CWC Blog

Review of the meeting on 1st April 2025 by Piers Rowlandson

Eight members were present and apologies were received from three.

Piers Rowlandson was in the chair. 

The meeting started with a brief AGM which included a review of our financial position: healthy. We have a new bank account with Virgin Money which does not incur charges.

Subscriptions are not due until June. 

Piers Rowlandson was appointed secretary.

The website is coming back to life. It may be that the secretary is the only person who can add to the forthcoming events and meetings, write a blog or add to the chat room. I will ask Ian to add user names and passwords for all members.

Outside speakers were discussed and the general view was that once or twice a year would be a good idea but no names were put forward. It was mentioned that a speaker might expect to be paid in the region of £50 to £75 for an hour.  

In the second half of the meeting, three contributions were read out. 

1. The Leopard by Christian Johansson. 

This is part of a chapter of a murder mystery thriller, the main character being a psychopath. Vivid writing and chilling was the verdict. 

2. Near Hagen, Germany 1939 by Janet Denny.

In some ways, this novel is a follow-up to her first book about her father who was killed in WWII: The Man on the Mantelpiece. Near Hagen deals with the experiences and feelings of a nineteen-year-old student living near Hagen in 1939 as the Nazis rise to power. Beautiful descriptions of the wildlife and the countryside contrast with the political situation and the smoke from factories churning out war machines. 

3. Ann and Tom by Lesley Pardoe.

This is a time-slip novel about the Lord of the Manor's daughter Lady Ann and her father's shepherd, Tom. Aimed at twelve-year-olds it has a lovely simplicity and the local West Country dialogue adds to the atmosphere. 

Test

Blog
by
Piers Rowlandson

Review of Meeting

Tuesday, 4th February 2025.

Lesley invited Nicola Garrard to come along and tell us how she got involved in writing two novels. She started by saying that she had never imagined writing a novel but had always enjoyed writing poetry. Then, after one of her pupils from the school in Hackney where she worked for fifteen years, was murdered, she felt she had to tell his story.
29 Locks is written from Donny’s point of view in Multicultural London English. It deals with the injustices suffered by the Windrush generation, the impossible situation a single drug addicted mother finds herself in, local gangs, drug dealing, county lines, and knife crime. Naturally a lively discussion was had about social issues as well as how 29 Locks came to be published. The crucial fact being that the novel was short listed for a prize and so caught the attention of an agent. 21 Miles continues Donny’s story as he and his girlfriend, Zoe, cross the channel (21miles from Dover to Calais) and get involved with the children and teenagers in a camp in the woods, who are waiting to cross the channel and seek asylum with relatives in England. The publisher who took on 29 Locks was naturally keen to publish 21 Miles. Nicola’s eagerly awaited next novel is set in Devon. The focus is on rural poverty and social injustice