Free Spirit Writers

Wow! I made it! I'm now 75 and entitled to a free TV licence, which arrived on the 3rd May, the day before the big birthday. It must be emphasised, in no way do I feel that I am 75 (but read about The Thing here. That's now three years ago!). My hair may be grey, my waistline circumference larger than I'd like, my legs unable to gallop like they once did, my eyes not as sharp as they could be, and my hearing is a little lopsided, but my enthusiasm for life is much more than when I was a boy! When people tell me to "Look back and remember . . ." my reply is: "Look back? I haven't stopped looking forward yet!"

My lovely wife Diane (she's nowhere near my age!) and I live in Bridlington, in East Yorkshire, England. We've been married since 3rd June 2000. We left the Board of Trustees for the National Association of Writers' Groups, Diane as Secretary and me as committee member, at their AGM in September 2009. I also edited the association's newsletter Link, as well as organising the Annual Writing Festival in Durham in September (with help from many others). Oh, yes, and looking after their website.

In these pages you will find all manner of material. I write poetry, articles (mostly about Bridlington and its history), short pieces of drama, and letters to the editor(s).

Diane writes too, and has had many successes. She has won top prizes in Writers' Forum poetry competitions, as well as prizes with Writers' News (including one for £100) and Writing Magazine. We have both gained a win in the NAWG competitions - me with a fantasy/science fiction short story Brinsley's Beefburger and Diane with a formal poem Scarlet Fury - plus several certificates for runner-up and highly commended.

We also volunteer at the Harbour Heritage Museum on Bridlington's harbour. Occasionally we don the costumes of a Victorian fisherman and his wife. We relate the story of the heroism of Kit Brown, a lifeboat hero, in Don't Go! We have also performed a short play Silvered Wings, in honour of Amy Johnson, whose memorabilia is displayed in Sewerby Hall, near Bridlington. We also have a selection of humorous tales in poetry suitable for a more mature audience. Diane can also tell the tale of Talbot House and Toc H.

Diane and I write as Free Spirit Writers and now have no involvement with other local writing groups.

For Bridlington U3A, I led the Local History group for a couple of years.

My novel, Full Fathom Five, was published in May 2005 by Biscuit Publishing Ltd. It fictionalises the life of Kit Brown mentioned above.

Diane's The Iron Harvest expresses her interest in the Great War, particularly the Ypres Salient in Belgium, Poperinge and Talbot House, where Tubby Clayton founded Toc H. This was also published in 2005 by Biscuit Publishing Ltd. and copies are sold at Talbot House to raise funds for its upkeep.

Have a look at the new books for sale here. If you're interested in old Bridlington, then these are for you.

There's a lot of my local material on www.bridlington.net and www.bridlingtonfreepress.co.uk

If you'd like to get in touch: freespiritwriters@tesco.net

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This site was last updated on 5th May 2011.

Lara King made us very welcome on her morning show on Friday, 20th February, 2009. We talked about Talbot House, and promoted the play of the same name performed at The Spotlight, West Street, Bridlington, on Saturday, 7th March.

You may have seen us on Antiques Roadshow from Bridlington, on Sunday, 22nd March 2009, when Mike talked about an Arabic dictionary which allegedly belonged to Lawrence of Arabia.

Guess who we saw after we had left BBC Radio Humberside? Kim and Aggie were holding a Roadside Surgery in the centre of Hull. We had to ask one of the crowd who they were, because we don't have a TV and have never seen their programme "How Clean Is Your House?" The cameras were there so they must have been recording. There was a fairly big crowd of adoring fans - well that's what I supposed they were!

I've been experimenting with 3D photography. Here is Bridlington harbour taken in mid-September 2010.

You need a pair of red/blue lensed glasses to see the photo in 3D. There's plenty on Ebay, starting around £2 a pair for plastic glasses, or ten cardboard pair for a fiver. Great fun to do these pictures. Any photo can be used. Download free software called Anamaker software. Place the photograph in both 'Load left hand image' box and 'Load right hand image' box. Click 'Make 3D image.' Then at the left-hand end of the cross, keep clicking until you have separation between the two images. Look at the image through red/blue glasses and you should be rewarded with a 3d picture.

HMS Bridlington

Mike and Diane
as Kit and Mary Brown.
This is how we look when performing our historical drama.

Diane and me with the Google Street View camera car at Stave Lake Powerhouse near Chilliwack, British Columbia, Canada, in August 2011.

75th Birthday treat from Diane on 4th May. A one-hour drive in this beautiful 1952 Daimler, which included champagne and a trip to Flamborough Lighthouse. Excellent!

Diane and I at the door of Talbot House, where we've volunteered for the last nine years. April 2011.

On Monday, 4th October, 2010, I received the Freedom of the City of York through my great grandfather, Joseph Madden.

Enjoying the warmth of July 2010 at Pomorie, Bulgaria

Ready to fly over Golden Ears Bridge, June 2009

Dressed for whale watching in Vancouver, June 2009

Mike and Diane celebrate ten years together. Dinner at Rags, 24th January 2008

Mike and Diane on Grouse Mountain, North Vancouver, Canada, May 2007

Here we are on our wedding day, 3rd June 2000. Diane's daughter Jessica is in attendance

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