As part of this year’s Leigh Art Trail, we commissioned local writers group Estuary Writers to take over the waiting room on Platform One at Leigh-on-Sea train station.  

Estuary Writers were given the brief ‘The Waiting Room’ in April 2023, with a 100-word limit and open genre. They visited the site together to find inspiration within its walls, and then worked on pieces across Spring, sharing with each other and editing over eight weeks. The end result is a collection of thirteen themed pieces spanning poetry, flash fiction and personal reflections.

Included in the Waiting Room Exhibition are 12 x Printed Works 1 x Printed Panel and a free zine containing the full collection of written works. Audio recordings of the written pieces are currently hosted on Metal’s Listening Bench, on the decking at Metal’s HQ Chalkwell Hall, Leigh Art Trail Venue 1. 

Be sure to come and visit the exhibition and listening bench and explore the full trail from Saturday 8 – Sunday 16 July.

Estuary Writers was formed in 2018 after a successful group writer’s LAB at Metal during the Essex Writers House programme within the Essex Book Festival month. Two of the writers, Maria Solecki and Kelly Buckley, wanted to keep the momentum going, and set up a regular writing group, Estuary Writers. The group is now hosted by Maria Solecki and Jo Overfield, meeting bi-monthly at Metal Southend, and offers a supportive space to create, connect and share. It welcomes writers of any level and genre and can be found on Instagram & Twitter @estuarywriters – please follow for upcoming events.