Iris Anne Lewis is delighted that her poem ‘Manordeifi’ has been highly commended in the Maesteg Poetry Competition. The competition was arranged as one of the events to mark the two hundredth anniversary of the town of Maesteg in the industrial heartlands of South Wales. The aim of the competition was to celebrate the rich cultural heritage of Wales, and entries were welcomed from anyone with a strong connection to Wales.

Iris’ poem features the small Pembrokeshire town of Manordeifi and its old parish church. Now disused, the church features the old box pews (some with fireplaces!). A coracle hangs in the porch, affording parishioners a means of getting to and from the church when the surrounding fields flooded.

Our last poem of 2025 is ‘Nettles’ by Frank McMahon from his latest collection ‘Joining the Ring.’ You can read the poem here. ‘Joining the Ring’ and other publications by Frank and members of the group can be found on our publications page here. Clicking on the image of the book will take you to the relevant Amazon page.

This month’s poems are by Norman (Jock) Smith, who has been voted chair of the group for a second year.

Norman’s writing records thoughts and feelings that result from life’s experiences. He captures fleeting moments, distilling human reality into poetry, focusing on the dark and light of existence.

You can read two of his haiku here.

This month’s poem is Graham Bruce Fletcher’s verse, “An Ode to Wednesday.” It’s a sort of in-joke as Wednesday is the day Somewhere Else Writers gather to share examples of their work and discuss the craft of writing. 

The poem is also a clever play on the way different languages find their own means of describing the same things, often illuminating something of the character of the people who speak that language. Where English often uses words ‘borrowed’ from past invaders, such as the Romans, the Vikings, and the Normans, the Germans call Wednesday ‘midweek’ (Mittwoch) and the French name it after Mercury (Mercredi). You can read the poem by visiting our site and clicking on the Poem of the Month icon on our webpage, or by clicking here.

Frank McMahon will be reading his prize-winning poem ‘Pomegranate’ at the National Poetry Together Event at the Aviva Studios, Manchester on November 14th. The national competition, initiated by Gyles Brandreth, aims to bring children and the (slightly) more elderly together through sharing poetry. Frank will be publishing a new poetry collection, ‘Joining the Ring,’ later this year. A wonderful review of his previous collection, ‘The Canticles of Spring,’ by poet and reviewer Nigel Kent can be found here.

Robert Hart is the newest member of the group, joining us with two full-length novels already published and available through Lulu online.

“Rebecca’s Secrets “ – What Happens When a Boy Starts Asking Questions? – his first autobiographical novel was inspired when he lost his memory following a stroke. On recovery, he decided to write his memoir lest he should lose his past again. He realised that all memory is fiction, so his novel became a story about Tommy Angel, a boy growing up in the East End of London in the Fifties.

You can read edited extracts from 11-year-old Tommy’s adventures with his gang of street friends and his curiosity-fuelled exploration of his family seeking his childhood’s secrets here. The paperback or e-book version of the novel can be found on the bookshop at Lulu.com by searching for Rebecca’s Secrets, where his second novel, “Twice Born” is also available. Alternatively, you can find links on our Publications page.