Wish You Were Here Writing Challenge

Wish You Were Here - Here are the winning stories!

We were thrilled with the great response to our writing competition, so much so that we are now making this an annual occurrence.

We hope that you enjoy reading the entries from the six prize-winners.

Heather was a passenger on the maiden journey of the Queen Mary in 1936. Jean remembers the awe she felt on seeing the sea for the first time as a war evacuee and Annemarie finds wonder in the Borough.

Our judge, journalist and broadcaster Simon Calder (with a little assistance from his wife Charlotte), had the difficult task of choosing winners.  He tells us he very much enjoyed reading your essays.

Put the kettle on, click on the name of the writer and read their entries, enjoy!

Gold - Dear Jill by Annemarie Rawson (wins entry for two to Strawberry Hill House and cream tea at the café).

Silver –  Seaside by Jean Dowse (wins Afternoon tea at The Wharf, Teddington).

Bronze – Maiden voyage of The Queen Mary by Heather Beagley (wins entry for 3 to Turner House).

With three highly commended (all receiving book tokens): 

Three months in 1969 by Mark Brody

The search for the Northern Lights by Jean Andress

Time Travelling by Hazell Jacobs.

We will be covering Hazell's lockdown blog success story in our brand new instagram account. Hazel started writing a blog during lockdown - as she said herself 'A scarf a day keeps corona virus away'.  She would choose a different scarf every day, take a pic with it and write about the memory it sparked. She felt writing the blog would give her a focus and potentially help others too. Hazell has been recently featured in The New York Times, read the story here.

Our thanks to our prize sponsors; Strawberry Hill House, Turner House, Tactical Employment Solicitors, Jo Nicolson and Anita Grant.  And of course, a very special thank you to Simon Calder for giving freely of his time and expertise.

We chatted to our Gold prize winner Annemarie Rawson about winning  the competition, writing and her travels; you can read the full interview here. 

Participate in our 2020 Winter Writing Challenge. Read all the details here.

Well done everyone!