8 June – Fact or Fiction? 

May 31, 2026

Many thanks to David for a really informative and thought-provoking talk on the subject of telling true stories as fact or as fiction, using the example of Sarah Woodbine, a black nurse who trained and worked in Victorian Croydon. We came away feeling that with hard work and dedication anything is possible when you’re a writer! The meeting went very quickly and it was great to spend a little time writing our responses to a newspaper article.

David has provided an update on Sarah’s story – I’m afraid it’s a disheartening read.

11 May – Emma Darwin

April 27, 2026

On 11 May the award-winning writer Emma Darwin, author of The Mathematics of Love and A Secret Alchemy gave us an interesting talk about writing historical fiction. As well as publishing novels and well-received non-fiction, Emma teaches creative writing, in which she has a PhD. Read more about her and her work here. Her latest novel The Bruegel Boy was published in November, when it was the Times book of the month. The novel is a profound exploration of humanity, love, brotherhood, vocation, loss and reconciliation: she talks about the challenge of writing it here.

Members might also be interested in her longstanding blog This Itch of Writing, on Substack: https://emmadarwin.substack.com/. It’s a real treasure trove of discussion and advice.

25 April – Saturday meeting

April 22, 2026

We enjoyed our first Saturday morning meeting in the Clocktower café, which featured a lot of interesting discussion. We shared a review, poetry, and plans for future projects, and Peter read part of his attempt at writing in the style of P.G. Wodehouse.

It must have looked like an interesting session, because two people stopped by to ask if they could scan the QR code on our notice!