THIS MONTH was our Christmas 'do' and for me it is my favourite event of the year.

Tonight we would share food and wine and listen to award-winning poems, stories and articles.

Only Char March our Yorkshire Writer judge of national standing, and Sue Keidan our secretary, knew the detailed results, and the winning guests who were to join us.

We were fortunate to have Char March as our judge. Although she had been unwell for three months out of this year, Char had managed to win seven competitions.

These were the results of Airedale Writers Circle Adult Writers Competition 2014: poems, 1 Bruce Barnes, Work Away, runner-up Olwen Lund, The Unlived Years, highly commended Betty Tordoff, The Dangerous Brothers, and Pat Farley, It’s About Time; short stories, 1 Alan Cowling, A Big Step, runner-up John Roberts, Cabbage Father, highly commended Alan Cowling, Not Just Mildew, and Betty Tordoff, Soaps; articles, 1 Olwen Lund, Blood Cells And Prison Cells, runner-up Alan Cowling, Pasteurisation, highly commended John Roberts, I Dug A Grave.

Bruce Barnes was first to read out his poem, beautifully written and with an Irish lilt and some Irish words. From Char we had tips as well as judging, which set the tone of the evening.

Olwen delivered her moving poem based on an earlier trip, a battlefields visit. Her fully-rhymed verse had an original slant in raising the picture of the dead bright-eyed lad with no graduation, no brilliant career or fatherhood to enjoy.

Alan's work was funny, winning in spite of its non-grabbing title! A situation comedy too, describing a young man meeting his girlfriend, parents and grandmother in the 80s with rather conflicting expectations.

As Char pointed out, Alan’s characterisation with interwoven detail provided a masterly story which was also hilarious.

John's Cabbage Father was highly commended by Char for its innovation. Competition rules and categories appeared to keep it from getting recognition.

The story was based on the experience of a 17-year-old with vacation work in a horticultural setting.

Here he hand-pollinated brassicas with a brush of a cotton bud to pollinate the anthers of each male stamen, to germinate and travel to the plant’s female ovary. Cabbage Dad in the making!

Olwen and Dave then read their winning articles. They were “well-researched and compelling” to our judge, as well as ourselves. We learned new facts, a sign of two excellent well-crafted articles.

Char had a four-book bargain offer for us, and signed her books after our shared supper. She had once been a stand up comic, she had told us earlier. And we had benefited tonight from her delivery.

We were offered comments which reflected her wide experience and her celebration of the written word. A night to remember indeed.

Peter Morrison briefly introduced his first publication, a novella entitled A Lonely Road, which was a Yorkshire-based historical book. It was available for sale with all profits to go to the NSPCC.

Our children’s writing competition will be launched in January 2015.

Our next meeting is on January 13 at 7.30pm. New members are always welcome.