Minutes |31 July 2025

Minutes of the meeting at La Rosa Hotel on the above date.

Present: Adele, Gill, Harry, Ian (chair), Jan, Michele.

Apologies: Jenny, John, Jonathan, Kaz, Laura, Magda, Pip, Suzanne.

Topic: Members’ work-in-progress.

NB: Names and phrases formatted like this stand-in for web-links. See the section: Links at bottom of this page for the actual links. If you are cautious about following inline web-links (and perhaps we should all be…!) then you can either accept this site’s assurance that the link is exactly as shown – and click it; or else type the text of the link yourself into the address bar of a fresh page in the good-old-fashioned way.

Matters Arising

Ian reminded attendees that this was the last meeting before our August recess.
The next meeting would be on 11 September 2025. See: www.whitbywriters.com/calendar

Adele said she would give the latest news on Whitby Lit Fest www.whitbylitfest.org.uk/lit-fest-25 when it came to her turn to read.

Members’ Readings

Harry continued reading from his current memoir Sea Wife.
It is October, 1960. The SS Marwarri has left New Orleans bound for home in the UK. It passes Cape Canaveral just as a Titan rocket was launched: a test shot for a ballistic missile to be aimed at Moscow. A short history of current affairs at that time (known as the Cold War) explains the context of this threatening measure. The captain, a veteran of WWII Atlantic convoys, opts to ignore US warnings about falling rocket parts and continue on his planned course: he had faced worse risks.

Michele continued reading her new novel Beneath the Surgeon’s Coat, recounting the career of the fictional Dr James Fryer, who is based on the historical personage of James Barry (born Margaret Anne Bulkley in 1789).
Dr Fryer is having to come to terms with his feelings for Governor Sandhurst of Cape Town – plus his periods, one of which has stained his bedsheets. His loyal servant Solani deals with this incident discreetly and effectively. He finds it necessary to reveal the secret of his biological gender to Solani, who assures him of his complete confidentiality. Fryer in his turn learns to pronounce Solani’s name correctly. Solani’s mother tongue is a click-language, Xhosa, very hard for Europeans to master.

Adele gave a detailed update on Whitby Lit Fest and its state-of-play. Tickets will be on sale (via EventBrite). There will be opportunities for local writers’ groups to present themselves to the public, plus a writing competition for local children only. A lot of venues have signed up. For further details, see: www.whitbylitfest.org.uk/lit-fest-25

Ian continued reading from his just-completed first-draft of Anitra’s Petition, his sequel to The Titan Kiss.
In a humble Durham pit village, Anitra has come home with the weekly shopping to discover a strange visitor who makes a stunning proposition. Anitra’s “Uncle” Peter sees the visitor out, but she’ll be back tomorrow. Meanwhile, in a derelict space platform in orbit round the Moon, Commissioner Nilsson is investigating why the grave of the mass murderer, Peter Zwillinge, contains someone else’s body – and exactly whose?

Gill thought it best to pause her reading-aloud of her Earth-witches’ book, since it is going to be hard for members to pick up again. She is looking for agents. Attendees discussed her book.

Jan together with an online historical research group she has joined, is currently engaged in revising her history of Christiana I’Anson, an Edwardian society lady who elopes to New Zealand. Instead she read part of a short children’s story, a timeslip tale set in Whitby. The hero himself doesn’t time-travel, but his ginger cat does – back to the Grape Lane slums in 1905, and reports back on the nefarious activities of a supervillain planning mischief. Her daughter, now in her twenties, loved the story when she was young. Now she wants to be a spy.

The meeting closed at 1:10 PM.

Links
(in order of occurrence)…

La Rosa Hotel www.whitbywriters.com/venue

Ian www.whitbywriters.com/ian-clark

Whitby Lit Fest www.whitbylitfest.org.uk/lit-fest-25

Adele www.whitbywriters.com/adele-duffield

Harry www.whitbywriters.com/harry-nicholson

Cape Canaveral https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Canaveral_Space_Force_Station
—For the many names this site has been called during its history, and between which dates, read this section very carefully:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Canaveral_Space_Force_Station#Name_changes )

Michele www.whitbywriters.com/michele-randle

James Barry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Barry_(surgeon)

Xhosa https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xhosa_language

Anitra’s Petition www.whitbywriters.com/anitra-the-story-so-far-2