Ripon Writers’ Group’s first meeting of 2025 went ahead despite a low attendance as a result of the cold and icy weather.
Caroline shared her detailed comments on each of the entries before announcing the results. The winner was Susan Perkins with a poem called ‘Evelyn at Crafternoon’.
Sheila Whitfield took second place with ‘This Poem’ and Peter Page came third with ‘The Voice of Experience’.
As Susan was unable to be with us, the trophy will be presented to her later on.
What a pleasure it was to see a crowded Little Ripon Bookshop at the launch of Tina Shingler’s new book ‘Hair Apparent’. Back in the days when RWG met at the YMCA, we often heard about Tina’s struggles with her hair as well as her experiences growing up in Ripon, working in Italy, the USA and finally as a press officer in the UK. The new book reflects all these things and much much more. Available on Amazon, it’s a cracking read.
Maggie needed no convincing and couldn’t wait to buy a copy.
Tina’s plans for the future include the possibility of republishing her children’s book ‘Princess Katrina and the Hair Charmer’, which enjoyed considerable success a few years ago.
Adjudicator Ewan Craig was pleased to hand Charlotte Wilson the Janet Barclay Cup for humorous writing. I think it was the first time that any of us had heard a story told from the viewpoint of a bar of soap and ‘The Downfall of Roger Gallet’ intrigued us to the end.
Just a reminder that this year’s Ripon Poetry Festival is imminent. We shall be co-hosting the open mic event on Thursday with Write-On! Ripon.
This link will lead you to the official website and all the information you need. https://riponpoetryfestival.co.uk/
Andy Croft from Smokestack Books gave us some fascinating insights into the dos and don’ts of getting our work ‘out there’. As it was an open meeting, we were pleased to welcome guests, including several members of Write-On! Ripon to join us. The two groups are looking forward to co-hosting the open mic curtain raiser for this year’s Ripon Poetry Festival, which is due to take place from Thursday 19th to Sunday 22nd September.
Led by Maggie, the challenge was to focus on one of the objects pictured. What did it look and feel like? What was its primary purpose? What else might it be used for – thinking outside the box very much required there. Susan was particularly inventive with the old darning mushroom and Peter with the kitchen roll inner!
Next came the challenge to write a limerick or haiku about the chosen object. Several people wrote both and Sheila even added a third poetic form, a cinquain. A break for refreshments was very welcome after all that.
The final task was to draft a short story in which the same object played a major role. No time for polishing, but maybe we shall be hearing some of these at the next session of members’ MSS.
