Gary Booth, an English teacher for 35 years, was the adjudicator this time round and began by telling us that he was judging the twelve entries as a reader rather than a writer. In addition, he had focused on the quality of the writing rather than the aspect of history chosen and tried to minimise the influence of his personal interests. He preferred the pieces with a personal angle but considered them all worthy of publication.
Gary then turned to the individual entries in random order and gave comments on each. The winners were as follows:
1st ‘Musical Notation’ by Anna Greenwood: reflections on how this has allowed musicians to connect across the centuries
2nd ‘A Most Remarkable Woman’ by Joe Peters:a potted biography of 19th century Dutch woman Jeanne Merkus
3rd ‘The Wonder of Woolworths’ by Maggie Cobbett: an account of a teenage schoolgirl’s Saturday job
Anna wasn’t present to receive the trophy, but Joe and Maggie are pictured above with Gary. Jan Maltby thanked Gary for an outstanding adjudication and presented him with a token of appreciation from the Group.
