Stoke Lodge Hotel - World Book Night Celebration for Readers and Writers

Author Lesley Pearse with daughter - and friends..!

 

Well, what a fantastic experience we’ve just had! 

 As avid readers (both) and sometime aspiring writer (me) we went along to the World Book Night lunchtime event on Saturday April 23rd hosted by Stoke Lodge Hotel, not really knowing what to expect - and ended up spending a most enjoyable four hours (not to mention having a delicious lunch) meeting and chatting to a whole host of talented local writers.

World Book Night is an annual celebration of reading and books taking place on 23 April, which sees passionate volunteers give out hundreds of thousands of books in their communities to share their love of reading with people who don’t read regularly or own books.

The event is run by The Reading Agency, a national charity that inspires people to become confident and enthusiastic readers to help give them an equal chance in life. 

World Book Night was first celebrated in the UK and Ireland in 2011 on 5 March, and in 2012 it was moved to 23 April, the international day of the book and, probably, the birth and death date of William Shakespeare.

Stoke Lodge Hotel

The idea to hold the World Book Night Celebration at ‘my favourite hotel’ came from Annette Shaw, book reviewer for Devon Life.

Annette Shaw

Annette organised the event and was assisted by Sarah Stevenson-Olds – both of whom immediately put us at ease with their warm welcome and coffee in the sunny and comfortable lounge, where we chatted awhile to the accompaniment of a chilled Spanish guitar discreetly played in the background by local musician Patrick Barton.

Lesley (right) with her 'thank you' bouquet

The event kicked off with the charming and competent Master of Ceremonies David Scott – who did a fine job throughout the day – introducing best-selling author Lesley Pearse for the first extremely entertaining talk.

Lesley had a wicked grin and a mischievous glint in her eye from the start and was such a lovely lady – honest, irreverently funny, interesting and friendly – who had us enthralled with tales of her vivid and varied life and how she came to become the hugely successful writer she is today.

I’m sure it left many of us either wanting to rush out and buy all her books or putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard and writing our very own best seller – or both.

Stoke Lodge sun terrace with happy guests

We were then invited to stop by the Hotel bar for a pre-lunch drink, which we enjoyed on the sunny terrace with its brilliant view of the sea, before being called in to lunch.

Enjoying the sun with me (RH corner - spritzer in hand...) are writers Jill Treseder, Bea and Tony Porter, an unknown gentleman and the back of Jenny Kane..!

Chelsie with Foodie Feast

The veritable feast on offer was laid out in the airy dining room and quite simply it looked fantastic. 

There were succulent joints of ham, beef and turkey, beautiful quiches and an array of tasty salads and accompaniments, and just when you thought you couldn’t possibly eat another thing a stunning selection of desserts appeared which were just crying out to be tasted...
...Well, the SLH chefs had obviously gone to a lot of trouble and it would have been rude to refuse, wouldn’t it?



(N.B. I’m not usually much of a dessert girl but I have to say the chocolate cheesecake was amazing and certainly gets my vote…)

Annette Shaw with MC David Scott

So, sated and relaxed, we returned to the lounge where we were treated to more five-minute talks – David was very strict about this! – from some of the writers present. 

We heard from Mel Menzies, Steve Stevenson-Olds, Jenny Kane, Chris Robilliard, Jane Gill and Tony Porter (huge apologies if I have left anyone out – those five-minutes slots seemed to whizz by in a blur…) - all of whose talks were  very informative and enjoyable in different ways.

Three o’clock came around way too soon, leaving us inspired, informed, entertained and enthusiastic for this wonderfully enjoyable event to be repeated again next year. 







Stoke Lodge Hotel was, we felt, the perfect venue – the peaceful setting overlooking the bay was inspiration alone, and we were so well looked after throughout the day by owners Chris and Stephen and two of their daughters, Chelsie and Sigourney – not forgetting Claire on the bar and all the other staff involved – that it made it such a relaxing experience and we really, really hope they will do it all over again next year.

No wonder it was a sell-out this year - Annette tells me that she already has names on the guest list for 2017 so rest assured we’ll be making sure that we book our places early next year… 

We left clutching our complementary ‘World Book Allocated Choice’ book – Perfect Daughter by Amanda Prowse – feeling happy, relaxed and satisfied.

What a wonderful way to spend a day - thanks so very much to all involved – we just loved it!

 

Links:

David Scott: http://davidscotttraining.com
Jane Gill:  https://www.facebook.com/janegillauthor
Jenny Kane: http://jennykane.co.uk/
Lesley Pearse: http://www.lesleypearse.com/http://www.lesleypearse.com/
Mel Menzies: http://www.melmenzies.co.uk/
Steve Stevenson-Olds: http://www.stevensonolds.com/http://www.stevensonolds.com/

Stoke Lodge Hotel: http://www.stokelodge.co.uk/
World Book Night: http://worldbooknight.org/

 NB. The next event at Stoke Lodge Hotel is a Devon Fish Night on Thursday 5th May 2016 - a beautiful sea food dinner and a glass of wine on arrival all for £26.75.

To enquire or book please call 01803 770523  or visit
http://www.stokelodge.co.uk/

 

Guest Blogger Val Depledge