Someone special

I've been fortunate in my life to meet some really special people, people who have inspired and supported me in many different areas - a very charismatic drama teacher at school, several nursing and medical colleagues during my working life, patients too, from whom I learned so much. But in terms of inspiration in my writing life, one person stands out - someone who has taught me, encouraged me, picked me up and dusted me off when things have not gone well and celebrated with me when they have. I owe an enormous debt to Rona Laycock and this week it's been a real pleasure to see her honoured for all the work she has done to further creative writing in Gloucestershire.

Rona with Catchword member Liz Carew

Monday saw a coffee morning in Cirencester to mark Rona's retirement from running Writers in the Brewery, the monthly event which she initiated and at which local writers have been able to meet, to listen to a variety of visiting poets and authors and also to share their own work at the open mic sessions. Ably assisted by her husband Dave - an excellent barman! - she ran the event for several years. Then at the Playhouse on Thursday she was recognised with a Cheltenham Arts Council award for her dedication in running the Gloucestershire Writers Network, particularly in organising the annual competition for the Cheltenham Literature Festival event and overseeing the evening itself. For many of us, reading at the Festival was our first experience of appearing on stage at a major literature event and it was Rona's hard work and encouragement that gave us the opportunity and the confidence to do so.

Rona with her husband at the Playhouse

Inevitably, giving so much of her time and energy to support other people has meant Rona's own work has had to be put on hold occasionally. Hopefully having handed over the baton to others will free her to pursue more of her own writing now. Next month I shall be working with my friend Clare Finnemore from Somewhere Else Writers to present In Focus on Corinium Radio with Rona as our subject. We'll be discussing her achievements and her present and future writing projects - I'll post details of when the programme will air as I'm sure she will most definitely be worth listening to!