Maggie Cobbett

Swanwick 2014 – heading for the halfway point

My room in Lakeside is now looking as tidy as ever it will during my stay!

The good news is that every single copy of Easy Money For Writers And Wannabes that I brought along to sell has been snapped up. I don’t even have one for myself at the moment, because I’ve had to part with the proof copy! However, the omnibus edition of my short story collections is still available in the Book Room. (Both books are featured on Amazon and can be downloaded to Kindle etc. or ordered as print editions.)

I hope that my promotional T-shirt for the short story collections will work its magic* if it doesn’t really get me arrested! The lovely Michael O’Byrne, our Vice Chairman this year, is a retired chief constable after all!

My head is bursting with useful information at the moment, much of it gained from ‘official’ sources – Shirley Blair’s excellent two part course on writing for The People’s Friend and Karin Bachmann’s afternoon session on using Twitter to better effect – plus a large number of hints and anecdotes from fellow Swanwickers encountered at breakfast, morning tea break (with biscuits), lunch, afternoon tea (with cake), dinner and all those times in between. It would take a will of iron to lose weight at The Hayes!

Did I mention magic earlier on? Maybe my appearance at the Wizard of Oz themed disco will do the trick! Mark Iveson, DJ for the evening, certainly kept us all moving!

11 August, 2014 - Make the first comment on this story

Swanwick 2014

It’s that time of year again when hundreds of writers of all levels of experience head for a small village in Derbyshire. The Writers’ Summer School is now in its 66th year, and this is my ninth consecutive attendance.

The Hayes Conference Centre in Swanwick is an excellent venue and writers are given full rein to mingle and promote their wares, as you can see in the photo above! (I wasn’t mingling just then, but I’ve been mingling for England the rest of the time and shall continue to do so!)

The School rises like Brigadoon each August and disappears far too quickly a week later, but opportunities for keeping in touch throughout the year have never been better. Most of the Swanwick Facebook group got together yesterday afternoon to put names to faces and many of us are also in the habit of tweeting to #swanwick66. If you look hard, you’ll spot me standing fifth from the right and wearing my other promotional T-shirt – this time for Easy Money For Writers And Wannabes. While I’ve been very happy to sign copies of the paperback available from our very own Swanwick book shop, it’s been interesting to note a spike in sales of the electronic version as well over the last couple of days, so the publicity seems to be paying off. I’m indebted for the photograph to fellow long time Swanwicker Angela Lansbury, seated on the carpet. Thank you, Angela!

So, what else have I been doing since I arrived on Saturday afternoon? Catching up with old friends and making new ones is always top of the agenda, but I’ve also been along to  listen to the evening speakers – writer, broadcaster and historian Christopher Lee (no vampire connections) on Saturday and Shirley Blair, fiction editor of The People’s Friend last night. I found Christopher’s talk quite depressing. After reeling off a list of his own contacts and literary achievements which, to be fair, are extremely impressive, he told us that he wouldn’t encourage anyone to be a writer these days, much less marry one. That was capped by the observation that more people are writing books these days than reading (or buying?) them! (There’s some disagreement among those present at the talk as to what he actually said.)  Fortunately, Shirley Blair was much more positive. Her magazine buys more short stories than any other as well as serials and pocket novels and I know from personal experience how encouraging Shirley and her team are, both to new and long term writers for TPF.  The information given during her two part course today will, I’m sure, be invaluable.

I’ve listened to Della Galton’s words of wisdom on Writing for Competitions and Xanthe Wells on The Novel as well as attending a very useful session with Kate McCormick to refresh my memory about the usefulness of Scrivener. (Note to self: must get back down to that as soon as I pick up the threads of my novel in progress.)

Yesterday evening finished for me – not really a late night disco person – with a very touching tribute to all those who suffered during WWI.  The indefatigable Joyce Ward and her team had put together a programme of music, poetry and prose to tug at anyone’s heartstrings. Particularly poignant were the many photographs flashed up onto the wall behind the performers. Despite the cheerful rendition of Pack Up Your Troubles that finished the show, those young faces will haunt me for a long time to come. News stories from the Middle East and elsewhere are increasingly horrific these days and it really does seem that – to quote from someone whose names eludes me at the moment – if history teaches us anything, it’s that it teaches us nothing!

11 August, 2014 - Make the first comment on this story

Lest We Forget

Remembering two of my mother’s half brothers today.

Uncle Albert, aged 22, was killed during the Battle of Jutland. Mum was only eight when the news of his death reached the family but remembered very clearly how their mother went temporarily insane from grief and never really got over it. As well as being remembered on the Portsmouth Naval Memorial, Uncle Albert’s name appears in the York Book of Heroes held at York Minster and twice on the war memorial in Rydings Park, Brighouse. On one side he appears under his own name and on another as Albert Edward HORSFALL, the surname of his stepfather. I don’t – and probably never shall – know all the ins and outs of that part of our family history, but I believe that bad feeling between the two of them led to Albert’s moving out to live with relatives of his mother’s in York.

George Manuel Horsfall, born to my grandfather’s first wife, a Spanish lady, served in the trenches while still under age, was badly wounded by shrapnel but lived on into his 90s. He never fully recovered the use of one of his arms but that didn’t stop him, amongst other things, from running a chicken farm and later working as a gardener for a well known actor. Uncle George and his wife Louise, shown above on their wedding day, had a long and happy marriage.

4 August, 2014 - Make the first comment on this story

Corkscrewed

This afternoon saw the official launch of Pamela Theophilus’s new book Corkscrewed and I was very happy to go along to support a fellow member of York Writers. Pam writes under her maiden name and may be more familiar to many as Pamela Gardner.

With sunshine and showers definitely being the order of the day, a sizeable crowd enjoyed the shelter of the marquee thoughtfully provided as well as a goodly range of refreshments. The glass of Prosecco pressed into my hand by Pam’s husband as I queued to have my copy signed was very well received too.

Hic! To quote from the blurb, ” Who would have thought there could be so much excitement to be had from corkscrews!” I look forward to reading Pam’s story and finding out how a boy’s unusual collection will shape his future life.

Corkscrewed is available from Amazon in print or as an e-book.

2 August, 2014 - Make the first comment on this story

The opening shot!

The role of a television ‘extra’ is to merge into the background, often as a blur. Here I am again, strolling down Main Street, Emmerdale with a colleague. It’s a tough job, but someone has to do it!

Having said that, some scenes require a great many takes. That street is steeper than it looks on screen and it’s a fair distance from the bus shelter at the top to the shop at the bottom. Free to choose ‘sensible’ shoes for myself, I really don’t covet the vertiginous heels worn by some of the ladies in the cast. They look wonderful, but practical they are not!

1 August, 2014 - There are 2 comments on this story

With my judge’s hat on…

I’ve entered many writing competitions, been successful in some and gnashed my teeth over others. That said, it made a refreshing change to be invited both to come up with a theme and to judge a flash fiction competition for Erewash Writers. As well as offering authors the opportunity to publicise their books and competition winners to see their work published on line, EW donate part of the proceeds to charity each year. To learn more, take a look at http://erewashwriterscompetition.weebly.com/

As many of my stories have a twist in the tail (or tale?), the theme I set was ‘Seize the day, but don’t be surprised if it bites back!’ Not surprisingly, entrants interpreted this in many different ways – serious, humorous and downright bizarre. I was delighted to send a copy of the omnibus edition of my short story collections to John Parker for his entry Just Desserts.  Andrew Campbell-Kearsey came a close second with The Truth Shall Set You Free and I should like to wish both these gentlemen all the best for their future writing.

31 July, 2014 - Make the first comment on this story

Oh, I do like to be beside the seaside!

Scarborough has a lot going for it on a sunny day. Well, OK, the North Sea is always cold and paddling is as far as it gets for me these days, but there’s plenty more to enjoy.

Did you know that Charlotte Brontë brought her sister Anne here in 1849 in the hope that the sea air would improve her health. Unfortunately, it was no match for ‘consumption’ (pulmonary tuberculosis) and Anne’s grave can be visited in St Mary’s churchyard, beneath the walls of Scarborough Castle and overlooking the sea. Many visitors make their way up there to pay tribute to this sometimes underrated Brontë sister, the only member of her family not to be laid to rest in Haworth.

However, having been marched up there before, David was keen on this occasion to confine our ramblings to the length and breadth of the South Bay. That area holds a lot of memories for me too, particularly from the days when I worked as an ‘extra’ on The Royal. The building that stood in for the hospital can still be seen on the Esplanade, behind us to the right in the photograph. (Interior scenes were filmed in a disused ward of St Luke’s in Bradford.)

I missed the Scarborough Book Festival this year but look forward to seeing what the 2015 programme will have on offer next April.

30 July, 2014 - Make the first comment on this story

From Monsoon to Mambo!

What a weekend this has been! Despite the sunny start to the day, Ripon Writers’ Group’s afternoon outing to Eden Camp coincided with spectacular amounts of rain falling from the skies of North Yorkshire. It’s just as well that the museum is based in an old prisoner of war camp with most of the exhibits under cover. Opening and closing our umbrellas every few minutes or so, we splashed through the puddles as we dashed from hut to hut. Nevertheless, there was much to enjoy and I’d recommend a visit to anyone interested in modern history. Just check the weather forecast before you go!

Dancing has been a big part of my life for the last five years, ever since I discovered the excellent classes run by Trisha Lee and her partner Andrew di Giorgio (Deej) and I was very happy to attend their 10th anniversary party.

With their Wetherby venue packed with Strictly Salsa members old and new, the atmosphere closely resembled a sauna. However, no one was in the least bit put off by that. If you look beyond the girl with the shiny hair in the foreground, you can see me dancing for once with my better half – he in a checked shirt. With salsa being such a sociable activity, it’s the done thing to circulate and dance with as many partners as possible during the evening.

This being a party, though, there were also fun and games. I was happy to simper behind my fan during this one! 

A really good time was had by all and everyone escaped unscathed apart from the usual bruises from flying elbows and gouges from high heeled dance shoes. (Just kidding?Well, actually no, but it’s well worth it for all the pleasure we derive from our chosen contact sport!)

21 July, 2014 - Make the first comment on this story

Easy Money For Writers & Wannabes now in print!

The title of this post says it all, really. Well, not quite all. Creating an e-book with illustrations is much easier than laying out a print version.  However, here it is and I hope that all the people who’ve requested a ‘real’ book to buy will be pleased with it. It’s been a labour of love on the part of my son Richard who, as ever, has  given me the benefit of his considerable technical expertise.

Illustrations for a print copy should ideally be of  a higher resolution than for an e-book, which isn’t easy when photograph archives are being plundered. That’s why the cover for the paperback has had to be different from (although still in the same spirit as) the original.

Bringing out the e-book first has given me the option of adding some reviews to the back cover. I hope that new readers will also submit their thoughts.

19 July, 2014 - Make the first comment on this story

The Tour de France comes to Ripon!

What a weekend this has been! French workmen were out in force setting up the sponsors’ banners along the route before most of the locals had left their beds. Chosen to host Le Grand Départ, Yorkshire certainly pulled out all the stops and Ripon was determined not to be outdone. Our little city was awash with bunting and yellow bicycles.

This wonderful bicycle can be seen outside the Sun Parlour café in the Spa Gardens.

Many local businesses were keen to offer their products à la française.  

Even the barber’s shop patronised by the Cobbett men wasn’t going to be left out.

People found all kinds of ways of marking their pitches for the race!

When the route through Yorkshire was published, I could hardly believe my eyes. Having watched the Tour de France year in and year out on television, I discovered that it was actually going to pass the top of our street! After a delicious barbecue with friends, we only had to carry our chairs a couple of hundred yards or so and take up our positions.

Blessed with good weather, we rather regretted not having dressed up for the occasion like some of our neighbours. Don’t they look splendid! It was a long wait in the strong sunshine and the sponsors’ caravane that preceded the arrival of the cyclists, colourful though it was, was rather a disappointment to the younger children, poised to collect the freebies they’d been told to expect. (The Fan Pack van had pulled up earlier on but found no parents willing to lash out £20 without even knowing what was inside the packs on offer.) Still, with many miles already behind them and through crowds of spectators that had topped the wildest estimates, we thought that maybe supplies were close to exhaustion by the time the caravane reached Ripon.

Rumours flew around and anticipation mounted. The riders had reached Middleham, Masham, West Tanfield, North Stainley and…

Suddenly  a loud cheer went up and here they were!

With a flat surface that must have provided some relief for their tired legs, they passed by us in a flash on their way to the bypass and the final stretch of their journey to Harrogate.

Every team had plenty of back up, including spare bikes, and they needed them. A couple of riders came to grief just after they passed us and had to negotiate a sharp bend onto the main road out of Ripon.

Was it all worth it? Definitely. I’ve never seen such enthusiasm in Ripon before for any event. I think most of the population turned out to watch the race and there were shenanigans in and around the Market Place all weekend, including a huge screen, stalls, games for the children and live music. Vive le Tour! Vive le Yorkshire!

7 July, 2014 - There are 6 comments on this story