HERE WE GO WITH ANOTHER FABULOUS FUN WALK EVENT - COME JOIN US?

The organisers of the annual Fun Walk are delighted to share that, thanks to support from local businesses and individuals, the 2025 Bonus Pot has reached over £30,000.

The ‘Bonus Pot’ is a key incentive for supporters of local charities and community groups to raise funds for their chosen cause, as it tops up on a pro-rata basis the money raised in sponsorship by each participating organisation, over and above the amount they raise themselves in sponsorship.

Last year we were able to provide a 30% bonus, (meaning £30 was added for every £100 raised in sponsorship), and over £100,000 was raised in total by participating organisations. We are hoping to do even better this year.

Since 2002, this annual Fun Walk, which will take place through September, has helped registered charities and good causes (local schools, churches, grass roots sports teams and other community and animal welfare groups) to raise money.

John Baron, Chair of the Fun Walk Trustees, said:
“The Fun Walk Trust undertakes the organisation of the event to better enable local charities and good causes to focus on raising sponsorship money for their walks.” “The Bonus pot provides a significant incentive for participants, and could this year add 35% – 40% to charities’ Fun Walk sponsorship money.”

“So far this year, our donors include Greater Anglia, Brown & Carroll (London), Sanctuary Housing Association, One Footstep (Human Kind Café), Butyl Products Group, Tunnelcraft Ltd, C2C Rail, Mr Barrie Stone and other individuals. We thank them for their generosity and community spirit.”

Charities and local community groups wanting to take part can just register on www.thefunwalktrust.co.uk

VE DAY 8 MAY IN BILLERICAY - UP WITH THE FLAGS

We couldn't miss the large crowds at Sun Corner taking part in the VE Day 80 Beacon Lighting event on Thursday. The atmosphere was exceptional and there was a great sense of community spirit throughout the evening.

As usual, we welcomed our musical friends, High Voltage Performing Arts along with the fabulous Lorraine Cater who was brilliant helping the crowd singing along and celebrating together.

Jim Devlin, our chairman, gave a warm opening speech, and we were proud to have two members of our Youth Council read the National Tribute.At exactly 9:30pm, our Citizen of the Year, John Smart, had the honour of lighting the beacon as part of the nationwide commemorations.

Our super 2393 RAF Squadron cadets, along with other Billericay uniformed organisations were present and the evening was a great success.

MAY I INTRODUCE COLIN TAYLOR, AUTHOR, STAND-UP & STORY TELLER?

 On Saturday, novelist Colin Taylor and the super Lisa Horner, author and librarian, presented their 'Starting to Write' session in Billericay Library and surprises were in store for those present.  Colin provided a great afternoon, packed with answers to questions and queries about taking that first gentle step into our often strange world of writing, with more than a little help from Lisa, who is also a talented artist.  

More information can be found on websites www.colintaylortales.com and www.lisajhorner.com (not forgetting our own Brentwood Writers' Circle website), which is also a fascinating place to visit to discover more information about one of the UK's oldest and most successful writing circles.  www.brentwoodwriterscircle.comlterested in purchasing art or want to commission me. 

lisajanehorner(at)yahoo.co.u

INTRODUCING YET ANOTHER FRIEND AND COLLEAGUE AT THE SOCIETY OF WOMEN WRITERS & JOURNALISTS - ROBERTA GRIEVE

 

Roberta (Robbie) is a successful novelist and someone I've always enjoyed meeting at our SWWJ gatherings in London. I find it fascinating to discover how some of our members began writing professionally and learning more about their successes. 

'My writing career started with short stories and magazine articles and I was beginning to get published when I met Jean Morris, former chairman of the SWWJ. She introduced me to the society and I joined in 2005, one of the best decisions I have made in my writing life.

The first event I attended was the Christmas lunch when to my surprise it was announced that I was the winner of the John Walter Salver for a published article, the first competition I entered.

My ambition was to have a novel published - an ambition that has been achieved many times over the years. My first, Abigail’s Secret’ in 2008, has been followed by 19 more full-length novels, as well as nine My Weekly Pocket Novels.

I write historical romances mostly set during the Victorian era and the two world wars. I really enjoy the research and have learned a lot about the history of my home town of Sheerness on the Isle of Sheppey. Five of my books are set on the island.

Two years ago, I moved to a small village in Norfolk and, inspired by the history of my new location, I wrote Flora’s Flight, which tells the fictionalised story of a historic airship flight from Norfolk to America in 1919. I am now embarking on another Norfolk story set during World War Two in a small village – not unlike where I live now.

Belonging to SWWJ has been one of the highlights of my life from attending meetings in London and meeting so many interesting people, to being involved in the Southern Regional meetings for many years, first as an attendee, then being organiser with Joan Moules and finally taking over from her a few years before I moved away from Chichester. I have made so many friends over the years and look forward to seeing some at the summer meeting in June.

ANOTHER INTRODUCTION TO A NEW FRIEND, THE CLEVER TECH LADY IN BILLERICAY HIGH STREET

Although I bought my first computer (Amstrad) in 1984 (in those days, Lord Sugar was the main computer provider). His office was then based across the road to my office Ewing House at 130 Kings Road Brentwood, Essex. Our computer screens then were an odd shade of green with very little memory. I have always tried to keep up with each tech innovation as it was introduced, but have difficulty these days in keeping up with technology.

However, these days, the business of learning how to use new digital pieces of machinery is not as easy for me as in those long-ago decades. So, how lovely to meet Humaira Adam in her super little shop BSmash in Billericay High Street. Here she explains quietly and patiently all the aspects of my new phone and other digital equipment needed to carry on with my job as an author, columnist and archivist. Many thanks to lovely Humaira for her patience and kindness and, of course, expert digital knowledge.

MEETING OTHER AUTHORS - LISA HORNER

I do enjoy meeting other writers and learning how they first entered this strange writerly world of ours. So, it is with great pleasure that I introduce my followers to yet another of my author friends, Lisa Horner, who is an accomplished artist as well as being a published author of two best-selling books.  She is a familiar face at Billericay Library, where she works.

 

When interviewed recently, Lisa said:

'Writing is something I started later in life. Before this, fitting around family life, I worked through quite a few art courses, culminating in a Degree in Art and Design. I did find that the areas that I shone in on my degree course was writing and illustration. I have always been driven to find balance and to be able to give my family quality time, so it's natural that I've had more time to concentrate on art and writing later in life.'

Generally, many aspiring writers have great difficulty in finding a traditional publisher, but Lisa was surprised (and happy) when one of our top history publishers, Amberley Publishing, approached her to write a book about Basildon in Essex. A high honour indeed!

She was previously a contributing researcher to the late Frances Clamp, one of the county’s best-known authors; also the President of the Brentwood Writers' Circle for twenty years. Lisa had worked with Frances on the book Basildon, Our Heritage.  Lisa’s first title was Basildon Through Time, which was published in 2014. This was followed by Lost Basildon in 2019. With so much research material available, she included the Geraldine Evans's family story about The Barge in Vange in the book, and also a more detailed article, which was published in the Essex Life Magazine in 2020.

As an author, Lisa has given talks and appeared on the Phoenix FM radio station and on other radio stations. In 2023 she joined the Basildon Writers' Group, where her story was featured in their successful second anthology, It Happened in Essex 2: Tall Tales from the Basildon Writers' Group.  All proceeds went to Basildon Hospital Radio (BHR 87.7). The author commented: 

'I'm very proud that my story based around the great North Sea flood of 1953 - the worst natural disaster in modern British history - was included in the fund-raising book. My story focuses on the Canvey area.’

Lisa’s writer's website: https://www.lisajhorner.com/

Lisa’s art website: https://lisajanehorner.wixsite.com/artportfolio

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY- CELEBRATING IN BILLERICAY - MY CONTRIBUTION WITH THANKS TO LIBRARY

 How I love our Essex Libraries and, in particular, Billericay Library, which is one of the busiest and most welcoming libraries in this area.  

Yours truly and Lisa Horner on International Women's Day 8 March

So happy to meet one of their librarians Lisa Horner (herself a popular author (more about her in next missive), but such fun to be interviewed by her recently. She wanted news of my latest writing projects connected to the world's most famous women's writing organisation - The Society of Women Writers and Journalists (founded in 1894) and my current traditionally published books (12), my features (4,000+), eight anthologies and an update on my own interviews with the famous and (frankly notorious) characters over the last 33 years.