Minutes of the meeting at La Rosa Hotel on the above date.
Present: Adele, Harry, Ian, Jan, Jenny, John, Michele, Tim.
Apologies: Lisa, Gill, Laura, Magda.
Topic: Members’ work-in-progress.
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Matters Arising
Ian introduced a new member Tim to the group, and attendees took turns to say a few words to introduce themselves.
Ian asked Adele if there was anything to report on this year’s LitFest. Adele replied she’d give a preliminary report at the next meeting (30 July).
Ian reminded attendees that there was one more meeting before the August recess, namely on 30 July. The next meeting after that would be on 10 September.
Members’ Readings
Harry — still underway as First Radio Officer on the SS Marwarri, wrestles with a broken transmitter. His assistant drops the first spare valve (tube), then the cap snaps off the second spare valve and needs to be painstakingly soldered back on to the tiny wire stub still protruding from the glass capsule. Harry manages to make a highly technical account entertaining and amusing even to the layperson.
Jan — continued reading her co-authored 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.
Alice continues her campaign to neuter the local feral cats, which attracts a lot of local support, leading to a fund being set up to pay the vet. But the cats have to be trapped. One particular cat, which she names Grumpus, was entertainingly difficult to catch.
Another beneficial sideline is looking after vacant second-homes. One such has benefitted her with two reel-cables for power and internet, plus the contents of the owner’s freezer.
Michele — reported progress on looking for an agent in South Africa for her completed novel: Beneath The Surgeon’s Coat, which she judges will be mainly of interest in her native country. She has discovered a good, helpful editor through History Quill – but of course the editor needs paying.
Tim — read Ballad of the Wirefolk, which not only succinctly outlines Whitby’s chief attractions, but features the “Wirefolk” – the collection of wire sculptures around town by local sculptor Emma Stothard. These Tim imagines coming to life at night.
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. “The World’s Worst Husband” Andrew Stoney turns on the charm when Gibside receives a visit from the Revd Samuel Markham and his wife, seeking a position as the family’s personal chaplain. The following day Andrew suddenly announces his intention to take Mary and the baby on a journey to Ireland to meet the family. An uncomfortable journey ensues by horse and stagecoach, with joyless stays in mean wayside inns with unpalatable food.
Ian — continued reading from his recently finished novel Anitra’s Petition. Anitra has been accepted by the Zbor as fully groubian – which makes her an honorary human being. But the question now remains: is she an adult? Without full human rights Anitra is at risk from various parties of incarceration or even assassination. She faces anything from 3 to 300 years under groubian protection in Fort Rainbow until that can be legally decided.
Anitra finds her Martian helmet – not needed in the Fort. It won’t connect her to the Nix Intensor: it will only let her use the Simulator, which she last did on board Oberon. She calls up an AI playmate called Serpent, which gives her controversial advice.
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/
Jenny https://whitbywriters.com/jenny-burns/
Mary Eleanor Bowes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mary_Bowes,_Countess_of_Strathmore_and_Kinghorne
Harry www.whitbywriters.com/harry-nicholson
Adele https://whitbywriters.com/adele-duffield/
Emma Stothard https://emmastothard.com/the-whitby-sculpture-trail
Whitby Writers Group 