Riverside Writers

I would like to begin by thanking Tony Franks-Buckley for inviting me to write for this site, an offer which I am most happy to accept. 

Time flies, hmm?  I have chaired meetings of Riverside Writers for the last nine years; and much fun it has been, too.  We're a lively, friendly and informal group who meet in West Kirby Library, Wirral - usually on the last Monday of each month unless a Bank Holiday coincides with this, in which case we meet one week earlier.  Meetings start at 7.30pm, and after a catch-up of each others' news we share our efforts for that month's group project. 

We started running optional group writing projects a few years ago when we felt the need to focus the group on actual writing, rather than just talking about writing.  So each month we set ourselves the task of creating a poem or short story using a set theme, location, an interesting photo or an opening sentence, for example.  It's ok if a person diverts from the original idea, as the purpose is simply to offer a starting point.  The results have been both interesting and fun, and people who have regularly participated in the project have found that they written pieces which they otherwise may not have thought of and, more importantly, their skills with the craft of writing have steadily improved.

Riverside Writers have played host numerous speakers over the years, including Marc Gee (Al's Lads), Jon Mayhew (Mortlock), Colin P Davies (Tall Tales of the Iron Horse, The Bookmole) and Anthony Peake (Cheating the Ferryman).  We have also held public readings, sometimes as part of Wirral Bookfest but also independently.  Several members have also participated in Wirral's festival of SF/F/H, called Parallel Dimensions, which has attracted writers from across the UK.

In 2012, Riverside Writers published an anthology of original short stories and poetry by our members. 

The blurb reads:  "Romance, heart-ache, treachery and death! Eighteen stories and poems inspired by the sea, from a group of imaginative writers who live surrounded by water on the Wirral peninsula in England."

The contributors are:  Tim Hulme; Andy Siddle; Adele Cosgrove-Bray; Peter Caton; Nikki Bennett; Ruth Ann Titley. 

Seaside Stories (ISBN 9781301150069)  is available as a FREE download from Smashwords, where it is offered in a variety of formats.

A second group anthology is already being planned for 2013.  This, too, will be produced as an ebook.

If you are looking for a Wirral-based creative writing group, do feel free to come along to any of our meetings.  Whether you're a published author or totally new to writing, new faces are always made very welcome at Riverside Writers.

The HitchHikers Guide to the History of the Wirral Coastline

 

 

At over 560 pages long, this book will enlighten the reader to the History of the Wirral Coastline, with a collection of previously unknown materials and pictures. The collection also offers a reminder of the type of buildings that swept not only the Wirral but as a country during the Industrial and Victorian eras. The area boasted many beautiful mansions, houses, public buildings and gardens which were created to mark the beginning of the modern way of life and make Britain look the most advanced country and front runner in world during its Industrial and Post Industrial eras. The area has been blessed with vast amounts of History and for a small area it excels more than most. Forget Westminster, the first parliament in the UK was actually on the Wirral, a little area of Merseyside across the River from Liverpool. It is the nation's capital of Viking history. Inside this book you will find information of the Viking Ship found in an area called Meols where Vikings first came ashore onto the Wirral. The name Wirral is derived from the Gaelic meaning “Wyre Heal” or “Myrtle Corner”. This is because of the peninsula being heavily forested in the past. The area was populated by large amounts of deer and other game, so much so that in Medieval times kings and noblemen used the area for hunting. The emblem of Wirral is the Wirral Horn. The Horn is a brass tipped hunting horn used by the foresters of Wirral and is portrayed in many of the Coats of Arms associated with the peninsula. The horn was given to Alan Sylvester... the first Forrester of Wirral and has passed through thirty generations to the present owner... the Honourable Vivian Baring who has leant it to Wirral Museums where it has been on display. There has been a settlement at what is today known as Wallasey for many thousands of years. Archaeological investigations at the highest point of Wallasey... St Hilary's Brow unearthed artefacts dating back to the Stone Age. The name "Wallasey" is derived from the Gaelic... "Wealas Eye" which roughly translated means Welshmen's or Strangers' Island. This was due to the fact that Wallasey could only be reached by crossing water whether it be the River Birkett, Wallasey Pool, the River Mersey or Liverpool Bay Birkenhead has often been overshadowed by its neighbour, Liverpool, but it has its own unique and interesting history. It was at the forerunner of the Parks Movement which the New York Central Park is designed on that of Birkenhead Park. Birkenhead was also first place in Europe with a street tramway. To the north of Birkenhead lies a ridge known as Bidston Hill. The hill lies between Wallasey Pool and the marshlands that extended from Moreton right the way up to Prenton prior to the Leasowe Embankment being constructed and Moreton Marshes being drained. The hill is an extension of the Storeton Ridge that runs down the Wirral as far as Storeton Quarry, where the Storeton Tramway (an early railway) conveyed the rock quarried at Storeton to docks at Bromborough Pool (Port Sunlight) on the banks of the River Mersey. At the north-western corner of the Wirral Peninsula, approximately one and a half kilometres off the coast, adjacent to West Kirby, there lies an exposed reef of sandstone. At high water, most of the reef is submerged. The three parts of the reef that are exposed form the Hilbre group of islands. Geological evidence suggests that originally, there was one large island. But, over the years, tide and weather erosion have worn away at the soft red sandstone to create three islands. The three islands that form the Hilbre chain of islands are known individually as Little Eye, Middle Hilbre and the main island of Hilbre itself. West Kirby is a town on the north-west corner of the coast of the Wirral Peninsula, in the county of Merseyside, England, at the mouth of the River Dee across from the Point of Ayr in North Wales. To the north-east of the town lies Hoylake, with the village of Caldy to the south-east.

 

Paperback: 578 pages

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (21 Sep 2012)

ISBN-10: 1479363030

ISBN-13: 978-1479363032

Product Dimensions: 22.6 x 15.2 x 3.8 cm

To Purchase the Book from Amazon Please Click Here http://www.amazon.co.uk/HitchHikers-Guide-History-Wirral-Coastline/dp/1479363030/ref=la_B008D4XQY2_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1355322076&sr=1-5

Retailers can Purchase the Book from Here

CreateSpace eStore: https://www.createspace.com/4003688

 

 





An Introduction to the West Wirral Coastline

At over 160 pages, this book offers an insight into the West Wirral Coastline during the early years, 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st centuries using information and plenty of pictures. The West Wirral Coastline is probably the most naturally beautiful area in the North West of England, offering much wildlife and species. most notibly the grey seals at Hilbre Island. Over a thousand years ago Wirral was invaded by the Norsemen and their leagacy can be read in the local place-names, the -by suffix meaning village in the old Norse tongue; we still use the term by-law today West Kirby was west of Kirby in Walea, the old name for Wallasey. The focal point of their settlement was the site of St Bridget's Church in the old village, although the oldest remaining part of the building dates back to about 1150, placing it firmly in the Norman period. The growth of modern West Kirby really began in 1886, when the wonder of the age of the steam engine - arrived. The speed of travel offered by the railway meant that it was possible to work in Liverpool during the day but escape to the cleanermore peaceful and healthier surroundings of this part of Wirral to live. Developers were not slow to realise this, and the place grew out of all recognition. The First Edition of the O.S. plan, drawn in 1871, shows four or five buildings clustered around the corner of Grange Road and Dee Lane. By the time the Second Edition was drawn in 1897, the village layout south of Grange Road was almost exactly as we see it today, and by the turn of the century, just three years later, the shops of the north side were completed. The population boomed - in 1871 Hoylake and West Kirby together had 2,118 residents; thirty years later this figure had increased five-fold to 10,991. Down on the shoreline the Marine Lake is a major attraction for watersports. This was opened on 21 October 1899, and formerly included an open-air swimming pool. The pool has gone, but the lake itself has been extended to cater for the growing demand. This book will also focus on The islands of Little Eye, Middle Eye and Hilbre which are located at the mouth of the Dee Estuary on the border between England and Wales. Hilbre is a designated nature reserve and Site of Specific Scientific Interest, a Special Protection Area, a Ramsar site (a wetland of international importance), and is a candidate for designation as an European Union Special Area of Conservation. Last but not least is the beautiful area of Caldy. Caldy Village was mentioned as Calders in the Doomsday Book. It is situated is on the west side of the Wirral peninsula and is developed around the old village and manor which dates from the late 17th century. In 1832 the village was bought by a Mr R.W.Barton. Development from 1906 to the late 1960s was by way of disposal of individual plots, in most instances for the purposes of the construction of single dwellings. The methods of sale continued to constitute a quite effective way of preserving the special character and nature of the Caldy village, which was one essentially of a low density area of good quality housing offering a high environmental quality.

 

 

Paperback: 164 pages

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform (21 Sep 2012)

ISBN-10: 1479362484

ISBN-13: 978-1479362486

Product Dimensions: 22.9 x 15.2 x 0.9 cm

To Purchase the Book from Amazon Please Click Here http://www.amazon.co.uk/Introduction-West-Wirral-Coastline-Peninsula/dp/1479362484/ref=la_B008D4XQY2_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1355322076&sr=1-7

Retailers can purchase the Book from here

CreateSpace eStore: https://www.createspace.com/4003613