Ripon Writers' Group

For some of us, the countdown to ‘Swanwick’ begins when the last one ends. This year saw the 65th anniversary of the Writers’ Summer School at The Hayes Conference Centre in the Derbyshire village of Swanwick and Cathy and Maggie (captured above by talented photographer and fellow Swanwicker L.Fox Thomas) were there to enjoy it along with writers from all over the UK and many from further afield.

‘Swanwick’ really does have something for every writer and it is hoped that RWG will be represented there again in 2014.

This year’s programme notes will give you a fair idea of what went on this year, but there were lots of informal sessions in between the official ones.

Today is our turn to be featured on the Club Focus page of the Ripon Gazette and all its sister newspapers. The limitations of an A4 scanner have made it necessary to upload the article written by Daphne and Maggie in two sections.

Following our outing in June to this historic place (see below), members were invited to write about whatever inspired them during the visit. This they have done in both poetry and prose, as well as submitting their own illustrations.

Edited and collated by Andrew, for which we are all very grateful, the Markenfield Hall Anthology is now available to purchase for a very modest £3 a copy.

Our third annual ‘open mic’ event saw around forty writers and their guests enjoy an evening of readings at Ripon’s Golden Lion. Vicky and Steve generously allowed us free use of their large (and air conditioned) function room, for which everyone was very grateful on such a hot evening.

In addition to many local writers, we were pleased to welcome contingents from Leeds, Harrogate, Nidderdale and York, including many Swanwickers (devotees of The Writers’ Summer School).

Poetry, prose and drama flowed in generous measure and we managed to fit in – just – everyone who signed up to read.

Please click on the thumbnails to see the photographs in full. We really didn’t cut off any heads, even those whose owners exceeded the suggested time limit!

For our outing this year, we decided to visit a jewel virtually on our own doorstep. Only three miles south of Ripon on the A61 (but invisible from it) lies Markenfield Hall, a rare example of a completely moated medieval manor house. Built in 1310, it has an extraordinary history and is now the home of Lady Deirdre Curteis and her husband, director, playwright and screenwriter Ian Curteis. Famous for his scripts for popular series such as Doomwatch, Crown Court, Hadleigh and The Onedin Line, Ian is even better known for his political dramas and his tussles with the BBC, particularly over The Falklands Play. At 78, he shows no sign of slowing down.

The inspiration for this event came from our Vice Chair, Lindsay, one of whose friends lives in a cottage on the estate. As well as arranging for Mr Curteis to give us a guided tour of the Hall and a talk about his long and distinguished writing career, Julia was kind enough to allow us to picnic in her garden beforehand, to the complete bemusement of the cattle in the fields beyond. For once, the weather was on our side and we had a glorious evening.