GETTING TO THE WORKSHOP

The Betsey Trotwood is opposite The Guardian. It is on the end of a little island of buildings. It is easy to get to.
Underground: Farringdon (Out of the station, turn right and right again at Farringdon Road; or left and left again at Turnmill Street)
Overground: Farringdon – NB All trains on the Brighton-Luton line in both directions stop there, although sometimes it is closed for maintenance. The underground and overground stations are one thing, spread over 4 platforms.
Bus: The only bus running down Farringdon Road is # 63; but remember that many other buses go past Mount Pleasant; and that it isn’t that far.

THE SCHEDULE OF WORKSHOP MEETINGS

Saturday 28-Apr-07
Saturday 26-May-07 Invited guest poet Allen Fisher
Saturday 9-Jun-07
Saturday 30-Jun-07
Saturday 21-Jul-07

NEW WRITERS FORUM WEBSITE

We have had a generous offer of server space for a new WF website (covering press and workshop) and that website is in production. In the meantime no further updates will be made to the existing website and all news will be posted at the blogs and on this newsletter.

NEW WRITERS FORUM WEBSITE

We have had a generous offer of server space for a new WF website (covering press and workshop) and that website is in production. In the meantime no further updates will be made to the existing website and all news will be posted at the blogs and on this newsletter.

Our venue

Our venue has changed. Our venue is now

The Betsey Trotwood
56 Farringdon Road
EC1R 3BL

We meet there next on Saturday 17th March 2007. (We have no more meetings at Torriano Meeting House.)

Underground: Farringdon (Out of the station, turn right and right again at Farringdon Road. Keep going, across the road and various blocked / unblocked roads till you're about to step into Farringdon Road. Ditto if you turn left and left, initially into Turnmill Street

Overground: Farringdon

Bus: # 63

The Betsey Trotwood is opposite The Guardian. The Betsey Trotwood is on the end of a little island of buildings. The beer is Shepherd Neame.

The schedule of meetings is

Saturday 17 March 2007
Saturday 31 March 2007
Saturday 28 April 2007
Saturday 26 May 2007 Invited guest poet Allen Fisher
Saturday 09 June 2007
Saturday 30 June 2007
Saturday 21July 2007

Meet 3.30 for 4 p m. Please aim to arrive before 4 p.m..

WF Info Sunday, 14 January 2007

1. Recent meeting
The first Writers Forum Workshop of 2007 met yesterday, 13th January 2007, at Torriano Meeting House.

2. Next meetingWriters Forum Workshop meets next at Torriano Meeting House on Saturday 3rd February 2007 at 3.30 for 4, as usual.

Venue:
Torriano Meeting House,
99 Torriano Avenue,
London NW5

Underground: Kentish TownBus: 134, 214, C2

The whole sechedule is
Saturday 3 February 2007
Saturday 24 February 2007
Saturday 17 March 2007
Saturday 31 March 2007
Saturday 28 April 2007
Saturday 26 May 2007
Saturday 9 June 2007
Saturday 30 June 2007
Saturday 21 July 2007

3. Mailing List
We recommend that anyone intending to attend the workshop joins our emailing list in case there are last minute changes. If you know anyone who might attend, please tell them this. See below for the link.

4. Publications launched yesterday
Sondheim, Alan; “Orders of the real” – reprint
Sumner, Alaric; “LETTERS for dear AUGUSTINE” - the semantic text – new edition

These, and other titles, were on sale. The new titles were sold at discounted prices.

5. Book fair
Please note the date 7th July 2007. That day there will be a book fair from late morning till early evening featuring Hearing Eye Books and Writers Forum. The event will be free. More details when it is available

6. Advertising poster
We have prepared a simple poster advertising our existence and schedule. If you can usefully display a copy, please contact us on writersforum@britishlibrary.net and we'll send you the .doc file

7. New web presence re publicationsWe have finally given up on the existing website. For the immediate future, we have opened a blog – url below. We shall post there introductory notes and details of price of our books etc (The existing website will cease to exist in a few months) Please note that material is still being added to the blog

8. Useful addresses
a) To join the mailing list, send a blank message to WFInfo-subscribe@topica.com
b) Our publications blog is at http://writersforumpublications.blogspot.com/
c) Our workshop blog is at http://writersforum-workshop.blogspot.com/

Writers Forum Workshop – Previous workshops

Previous workshops, since the death of Bob Cobbing, have been:

2002 meetings

Saturday 26th October 2002 The Betsey Trotwood
Saturday 23rd November 2002 The Betsey Trotwood
Saturday 14th December 2002 The Betsey Trotwood

2003 meetings

Saturday 18th January 2003 The Betsey Trotwood
Saturday 1st February 2003 The Betsey Trotwood

Recollections of venues are a little muddled now. The workshop had been at The Betsey Trotwood for some years. [Before that we had been at The Churchill on Mount Pleasant. Before that, throughout the nineties, we had been at The Victoria near Mornington Crescent. We moved from The Betsey Trotwood in the autumn of 2002 because the steep narrow stairs were very inconvenient to Bob Cobbing as he became less mobile. We moved to The Sussex near Essex Road, not far from Cobbing's home, easily accessible. We were there one or two weeks. In that time, Cobbing suffered his final illness and died. We moved back to The Betsey Trotwood because it was easier to get to for most of us and the beer was better. The pub was liked by workshop members; but, when it suited them, they treated us badly. When the opportunity arose, we moved to Camden Peoples Theatre (having been invited by the director at that time)

Saturday 6th December 2003, CPT

2004 meetings

Saturday 17 January 2004, CPT
Saturday 31st January 2004, CPT
Saturday 14th February 2004, CPT
Saturday 28th February 2004, CPT
Saturday 20th March 2004 - [part of the CPT Sprint Festival]
Saturday 3rd April 2004, CPT
Saturday 24th April 2004, CPT
Saturday May 15th 2004, CPT
Saturday 5th June 2004, CPT
Saturday 26th June 2004, CPT
Saturday 17th July 2004, CPT
Saturday 4 September 2004, CPT
Saturday 18th September 2004, CPT
Saturday 9 October 2004, CPT
Saturday 30 October 2004, CPT
Saturday 13 November 2004, CPT
Saturday 27 November 2004, CPT
Saturday 11 December 2004, CPT

2005 meetings

Saturday 15 January 2005, CPT
Saturday 29 January 2005, CPT
Saturday 12 February 2005, CPT
Saturday 26 February 2005, CPT
Saturday 12 March 2005, CPT
Saturday 2 April 2005 [Guest Chilean poets joined us] , CPT
Saturday 23 April 2005, CPT
Saturday 7 May 2005, CPT
Saturday 28 May 2005, CPT
Saturday 18 June 2005, CPT
Saturday 9 July 2005, CPT
CANCELLED Saturday 23 July 2005 CANCELLED for "Poetry Buzz"
Saturday 3 September 2005, CPT
Saturday 24th September 2005, CPT
Saturday 15 October 2005, CPT
Saturday 5 November 2005, CPT
Saturday 26 November 2005, CPT
Saturday 10 December 2005, CPT

In the autumn of 2005, staff having changed, CPT told us that, due to the state of their finances, they had to ask Writers Forum Workshop to pay rent in order to support the upkeep of CPT. This seemed entirely reasonable; and, over three months, because we had never before paid rent, we debated the matter (at the loss of much workshop time) and negotiated with CPT. Having reached a satisfactory agreement with CPT, we were supported by them in organising a fund-raising reading in January in order to help pay what we had agreed to pay.
That reading went ahead, with the seasonal publicity from CPT describing us as a resident company. Two weeks later, CPT announced that we did not fit in with their overall programme, a surprising change given what had passed during the previous four months, especially as no then representative of CPT had ever attended any workshop or the fund-raising event. (Over the years we had often been asked to move from this or that venue because the venue believed the space and time could be employed more financially usefully; we had never been asked to move on aesthetic grounds, even by those who actually knew anything about what we do.) It might be added that two of our members regularly present work at CPT
During the first four months of 2006, we paid the agreed rent, but most of our cheques for rent were not presented to the bank. Or so it seems.
By March 2006, we had agreed with The Plough pub in Museum Street to move there from May, accepting various timing changes to fit in with their needs. But they let us down, not confirming the verbal agreement, insisting that they had confirmed, but also saying they couldn't stop and talk just now and needed to check just what they had said but would be in touch - and then we heard nothing more. This nonsense cost us three workshops.

But, see, we have come through. Since 22nd July 2006, we have met at Torriano Meeting House.

2006 meetings

Saturday 14 January 2006, CPT
+ at 9.30 p.m. a fund-raising reading by Peter Manson
Saturday 4-Feb-06, CPT
Saturday 25-Feb-06, CPT
Saturday 18-Mar-06, CPT
Saturday 8-Apr-06, CPT
Saturday 29-Apr-06, CPT
Saturday 20-May-06 cancelled – scheduled for The Plough, Museum Street, London
Saturday 10-Jun-06 cancelled – scheduled for The Plough, Museum Street, London
Saturday 1-Jul-06 cancelled – scheduled for The Plough, Museum Street, London
Saturday 22-Jul-06, Torriano Meeting House
Saturday 2-Sep-06, Torriano Meeting House
Saturday 23-Sep-06, [Guest Canadian poets joined us] Torriano Meeting House
Saturday 14 October 2006, Torriano Meeting House
Saturday 4 November 2006, Torriano Meeting House
Saturday 25 November 2006, Torriano Meeting House
Saturday 16 December 2006, Torriano Meeting House
Saturday 13 January 2007, Torriano Meeting House
Saturday 3rd February 2007, Torriano Meeting House
Saturday 24 February 2007, The Betsey Trotwood
Saturday 17 March 2007, The Betsey Trotwood
Saturday 31 March 2007, The Betsey Trotwood