Abergele woman given WI writing honour

Dec 4 2008 by Richard Evans, North Wales Weekly News

Prize for supernatural story

AN ABERGELE member of a women’s group is celebrating after winning a prestigious national award for her writing skills.

Women’s Institute (WI) member Lucille Whitehead entered a competition to write a ghost story and has come up trumps having been awarded first prize in the Lady Denman Cup.

For the competition, Lucille, 68, had to write a spooky 200 word story certain to make judges’ hair stand on end. Despite competition from thousands, Lucille, who is also a member of Abergele Ladies’ Wednesday Club, won first prize in the prestigious competition.

Lucille, who lives at Lôn-y-Berllan with her husband David, 74, will now travel to the Royal Albert Hall in June where she will be presented with the cup. She said she was delighted to have won the competition and explained the plot behind her ghostly tale.

“I’m thrilled to bits, very pleased. It is the most prestigious thing I’ve ever won. It is quite a big award in the WI,” said Lucille.

“I’ve been a member for 10 years and the WI is absolutely superb. I had a card off everybody, they are all very thrilled for me.

“The story is all about me when I go on a course at Denman College. My partner Josie comes along and we cause a bit of a riot at a yoga class.

“So we have an early night but I wake up during the night and hear terrible screams and think I have seen a ghost but Josie says there is nothing there and it is only me.

“The next morning I wake up and Josie’s bed hasn’t been slept in, and when I go downstairs I’m told Josie never arrived and was critically injured in a car crash at 2am!”