Well, it was an icy wind that blew around 20 of us to Waterstones for our Christmas Night on Wednesday. Brave souls I’d say, especially those who had travelled some distance – you know who you are! The shop was freezing, and folks slipped their jackets back on to avoid hypothermia.
Maggie M welcomed us all and gathered in our Flash Fiction competition entries. She introduced Kirsty McClymont from Waterstones who gave us an interesting and enthusiastic talk on the books everyone is buying this year, as well as a few personal favourites. Music biographies are popular such as those written by Brian Johnson from AC/DC, and Bono. She spoke about the popularity of biographies about the Queen but said Giles Brandreth’s was in her opinion the best as he said, “I knew her you know”! Kirsty also said that a “genius” had discovered a gap in the market for children’s biographies. She gave us a list of all the books she mentioned, so if you are interested, I have a copy.
Next was a three round quiz that Maggie had drawn up. This was an individual quiz, and it was hard not to confer or cheat! Round one on Literature, round two on Christmas (it was fun, said Maggie, watching everyone count on their fingers the number of ‘la’s after ‘fa’ in “Deck the Halls”) and finally the Famous Faces round. We knew we would all be kicking ourselves when the answers were revealed, and that was indeed the case! Linda Brown won with 25½ points – Carolyn, her marker, chopped a half point off, but she still triumphed and walked away with a box of chocolates.
Carrie had organised a raffle and later we heard it raised £81 for AWC funds – well done Carrie. There were several smaller prizes, but the top hamper prize was won by Kirsty Hammond. Greta won a smaller hamper which she had to humph home again, after having helped Fiona A humph it to the event in the first place!
Fiona A then announced the winners of the Non-Fiction competition and read out adjudicator Patrick Laurie’s overall comments. He noted that blackbirds were mentioned in no less than five of the entries. Well done to Maggie B, Linda B and the winner, Damaris.
Kirsty McClymont judged the Christmas Flash Fiction competition and said she had enjoyed this experience very much. Carrie’s piece – “A Territorial Treat” – won, and she read it out to us, holding back tears saying she had never won anything. The first of many I hope, Carrie.
Before we headed back out into the arctic conditions, we had a short time to browse the shop and buy at a 10% discount. Agatha Christie seemed to be on the shopping list of a few. The till was jingling and signalled the end of what must’ve been a long day for Kirsty. I’m sure everyone will want to say thank you to Maggie and Carrie and everyone else involved in organising the night.
See you all in 2023.
Linda Hull