Hi, I am TINA Watkin, Leader of the Bradford Writers' Circle.

I live in Denholme, West Yorkshire; the heart of the Brontë country. I have been custodian of the 'Circle' for TEN years. From a dwindling, dedicated few attending monthly meetings, we have grown to a comfortable sized group. We meet twice, sometimes three times, a month. The meetings are informal read-a-rounds, which cover every genre of writing. You are invited to bring along some of your own work to share with us. We chill out with a welcome 'cuppa' before the afternoon meetings and have a quarter hour break in the evening meetings for refrshments. Come along and check us out. In 2008 we spread our wings and branched out to Shipley to try to encourage members from that area and also Keighley, Bingley and possibly Leeds. Shipley is ideally centred for all these towns and is well served by bus and train services. We often invite speakers to our meetings to share their knowlaege of different aspects of writing. They usually bring literature along, which can be purchaced on the night or ordered directly from the authors.

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VENUES

Basement Room
C.V.S Building
19/25, Sunbridge Road
BRADFORD
BD1 2AY

Telephone (office hours) 01274 722772

For evening meetings
The Kirkgate Community Centre,
Kirkgate
SHIPLEY
BD18 3EH

Telephone (office hours) 01274 580186

Directions: It is near to the Market Square and as you face the clock tower, with the bus station behind you, walk about 200 yards up Kirkgate to your left and the Centre is on your right. Wheelchair access is a little further up the road just before Crowgill Road, where there is a park. Adequate FREE parking outside and nearby.

Both venues are smoke free.

SPEAKERS AT MEETINGS
We occasionally invite speakers of interest to our meeting to advise us on many aspects of writing.

MEETINGS

Meeting times 2.30pm to 4.30pm (first Monday in Bradford) 7.00pm to 9.30pm (first and third Monday in Shipley) and 7.00pm to 9.30pm (Shipley) if there is a fifth Monday in the month.

Refreshments are provided in the cost of entry for £1.00 for afternoons (£1.50 for guests) and £1.50 for evenings (£2.00 for guests) per person. The membership fee for the year is £6.50, which entitles you to attend both venues.

EVENTS

Through out the year we hold events; our next one is on Saturday 24th January 2009 at Kikgate Centre, Shipley, from 10am to 4pm. This will give opportunity for those interested to meet and join our group as members. The aim of the day is to write poems or prose about the photographs which have been selected for our 2010 calendar. This workshop is free to all members (membership costs £6.50 for the year) and we will be providing food and hot drinks for lunch.

We plan to make a canal barge trip this summer as a social event incorporating writing on the water.

We shall organise two displays at Bradford Central Library to showcase our work.

HISTORY

Bradford Writers' Circle was formed in the 1940's; a Constituton was made on 30th September 1947. At that time prospective members had to submit three pieces of work to the 'Committee' to be scrutinised before acceptance to the group could be accepted. In its sixty years history many budding writers have passed through the system, some of whom achieved their goals.

Today, we like to think that we are a starting platform for those new to writing who wish to 'find their feet' and hope that we give them the confidence to carry on and succeed. In the past few years three of our 'regulars' have been published in various magazines with their short stories and poems.Yours Magazine is ideal for copy for the over 50's. They produce fortnightly and quarterly magazines where you may submit your work. Several poets have gone through the 'Anthology Trail', namely Poetry Now, Forward Press, Triumph Herald (a Christian magazine), Rhyme Revival, Anchor Books (all of which are based in Woodston, Peterborough)and United Press (London). We have at present several people writing their autobiography and some in the midst of novels (one on his seventh!). We have had two member's plays accepted for performance (script in hand) at the Priestley Theatre for 'The Page to Stage Events'.

In 2003 we were contacted by Ron Alderton, who lives in Spain, to be a sponsor for our group. He wished to donate a sum of money in memory of his late wife, who used to be a 'Circle' member. We decided to use this for an Annual 'Love Story Competition'.

Our 'First Circle President' was Mike Priestley, of the Telegraph & Argus Newspaper, who was instrumental in instigating the Presidents Cup Theme. Mike had a sinister liking for limericks, of which he supplied not the first but the 'last' line. Due to extra work load, Mike sadly had to 'retire' from our committee. A unanimous decision named Lillian May Smith (our oldest member, a nonagenarian) as his successor. Sadly Lillian passed away in November 2006. In 2007 we invited Malcolm Hanson (previously of Denholme, now living in Skipton) to consider the position. Happily he accepted and was the adjudicator for our Ghost Story Compettion (just up Malcolm's street, as he does ghost walks in Skipton and Malta)and also for the Presidents Cup he will choose the winner; this is the ONLY competition open strictly to Circle mMmbers. All our other competitions are open to the public and often we have categories for children included.

In 2002, one of our competitions was dedicated to a well loved member Leo Brennan, who sadly died that year. Due to his lasting humour remembered in our hearts we now occasionally hold a 'Leo Brennan Humorous True-Tales Competition'. From the stories which he told us, assuring us they were all true... guess what, they always were!!

In 2005 we formed a link with a writer, Fred Heap, a previous Denholme resident now living in Christchurch, New Zealand. Fred heard of us through the Yorkshire Observer Supplement of the 'Telegraph and Argus' Newspaper sent to him by a colleague in Sutton. We now feel we are internationally recognised. Little did Fred know when I e-mailed him that it was myself who had written the column in the paper, which he received, as I am the local village correspondent and I was also the leader of the Circle he was trying to contact. Small world, isn't it? Maureen Beaumont, who went to visit her son in New Zealand in 2005 was welcomed with a banner by Fred and his family on her travels, when she stepped of a bus 'down under.

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