Members of Lymington Community Centre’s Thursday writing group has collection of poems published

A collection of poems and short stories penned by a Lymington-based creative writing group has been published.

The Thursday Writers Club Anthology is a collection of poems, short stories and drabbles (100-word pieces) written by members of Lymington Community Centre’s Thursday writing group.

The content and style of the pieces varies hugely, with humour, reflection, dystopia and even horror amongst the collection.

Since 2020 the Lymington Centre has run two weekly creative writing sessions. The Wednesday class is on-site, while the Thursday group runs online.

Online classes started during the pandemic, continuing because for several members of the group it was more convenient.

Julia Peers, a retired specialist nurse and keen melodeon and ukelele player, lives on the Isle of Wight and can access the group without the time and expense of taking a ferry across the Solent. This enables her to share her work and discuss the work of other students from her home.

Other contributors to the anthology are Phil Appleby, who worked as a technical writer for IBM and is a former UK National Scrabble Champion; Julian Cadman, whose professional background was investment banking in the city; Peter Lucas, who was a special needs teacher at Brockenhurst College for 20 years and now enjoys being at one with nature in the New Forest; Kate Sharp, a former clinical scientist whose interests include cooking, gardening and civil war re-enactments; and finally Ester Spiller, the tutor for the course.

Ester grew up in South Africa before moving to the UK with her husband and children in 2016. Her first novel, Sexing the Crocodile, was published in 2021, and she now teaches creative writing through Brockenhurst College.

Phil Appleby said: “Many people dream of becoming published authors, and for most that’s where it ends – a hope left unfulfilled. But at our creative writing group in Lymington, that dream has become a reality.”

A Kindle version of The Thursday Writers Club Anthology is available for 99p on Amazon, or paperback copies are priced £6.05. Any proceeds will be donated to charity.

To find out more about creative writing classes in Lymington, call 01590 679457.