She started reading and it suddenly felt colder.

Thursday at   EESC ‘s “literature lunch” young English author Helen Walsh was reading from her novel “Once Upon A Time in England“. We were transferred from a sunny Brussels rooftop terrace to a cold night in a tough Warrington housing estate.

She started reading and it suddenly felt colder. The tale sent shivers down the spine. You knew something bad would happen in the story - and almost wanted her to stop reading before it would.

The theme was EU Year against poverty and social exclusion. The reading gave a hint of life in a poor environment in 1970s England marked by racism, violence and blind hate – with vivid images. You felt Helen Walsh knew what she was talking about.

A clever author, good communicator she knew how to get her message through. Helen Walsh has been described as the nicest ex-drop out ever (she left school as a teenager) … yesterday’s impression was that we can only agree (by Petra & Lena).