The Waterloo Festival has been running for ten years and it’s a great celebration of community and creativity. St John’s Church is behind this venture and works with partners in the area to generate a variety of creative happenings during the festival month of June. I’ve entered the annual writing competition for three years in a row and I’ve been fortunate to be amongst the winners each time. In previous years there has been an opportunity to share our stories in the church and I love taking the opportunity for a trip to London. I have a particular fondness for Waterloo. Coming into the station by train, I catch sight of the London Eye, the Palace of Westminster and Big Ben between high rise buildings.
Photo taken from the sky for Pixabay NOT the train!
During my London life, I worked for a charity with offices is situated in The Cut. After work I often met friends or went to one of the shows at the Old Vic or the Young Vic which are both nearby theatres. Indeed the National Theatre is only around the corner and walking along the South Bank of the Thames is one of my favourite things to do. A scene for my novel The String Games is set there:
Where the path narrows, Imogen lingers watching the Thames. Waves of slate and mottled brown weave together like twine. It’s low tide and the river has shrunk, making a beach. Imogen leans against the railing and a glimpse of winter sun is a reward for leaving the office at lunchtime. A woman is standing by the water’s edge and in the shallows there is a boy in wellington boots …
This year the Waterloo Festival has gone online. At the launch of the ebook anthology ‘Transforming Communities’, I met lots of fellow writers via Zoom. There was a chance for chat and some winners read their stories. Here we all are, spruced up for an online party.
Thanks to Euchar Gravina director of the Waterloo Festival 2020 for hosting the event and Gill James for organising the competition.
Winners of the competition were asked to submit a short video recording to introduce ourselves as writers, share an excerpt from the winning story and make a book recommendation. Click on the image below to watch my contribution.
If you’re interested in purchasing the ebook anthology Transforming Communities you can find it here.
the writer is a lonely hunter 
Hi Gail. Thank you for sharing this summary of the Waterloo Festival. I loved your video clip!! I could listen to you talk/read all day. Well done 🙂
Thanks Jim. I’m hoping you’ll be at the Bridge House Christmas do!
Me, too!! Thank you 🙂