Changing Times

With these twenty-six simple words, this small country changed forever and yet stayed the same.

'The Queen died peacefully at Balmoral this afternoon. The King and Queen Consort will remain at Balmoral this evening and return to London tomorrow.'

Those simple words imply such meaning. Our long-serving Queen of 70 years has died, and we have a new monarch, King Charles III.

I had been wondering what to write for the blog this week. Now, as I sit at the keyboard on a wet Thursday evening, the subject has chosen itself.

I feel immense sadness, as do Great Britain, The Realms and the Commonwealth. Normality in our world has stopped. For how long, we don't know; however, our nation's monarchy will carry on in the name of our new monarch, King Charles III.

Epitaphs have been showering into the TV studios as the rain has done for most of this sad day. The TV is full of sad news but also favoured memories.

I, like many, have fond memories of Her Majesty. As many of you know, I served twenty-five years in Her Majesties Royal Marines Band Service, and for a short time, I also served on Her Majesties Yacht Britannia. It was the culmination of a long-held dream to be a Musician in the Royal Marines and serve Her Majesty on HMY Britannia. I didn't get off to the most auspicious of starts, succumbing to the choppy waters of the channel, which also involved a black sack of brand new white tunics! I have many lovely memories, formal and personal, some that I have told people and some that only my closest family will have heard. I travelled the world in service of the Queen, and they are times that I will always treasure and hopefully never forget.

This evening, a simple announcement from the Royal Household signified the end of the 'Great Elizabethan' era with the death of Her Majesty and the immediate commencement of a new one in King Charles III. The institution of the monarchy will continue. Some would like to see the back of it, but many more wish it to continue. I have no doubt the transition to the new era will be seamless, and equally, I do not doubt that this new era will be very different.

In the cold light of Friday morning, people seem to be walking around, stunned as to what has happened. At midday, church bells tolled. In Honiton, it was somewhat weird. The church in the town and the church at the top of the hill tolled almost in time with each other. Later, our new King returned to Buckingham Palace, where he and The Queen Consort were greeted with much respect and love. It was wonderful to see him pass through the crowds shaking hands and welcoming kisses from others.

As the weekend continues, technology allows us to witness ceremonies previously never seen by the general public. These will seem strange and archaic pageants. They have, though, been part of our constitutional protocols for centuries. I'm sure witnessing these events will engender much healthy discussion over the coming days.

It has been a big week for this country, a new Prime Minister, a new government, the death of The Queen and the proclamation of a new King. Strange and fascinating times indeed.

Ottery Literary Festival - 20th-23rd October - It's getting closer and there is much to do

 WOW, doesn't time fly by! It's already September; before I know it, October will be here, and I will be dashing around for the first Ottery Literary Festival.

I trust that many of you will have seen my posts shared on the Festival Facebook page, but if you haven't, I'll tell you about the exciting events the Ottery Writers Team is planning.

First and foremost, I must tell you or hopefully remind you of the short story competition. It's a competition for both young and old, or politely referred to as Under 18's and Over 18's. A short story of no more than 500 words using the theme Trapped. Why not have a go? Five hundred words are only about half an hour's work, and I'm sure most of us have a story going around our heads. The first prize is £50, and there will be prizes for second and third places.

My story is very nearly ready to submit, and no, I'm not on the judging panel either! You can find full details on the Ottery Writers webpage. You will need to get on with it as the entry deadline is midnight on 30th September.

Visit https://otterywriters.wordpress.com/2022/08/10/writing-competition/ to find out more.

Another competition is the Photographic Competition. Photographs on the theme We Love Ottery give a great scope for interpretation. The age groups and deadline are the same for the short story competition.

For more information, visit  https://otterywriters.wordpress.com/2022/07/22/ottery-literary-festival-2022/.

On the first day of the Festival, on Thursday 20th October, we have two workshops, An Introduction to Short Story Writing and An Introduction to Writing Poetry. They will be led by two excellent writers, Jenny Kane (Short Stories) and Sally Flint (Poetry). These will be held in the Ottery Library, where space is limited, so you will need to book. I'm hoping to book a place for Short Story writing.

For full details, visit https://otterywriters.wordpress.com/2022/07/22/ottery-literary-festival-2022-2/  to find out more.

There will be a Quiz Bingo Night at Ottery Football Ground 7 in the evening from 7.30 until 9 pm.

The morning of Friday, 21st October, will be dedicated to the anniversary of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. The Coleridge Memorial Trust will unveil a statue at 1100, followed by a church service for invited guests at 1200.

In the evening, there will be a Night at Knightstone Manor, an exhibition of photographs from the photographic competition and an awards ceremony for both writing and photographic competitions, presented by Vicky Johns, the Mayor of Ottery St Mary.

Otter Writers' very own John Hall will launch his latest book 'Modern Trooper", an updated take on Coleridge's 'Rime of the Ancient Mariner'. All this will take place at Knightstone Manor from 7 pm.

Why not blow the Saturday morning cobwebs away with a guided Coleridge Heritage Walk led by Angela Harvey of Ottery Walkers? Visit places and walk in the footsteps of Coleridge and see the sights that influenced his writings and thoughts for the years to come.

On Saturday afternoon, we are delighted to be able to present an Author Talks and Book Launch event. We will have three authors joining us.

Bryan Mountford

Bethany Askew

Karen Maitland

Bryan Mountford - Bryan is the Acting Chaplain of Corpus Christi College, Oxford. His autobiography, Church Going Gone, is a colourful memoir from the 1950s to the COVID crisis, in which Bryan describes his life as a priest.

Bethany Askew - Bethany is the author of eight novels. Bethany likes to write about women's lives, their position as wife and mother and the impact of marriage, children and the impact of divorce on family dynamics. Two further women's fiction novels will be launched this year and in 2023. http://www.bethanyaskew.co.uk/

Karen Maitland - Karen has written two new books of her Jacobean crime thriller series. The Drowned City is set against the background of the Bristol Channel Tsunami of 1607, which devastated Devon and Somerset's coastal villages and towns. The second in the series, Traitor in the Ice' is set in Battle Abbey, near Hastings. 

As you can see, there are three very different authors, and it will be fascinating to hear from them, and I'm I know that they are equally excited to be joining us. Please come along and listen to what they have to say. I'm sure they will be able to take all your burning questions.

Saturday evening concludes with a Coleridge Illustrated Talk by Tom Maybury of South West Heritage Trust.

Sunday 23rd October concludes the Festival at 1030 am service in the parish church led by The Rector Lydia Cook and John Hall, Coleridge, His Spiritual Life. In the afternoon, there will be an Ottery Writers Festival Finale social event at Higher Holcombe Farm.

Otter Writers have been working hard to produce this first literary Festival for Ottery St Mary. We acknowledge the wide support we have received around the town and beyond. We value the incredible support that Otter Writers, the Festival and the writers, in general, receive from Adrian and Pete at the Curious Otter Bookshop.