This anthology is a collection of winning entries and runners-up in the inaugural writing competition for children and young adults organised by the Friends of Rock Road Library in late 2016. The theme of the competition was ‘Location as Inspiration’, inviting entries in the form of short stories, poems and plays about a place in Cambridge or the city itself. The competition was divided into two categories: 7 – 11 year olds and 12 – 16 year olds. The judges were local authors Adéle Geras and Julian Sedgwick. Contents 7 – 11 Year Old Category ................................................................... 8 12 – 16 Year Old Category ................................................................. 9 The Day Trip ....................................................................................... 10 The Book with the Hidden Code ......................................................... 13 The Fitzwilliam Museum .................................................................... 16 Visit Fitzwilliam .................................................................................. 17 Maniac ................................................................................................. 19 Bird’s Eye View .................................................................................. 21 The Round Church .............................................................................. 24 Cat on the Hat! .................................................................................... 25 The Corpus Clock ................................................................................ 27 The Night at King’s College Chapel ................................................... 29 Rain and Sun ....................................................................................... 32 Four Seasons ....................................................................................... 36 The Traveller ....................................................................................... 40 The Mill Road Winter Fair .................................................................. 45 An Echo Of Life .................................................................................. 47 The Scarf Man ..................................................................................... 49 Cambridge: What do you think of when you hear that word? ............ 56 Angels and Imaginary Friends ............................................................ 58 Cambridge ........................................................................................... 63 Vinery Park ......................................................................................... 65 When Leigh asked me whether I'd like to judge a competition of children's writing, I was very happy to do it. I love going in for competitions, and part of the pleasure is that there are always a few happy weeks when you can dream about being a winner - right up to the announcement of who has actually won! But winning isn't what it's about. It's about trying your hardest to write something that you are pleased with and which says what you wanted it to say. It's about being the best that you can be for yourself. One thing that all competition entrants need to realise is this: judges are only people and people have different tastes. Another person might have chosen other stories, other winners. The brief was to write about Cambridge. I moved to Cambridge in 2010 and I love it here, so it was a particular pleasure to share other people's love of their home town. What impressed me, apart from the high standard of handwriting I came across, was the way the young writers used so many techniques to tell their stories. I was struck by the liveliness and originality of the entries I read and I saw that what every judge always says is actually true! It was hard to choose winners and runners-up and I'm hoping that everyone who finds themselves in the anthology is very proud of their efforts. It's also clear, by the way, that these writers are also readers, and I wish them luck with their reading as well as their writing because reading is the way you learn everything. Enjoy reading and writing and good luck in the next competition. Adèle Geras, Judge 7 – 11 year old category 5 To enter a writing competition - or any competition - is to take a chance with something that is often dear to your heart. I remember, years ago, entering my first poetry competition with a poem I felt was not only singularly good (rare for me!), but also deeply heartfelt and personal. It wasn’t short-listed. And the rejection stayed with me for months. I still keep that experience in mind every time I come to judge other people’s work! But over the years I’ve learnt that it’s better to take a chance on your writing, and share it, rather than keep it to yourself. And all the entries in this competition were right to share... Having lived in or around Cambridge for more than 30 years, it was a delight to be asked to judge the Rock Road Library ‘Location as Inspiration’ writing competition. Like Adèle, I was really impressed by the variety of style, technique and theme that arrived on my desk: short, but punchy poems; long and fantastical narratives; quirky and interesting characters and crisp, raw reality. In every single submission there was something that grabbed me - and that’s all we can hope for as writers, to write from the heart and hope that the thing that made us laugh or cry, or feel terror or elation, has reached the reader. Congratulations to everybody who took part! Julian Sedgwick, Judge 12 – 16 year old category 6 If I’m honest I felt a little nervous launching the ‘Inspiration as Location’ writing competition. Would any young writers take up the gauntlet? Isn’t everyone under the age of twenty glued to a screen? Do budding writers want to tell stories rather than invent internet games? And what if everybody wanted to write about zombies and vampires? I’m very pleased that all those fears were groundless. We received more than 200 entries to the competition, all written with an energy and gusto that demonstrates creativity and storytelling are still very much alive. Entrants responded to the theme in many imaginative ways – whether it was describing Market Square from the point of view of a plum on a stall, or viewing life as a ghost floating around the Cambridge churchyards. Whether the writers were using a place or feature to reflect on a moment or thought, or telling a crime story using the buildings as setting, each entry genuinely offered something original and thought- provoking. Thank you to all those who entered – winners or not. We enjoyed reading every single entry and appreciate the amount of time and energy given to your story or poem. Thank you to the parents and schools who supported their children/pupils/students in this exercise. Some teachers used it as an opportunity to combine the teaching of English and Geography so when a new course appears on the curriculum – Englography – you’ll know where it started! Thank you to the wonderful judges for their careful consideration of entries. I’m so glad they enjoyed it as much as I did. Thank you Rock Road Library for supporting this project. And, finally, thank you Cambridge for being such an inspiring place to live. And there was not a single zombie or vampire. Honest. Leigh Chambers, 2016 Writer-in-Residence, Rock Road Library. 7 7 – 11 Year Old Category WINNERS Thomas Bullen (Cambourne Village College) - The Corpus Clock Oliver Lee (Cambourne Village College) - The Round Church Grace Poole (Fulbourn Primary School) - Maniac David Stickland (Morley Memorial Primary School) - The Day Trip Alexandra Tullett (Cambourne Village College) - The Night at King’s College Chapel RUNNERS-UP Elif Cektir (Stephen Perse Foundation Junior School) - Visit Fitzwilliam Rebecca Clay (Cambourne Village College) - Cat on the Hat! Amelia Dale (Stephen Perse Foundation Junior School) - The Book with the Hidden Code Lauren Hills (Cambourne Village College) - Bird’s Eye View Henry Mak (Stephen Perse Foundation Junior School) - The Fitzwilliam Museum 8 12 – 16 Year Old Category WINNERS Bhavna Cahoolessur (Netherhall Secondary School) - Four Seasons Leonia Depledge (Netherhall Secondary School) - The Traveller Sophie Green (Netherhall Secondary School) - Cambridge Hana Yokoyama-King (Netherhall Secondary School) - The Scarf Man Marie Vallier (Netherhall Secondary School) – Vinery Park RUNNERS-UP Reece Anne Alcantara (Netherhall Secondary School) - Angels and Imaginary Friends Sienna Brodie-Gold (Netherhall Secondary School) - Rain and Sun Natty Huckle (Cambourne Village College) - Cambridge: What do you think of when you hear that word? Neelam Solanki (Netherhall Secondary School) - The Mill Road Winter Fair Melissa Went (Netherhall Secondary School) - An Echo of Life 9 The Day Trip by David Stickland Ethan Wright looked out of the window of his tiny student’s room in St John’s College, at the piles of floating debris drifting about where once there had been houses and parks. He felt sad that he had never got to see Cambridge when it was a proper city, with proper roads and guided busways and a railway that linked it to all the other cities. It was many years since global warming had left the whole of Cambridge underwater, but not the colleges. The colleges were filled with clever and inventive engineers, like he was training to be, who had come up with the perfect way to save them all - by placing them on stilts. Now the centre of Cambridge was nothing but a