Hello, and thank you for visiting my site. I hope that you'll return often and always find something of interest about my world and what inspires me to pick up a pen. (This is a figure of speech, unfortunately. My handwriting is terrible!) Here's what I've been up to recently...
RIP Helen Sant
It’s always sad to lose a friend and particularly shocking when that friend appears to be in the prime of life and is then suddenly gone.
I first met the multi-talented Helen Sant when we were co-contributors to York Tales (2004), a collection inspired by the Canterbury Tales. In the photo above, Helen is the glamorous figure on the front row and her contribution was ‘The Story-Teller’s Tale’. On re-reading it just now, I’m more convinced than ever that ‘Eve’ is a thinly disguised version of Helen herself. Not only was she a great story-teller, though, but also a poet, novelist, actor, playwright, performance artist, stand up comedian and expert guide to York’s spookier places.
Helen’s departure has left a big hole in the literary scene of the city, but her memory is sure to linger on and, who knows, maybe not only her memory.
15 June, 2022 - There are 2 comments on this story
Write-On-Ripon! Unleashed 3
Our open mic sessions at the Curzon have become a regular feature of Ripon’s cultural calendar and here I am again in its ‘cavern of creativity’. It’s a joy to gather so many writers under one roof and hear an eclectic mix of poetry and prose. Anyone unused to performing in public can expect a very supportive audience and the proximity of the bar is another bonus!
On this occasion, I chose to read three poems and a piece of flash fiction from my ‘Anyone For Murder?’ collection.
With the Platinum Jubilee and Ripon Theatre Festival both taking place in June, we’ve decided that Write-On-Ripon! Unleashed 4 will take place on Thursday, 7th July. Posters will be appearing shortly.
30 May, 2022 - There is one comment on this story
Reviewing the situation…
Well, reviewing ‘Oliver’, actually. It’s always a relief to see a piece only lightly edited when it appears in the press and makes sitting up into the early hours to meet the deadline very well worthwhile.
In this case, I was particularly happy to volunteer my services and very much enjoyed attending the dress rehearsal in order to get the review written in time to help with marketing the show. It’s been 16 years since I trod the boards with RAOS (as one of the mamas in ‘Fiddler on the Roof’) and almost as long since I helped out backstage as a chaperone, but I have very fond memories of the people I worked with at that time and the fun we had. Quite a few of them are in the current show and it was good to see them again.
21 April, 2022 - There is one comment on this story
The Stray Ferret
The Stray Ferret isn’t, as some people believe on first sight, an animal charity. It’s an excellent media outlet for local news – local being Harrogate (hence the Stray) and district. With Ripon situated only eleven miles from Harrogate, we get a good amount of exposure and our local correspondent, Tim Flanagan, has done me proud this time.
19 April, 2022 - Make the first comment on this story
A very happy Easter to all my readers!
Tulips from Amsterdam? Well, not exactly, but the Delft vase they’re standing in was bought over 50 years ago for my mother. She loved it and so do I, as it’s very much associated with my memories of happy times spent in the Netherlands.
By coincidence, my latest published story also features flowers. Inspired by news stories of individuals and groups taking it upon themselves to beautify neglected areas, I wrote about two doughty retired gentlemen’s transformation of a derelict ginnel/alley/snicket (or whatever you call it in your part of the world) for the benefit of their community.
Baffled by the accompanying illustration? Well, so was I, but that is none of my doing. Once a story is sold, how it is presented is up to the editorial team.
17 April, 2022 - Make the first comment on this story
Write-On-Ripon! Unleashed 2
The second open mic evening in the Curzon Cinema’s ‘Cavern of Creativity’ went very well. Most of the people who came along were keen to read and – in the case of The Wandering Man – sing what they had been working on. A large glass of rosé inspired me to read a poem about the failures of Care in the Community as well as perform a comic number about an unfortunate encounter between an unpleasant young tourist and the Ripon Hornblower. (‘Gary and the Horn’ was written many years ago by the late David Andrews, a past member of Ripon Writers’ Group.)
I also took the opportunity to mention that, for the foreseeable future, any royalties from my ‘Had We But World Enough’ collection will be donated to a charity helping Ukrainians displaced from their homes. It can be downloaded from Amazon for considerably less than the price of a takeaway coffee.
6 April, 2022 - Make the first comment on this story
Memories of Ukraine
4 March, 2022 - There is one comment on this story
A new opportunity for Ripon writers!
UPDATE
Delighted to say that the evening advertised below went very well, with about 30 people in attendance. Everyone who wished to read had the opportunity, some a couple of times, and there was a good variety of genres and themes. A similar event is now scheduled for Monday, 4th April.
Towards the end of last year I joined Write-On Ripon, a group that meets on Tuesday afternoons in the Hive café and this will be its first major event.
As the current Chair of Ripon Writers’ Group, I should like to stress that the groups are not in any way in competition with each other. The Open Mic night has been planned so as not to clash with the regular RWG meeting and anyone and everyone is welcome to take part.
5 February, 2022 - Make the first comment on this story
Morocco Bound!
It’s strange how your past can catch up with you when you least expect it. Browsing the internet in an idle moment, I came across a blog about the short-lived Safari holiday company with which I travelled to Morocco in the dim and distant past. Memories of those few weeks have never left me and now I know that others feel exactly the same. Blog creator Bob Friendship has been kind enough to let me have my own page and you can see the whole thing by following this link: Safari Village, Asilah, near Tangier 1971: Maggie Cobbetts Page
What a time we had, bouncing along desert roads in specially adapted Bedford trucks, riding camels on the beach, bartering for all kinds of things in the teeming markets of Fez and Marrakech, taking tea with Berber tribesmen up in the Rif mountains… I don’t know why I’ve never written a novel about my adventures in Morocco. Maybe now would be a good time to make a start!
8 January, 2022 - There is one comment on this story
Happy New Year!
Despite almost two years of this vile pandemic, I’m determined to face 2022 with some degree of optimism. The scientists have worked wonders and I feel much safer with three doses of vaccine inside me than I did last year at this time. That’s not to say that I shan’t continue to be cautious, of course, and wear a face mask where required. However, the Omicron variant, although very contagious, seems less likely than its predecessor to finish me off, should I catch it. Life is very precious and I intend to make the most of however many years I may have left.
Travel plans are on hold at the moment, but I shall continue to meet as many friends old and new as possible, albeit in small groups for the present. August holds the promise of a week at the Writers’ Summer School, at which I have been a regular attender since 2006. Devastated when it was cancelled in 2020, I enjoyed every minute of ‘Swanwick’ last year, as you can see in the photo above and if you scroll down to what I wrote about it back then.
As for writing, I’m rarely without inspiration and am currently working on several projects. WATCH THIS SPACE!
2 January, 2022 - Make the first comment on this story
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