Ripon Writers' Group

Sheila introduced Graham Chalmers, a journalist working for JPI Media as Features Editor for the group of newspapers that includes the Ripon Gazette. She recalled that this was not the first time he had adjudicated for our Group.

Graham began by insisting that he was a journalist rather than a writer. He had come to the profession after reading politics and modern history at university. In his view one didn’t have to be a good writer to be a journalist. He then went on to talk about the process of writing, describing for example how he had developed his own style for music reviews after researching the styles already found in print.

Turning to the competition entries, Graham said that it had been hard to choose the top three – all ten entries were well-written and intelligent. He then proceeded to give his comments on the individual entries. Having done so he announced the winners as follows:
• 3rd – Peter Hicks with 11 Dawson Street
• 2nd – Claire Cox with Home is where You Hang your Hat
• 1st – Malcolm Glasby with No 5 – a House and Home Remembered

Graham then presented the trophy to Malcolm.

Graham had to leave immediately after the break to meet a deadline for his weekly column, but not before Sheila expressed the Group’s thanks and presented him with the usual token of appreciation.

Sheila then read Malcolm’s prizewinning entry, which took the form of a memoir of his childhood home and brought the story on to the present day. Claire then read her second place entry, an account of various houses in England and abroad where she had made her home. In the absence of Peter H, the final reader of the day was Phil with his competition entry What Makes a House a Home? – a reflection on that subject using examples from various stately homes he and his wife had visited.

Here’s Maggie last night with David Driver of Drystone Radio, just before recording an interview for his Writers’ Bookshelf programme. They ranged over all kinds of topics – including some of her books, obviously – and David played a few of her favourite tracks as well. Altogether, it was a very relaxed and enjoyable experience.

Drystone Radio broadcasts on 103.5FM to South Craven and the Yorkshire Dales providing a local resource for information, events and great music. A podcast of Maggie’s interview will be available for three weeks from drystoneradio.com/ondemand.

As well as being a fine poet and devoted family man, David passed on his love of English literature to generations of students.

David will be very much missed by all of us at RWG but especially perhaps by the members of the poetry group. It was fitting, therefore, that a poem he inspired should be read out during his Requiem Mass at St Wilfrid’s RC Church.

David

You wrote of fragments,
‘a gesture from fragments’,
but as I remember you,
you came complete,
whole.

The entire of you would be
at my disposal
as you listened, reflected,
brought in your thought,
tempered and trained over time

and I would leave
fulfilled.

‘Sense and memory’
(you wrote of your wife Anne)
‘is shaped remarkably
into an accidental permanence’.

Most meetings are accidental,
not many achieve permanence
but, in your smile,
the profile of a crescent moon

illuminating transcendence,
arrived at permanence
in the minds of those of us
who became your friends.

Elizabeth Gibb

Copies of Maggie Cobbett’s ‘Workhouse Orphan’ are now on sale in the Ripon Workhouse Museum, where she did some of her research.

Described by one reviewer as ‘accessible to children but enjoyable for readers of any age’, it should fly off the shelves.

Well, Maggie hopes so, anyway. She’s looking forward to holding a signing session at the Museum later this year.

Sheila introduced Carole Bromley from York, adjudicator of the 2018 Poetry Competition. Carole is a published poet who has won several competitions and been placed in more. An English teacher by background she has also been a Creative Writing tutor at York University’s centre for Lifelong Learning.

Carole began her adjudication by confirming and updating the information that Sheila had given about her in introducing her. She said that she had begun writing poetry while taking students to the Arvon Centre at Lumb Bank. Turning to the adjudication itself she said that her judgement was inevitably subjective and influenced by her personal taste. Although all the entries were of a good standard she had recognised the winner on sight. Whilst being flexible rather than judging by a hard set of rules she was looking for:
• Confidence of tone
• Skilful handling of form
• An awareness of contemporary poetry
• Appropriate use of language and spoken rhythms
• Effective imagery
• Interesting subject matter
• A good title
• A cracking ending
• A clear message economically put
• An absence of clichés, archaisms and word order twisted to suit the rhyming scheme.
She pointed out that modern poets tended not to follow the old convention of beginning each line with a capital letter.

After the general introduction Carole gave her individual comments on each of the entries before announcing the results. These were:
• Commended – ‘Through an Upstairs Window’ by Lindsay Trenholme and ‘The Shift of Time’ by Kate Swann
• Joint third place – ‘Not a Hope’ by Maggie Cobbett and ‘La Manche’ by Daphne Peters
• Second place – ‘The view from the Mat’ by Janet Barclay
• First Place – ‘Safe Keeping’ by Sheila Whitfield

There was time before the refreshment break for all the above six poems to be read, Sheila reading ‘The Shift of Time’ in Kate’s absence. As with most of the readings during the evening the authors present spoke briefly about the inspiration behind their poem.

After the break Carole presented the Poetry Competition trophy to Sheila and The President’s Cup for 2018 to Janet who had been absent when the result of the latter competition had been announced at the Christmas Event.

Present: Sheila Whitfield in the chair plus 15 other members

1. Apologies for absence: Elizabeth B, Elizabeth S, Claire, Malcolm, Cathy, Kathleen

2. Minutes of the 2017 AGM: agreed as a true record

3. Matters arising not dealt with elsewhere on the agenda: none

4. Treasurer’s report and subscriptions for 2018/9: Caroline presented her report, which was accepted, and recommended that the subscription for 2018/9 should be £25. This recommendation was proposed by Phil Cook, seconded by Peter Hicks and passed without dissent.

5. Chairman’s report: Sheila presented her report, thanking those who had made the past year a successful one for the Group. The report was accepted.

6. Election of Committee for 2018/9:
The following names had been put forward:
• President – Maggie Cobbett
• Chairman – Sheila Whitfield
• Vice Chairman – Janet Barclay
• Treasurer – Caroline Slator
• Secretary – Peter Page
• Members’ Member and Competitions Secretary – Susan Perkins
It was proposed by Joe Peters, seconded by Ella Benigno and accepted without dissent that the above should be elected en bloc.

7. Programme suggestions for the coming year:
(a) Sheila made available a form on which members could record their reaction to the events of the past year and propose themes for the coming one.
(b) Susan suggested that a visit to Littlethorpe Pottery on the third Saturday in July would be a suitable subject for the 2019 outing, although it would get away from the ‘literary’ theme. The cost would be £150 for a group of 15, covering a clay pit visit and a pottery demonstration. Maggie suggested that it might be possible to use the visit as a theme for a subsequent meeting and that a booklet of pieces inspired by the visit might be made. These proposals were discussed and accepted.

8. Any other competent business: None

(Note – copies of the Treasurer’s report and the Chairman’s report will be filed with the minutes of the AGM.)

Ripon Writers’ Group was well represented over the weekend.

David McAndrew and Elizabeth Spearman were among the judges for the Festival Competition and two members, Carol Mayer and Maggie Cobbett, were present at the launch to read poems of theirs that had been chosen for this year’s Anthology, ‘The Wheel Turns’. (Copies are available from The Ripon Bookshop on Westgate.)

(Apologies for the poor quality of this photo. A better one of Carol will follow.)

On Sunday afternoon, we had our own session at Thorpe Prebend House, chaired by Sheila Whitfield and Kate Swann. Several members read their own work and, in several cases, poems submitted by those unable to be present. Please click on the images below to see the participants. All were well received by a small but appreciative audience.