeting members of other local groups and this year I particularly enjoyed talking to writers from Harrogate, Leeds and York. We agreed that more liaison and the occasional joint venture would be useful for all of us.

Hint of History 2009

Ken Ridley was our adjudicator this year and awarded the Mary Rawnsley Trophy jointly to Cathy Grimmer and myself. He praised Cathy's short story, The Devil's Herb, as an outstanding piece of creative writing. My article, Evacuated to Ripon, he thought a well researched and stylish piece of reportage.

In third place, was The Grass Wood Murder by Peter Hicks, in which Ken had found a powerful sense of period and well drawn characters.

The other seven entries came in for their share of praise, with Ken saying that he had been greatly struck by the overall flair and competence within our group.

2009 Lunch

The Visitors' Centre Restaurant at Fountains Abbey was the venue for this year's lunch.

The conversation was lively ...

...and the portions generous to a fault!

2009 Workshop

Xanthe Wells, already known to many of us as a tutor at - and currently Vice Chair of - the Writers' Summer School in Swanwick, was a popular choice to lead this year's workshop. Taking as her theme Ways of Seeing: Finding your writing style, she led eighteen of us, including several guests, through a series of exercises designed to get the creative juices flowing. All five senses were harnessed to explore a series of everyday objects and there was plenty of time to write and to hear what others had written.

Xanthe also gave us each a bean to plant, together with a label to inscribe with our greatest literary ambition. I have done so and await the results with considerable interest.

2009 Short Story Competition

The competition this year was adjudicated by Sue Slocombe. The Members' Trophy was awarded for the second time running to Lindsay Trenholme for her story The coming of spring. Joe Peters was second with The Match and I came third with Eye of newt and toe of frog.

Thanks to Jan for the photo.

2009 Poetry Competition

Roger Kendall did the honours once again and had eight very different poems to choose from. During the course of his adjudication, he said that RWG poets had raised the bar again this year and made his choice of winners even more difficult than in the past. He awarded the Susannah Carr trophy to Elizabeth Spearman for Lone Surfer. Carol Mayer's Double Pegging came second and Daphne Peters's Ruby Wedding third.

Tina Shingler

Our loss was Italy's gain when Tina moved over there earlier this year. She will be in Ripon for a few days over Christmas, however, and Audrey is holding an at home on 29th December for all those who can make it to catch up with Tina. Food provided, but BYOB.

Christmas party

The party went very well. In addition to the usual attractions - quiz, bran tub and copious amounts of food and drink - there was entertainment in the shape of a very slimmed down version of Snow White and a set of alternative verses for The Twelve Days of Christmas.

Theatre in the Round competition

Our adjudicator this year was Claire Cox, who has acted in many productions and directed several. Locally, Claire is very well known for her involvement with both The Ripon Rowel Players and Ripon Amateur Operatic Society.

Claire did a sterling job in appraising a very wide variety of entries. She awarded third place to Roller Skates at 70, Audrey Blackburn's account of being taken to see a German production of Starlight Express. In second place was Cathy Grimmer's Memories are made of this, in which Cathy recalled memorable - sometimes for all the wrong reasons - visits to the theatre. For the second time running, Lindsay Trenholme was the winner of the competition. Claire had found The Perfect Day, Lindsay's story about a small travelling theatre company, intriguing from start to finish.

Unfortunately, Lindsay was unable to be present to collect the Hilary Trenholme Trophy, presented in memory of her late mother and much missed former RWG member.

RWG members at Swanwick

2008 marks the Diamond Anniversary of the Writers' Summer School and Audrey, Cathy, Lindsay and I were there to enjoy it. We probably covered most of the courses and workships between us.

Lindsay and I were among the prizewinners, she for poetry and I for the first thousand words of a children's novel.

It isn't all hard work at Swanwick and Cathy was a sensation on the dance floor.

Helene's travels

One of our members, Helene Simpson, has been backpacking (and blogging) her way round the world and is currently in New Zealand. Her travels have made very interesting reading.

Swanwick successes

It's good to know that two of us will be amongst the prizewinners at Swanwick in August; Lindsay with her poem on the set theme of diamonds and myself with the first 1000 words of a children's novel.

Several competitions are advertised each year in the run up to that week of sheer indulgence for writers. 2008 sees the Diamond Anniversary of the Writers' Summer School and promises to be very special.

Annual Lunch 2008

There was a good turn out for lunch at the Black-A-Moor and for the coffee morning at the Michells' home that preceded it.

Both were an opportunity to bid farewell to Gill and Jim. When Gill was elected President at the 2007 AGM, she joked that this would accelerate their long desired move to Dorset and so it has proved. They will be sorely missed.

Thank you, Eileen, for passing on the photographs you took. The drawback, of course, is that you're not on any of them!

Select each thumbnail and move the cursor up to see the caption.

Mini-Saga competition

Our mini-sagas were judged by Jill Freeman, daughter of the late Twinks Perrugini Kenyon, in whose honour the competition is held.

As well as giving an excellent adjudication, Jill was happy to tell us about her mother's early career as a child actress in silent films and how Ivor Novello happened to become her godfather. After her marriage, Twinks carried her love of theatre with her wherever she went and inspired many others with her enthusiasm. She is fondly remembered by her old friends in RWG and in Ripon Am Dram circles.

Lindsay Trenholme's Take a Wedding Hat to New Zealand took third place. Audrey Blackburn's Fountains Abbery came second and I retained the trophy with The Homecoming.

Stella Whitelaw

In April, members and guests enjoyed a very informative and entertaining talk by Stella Whitelaw.

Stella took as her theme Aspects of short story writing. Having had hundreds of short stories published herself, she was in a very good position to list the dos and don'ts and to field questions. A prolific novelist too, Stella was also able to offer advice on expanding into that area.

Having twice attended Stella's courses at Swanwick, I heartily recommend her guides to writing and selling a synopsis and writing short short stories.

Article competition

The winner was Cathy Grimmer with her very practical article Don’t just survive separation – embrace it! 10 tips for living a better life. Our adjudicator, Rodney Noone of Harrogate Writers' Circle, congratulated Cathy on her achievement and presented her with the Jack Moss Bowl. Frances Demain (What if?) and Gill Michell (YHA assured) were joint runners-up and Audrey Blackburn (Waterton Park) came third.

Christmas party 2007

The party for members and guests went off very well. There were specially composed seasonal limericks (some quite unprintable) based around Christmas words distributed by Audrey at the last meeting, charades, a quiz (also devised by Audrey) and, as always, copious amounts of food and drink. There was also the traditional 'bran tub' for everyone to choose from on their way out.

Gill was happy to award the President's Cup to Lindsay for her many excellent contributions throughout the year. This was a poignant moment, as Lindsay's mother, the late and much missed Hilary Trenholme, had twice been the winner.

John Lythgoe won the draw for the Christmas pudding, made and donated by Ella. As everything Ella produces is superb, the pudding is sure to be a highlight of John's and Marion's Christmas dinner.

Short story competition

Our short story competition was adjudicated by playwright, novelist and short story writer Bernie Crosthwaite. Bernie chose Father of the Forest by Lindsay Trenholme as the winning entry and presented her with the Members' trophy. Unfortunately the photo I took of the presentation didn't turn out well and I'm pretty sure that neither Bernie nor Lindsay would thank me for posting it. In second place was Elizabeth Spearman's The Price of Fish and Cathy Grimmer came third with The route of all evil.

(Almost) all change at the AGM

The committee for next year is as follows: President - Gill Michell, Chair - Audrey Blackburn, Vice Chair - Maggie Cobbett, Treasurer - Cathy Grimmer, Secretary - Peter Hicks (no change), Added Member - Hilary Sharpe.

Consequences

Our Consequences evening resulted in eleven disgraceful stories, which Gill Michell has patiently transcribed from the hastily scribbled originals and passed over to John Lythgoe for editing and printing. A Stranger's Kiss is now on sale from John.

2007 Hint of History Competition

Our Hint of History competition was once again adjudicated by Ripon Grammar School's Head of History, Dr Elizabeth Sparey. Liz awarded Ella Benigno the Mary Rawnsley trophy for her Nostalgic Journey. Audrey Blackburn was in second place with The Jewels of Heaven and yours truly came in third with A Tidy Sum.

The 2007 Writers' Summer School

In August, Audrey, Elizabeth and I spent a week at the Writers' Summer School in Swanwick. We all enjoyed it very much and hope that other members may be inspired to go along next year for the School's Diamond Anniversary.

2007 Poetry Competition

The theme this year was Yorkshire. Lincolnshire's Poet Laureate, Pat Borthwick chose Lindsay Trenholme's poem Rhubarb and mine, Red Kites over Eccup reservoir as joint winners of the Susannah Carr trophy. Ron Williamson came third with his Leeds rap, Resolooshons.

After her adjudication, Pat read us a selection of her own poems, many of which have won competitions. Some are to be included in her new collection.

Talk by Jim Wight

In April, we welcomed Jim Wight, son of Alf Wight aka James Herriot. Jim has now retired from the famous veterinary practice in Thirsk and gave us a most entertaining talk about his life and writing. There was also time for a lively question and answer session. The photograph above shows Jim on the left with our chairman, John Lythgoe.

The Herriot Museum in Thirsk is a very interesting place, both for fans of the books and for anyone interested in the history of veterinary science.