PW_4_2018

Cutlure Corner

I know nothing about writing By Neil Hallam – Editor That was Sean Hannigan’s opening remark at the very start of Gimborn’s first writers’ seminar. By Friday of that week, we all knew considerably more than we did on the Monday. F or anyone who does not know, Gimborn is an educational charity , run as an offshoot of the IPA. It is set in the most beautiful of German mountain settings in a historic castle and its associated buildings. Apart from the seminar participants, the population of Gimborn is about 24, making it the perfect location for undisturbed study and relaxation. Sean first became involved with Gimborn under his umbrella as the VP in charge of Professional aspects. The regular programme of courses of Serious and Cross Border Crime fit very well into his professional portfolio. The German Police make regular use of the Gimborn seminars, recognising this with significant levels of State funding. Although Section UK members were attending Gimborn, they did so in much smaller numbers. A change in VP role for Sean in picking up the Cultural portfolio presented an opportunity to change this, with the addition of some less procedural courses. A chance conversation with Sean at the 2017 National Conference in Durham sowed the initial seed for this seminar, when Sean realised there were several of us within the IPA who had successfully transferred our police experience into books. So, 18 months from this seed of an idea, we sat in Castle Gimborn, among an international group of IPA members, with varying levels of writing and publishing experience. I was among the group of presenters, brought along to share our experiences with the aspiring writers. I remember thinking: if people had travelled from England, Ireland and even the USA to hear me speak, then I would have to be interesting. Conversations with my fellow presenters revealed similar thoughts when we learned how far our audience had travelled. Our presenters were: Neil Hallam , writer of four novels and two non-fiction books. Peter Playdell , (aka John Halden) writer of several children’s novels David Lewis , non-fiction writer and Cruise Ship speaker Ernie McCall , writer of niche non-fiction about the Royal Irish Constabulary in the early 20th century. Then a double act of writer Mark Thompson and publisher Clare Christian took us through the entire process of writing Mark’s first novel, submitting it to agents and publishers, eventually being accepted by Clare’s Red Door publishing company. Rather than a traditional Gimborn seminar, of listening to speakers, our seminar moved between presentations and practical exercises. The whole week’s program was kept fluid to develop with our participant writers as they gained confidence. A second Writers Seminar is planned for 11th to 15th November 2019, where writing for magazines and screen will be added to the program. There is also a desire to start a Writers’ Special Interest Group – For more info, please contact Sean Hannigan at vphannigan@ipa-uk.org or 97828 261174.

I’m a writer too Mike Baker , South Wales Branch I was among several serving and retired police officers who attended a writer’s seminar at Gimborn, Germany. Gimborn is a wonderful old castle and is owned by a local Baron who leases it to the IPA. The centre is located about 30 miles from Cologne. T his particular seminar was focused on the skills required to be an effective writer, not just for writing a book, but articles for magazines and children’s books. The participants came from the UK, the USA and Germany. There were several published writers who gave freely of their time, each of whom were retired or serving officers and they gave advice on writing for each of their genres. There were also representatives of publishing companies who explained the difficulties attached to the process of getting any article or book published. This was a week long course and everyone was accommodated at the castle. We were treated well with en-suite rooms and regular meals, and there was also a bar which became an additional meeting place where we could not only have a beer but discuss the issues brought up during the lectures. Each of us took an active role in producing articles for discussion, which were commented on by those running the event. This proved to very useful and enabled each of us to critically examine our own skill and ability. At the end of the seminar everyone left feeling that it was a very worthwhile endeavour and asked for it to be run again in 2019. I for one enjoyed the event tremendously and will be returning next year. Well done Gimborn.

Members’ Day Saturday 15 December at Fox Road

IPA UK HQ will be open from 1100 to 1600 this year where any Branch or Region can pop in and use Our Home to see their Branch archives and have a nice cup of tea or coffee and also present 20, 30, 40, 50 or 60 year Certificates. O ur President Clive Wood will be there from 1400 to 1600 too. Afterwards we will be going to COSMO in Nottingham for a bite to eat. Please contact Sean for further details. Brian Kennedy will be present to record further Oral History.

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POLICE WORLD Vol 63 No. 4, 2018

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