Minutes of the meeting at La Rosa Hotel on the above date.
Present: Adele, Harry, Ian, Jan, Jenny, Laura, Pip.
Apologies: Gill, Jill, John, Magda, Michele.
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 reported the publication of Jenny Hill’s book of Poems 2015-2025 and exhibited a copy, commending it to the meeting.
Jenny announced a showing of the landmark film Turn of the Tide (1935), the first feature film made by the British National Films Company set up the previous year by J. Arthur Rank.
The action takes place in Yorkshire and shows many shots of Whitby and its fishing boats.
The showing will take place at St Ninian’s Church, Baxtergate, Whitby, on 19 May 2026 at 7 PM. Free admission, teas, coffees available, raffle. Donations invited.
Members’ Readings
Ian – announced the first public release of Anitra’s Petition, his long-awaited sequel to The Titan Kiss. This took place at the recent Whitby Goth Weekend (WGW) Bizarre Bazaar, in the Leisure Centre. Jo, the organiser, very kindly donated a spot free-of-charge at the entrance to the Bazaar for Ian to give out copies of the book. See banner photo.
Ian has a scheme to broadcast the book in its limited First Edition of 100 numbered copies, rather than sell the title conventionally through the book trade. All proceeds (not profits!) going to the UK charity: Freedom From Torture.
In furtherance of this scheme, Ian gave each attendee a copy of Anitra’s Petition, to pass on if they don’t want to keep it themselves.
Jan – is co-authoring the memoir of a friend called Alice (unable to write for herself), who with her husband and two toddlers lived off-grid in a tiny French village near La Rochelle in 2012 or thereabouts. Jan continues describing how Alice and her young family renovate the derelict farmhouse they bought, and how they transact with the other villagers by barter, having made it clear that they want to do jobs in exchange for things, not buy goods for money. Jobs like cat-sitting, collecting a child off the school bus, and mowing a lawn. They acquire a billy goat they name Alphonse, the farmer who gave it to them appearing all too keen to get the goat off his hands.
Jenny – continued reading from her period novel based on the historical figure of Mary Eleanor Bowes, the heiress of a vast fortune from the Durham coalfields. Mary is locked away with her new baby, her demon husband inflicting casual cruelties at will. Left alone, she discovers Andrew Stoney’s incriminating correspondence with pregnant housemaids begging for financial support, importuning creditors, and notably with Mr Bates, which reveals to her how she was tricked into marriage by Andrew feigning mortal wounds from a duel allegedly fought in her honour.
Nevertheless, hoping to soften her brutal husband, she tries to be ultra-compliant. Andrew takes advantage of this by making her write a lengthy confession of her wicked life with its affairs and abortions, promising it will never see the light of day. In time he gets it published to spite Mary, and it is still in-print.
Harry – distributed copies and read another instalment of One Last Swing of the Lamp, his memoir of serving in the Merchant Navy as radio officer. We have reached Chapter 6: Here Be Monsters.
The SS Marwarri has now steamed out of Aden, bound for Calcutta. Regaled with stories of sea monsters in the Gulf of Aden and spiced with the reek of curried baby shark from the Asian crew’s quarters, all on board endure 11 days of heat from the dry North-East Monsoon. Harry and the Deck Apprentice Tony pass the time playing chess. Harry is cribbing good openings from Chess for Beginners.
Adele — is keeping a diary of the painful and distressing surgical investigations surrounding her partner’s suspected prostate cancer, and her own suspected breast cancer. She learns she is free of cancer, but her partner is not so lucky, having to undergo prostatectomy.
An intense discussion ensued, not only covering ailments but how such experiences are grist for a writer’s mill. Writing about such scary subjects may serve to bring either reassurance or courage to sufferers, even if it is just to know they are not alone in their pain and anxiety. Reporting experiences of surviving such episodes may even bring a ray of hope to those facing painful tests and treatments.
The meeting closed at 1:10 PM.
Links (in accession order)…
Contact https://whitbywriters.com/contact/
La Rosa Hotel www.whitbywriters.com/venue
Ian www.whitbywriters.com/ian-clark
Anitra’s Petition https://whitbywriters.com/2026/05/07/clark-nida-anitras-petition/
The Titan Kiss https://whitbywriters.com/the-titan-kiss/
Freedom From Torture https://www.freedomfromtorture.org
Jenny https://whitbywriters.com/jenny-burns/
Mary Eleanor Bowes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Bowes,_Countess_of_Strathmore_and_Kinghorne
Whitby Writers Group 