Our latest publication Huddersfield Authors’ Circle 90th Anniversary Anthology has now launched onto Amazon. You can pick up your copy here.
To tie-in with this launch, we recently produced and delivered a series of workshop activities relating to the number 90 and Huddersfield. Here they are…
Activity 1 – 90 Second Prompt Write
Pick one of the following nine word prompts. Write about them for ninety seconds and see where it takes you.
- 90 days
- 90 miles
- 90 dishes
- 90 beds
- 90 percent
- 90 songs
- 90 birds
- 90 kisses
- 90 questions
Pick another plural word and add ninety to the beginning. What does that inspire?
Activity 2 – The Year 1935
Take three minutes to write anything that you know/imagine about 1935 England/Huddersfield/the world.
Now choose one of the historical events below (or make up an event of your own). Write whatever you like about the topic – poem, flash fiction, short story, history piece.
Event 1 – May – George V Silver Jubilee – Huddersfield Bonfire on Castle Hill
Thousands were there until after midnight. What might have happened?
Good – two people fall in love, two people who are at loggerheads agree to become friends again, money raised for the Jubilee Fund which supported disadvantaged children.
Bad – under cover of darkness – attacks, murder, elopements. Someone gets burned, homes robbed as everyone is out.
Fantasy – vampires, visitors from outer space, time-warp to sixteenth century persecution of witches.
Castle Hill at the time – Victoria Tower was there (built for Victoria’s Diamond Jubilee, 1899), plus the Castle Hill Hotel – L-shaped with a tower standing inside the corner of the L, owned by Bentley & Shaw’s Lockwood brewery – ale about 6 pence a pint, bottles only not tins then.
Event 2 – May – Rugby League Challenge Cup Final at Wembley
Castleford beat Huddersfield 11–8 in the final at Wembley before a crowd of 39,000.
This was Castleford’s first Challenge Cup final win in their first final appearance, and Huddersfield’s first defeat in six final appearances.
There were cheap train tickets, with reductions for groups of 4+ or 8+
Special trams and buses were laid on to connect to the 5.56 am and 6 am Saturday excursion trains to London, plus ones to connect with the early Sunday morning returning trains.
Special Souvenir booklet sold in aid of Club Funds
Good – Great day out even though Huddersfield lost. Find/make up with friend.
Bad – Fight breaks out, someone bet large sum of money and loses (what does he do?), misses train there or back (what does he do?).
Fantasy – dream world – one man goes down and your character is picked to take over, scores winning goal; devils sitting on top of goal posts flipping coin as to which side will win.
Activity 3 – The 90th Page
Pick up a nonfiction book. Turn to Page 90. Make a copy of it.
Take the words on this page and make a poem or a short piece of prose. You can either black out all words you don’t like and form something from the words that you do like (i.e. blackout poetry) or you can cut out words and phrases then rearrange them, adding new words in.
It doesn’t matter how you work with the material on Page 90, just turn it into something that entertains you.
Activity 4 – 90 Words About Your Town
Below is a grid full of ninety spaces. Please fill them with ninety words describing how you feel about Huddersfield or your hometown. Not just what it is now but what it has been to you and it could be to everyone in the future. The ninety words could form flash nonfiction, a poem or even flash fiction.
We have another event planned for the upcoming Huddersfield Literature Festival in May. Watch this space for further information!
Huddersfield Authors’ Circle – March 2025
Huddersfield Authors Circle 
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