Writing Away From Home - Holiday/Retreat/Conference

The writing calendar is full of wonderful events. With financial resources at a premium how does one choose what to attend and what to just hanker after (apologies for the split infinitive)?

Holiday:

It’s late July, ostensibly the middle of summer here in England though you wouldn’t know it looking out of the window. It’s been raining persistently with more to come. Several of my writing friends are even now travelling to Fishguard in Wales to attend the annual Writers’ Holiday. While I’ve always thought ‘holiday’ was a bit of a misnomer, Ann and Gerry Hobbs have consistently maintained that delegates are there to enjoy themselves. This much is true as I can testify, having joined them on three consecutive years (the first two at the Caerleon Campus near Newport). In blazing sunshine last year we did indeed manage a couple of outings and a walk on the beach. One of us actually paddled – it wasn’t me! That said, we attended courses and talks, learned a huge amount and left with a strong desire to learn more…there’s always more to learn, isn’t there? A holiday? Not entirely; maybe more a combination of work and play. A wonderful week and one I can thoroughly recommend to anyone who hasn’t been before, and indeed to those who have.

Retreat:

In the spring of this year I went with three writerly friends on a retreat to Whitstable – I wrote about it on this blog here (you may want to refresh your memory) and the benefits of this type of ‘holiday’ are huge. Disciplined enough to set aside time for our writing, the ‘time out’ we took was essential as, in my opinion, it is impossible to maintain such a high level of concentration and output without taking any breaks. In any case, there were some little gems we were able to gather in the name of research.

It may be argued that one could work just as easily from home but that isn’t in fact the case. No matter how dedicated, there are always distractions…coffee breaks, phone calls, emails. Internet access at our retreat was almost non-existent and while this was frustrating at the time it did have the benefit of precluding displacement therapy. I know I can speak for my companions when I say that more output is achieved under these circumstances than is possible under normal circumstances.

Romantic Novelists’ Association Annual Conference

My favourite event of the year. There is little time (read that as no time) to do any actual writing. I have recently returned from this year’s Conference which took place at Queen Mary University in Mile End Road, London. It’s a wonderful campus on the Regent’s canal and I was astonished to find an old Jewish cemetery situated within the grounds. I’m sure many of you reading this will also have been there. Much has been said already on various forums so I will not expand here other than to say that I came away with my usual regret of not being able to attend two sessions at the same time. There is such a wide choice and so many opportunities to extend one’s knowledge. Ah well; it would seem the only solution is to go again next year and play catch up, while at the same time missing others – so obviously I’ll have to go again the year after, and so on.

RNA members know how to work hard but they also know how to play hard. The Gala Dinner on Saturday evening was no exception, a wonderful glittering event. Then there are the flat parties (most definitely not in the sense of dull) but no, I promised I wouldn’t expand. Suffice it to say there was much merrymaking. I’m never quite sure how it’s possible to cram so much work and play into three days but it’s a hell of a lot of fun trying.

Conclusion:

It takes time to learn what best suits one’s needs and indeed what is most enjoyable. There are many other events in the writing calendar that I haven’t talked about here and many I have never attended, nor will I be able to. I can’t do everything but I think I have found what suits me best. Sadly Fishguard is probably off my radar for the foreseeable future. The RNA Conference and the writing retreat, be it in Whitstable or elsewhere, would always be my first choices. Anything else would be a bonus. What stands out as special in your writing year?

  

It's Just a Matter of Time

Just when I thought it was safe…

In my fifteen years as a writer, and with the exception of a few short stories, my work has always taken place in the 21^st century. I have recently completed my fourth novel with all the advantages and disadvantages of modern technology. Mobile phones, for instance, with their instant access when really it would be much easier on the plot if contact couldn’t be immediate. How often can one pull the ‘no signal’ card? On the other hand, emails and instant messaging can and have proved a real asset at times.

But with no new plot thrusting itself to the front of my mind I wondered about changing my time setting. I looked at some of my short stories for inspiration. I thought of those authors I most like to read. Not all were contemporary. Georgette Heyer was almost my first love and most of my copies of her books have disintegrated over time. Frederica fell to pieces when I dropped her in the bath! Sadly I don’t think she’s still available with the old green cover. A seed was planted and I ordered six books. More will follow.

Then there’s Jane Austen. I never got on with Emma but Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility and Persuasion are long-standing favourites.

Could I write a Regency novel? 

What about the future? One of my stories, Beyond the Fringe, a sci-fi, appears in the anthology Fusion. I had a lot of fun with that one and it still makes me smile but a whole book? I think not.

Continuing to rifle through my short stories I found another that appeals and which I feel sure I could convert into a time-slip. The thought both attracts and terrifies me but what is writing without a challenge?

So…am I procrastinating? Absolutely not! I will continue to ‘play’ for a while longer until one of the now several ideas buzzing in my head shouts ME! Then the work will truly begin. After all, with contemporary romance I have had the luxury of minimal and accessible research. This new venture, if indeed I move out of my comfort zone, will take time and a huge amount of hard work and planning. For someone who is normally a pantster the thought is terrifying – but at the same time incredibly appealing. Regency/Time-Slip. Time-Slip/Regency. I’m hoping one of them will call loudly and strongly in the next few days.

RNA Conference 2015: Are YOU Going?

As this year’s conference approaches I remember my first – Sheffield 2013. Who could forget the breakdown of the air conditioning in the midst of an amazing heatwave, much like the one we’re experiencing at the moment. Even the discomfort didn’t detract from my pleasure, and the extra knowledge and advice I took away with me were immeasurable. So when I made my booking last year for Telford it was with the expectation of (a) having a wonderful time and (b) experiencing another steep learning curve. Two years down the line I’ve come to appreciate that a huge amount of work goes into preparing and ‘staging’ this event so I asked a few questions and some advice…from some who know and from one who, as yet, doesn’t.

Eileen Ramsay – RNA Chair: How many conferences have you attended in the past and in what way, as incoming RNA Chair, has your approach to this one been different

I have attended several RNA conferences and enjoyed each one. Most are marked, not by the sessions I attended - although I still benefit from much that I learned – but by the friends made and still treasured. One or two conferences were marked by events. 2005 when there were the London bombings and I missed almost two days and the one when, with feelings of disbelief and delight, I won the Elizabeth Goudge trophy.

           

I must be honest and say that I’m looking forward to attending the 2015 RNA conference with a feeling akin to pure, unadulterated terror. This year I am Chairman of this wonderful organisation and my head and heart are full of the ‘hard acts’ I have to follow.

           

Having judged all sixty-three entries, I do, however, look forward to presenting the Elizabeth Goudge trophy to this year’s winner. Whoever you are, WELL DONE!

Jenny Barden – Conference Co-ordinator: Having received my information pack for the Conference, I’m wondering how you manage to find so many interesting speakers and panellists, and how long before the event does your work begin?

Finding speakers is part seeking out, part being receptive. It’s a complex process that I’ve done for so many years now for various literary organisations that it’s become almost second nature. Enjoying parties and networking is a help! At every literary function I go to I’ll be making new contacts and putting out feelers. Once I come across someone, whether an author, editor, agent or other professional with something interesting to offer, then I’ll make a mental note and try and obtain contact details unless the means of contact is obvious. The details are then banked and followed up as appropriate, often several months down the line. The important thing, I find, is to jot down particulars quickly but unobtrusively, so for me at parties there’s quite a lot of scribbling on the back of business cards in the ladies! In my experience, people, particularly publishing industry people, are generally much more inclined to be amenable to approaches if they’re made informally and convivially in an unpressurised way over a drink. A lot of my first introductions are made with a glass of wine in hand (or my favourite, a G&T!). I confess to enjoying it – I like finding out what people do, what makes them tick, who they know and how they relate to one another – and generally I find authors and those in the publishing industry to be very good company.

The result of all this is that I now have an extensive list of first rate people I know whom I can call on to appear at literary functions. For this year’s RNA conference the job was made much easier by the past success of RNA events and the magnificent work of conference supremo, Jan Jones. Pretty well every author and publishing professional with a serious interest in romantic fiction is familiar with the RNA and their conferences, and that awareness is now extending globally. For example, this year we have Jim Azevedo, marketing director of Smashwords, one of the largest world-wide distributors of self-published ebooks, talking via Skype from the US about ‘How to Top the Charts with ebook Preorders’. Jim was one of those speakers who came to us rather than being sought out, and I would say that a significant proportion of authors on the cast list are there for the same reason – because they have made an excellent pitch for a programme place. This is what I mean about ‘being receptive’. You have to be prepared for the unexpected! – ready to make room, jiggle and balance for those who come forward with good ideas, as well as seek out those with special expertise who are new to RNA events so that delegates always have fresh faces on the agenda. Sometimes you have to jump very quickly. The process becomes much more intense in the closing stages of finalising the programme, and inevitably there are those who come forward late with great suggestions who then have to go on the list for next year. A sure sign of a tip-top conference is a strong waiting list!

The work begins before the last conference even starts! To give you an instance of this, in May, at the RNA’s summer party, I met the lovely Helen Bryant, founder director of Cornerstones, and invited her to the next conference in 2016. It was too late to ask her to this year’s conference, but she’ll be coming to Lancaster. The work never stops. I’ve now stepped down from conference co-ordination, though I’ll still be advising and helping behind the scenes, and I expect I’ll always be keeping an eye open for interesting speakers, glass in hand!

Jan Jones – Conference Organiser: Is there any particular advice or are there any tips you could offer conference first-timers?

Enjoy. Take the golden opportunity of the conference weekend to be yourself. Soak up the
empowerment that comes from being surrounded by writers and writerly talk - and then remember that feeling when you go home and are enmeshed by ordinary life again.

I'd also say go to as many sessions as you can, because you will always learn something, even if it's not what you expected.

Above all, don't stress, don't worry, talk to people and they will talk back to you.

And yes, enjoy.

Elaine Everest – Pitch Session Manager: Many of the delegates will have been hoping to gain one2ones with industry professionals. Can you give us an insight how you organise this aspect of the conference?

I love RNA conferences and have learned so much over the years. This is my second year as Pitch Session Manager as part of the Conference Team. Jenny Barden and Jan Jones keep me in the loop with news of industry professionals and as soon as the schedule of Industry Appointments is created I make my charts and lists. The week leading up to Conference pack going out I will try to prepare myself. This will mean making sure I have no outstanding articles to file for my journo work, class notes are up to date for my teaching work and the dog is groomed if there is a dog show in June – I failed this year and Henry is happy he escaped the bath tub!

The day packs hit doormats my inbox goes mad. I answer each request in the order they arrive and reply with times and dates by return. I also request that the first chapter and synopsis is returned to me as soon as possible. As submissions arrive I complete my lists and send those magical chapters to publishers, editors and agents. Towards the end of June I have to chase those who have not been so quick off the mark with submissions.

I love to meet delegates at the conference with updates of how they got on in their interviews. News of successes later is fabulous as I feel as though in a small way I’ve helped them gain publication.

In the middle of June edits arrived from my editor at Pan Macmillan for The Woolworths’ Girls. My husband came home to find me hiding in the corner hyperventilating. He pointed out that I love my job and all it entails. I realised he was right and carried on…!

PS did I mention we also have to keep the RNA blog afloat as well?

Wendy Clarke – Delegate Conference First-Timer: How do you feel being a member of the New Writers’ Scheme at her first Conference?

Less than two weeks to go, and already I am thinking about it… with a mixture of trepidation and
excitement. Questions go round and round in my head… What shall I take? Which workshops should I do? Will anyone talk to me? I am sure that I am not alone in feeling a bit unsure – I am, after all, a newbie and it’s beginning to feel a bit like my first day at school! So what made me decide to go to the conference? Well, many things – most importantly that Natalie, among others, told me I had to!

Seriously though, as I passed the halfway mark of my first novel, I realised that the chance to hear great speakers, pick people’s brains and generally share experiences would be far too good an opportunity to pass up. I am very excited to hear what the agents and editors I am seeing think of the chapter and synopsis I’ve sent them. Will they like it? Will they give me tips to improve it? Will they notice that I am petrified? There’s only one way to find out.

The conference will be a chance to dress up in the evening, meet people I’ve only ever spoken to online and make new friends… oh, and I’ve also been told there’s wine and chocolate! What’s not to like?

I can’t stress enough how grateful I am to all those above who contributed to this post. I gave each of them very little notice and every one has come up trumps – giving truth to the saying ‘If you want something done, ask a busy person’. I look forward to seeing them and (hopefully) you at what to me has become the main event of the year.

Natalie

Diary of a Writer's Week

It’s been a week of many parts. At times it felt like having all the ingredients to make a cake but not being sure what the outcome would be.

Saturday: Strictly speaking this was the previous week but as we went out to celebrate my daughter’s birthday I couldn’t resist an excuse for posting this photo.

Sunday: I wrote 800 ish words of my work in progress and then went to Dulwich College (magnificent place) to a concert celebrating music as experienced by different faiths. The Old Library was filled to capacity. I believe it only holds approximately a hundred people but there wasn’t a spare seat to be had. I mention this here because (a) it was an amazing experience and (b) my husband wrote a piece for a local publication which we edited together – my writing input. 

Monday: I have a writer friend who has a publisher interested in her manuscript. It’s her first book and to date social networking hasn’t been her priority – she’s been writing a book, dammit! However, as writers no longer live in ivory towers and self-promotion has become a part of the whole ‘deal’, it was imperative that my friend got herself onto Twitter and Facebook, where she had a page but not a presence. We spent four solid hours with just one cup of coffee each. So intent were we on what we were doing, I didn’t even think to offer her another (we were at my house, not hers). I apologise for my bad manners here and now, I don’t think I did at the time, but we were both exhausted by the time we stopped. That said, she embraced it fully and is now actively using social media.

Tuesday: This was the day I went to Rye Harbour where a member of my Tuesday writing group has a static caravan. There are three of us and we spent a lovely day on the nature reserve (saw an avocet – a real treat) and did no writing whatsoever, but sometimes one uses these things at a later date so guilt was not involved here. Well, maybe just a little.

Wednesday: Had my hair done which took up much of the morning. A very interesting evening though at The Write Place Creative Writing School http://www.thewriteplace.org.uk/ where, in the light of my Monday friend’s experience, tutor Elaine Everest chose social media and how to use it as her topic for the evening. Several of us are quite active in this respect but others have little or no history and while some of us are published others are not. When their time comes it will be much easier if they are already established on Facebook and Twitter. Otherwise it can be a very steep learning curve at a time when all they might want to concentrate on is getting their book published.

With Lisa Eveleigh last month
at the RNA Summer Party

Thursday: A splendid day. The weather was glorious, the best day so far this year, and I met my

agent, Lisa Eveleigh, at the Royal Academy for lunch. I’ve lived in London all my life and never cease to marvel at its beauty. In the past I’ve travelled abroad and admired architecture, ancient and modern, with gaping jaw and a hot camera. It’s so easy though to take one’s home town for granted. Thankfully I’m not guilty of this. As I walked along Piccadilly, watching tourists and indigenous population alike, where the pavements were crowded but not uncomfortably so and there was a smile on every face, or so it seemed, I felt real joy. Resisting the temptation to walk into Burlington Arcade – I didn’t want to be late – I met Lisa and we had what I can only describe as a lovely chinwag. We did talk about writing, which was the only writerly thing I did that day, and when I went home I sat in the garden with a book. Hey, that’s writerly too isn’t it? Good. Exonerated.

Friday: I am writing this piece. It is my intention to take the weekend off.

Initially I was going to entitle this ‘My Non-Writing Week’ but as it turns out there’s no such thing for me, nor I imagine for most writers. It’s been an interesting exercise though. I don’t usually keep a diary and this has made me realise that even on those weeks when I think I haven’t written there’s a lot that goes on that doesn’t get noticed. Of course I’ve spent some time on Twitter and Facebook, ‘meeting up’ with friends, oh, and playing a few online games of Scrabble. But even that involved words. 

Natalie Kleinman in Recovery Mode

I’m still in recovery mode. Last week’s Romantic Novelists’ Association (RNA) Summer Party was even more special than I could have anticipated and I hope it will remain in my memory forever.

Though it was the subject of this blog last week, in particular with reference to the Joan Hessayon Award, I cannot continue without mentioning it again as it was only the beginning of yet another amazing week. And I’m posting a picture of the group of finalists again…because I like it and because I can.

Joan Hessayon Award Finalists

So what followed this amazing event?

Firstly, my missive to Writers’ Forum, written prior to the party, appeared as the lead letter on the Writers’ Circle page. And for anyone who’s read it, no, I didn’t spill wine down the front of my dress. Cue another picture (left).

On Wednesday of this week I picked up a copy of The People’s Friend containing my short story, Secrets in the Attic. It’s almost a year since this story was sold and notification of the publication date in an email a couple of weeks ago took me by surprise because, frankly, I had forgotten about it. It was the last short story I sold (or submitted) as I had by then moved full time to writing novels. It raised a question though. The thrill of buying a magazine with one of my stories in it hasn’t diminished. To know that it will be giving pleasure, even in the short time it takes to read, is actually quite humbling. So here’s another picture.

Will I go back to them? Unlikely. I am completely committed to writing novels and, much as I enjoyed my previous work, I cannot do justice to both. With the end of the week approaching I, and approximately 250 other delegates, received the pack for the RNA Conference which will take place in London in July. A huge amount of work goes into preparing for the Conference and, without diminishing the work that others do, all credit must be given to Jan Jones for the organisation that goes on before the envelopes drop on our doorsteps. 

I have begun to study the contents and will do so many more times before attending what to me is the most valuable writing event in the calendar. There's a lot to take in. In case you don't believe me, here's another picture.

Food and wine are also involved. I look forward to seeing some of you there.

The Joan Hessayon Award and Romantic Novelists' Association

Colour Clash!

Hopefully every day of one’s life has some special element about it but for me last Thursday was way up there.

By now there have been many posts, pictures and comments on the Romantic Novelists’ Association’s Summer Party but I’d like to give you my take on it. The build up to this particular event has been long – and I’m not referring to all the hard work put in by the organisers. I won’t mention names here as I’m bound to leave someone out and I don’t want to upset anybody.

RNA parties are always great! Always! Well, the five I’ve been to anyway. The Royal Over-Seas League, London is a fantastic venue and the atmosphere ever electric. This time was different though. This time I was a contender for the coveted Joan Hessayon Award, so kindly sponsored every year by Dr David Hessayon in memory of his wife Joan.

Class of 2015

There were fourteen of what should have been fifteeen in the line-up this year (sadly Heather Rosser was absent due to ill health) and we’d all known for some time that we would be on the list. The competition is for members of the New Writers' Scheme who graduate with a novel that went through the scheme to publication. Having one’s first book published is monumental and I don’t imagine any writer would deny the magnitude of the thrill of knowing your work has been recognised. To stand in a large reception room with the other graduates in a space that was filled with our peers, some published, some yet to be, as well as agents and editors, all happy for our success, was an experience I will never forget.

The photo shoot (I believe that’s what it’s called) was an experience in itself as the contenders gathered before the event for individual and group pictures. Some of the authors I had met before, some I hadn’t, but the bonding that took place in that short time was tangible and it was a thrill to be in the company of such lovely people. The photographer, and I’ve seen her at previous parties, is amazing. A lovely personality and so good at her job.

With my agent, Lisa Eveleigh
of the Richford Becklow Literary Agency

We moved into the reception to mingle with the more than two hundred people attending. There are a few prerequisites to attending an RNA party. One needs to be able to hold a glass in one hand and a canapé in the other; have a keen eye or the ability to ask people their name without embarrassment - even if you have met them several time before - if you are unable to read it on their badge. I know this will touch a chord with others as I am aware I’m not the only one who can’t put names to faces. Nobody is offended. It is also sometimes necessary to get close up and personal as it’s almost impossible to hear oneself speak, never mind the man or woman who is talking to you.

Little groups of friends often form themselves naturally but past attendees were on the lookout for name tags with a gold sticker attached. These indicated first timers and organiser Sally Quilford (okay, so I have mentioned a name after all) had thoughtfully asked us to be aware and make welcome anyone who might be on their own and a little bit anxious. What a thoughtful thing to do.

With my certificate
Proud or What!

In due course the contenders for the award were called to the front of the room and assembled before a large white board. Fourteen glammed up ladies in a row, everyone a winner just for being there, each stepping forward one pace as new Chair, Eileen Ramsey, read a short blurb about their book, the cover of which was flashed up onto the screen together with an image of the author. My own book, Safe Harbour,can be seen here in the right hand banner.

Brigid Coady
Winner - Joan Hessayon Award 2015

Then Eileen announced the overall winner, a delighted and emotional Brigid Coady, for No One Wants to be Miss Havisham – how fantastic a title is that. I wish her every luck and success in the future.

It’s very difficult to put into words – and me a writer – the pride I felt at being part of this wonderful annual event. It felt like an American-style graduation, standing up there with the rest. Hell, it was a graduation! If we’d been wearing mortar boards we would have flung them into the air. Well done everyone in the Class of 2015.

My thanks to the RNA, Elaine Everest and Vivien Hampshire who supplied images for me. I didn’t take a single one myself. 

Finally, were you there? I'd love you to share your own experience. You weren't? Then I hope to see you next year or perhaps at the Winter Party on 18th November. I can promise you a great time.

Natalie Kleinman

Kate Thompson - following a thread

My guest today is Kate Thompson who tells us the fascinating story of a woman with whom she shares her name. I was gripped when I read it, as I am sure you will be. Kate’s first novel, Secrets of the Singer Girls, is a nostalgic wartime saga set in an East End garment factory and was published in March by Pan Macmillan.

For fifteen years, Kate worked as a journalist for national newspapers and magazines like the Daily Express and IPC’s true-life weekly Pick Me Up, before going freelance four years ago. She now combines freelance journalism with writing and is currently working on a prequel to Secrets of the Singer Girls, provisionally entitled, Secrets of the Sewing Bee.

Kate lives in Twickenham, Greater London, with her husband, two boisterous, energetic young boys and an escape-artist miniature Jack Russell called Twinkle. When she’s not chasing after her sons or Twinkle, she is to be found locked in the office at the end of the garden trying to write, on research trips in London’s East End, or slumped on the settee with a glass of red wine.

Here is a piece Kate has written about the inspiration behind Secrets of the Singer Girls.

The chilling moment I discovered I was a victim of a wartime tragedy!

Staring down the stairway that leads into London’s Bethnal Green Tube Station, I found myself about to be taken on a journey back in time.

On a spring day with streams of commuters descending the stairs, nothing could look more ordinary, but seventy-two years ago, tragedy unfolded on those steps. Little is known of the biggest civilian disaster of the Second World War, but in less than 30 seconds, 173 people, were crushed to death on the stairway that led down to what was then an underground shelter.

Not a single German bomb was dropped but, in the time it took for the air raid siren to sound, the narrow corridor was converted into a charnel house as a horrifying crush of people piled helplessly one on top of another. After the searchlights went on, an anti-aircraft battery in nearby Victoria Park launched a salvo of new rockets and, fearing a bomb, the crowd surged forward. A mother carrying a baby tripped on the stairs and, like a pack of cards, the shelterers fell, one by one. The scenes were unimaginable on that bleak March night in 1943.

My reason for wanting to visit the sight where so many people died wasn’t born out of morbid curiosity, however. I was there to research it as I had already decided to feature the Tube disaster in the novel I was writing. Set in the East End of London, Secrets of the Singer Girls attempts to unravel the mysteries that bind four machinists who work sewing Navy and Army uniforms for the troops. The research I had already conducted revealed a world of poverty, grim survival, immense bravery and human tragedy in wartime Bethnal Green. But it was discovering that I shared a name with a victim who died in the disaster which leant a deep poignancy to my research. Just who was the other Kate Thompson, and what led her to flee to the so-called sanctuary of the underground that fateful day?

Cursory research did not bode well. Kate was at the Black Horse pub in her favourite fur-collared coat when the sirens went off. She was a 63-year-old mother of nine, living in one of Bethnal Green’s roughest areas, when she perished. It would be easy to dismiss Kate as a victim battling for survival but to do so would be foolish. A closer examination into her life revealed some surprising results.

Kate Hammersley was born in September 1880 in Poplar, East London. At the age of 18, she married William Thompson, and moved to Bethnal Green, where she bore him seven sons and two daughters. They resided at Quinn Square in Russia Lane. Pre-war, Bethnal Green housed some of the worst slums in London and, of them, one of the most notorious was Quinn Square, a place where locals say you never went after dark and policemen only dared visit in pairs. Some of the flats contained illegal gambling dens and when the police were about, quick-witted residents would whistle off the balconies.

None of the flats had their own water taps or toilets, and tenants shared facilities on the landing between four families. Washhouse facilities were housed on the roof, and the women of the Square had to drag their laundry up six flights. According to one local resident, the stench from the toilets was unholy. Perhaps that’s why Russia Lane had its own bathing centre, known as a Personal Cleansing Station. So far, so depressing.

By August 1938, Kate Thompson and many others lived in a squalid, dilapidated hellhole. Residents reported broken steps, lavatory doors with no locks and broken facilities in the washhouse. Not only that, but the landlords were having a merry time at their expense, charging exorbitant rents for such miserly facilities. How did the feisty women of Quinn Square put up with this? The answer is, they didn’t.

According to the electoral register, Kate was registered to vote from as early as 1923. Perhaps it was this interest in politics that lead Kate to insist on her right to a decent standard of living. Far from being a dormant victim, Kate and the other residents promptly formed a Tenants Association and flatly refused to pay their rents until the rapacious landlords reduced them to more reasonable levels.

One landlord responded by attempting to evict a tenant. When the agent arrived on eviction day, the tenants, wielding placards and chanting, ‘Less Rent, More Repairs’, barred their way and the landlord was forced to beat a hasty retreat. The biggest rent strike ever seen in the East End sent the press wild.

Buoyed by their success, the tenants of Quinn Square paraded around Bethnal Green with their placards and picketed the estate office. Apparently, every time the landlord went into the Square – on one occasion even accompanied by a group of Sir Oswald Mosley’s fascists, who attempted to break up the tenants meeting by organised hooliganism – a huge crowd of women followed them and booed them out of Russia Lane, pelting them with hot potatoes. And so it was that Kate and her neighbours scored a resounding victory for the working-class underdogs of Quinn Square.  It would take more than an unscrupulous landlord and some bullyboy fascists to scare them into submission. The landlords acceded to their demands to lower the rent and carry out repairs, and the test case for arrears of rent made history, paving the way for success for other Tenants Associations. A year later, war broke out, and Kate began the second great fight of her life.

Quinn Square was demolished in the 1960s, but I believe Kate’s legacy remains today. It proves that you should never underestimate the fighting power of a woman when her home and her family are under threat – 1938 or 2015, it matters not, a mother will fight tooth and nail to protect the roof over her children’s heads.

The other Kate wasn’t afraid to stand up to corrupt landlords and fascists marching on her street. My 1940s namesake was a far stronger, finer lady than I. Indeed, it would appear that a love of a fur collar is about all we have in common. I wish I had one ounce of her courage and pluck.

http://www.stairwaytoheavenmemorial.org

Secrets of the Singer Girls is out now, published by Pan Macmillan

Thank you for featuring me on your blog, Natalie.

I’m so glad you could join me, Kate. What a fascinating tale. I can’t wait now to read the book

Links:

Email:              katethompson380@hotmail.com

Website:          www.katethompsonmedia.co.uk

Facebook:        https://www.facebook.com/SecretsOfTheSingerGirls

Twitter:           @katethompson380 or https://twitter.com/SingerSecrets

Amazon: