Celebrating their 15th annual Short Story Writing Competition, Sight for Wight held the Awards Ceremony at The Riverside Centre, Newport on Friday 6th December to a full house!
This year’s theme was ‘A Funny Thing Happened When……’
Once again, the Charity secured an enviable range of British talent, which this year included, Chesney Hawkes (Singer/Songwriter), Richard Cadell (Sooty & Sweep), Joe Pasquale (Comedian), Steve Power (Nation Radio South) and Selina Ross (Nation Radio South) as the celebrity readers.
Master of Ceremonies was Maurice Kachuk.
The winners
The High Sheriff, Graham Biss presented the awards to the three under 18 categories:
Under 8s Winner
Olive Miller with her story, ‘The Giraffe Who Had The Longest Neck’. Olive won a book token, kindly donated by TESCO and her story recorded by Joe Pasquale.
The Mystery Judge said,
“I love the way this story relates to friendship. It shows the value of talking to one another. If you take the time to explain your feelings to others it can bring happiness and long-lasting friendships.”
Age 8 – 11 Winner
Lillian Woodford with her story entitled ,”My Story”. Lillian won a Waterstones Voucher, kindly donated by Wight Computers. Lillian’s prize includes having her story which was recorded by Richard Cadell, printed in the County Press.
The Mystery Judge said,
“A very descriptive piece. There they all are, having what could be Sunday lunch and then suddenly it lurches into Wonder Woman! Wonderful! Who would imagine grandma was a spy. The first paragraph made me laugh so much. I can still see that ice cream scoop now!”
Age 12 – 17 Winner
Rachel Lambert with her story, “Blurred”. Rachel won a Waterstones voucher, kindly donated by Wight Computers and her story has been recorded by Selina Ross.
The Mystery Judge said,
“I was totally captivated by this story from the second sentence. The writer has incorporated all that makes a great read. There is a beginning, middle and end. The character is believable and convincing and the description of events is tremendous. It made me feel I was on the beach myself.”
Under 18s Certificate of Merit
Due to the high quality of entries, the Mystery Judges decided to award Certificates of Merit to the following:
- Evie Cook – “The Magical Hydrangea Bush”
- Lyra Forster – “A Funny Thing Happened When The Dog Found His Voice”
- Lucia Franco – “A Funny Thing Happened When A Cat Stole Some Fish”
- Beatrice Thomas – “A Funny Thing Happened When She Opened A Book”
- Grace Wilson – “Halloween Fun!”
Sight for Wight was delighted to welcome their Patron, Gioia Minghella-Giddens to present the adult prizes.
Certificate of Merit 18+
The Mystery Judge wanted to comment on a story that, whilst it didn’t quite make the winning 18+ category, did show extreme promise, creativity and flare so a Certificate of Merit was presented to Peter McDonagh with his story, “A Funny Thing Happened When Balaclava Bob Was Returning Home from Church One Sunday”.
Peter won a voucher, kindly donated by Appley Manor. The Mystery Judge said,
“This was an uplifting story about being in the right place at the right time and beautifully written.”
Edana Minghella Award Winner
Chris Cane said,
“Edana sadly passed away in 2021; she was a huge supporter of Sight for Wight and an advocate for mental health. As a tribute to Edana, we have created the Edana Minghella Award. This award is for a story with depth, emotion, wellbeing and creativity. This very special category is in honour of a very special lady.”
Karleigh Riches was the winner with her story, “Karleigh Riches Short Story”. Karleigh won a voucher kindly donated by HoverTravel and her story was read and recorded by Chesney Hawkes.
The Mystery Judge said,
“I thought this story was a very good reflection of ‘writer’s block’ which all of the authors could relate to. It was very well written illustrating the emotions of an author for whom the story just won’t come.
“The feelings were very relatable and showed a depth of understanding of the effort needed to write a good, believable story.”
Over 18s Winner
Finally, George Miller won the overall 18+ category with his story, “A Funny Thing Happened When Kevin Revolted”.
George won a Waterstones Voucher kindly donated by Red Funnel.
The Mystery Judge said,
“I felt that this story fulfilled the brief well. There was a nice twist at the end which still maintained the humour of the story. It was well written with good use of language which painted a believable picture of Kevin and his attitude towards the hotel and its clientele. One of my criteria when judging was, if this person wrote a book, would I buy it and read it? The answer here was a resounding yes. Well done.”
The results were announced amidst an evening of local Island music talent with the melodious sounds of Solent Singers, and singer/songwriter, Ruby, together with Maurice Kachuk as the Master of Ceremonies.
Competition organiser, Chris Cane, said,
“We were honoured to have such talented and famous readers again this year so a huge thanks to them for their help and support. The entertainment this year was superb.
“Our celebrity readers, volunteers, performers and staff all gave up their time to support Sight for Wight with this year’s Award Ceremony, so a huge thank you to everyone.
“This is one of our key fundraising annual events and so vital to continue to help raise funds for our members.”
Sight for Wight couldn’t have done the competition without the support of our generous sponsors: Appley Manor, Anat Barnes, ComiCoffee, Chale Parish Council, Chris Cane, Dinosaur Isle, Janice Ferguson, Garlic Farm, Hovertravel, Isle of Wight Distillery, Isle of Wight Pearl Centre, Debbie Mason, Newport Parish Council, Red Funnel, Sandham Office Services, Anna Southwell, Kris Stevens, TESCO, Mayuri Thakrar-Barnes, Paz Thakrar, Waterstones, Wight Business Services, Wight Computers, Wightlink.
All winning stories are available to listen to on the Sight for Wight website.
You can also find out about our member activities and the support we offer to visually impaired people on the Isle of Wight. We also welcome any new volunteers too.
News shared by Chris on behalf of Sight for Wight. Ed
