A HUMOROUS poem about death, a nostalgic reminiscence of a rare holiday in the Second World War, and an excerpt from a gritty novel-in-progress set in Germany on a single day in 1961 but featuring flashbacks to that same conflict.

These contributions were written by members of the Airedale Writers’ Circle and discussed at our Manuscript Evening on November 10. Copies of them had already been emailed to members several days earlier, for us to consider our constructive criticism.

We first looked at Pat Farley’s brilliant poem What Now? which starts with the lines “I’ve been thinking a bit about dying – No, not morbidly – I’ve still got years”.

In a further 38 lines she explores the pros and cons of a possible life after death, avoiding both flippancy at one extreme and undue sorrow at the other.

Pat’s charming rhymes entertain and their steady beat makes for an easy read, so we were surprised to learn that she failed her English language exam at school! Indeed it is only in retirement that Pat has composed poetry – and lots of it.

Unlike many poets however she rarely reads other poets’ verses, because she feels it would be all too easy to copy – albeit unwittingly – lines from them.

We then discussed Marie Caltieri’s Holidays At Home In World War Two, which she wrote some time ago for the magazine Down Your Way.

It is a personal memoir of a week spent with her mother in someone else’s home in Knaresborough - less than an hour’s bus ride from their own home in Leeds. Marie was then in her teens and a single child.

We all enjoyed this evocative glimpse into a past time of simple pleasures – unfettered by ‘health and safety’ restrictions! – written in an engaging conversational tone.

Marie’s piece ends with a brief list of the very different holidays she has had since, in Europe – and beyond.

Many present felt her article could usefully be expanded to include some descriptions of those much more sophisticated holidays, to provide a striking contrast to that basic war-time adventure.

Finally we commented on an excerpt from Peter Morrison’s A Time To Mourn, his novel currently two-thirds completed.

He had provided notes too about the setting and characters, in particular explaining that his storyline mainly concerned three men and a woman going about their business on a single day in Germany in 1961, but often reflecting on their wartime past 20 years or so before.

Their separate lives will connect to a tragic climax towards the end of this book, we were told.

Although some present would prefer not to read about war all agreed Peter’s taut prose was so vivid and well-researched that it masterfully conveyed a gritty, menacing realism – such that we eagerly await the finished work.

The next meeting of the Airedale Writers’ Circle will be on December 8 – as ever at Sight Airedale (behind Keighley Library) when members are asked to provide refreshments and/or prose or poetry (not necessarily their own!) to read out.