If you meant to click “About The Group” and got this page click here.
Since the web site is running on blogging software the front page is rather like a diary itself, which rather obviates the need for this page to our intention is to let it wither on the vine and eventually transfer the information to some sort of archive page.
If you have any different thoughts, please let put a comment in the box below. (It is very far below due to the old formatting!)
OCTOBER 2010
HEATHER VINEHAM NIGHT: 27th October will be the annual competition night. Write a spooky story or poem
HEATHER VINEHAM NIGHT
Competition Rules and Guidance
Write a short story or poem on a spooky theme:
Word limit for short stories – 2000, or 10 mins. reading time;
10 minute reading time maximum for poetry;
Only 1 poem or story to be read;
Only 1 section (poetry/short story) can be entered;
No copies of poems or stories to be distributed;
Latecomers will not be eligible to enter or vote if the readings have started or if they arrive after 8.00 pm;Register your intention to read when you arrive – poems can not be written during the meeting;
Work must NOT have been published;
Must be your own work.Who was Heather Vineham? See below…
Heather Vineham
We hold the Heather Vineham Night on the nearest Wednesday to Halloween as a tribute to Heather who was a valued member of the circle. She died suddenly on Christmas Eve nearly 20 years ago. She was an attractive and charming woman of seventy. Her wicked sense of humour was reflected in her writing.
During the Second World War she was employed on secret work at Bletchley Park. As she said, “We never knew what people either side of us were doing, and we never asked.”
After the war she wrote ghost stories for Blackwoods and The London Mystery Magazine. She was published many times. Her sense of humour, although often ghoulish, was delightful. She was entertaining, generous and warm hearted. Everyday she fed the feral cats who lived in the park near her flat.
When she died on Christmas Eve, the winter was so severe that no graves could be dug. Her funeral could not be held for three weeks. Knowing her sense of humour I’m sure that, wherever she was then, she had a chuckle about that!
Maureen Jarman
Thank you to Gerry for hosting the night of a good collection of scary pieces. Congratulations to Susan and Maria who picked up the prizes.
FEBRUARY 2009
Wednesday February 11th is our Love Theme Night when we will have a competition to find the best liked story or poem. Details and rules:
LOVE THEME COMPETITION
Wednesday 16th February 2011
7.40 for 8.00 pm
Write a love story or poem. It can be comic, romantic, cynical or tragic.
Rules and Guidance
(1) Word Limit for stories is 2,000
(approx 10 minutes reading time)
(2) Only one category can be entered by each person
(3) One poem or one short story only
(4) Plays or scripts to be read by the author only no help is allowed
(5) No copies of poems or stories to be distributed
(6) Latecomers will not be permitted to enter the competition nor vote
(7.40 for 8.00 start)
(7) Register your intention to read when you arrive
(you will not be allowed to compose a poem or story
during the competition to be read at the end)If there are less than 4 poems the voting will be 1st & 2nd of all works read
DECEMBER 2008
The last RWC meeting this year will be on 17th December 2008. The meetings will start again on 7th January 2009. There will not be refreshments after as the room is too cold.
NOVEMBER 2008
Heather Vineham night went well although the turn out was a bit disappointing. Congratulations to Harry & Susan for winning the prizes. Meetings as usual until Christmas when information on when we will not meet over the Christmas period will be on the home page.
OCTOBER 2007
The weekly admission fee for Richmond Writers’ Circle has been £2 for many years. We have decided, after consultation with current members, to increase this to £3 per meeting. This still represents good value for money. The increase will take place from Wednesday 7th November.
HEATHER VINEHAM NIGHT: 29th October will be the annual competition night. Write a spooky story or poem.
SEPTEMBER 2007
The first night back after the August break is Wednesday 5th September. Same time, same place, same cost! Remember the Heather Vineham Night is in October so start those spooky stories!
MARCH 2007
In the past The Parish Rooms were not used by anyone before us so we have been able to go in at 7.30 pm. Now that a group is using the room before us we can not go into The Room until 7.40 pm. If you arrive early please wait outside the courtyard until 7.40 pm. Thanks!
Easter break will be 11th April 2007 – we will not meet on this Wednesday.
JANUARY 2007
Wednesday February 14th is our Love Theme Night when we will have a competition to find the best liked story or poem.
OCTOBER 2006
HEATHER VINEHAM NIGHT: 25th October will be the annual competition night. Write a spooky story or poem – details at this target where there are details of who Heather Vineham was and rules on what can be read and for how long.
SUMMER BREAK
The writers’ circle summer break will be the first three weeks in August. We will not meet on 2nd, 9th & 16th August. Members will be notified about any events happening during this period in case people have withdrawal symptoms! We hope to have a picnic and a summer party at Peter & Joanna’s. Meetings will start again 23rd August until the Christmas break.
APRIL 2006
There will be no meeting on Wednesday 19th April – we are having an Easter break. Next meeting will be on Wednesday 26th April.
Spring is here at last so the Parish Rooms should be warmer. We will announce here if there is a break for Easter so please keep checking as we usually have a week off. See above.
These daffodils have been blooming in our front garden since the end of February (pic taken end of March) – hope it cheers you up! Do I hear a poem coming on Ralph?
JANUARY 2006
Meetings start again on Wednesday 4th January 2006. 7.30 pm for 8.00 pm start admission still only £2. We will meet each Wednesday evening now until Easter. Log on to the site for holiday information and special events. We usually run a Love Story night at the end of February – details to be announced.
DECEMBER 2005
There will be only two meetings in December – 7th & 14th. After Christmas and New year we will start again on 4th January 2006 – 7.30 for 8.00 pm start as usual.
OCTOBER 2005
The Heather Vineham competition is on Wednesday 26th. For information about Heather Vineham click this link and scroll to the bottom of the page -she was quite a woman! RWC member Mark Whelan is now working in Los Angeles, USA. He misses us so much he has set up a blog for RWC. For more information go here
JULY 2005
We will not be meeting in August so the last meeting this month is on Wednesday 27th July 2005. We start again on Wednesday 7th September 2005 – 7.30 pm for 8.00 pm admission still only £2.
JANUARY 2005
Meetings start again on Wednesday 5th January 2005. 7.30 pm for 8.00 pm start admission still only £2.
DECEMBER 2004
Saturday 18th December 7.30 in the Parish Rooms – writer’s circle member Alan Franks will be performing with his singing partner Patty Vetta. Also in the line up will be Tony Harris, Graham Preskett, Tim Whitehead and guests. The last evening was very entertaining – admission £5 – worth every penny! Last meeting for of RWC for 2004 will be Wednesday 15th December 7.30 pm for 8.00 pm start. Restart in 2005 – Wednesday 5th January usual time.
OCTOBER 2004
Our meetings are back to normal 7.30 pm for 8.00 start. There will be a special theme night on Wednesday 27th October for the Heather Vineham competition; go to this link for details Heather Vineham.
SEPTEMBER 2004
No meetings at the Parish Rooms on 8th and 15th September – we will meet in the White Cross at the bottom of Water Lane. Meetings back at the Parish Rooms on 22nd September.
JULY 2004
Just a reminder: we do not meet in August; the first meeting after August will be Wednesday 1st September. We are unable to use the Parish Rooms on Wednesday 8th September so no meeting there; we may have a pub night. See Diary for details in August. The Anthology will be reprinted in August and we will be working on the next anthology for 2004.
JUNE 2004
Circle Lines was a sell-out and is being reprinted. We had 100 copies printed and they were snapped up at The Writers Room performance night in March. The number of people attending the meetings has remained high and the quality of work has been maintained. We have had many new members over the past couple of months.
APRIL 2004
We break for Easter, so there will be no meeting on Wednesday 14th April. Meetings will resume on Wednesday 21st April.
MARCH 2004
Saturday 27th March, 7.30 pm for 8.00 start The Writers’ Room Anthology launch night. The anthology Circle Lines is available for £5.99 at the meetings and on the internet (at £6.99) at amazon.com, soon. The price of on 27th March at the launch night will be £4.99 with a special price of £8.00 if you buy Circle Lines & Room 14 At 8 O’Clock together (as long as stocks last).
FEBRUARY 2004
Love Story Competition night: Wednesday 11th February to celebrate St. Valentine’s Day. Word limit for short stories 2000 or about ten minutes reading time (stories and poems). Usual time and place; £2 entry. Prize for best poem and best short story.
DECEMBER 2003
We meet only twice this month because of the Christmas break. Meeting on Wednesday 3rd and 10th December. As New Year eve is on the first Wednesday in the new year we will not meet again until 7th January 2004. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to you all. As for the anthology: because the printers are busy with Christmas business the anthology will be printed next year. We plan to have a down loadable version on the internet this time so many more people will have access to it. We also plan to have a showcase area on this web site for members to display examples of their work. More details in the new year.
NOVEMBER 2003
The meetings continue to attract a good number of people and many new people are joining. The anthology has been delayed because of technical reasons but we hope to have it published soon. Watch out for details here.
SEPTEMBER 2003
The next meeting will be on 3rd September 2003 at 7.30 pm for 8.00 pm start, where we hope to have news about our Anthology Circle Lines.
AUGUST 2003
There are no meetings in August.
Slightly confusingly the old site also had a page for “Latest Information” which seemed rather like another diary. We attach the contents of that page below for completeness:
LATEST INFORMATION
SEPTEMBER
2010
Richard has stepped down as chairman of RWC to consentrate on his studies. This means we will need to discuss appointing a new chairman and volunteers to help run the group.
DECEMBER
2009
Joanna & Peter have left Richmond Writers’ Circle and indeed Richmond, and indeed the county. They have moved to Cornwall and hope to set up a writers’ circle there.
SEPTEMBER
2007
The first night after the August break was 5th September; unfortunately only four of us turned up! We abandoned the meeting but hope to see more people next week. Joanna will send out e-mail reminders.
MARCH
2007
In the past The Parish Rooms were not used by anyone before us so we have been able to go in at 7.30 pm. Now that a group is using the room before us we can not go into The Room until 7.40 pm. If you arrive early please wait outside the courtyard until 7.40 pm. Thanks!
JANUARY
2006
We usually run a Love Story night and competition at the end of February (can’t remember why it’s on then) – but details are to be announced.
DECEMBER
2005
The last meeting in 2005 will be on Wednesday 14th December. We will have a break for Christmas and New Year and start again on Wednesday 4th January. During January we will produce a chairman’s report and financial statement for RWC in lieu of a formal AGM. Members will be able to comment on RWC matters and a short meeting will be arranged if necessary to discuss points raised.
OCTOBER
2005
The Heather Vineham competition was held on Wednesday 26th. Annie won the short story prize for her story The party and Rebecca won the poetry prize for her poem Mincer. Congratulations to them and thank you for all who participated. For information about Heather Vineham click this link and scroll to the bottom of the page – she was quite a woman!
Some of you may remember Mark Whelan who used to come to the meetings but is now working in Los Angeles, USA. He misses us so much he has set up a blog so if you want to contact him or just want to make a comment about RWC go to the blog site via this link. You have to create an account with blogger.com (it’s free) but once signed up you can post comments.
SEPTEMBER
2004
Meetings start again on Wednesday 7th September 2005 – 7.30 pm for 8.00 pm admission still only £2.
JANUARY
2005
The group’s anthology Circle Lines has been reprinted and is available for £5.99. Past chairperson, Joanna Stephen-Ward published her novel Vissi D’Arte last year and it has been a huge success. Only a few available for £7.00 – ask Joanna or Peter.
OCTOBER
2004
Heather Vineham competition night for the best spooky short story or poem – go to this page for details. There will be prizes awarded for the story and poem gaining most votes.
Next performance night is on Saturday 27th November – please tell your friends and come along to “the best value evening out in Richmond”.
SEPTEMBER
2004
We can not meet in the Parish Rooms on 8th nor 15th of September so we will next meet on 22nd September. On the nights of 8th nor 15th of September we will meet at The White Cross Pub, at the bottom of Water Lane, Richmond – 8.00 pm til closing time.
JULY
2004
The last meeting before the August break will be Wednesday 28th July. Congratulations to Suzanne who has had her novel accepted for publication. Also, Joanna will be publishing Vissi D’arte in August. Mike Riley has had a play accepted. More soon.
JUNE
2004
The anthology Circle Lines is to be reprinted; if you would like to reserve a copy please e-mail Peter.
MARCH
2004
The new anthology was published on 11th March and is now available at £5.99; we will have a launch night at The Writers’ Room Saturday 27th March when the anthology will be available at the special price of £4.99. CIRCLE LINES click here for details; also available from amazon.com soon.
The meetings continue to be popular and there have been several new members joining us and returning each week.
FEBRUARY
2004
News about The Writers’ Room: We will be having The Writers’ Room performances in the Parish Rooms on Saturday evenings.
See the Diary page for the Love Story Competition.
JANUARY
2004
Happy new year to you all! News about The Writers’ Room: we can no longer use the room above The Britannia pub in Brewers Lane so we are looking for a new venue; we intend to have an event on Saturday 31st January so please check the web site for up to date news as to where and when.
NOVEMBER
2003
The Heather Vineham night was a great success with Feola winning the short story prize and Annie winning the poetry prize. The next event will be The Writers’ Room at the Britannia pub Brewers Lane Richmond; please come along and help raise money for the National Missing Persons Helpline.
Patty Vetta and Alan Franks evening was excellent; watch out for news of another event coming soon; if you missed the last performance try to get to the next one.
OCTOBER
2003
RWC member Alan Franks is performing his own songs accompanied by his singer partner Patty Vetta at The Parish Rooms on Saturday October 11th at 8.00 hrs – admission £4. Non RWC members welcome – find The Parish Rooms by clicking here. For more information about them go to: www.vettaandfranks.co.uk or telephone: 0208 948 4952 or 01763 838722 for information about the evening.
Heather Vineham Night: for Halloween your challenge is to write the spookiest most spine chilling ghostly short story (2000 words max.) or poem. There will be prizes for the best poem and best short story as judged by the group. Wednesday 29th October.
SEPTEMBER
2003
The web site is a resource for the whole group. We have had a suggestion from Joe Stephens that members’ work could be put on the site. What do you think? And do you have anything you would like considered for a showcase page? E-mail Peter from this link with feed back.
AUGUST
2003
There are no meetings in August – the next meeting will be on 3rd September 2003 at 7.30 pm for 8.00 pm start, where we hope to have news about our Anthology Circle Lines. Directions to where we meet.
Since September 2002 our web site received 4696 hits – the most hits for any one month was 1443 in March 2002.
MARCH
2003
At the AGM Richard Rickford took over from Owen Wheatley as chairperson of Richmond Writers’ Circle – see below for full list of the committee.
JANUARY
2003
The end of 2002 saw the group increase in numbers attending and the quality of work remains high. There were new members who found out about the group via this web site and Diana Hayden’s web site – directory of writers’ groups – see Links page
DURING
2002
RWC Anthology – Room 14 At 8 O’Clock won first prize in the National Association of Writers’ Groups annual anthology competition. Link to their site at Links page.
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Chairperson: Richard Rickford
Vice Chairperson: Gerry Ball
Secretary: Pamela Risner
Treasurer: Peter Stephen-Ward
Past Chairperson: Owen Wheatley
Events Organizer & Publicity: Joanna Stephen-Ward
Committee Members:
Mike Gordon
Maureen Jarman
Mike Riley
Susan Wallbank
