Good news, the talented writing group, Chesham Writers and Scribblers’s latest collection of short stories has been launched. Varied, thought provoking, and raising money for charity, what more can one ask from the written word? Well, I wanted to know how a collection of 15 writers could be corralled for long enough to produce such interesting work. So over to Clare.
‘Seasons’: a collection of 15 short stories by Clare Elstow
Autumn bonfires, winter snow, spring lambs and summer swifts – all classic elements of the Chiltern seasons. Add in a birth, a marriage, a death and a murder, a couple of holidays and a dream or two and you have the recipe for the entertaining mix of fifteen short stories that makes up Chesham Writers and Scribblers’ second collection of short stories: ‘Seasons’.
The group meets monthly, writing to a themed assignment, and it’s become an annual event to use one of the themes as the basis for a published story collection. We all appreciate having an extra focus and inspiration for writing and as well as seeing our work in print, the project means group members raise money for local charities, including Chesham Museum.
L – R: Michael Rowan, Catriona Troth, Kate Hutchinson, Denise Beddows (writes as D J Kelly), Clive Hewitt, Clare Elstow and Patricia Heath. Photographer credit: Emily Conboy
How does it work?
Three of us act as editors, making the initial selection of stories and deciding on an order that provides variety and contrast; it’s fascinating to see such varied interpretations of the same theme. Perhaps only these eclectic local collections can provide a home for styles and genres that range from thriller to folktale, historical to contemporary and which encompass both despair and hope, alongside a helping of humour.
Professional local photos ensure a colourful and attractive cover and are provided by Chartridge Photographic, who also print the copies. We decided on an inexpensive stapled booklet style, to keep costs and price down (£3) and attract the casual buyer; it also ensures we can afford to donate a number of copies to our stockists. As well as Chesham Museum, ‘Seasons’ can also be bought at The Drawingroomcoffee house in Chesham – the venue for most of our meetings.
For the last seven years I’ve juggled my writing around my job at the village GP surgery. Snatching early morning sessions when the household was still sleeping and late nights when a storyline just had to be written, but this month sees a great change in my daily routine. Sadly our much loved little surgery, the most remote in the UK, fell to NHS funding cuts and closed its doors to patients in August. Aside from the devastating loss of such a vital service in a rural community, I’ll miss the interaction with patients and colleagues, the community spirit and support and the frantic note-scribbling when eureka moments occurred, mid-surgery.
Harbottle Surgery
Now, for good or bad, I’m a full time writer and I’m both enthusiastic and a little daunted. I’ve written nine novels against the backdrop of stolen minutes and ridiculous deadlines, how will I adjust to this new freedom? Will my imagination and creativity fail me when presented with a nine-to-five regime? Will my, eureka moments, become contemplative, more eu and less eek? and will the lack of stimulus from the real world and its wonderful, larger than life inhabitants, negatively affect my writing? Only time will tell.
I have a new publisher, two new books to promote and four works in progress. Plenty to keep me busy and I suspect I will set my own ridiculous deadlines and snatch stolen moments as before, however in deference to the fact that I’m the least organised person I know, and I have chickens to feed, a dog to walk and a garden to tend, I decided to begin gently with a daily word count.
First day – minus 1,500. Oh well, lean and mean, those cuts were needed. Tomorrow, I’ll just write twice as much … And then there’s the book signings to arrange and the blog posts to write, oh and books to post and reviews to write…and all before coffee. I’ve banned the internet when I’m ‘working’ and cheated twice today. I don’t answer the phone – unless I forget – oops. And I don’t do ‘lunch’ unless I’m persuaded that it’s not merely lunch but a research trip – I’ve managed lots of research lately…
Ah, a writer’s work is never done.
Babs Morton was born in the North East of England, and as B.A.Morton writes across a number of genres including crime, romance, horror and historical fiction. After a twenty year civil service career, she and her family escaped the rat race and relocated to the remote beauty of the Northumberland National Park. She now lives in a cottage built on the remains of a medieval chapel.
A member of the Crime Writer’s Association and the International Thriller Writers, she is a self confessed crime fiction addict. In 2011, her debut novel “Mrs Jones” a crime thriller set in New York, took second place in the international literary competition, The Yeovil Prize, and launched her writing career. 2015 sees the release of two North East psychological thrillers Bedlam and Twisted with Caffeine Nights Publishing.
Katie Flynn has so many successful titles already but we must add this gentle readable story to her successful list.
The story starts in 1938 in Liverpool. Rosheen Clarke and her lively, strong willed twin daughters have no idea how their world is going to change with the advent of war.
After war is declared the twins are evacuated to Wales. The prospect of living in the countryside does not appeal to them.
Rosheen joins the WAAF and meets a fellow Liverpudlian Cassie Valentine. The two become firm friends and support each other through – trouble with the twins, the bombing of Liverpool and Cassie fighting her love for a childhood friend Andy.
When peace is declared in 1945, Rosheen, Cassie and the twins are all changed by the events that have happened in their lives – hopefully all to their good.
Read and enjoy this well presented tale of life during World War 2.
Katie Flynn lives in the north-west of England. Her short stories were often broadcast on Radio Merseyside. Hearing her family reminiscing about life in Liverpool in the early twentieth century she was prompted to write her Liverpool series. Katie has always loved to write and continues to although she has had to cope with ME for the past few years.
An unparalleled marriage of cutting-edge technology, mechanics and 100% Swiss savoir-faire.
Imperiali Genève has unveiled a world exclusive: the Emperador cigar chest.
Thousands of hours of work, several international patents, 2,675 high-quality components, complex mechanics and the introduction of state-of-the-art technology make this the most prestigious cigar chest in the world, available at the price of one million Swiss francs.
The Emperador invites an array of superlatives; it is a project tinted with folly.
The chest is much more than a luxury product; it is an experience for all five senses – a moment suspended in time available to a privileged few, as only twelve numbered pieces will be produced each year. Combined with a timepiece featuring a tourbillon, this utterly unique object marries the age-old art of Swiss watchmaking with the skills of the best experts from 27 different trades.
Behind the Emperador is Imperiali Genève, a young company aspiring to reinvent existing objects by transcending the bounds of reason.
To innovate, enrich and amaze – such is their leitmotif.
The extraordinary chest is the fruit of their ambitious imagination. Produced in Switzerland using noble materials, it measures 70 cm long, 45 cm wide and 30 cm high.
A masterpiece of high technology and complex mechanics
The prestigious chest is crowned by a tourbillon timepiece made up of 323 parts and a ‘Clous de Paris’ guilloché dial – the work of a master watchmaker from the Swiss Jura. Meanwhile, access to the 24 exceptional Grand Cru cigars, which are wrapped in four gold leaves and arranged in individual glass tubes around this most sophisticated of creations, is protected by a personal secret code. The user simply brushes a finger over one of the nine touch buttons on the cover spelling the name ‘Imperiali’ to activate the integrated LCD display, which is invisible when the device is sleeping. He then enters his code using the golden touch buttons.
Luxurious and enriched with magnificent details, the Emperador showcases its mechanics – namely the lock and tourbillon watch mechanisms – but is careful to conceal all its electronic components. Only three indicators with mechanical hands are visible to the user. These display, in real time, the relative humidity and temperature inside the chest, the power reserve and the number of cigars remaining. In its quest for perfection and innovation, Imperiali Genève has developed the world’s first self-regulating humidity system, which requires neither water nor human intervention. It guarantees a constant humidity level of 70% and a temperature of 16 to 18 degrees Celsius, regardless of external environmental conditions. These variables can also be easily adjusted according to the user’s wishes.
The almost sacred moment of savouring a cigar is elevated by the Emperador’s three exceptional accessories, which once again perfectly combine technology and mechanics. These majestic devices are arranged in an unobtrusive drawer seamlessly incorporated into the front of the chest. The cigar cutter enables the cigar to be either mechanically cut or perforated in the manner of a punch. The table lighter and its three nozzles offer a perfect flame. Lastly, the ashtray opens by the magic of mechanics whenever a cigar is brought near.
A precious moment, an equally precious cigar.
Hundreds of combinations of meticulously selected tobaccos were required to achieve the final result. Rich, complex and balanced, it is the product of the fertile plantations of the Jamastran Valley (south Honduras) and the Jalapa Valley (north Nicaragua), the El Dorado of Cuban emigrants who arrived equipped with their seeds and unparalleled knowledge.
The Emperador cigar is a premium product whose manufacture leaves nothing to chance.
After 48 months of ageing, the leaves are carefully processed with the utmost respect to create an exceptional Grand Cru.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HI4xoDwy_IA
About Imperiali Genève…
Imperiali Genève is much more than a brand; it is an art of living. Driven by a love of beauty and an uncompromising desire to innovate by playing with and overcoming the laws of physics, David Pasciuto and Stéphane Nazzal, the creators of the Imperiali brand, revisit and reinterpret everyday objects, transforming them into true masterpieces.
A Sketchbook Journey Inspired by World Heritage Cities and Sites
A Fellow Traveller by Karen Neale is well worth reading. The watercolours almost leap off the page, they are so immediate, so imbued with the artist’s passion, and curiosity. Each illustration has text to put it in context. It is a brave and encompassing journey – for Karen, and an enormously satisfying read – for us.
Nick Danziger writes the forword, in which he talks of Karen Neale’s passion and courage, as she shared her ‘Fellow Traveller’ project after she was shortlisted for a Winston Churchill Memorial Trust Fellowship some years ago. Karen’s plan was to visit parts of the world, many of which were not on most tourists’ itineraries.
She travelled for five months through France, Italy, Greece, Turkey, Iran, Uzbekistan, India and Nepal in 2001. During this time she completed 106 annotated, watercolour sketches recording her experiences, 42 of which appear in this book.
Drawing with just a black biro, she became a part of each place for a time. Karen Neale found that sketching erodes cultural and linguistic barriers, as a picture and the process to create it can be universally understood. Almost without exception, people were friendly, informative, inquisitive and afforded her great hospitality. She soon realised that despite different cultures, languages, societal and physical structures, there lies a common universal aspiration. That is to lead an uncomplicated, peaceful life, with a roof over one’s head, food on the table and to be surrounded by family and friends, and taking great pride in our natural and cultural heritage.
I leafed through this album of water colours inspired by World Heritage Cities and found they communicated a profound sense of place, and were full of movement, somehow. No, it’s not as good as going yourself, but it’s still pretty damn good.
I heartily recommend A Fellow Traveller. Just wish I’d been alongside Karen for the trip.
Reunited after seven years, consummate crowd pleasers, G4, know how to put on a show.
Having reformed in November 2014 for a ‘One Night Only’ show in London, G4 quickly realised that a public appetite for more G4 was definitely still there.
With the occasional prom feel and doo-wop backbone, their harmonious blends had the Norwich Cathedral spire in a spin and the roof bosses twitching, with the handsome wooden arches and stained glass acting as the perfect backdrop for this sell-out performance, the first of their Christmas By Candlelight tour.
G4 made good on their promise to fill the set full of G4 classics as well as tracks from the ‘Christmas By Candlelight’ album, offering up ‘Danny Boy’ and ‘You Raise Me Up’, backed up by accompanying guitarist and pianist, combining in acoustical heaven.
In their younger years, churches and choir singing played a huge role in group’s Christmas experiences.
With that in mind, G4 were inspired to run a singing competition called Christmas Star Search, designed to identify talented young singers under the age of 16. The winner (to open the tour in Norwich and close the tour in Brighton), was Toby Peters, who joined the group onstage to sing the first verse of ‘Once in Royal David’s City’.
The Cathedral fell silent, a pitch-perfect performance.
With their truly immersive and harmonious blends, they were joined by the Norwich Rock Choir for ‘Oh Come All Ye Faithful’ – a haunting performance, synonymous with the reputation of this exuberant collection of beautiful singers who went on to accompany with exceptional harmonies.
This was the 21st time the Rock Choir have performed with G4, celebrating their 10th anniversary this year with a fantastic collaboration with the reunited group.
Throughout the tour, a member of the audience is invited on stage to be serenaded by the group, a genuine touching indication of the passion G4 feel towards their loyal audience.
This was the 21st time the Rock Choir have performed with G4, celebrating their 10th anniversary this year with a fantastic collaboration with the reunited group.
Opening the second half with ‘Silent Night’ from the back of the Cathedral, the quartet respectfully stepped down the main aisle to the haunting pipes of Norwich Cathedral organ.
Since reuniting, G4 have played to over 15,000 this year alone and dedicated their last song, ‘Bring Him Home’ (Les Misérables), to all people with missing friends and family.
Ending the show with a medley of Christmas favourites, the sing-along audience were left in no doubt that Christmas was just around the corner and G4 were back for good… which suggests that niceness really does go a long way.
With a series of eight shows in beautiful churches and cathedrals nationwide, these intimate shows see Jonathan, Ben, Mike and Nick share the songs from their eagerly-awaited new album, “G4 Christmas” including Christmas classics and carols, all delivered up-close and personal in some of the UK’s most iconic historic venues. “G4 Christmas”, G4’s fourth album, created with Pledge Music, released on 16th November.
Due to the overwhelming demand for G4, they are delighted to return to the stage in 2016 with their new and exciting ‘Back For Good’ tour, which is set to further showcase their flawless vocals in even more towns and cities nationwide.
Join G4 in what promises to be yet another spellbinding performance. Tickets now on sale! Available direct from the venues below: 3rd April 2016, 7.30pm POOLE The Lighthouse 0844 406 8666 Buy Tickets 4th April 2016, 7.30pm IPSWICH Regent Theatre 01473 433100 Buy Tickets 5th April 2016, 7.30pm – CROYDON Fairfield Halls 020 8688 9291 Buy Tickets 6th April 2016, 7.30pm SKEGNESS Embassy Theatre 01507 613100 Buy Tickets 7th April 2016, 7.30pm DORKING Halls 01306 881717 Buy Tickets 8th April 2016, 7.30pm LONDON Cadogan Hall 020 7730 4500 Buy Tickets 10th April 2016, 7.30pm AYLESBURY The Waterside 0844 871 7607 Buy Tickets 11th April 2016, 7.30pm BIRMINGHAM Town Hall 0121 345 0600 Buy Tickets 12th April 2016, 7.30pm LEEDS City Varieties 0113 243 0808 Buy Tickets 13th April 2016, 7.30pm PORTSMOUTH Guildhall 0844 847 2362 Buy Tickets 17th April 2016, 9.00pm EASTLEIGH Concorde Club 023 8065 1478 Buy Tickets 18th April 2016, 7.30pm TORQUAY Princess Theatre 0844 871 3023 Buy Tickets 19th April 2016, 7.30pm STOKE Victoria Hall 0844 871 7649 Buy Tickets 20th April 2016, 7.30pm GRIMSBY Auditorium 0300 300 0035 Buy Tickets 21st April 2016, 7.30pm – FOLKESTONE Leas Cliff Hall – 0844 871 3015 Buy Tickets
About G4…
G4 are a four-piece British vocal troupe who first came to prominence when they finished second in Series 1 of The X Factor in 2004, and are known for their operatic delivery of modern pop songs. Originally a barbershop quartet,[1] the members met at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, from which the name G4, standing for “Guildhall 4”, derives.
Rock Choir is the UK’s largest and most popular contemporary choir, with nearly 20,000 members in over 320 local communities nationwide. It offers adults and teenagers the chance to sing and perform popular contemporary songs, with no auditions and no requirements to read music or have any previous singing experience. Rock Choir is for anyone who just loves to sing! The choir’s popularity is phenomenal and its achievements are extraordinary. It has released two top twenty albums and performed en-masse at the 02 Arena (London), the Liverpool Echo Arena, Wembley Arena, Hammersmith Apollo, NEC and the Royal Albert Hall. In 2011, Rock Choir was the subject of a popular 3-part ITV1 documentary ‘The Choir That Rocks’ and has made numerous other TV appearances, including BBC Breakfast, The One Show, Good Morning Britain, The Paul O’Grady Show and The Alan Titchmarsh Show. Rock Choir’s uplifting ethos of fun, friendship and community spirit is a huge part of its attraction. At an individual level, it helps improve people’s self-confidence, enables them to develop new singing skills and enjoy a dynamic new social life. Singing together and achieving such a great sound gives members a huge sense of fulfilment. Added to this is the glamour and excitement of performing in public, which, for many, is a truly liberating experience!
Jo Youle, Chief Executive of the charity Missing People says “We’re thrilled to have been chosen by the wonderful G4 boys as their charity partner for the Christmas album and tour. Not only will their powerful and inspirational voices uplift and inspire us, they are also supporting our Home for Christmas Appeal which will help us to offer a lifeline to missing people and their families at what can be an incredibly lonely and heartbreaking time of year.” Every two minutes, someone goes missing in the UK. For their families the thought of Christmas without them is heartbreaking. The charity Missing People offers a lifeline when someone disappears, bringing missing adults and children home to their loved ones and supporting the families left behind. Missing People’s Home for Christmas Appeal is aiming to raise £20,000 to help the charity provide their vital helpline at the most difficult time of the year. G4 will be supporting the Home for Christmas Appeal by holding a series of collections at their Christmas By Candlelight tour.
Norwich Cathedral is an English cathedral located in Norwich, Norfolk, dedicated to the Holy and Undivided Trinity. It is the cathedral church for the Church of EnglandDiocese of Norwich and is one of the Norwich 12 heritage sites.
The cathedral was begun in 1096 and constructed out of flint and mortar and faced with a cream-coloured Caen limestone. A Saxon settlement and two churches were demolished to make room for the buildings. The cathedral was completed in 1145 with the Norman tower still seen today topped with a wooden spire covered with lead. Several episodes of damage necessitated rebuilding of the east end and spire but since the final erection of the stone spire in 1480 there have been few fundamental alterations to the fabric.
The large cloister has over 1,000 bosses including several hundred carved and ornately painted ones.
Norwich Cathedral has the second largest cloisters, only outsized by Salisbury Cathedral. The cathedral close is one of the largest in England and one of the largest in Europe and has more people living within it than any other close. The cathedral spire, measuring at 315 ft or 96 m, is the second tallest in England despite being partly rebuilt after being struck by lightning in 1169, just 23 months after its completion, which led to the building being set on fire. Measuring 461 ft or 140.5 m long and, with the transepts, 177 ft or 54 m wide at completion, Norwich Cathedral was the largest building in East Anglia.
The Mousetrap on Tour Chichester Festival Theatre Until 28 November www.cft.org.uk
Photograph by Liza Maria Dawson
It is almost inconceivable that after 63 years there is anyone who hasn’t seen the world’s longest running play, and yet the Festival Theatre was full of wannabe sleuths last night.
Opening with an eerie whistling of the nursery rhyme Three Blind Mice, the killer doesn’t faff about – the first murder of the night takes place almost before the house lights have gone out.
Cut to Monkswell Manor, a guest house being run by a young couple whose enthusiasm is offset by their complete inexperience of running such a business.
As the snow falls and guests arrive at Monkswell, swiftly becoming stranded there by the wintery deluge, it becomes clear that among their number is someone with murder in mind – but who?
The mistress of suspense, Christie’s script certainly cranks up the tension beautifully. Everyone could be linked to the murderer and could therefore be a target. Menace and anticipation transcend the stage and the audience, as a man, quivers with anticipation.
There are a few laughs to relieve the apprehension, mainly born of Christie’s superb observations of character and human nature, but in the main the evening is more inclined to baited breath than belly laughs.
A bit more ham than cheese in places (some of the cast are guilty as charged when it comes to occasional overacting), the intrigue and enticement to find out who the killer is makes forgiveness of such over-the-top moments easy to grant.
Particularly strong performances come from Anne Kavanagh as the magnificent battle-axe Mrs Boyle, and also Luke Jenkins as a suitably authoritative Sgt. Trotter. Edward Elgood also convinces as the immature and borderline-bonkers Christopher Wren, who could just as easily wield a machete as he could a feather duster.
Is The Mousetrap dated? Truthfully, yes. But it is also a British classic; a splendid piece of ripe Stilton that should be embraced and enjoyed absolutely in its original form.
In September 1982, my life changed. I was in the Royal Artillery on a small arms exercise. The vehicle I was in veered off the road and went down a ravine. Five of my mates were killed outright and the driver broke his neck. I was 20 years six months at the time; the first I knew of my accident was when I came out of coma on my 21st birthday. A lot of my family had gathered at my bedside and that’s what brought me round. The guys in the beds round me had come back from the Falklands (but I didn’t even know it had all kicked off!)
The injuries I sustained have proved a major limitation to my mobility (I use crutches and a tricycle to get about) and to my speech; I make myself understood, but long conversations prove difficult, However, you can’t ignore me (I rather overdo the volume to compensate for a lack of clarity in my speech!) WHAT, YOU DIDN’T HEAR THAT?
Although verbal communication is a challenge, I have always had a bit of a talent with words – I used to act (with Graeae) and sing (before the accident). In recent years, I have got into writing and have recently completed my first novel, which has just been published.
The book features the tale of a street cleaner who overcomes adversity – drawing on some of my own experience, although his period of “rehab” was a lot shorter than mine. The book is aimed at young adults and upwards.
Although my mobility has been severely limited, I pride myself on my independence, and get out and about round my local community in Isleworth and Twickenham, as well as taking overseas holidays under my own steam. I don’t usually read my book when cycling, but nevertheless the local drivers steer well clear…:
I’m always working on my general fitness. It’s not like army training now, but I’m a regular at the local swimming pool (Pools on the Park in Richmond). The staff are always on hand to support me:
Although my first book is only just out, I’ve already written a sequel (“Malcolm’s Mediterranean Misadventure”) and hope to keep developing as a writer. I’m doing some local book signings to support the sales of my first book, even though writing with a pen is difficult for me and I often slip back into using the typewriter that my uncle gave me when I was recovering in hospital.
What a Load of Rubbish by Martin Etheridge (published by Clink Street Publishing 29th September 2015) is available to purchase from online retailers including Amazon.co.uk and to be ordered from all good bookstores.
