Stories created by a group of writers have helped to take Val Watk- ins’s mind off her cancer.

Mrs Watkins, from Little Milton, was diagnosed with the ovarian cancer four years ago, and has been undergoing treatment ever since.

But she has still managed to enjoy meeting other members of the Turl Street Writers’ group, which met at the then QI Club in Turl Street, Oxford, and later at the King’s Arms, in Broad Street, to create a series of short stories.

When the other members of the group found out about Mrs Watkins’s illness, they decided to try to help Now a collection of their stories is being published as Turl Street Tales, with 50 per cent of the proceeds going to Maggies’ Centres, which support those suffering cancer and their relatives.

And if a Maggie’s Centre sells the book itself, the charity receives all the money.

Mrs Watkins, 69, said: “I love meeting up with other members of the group, exchanging ideas, writing stories and hearing people read out their stories.

“I have found it very therapeutic and it does help me to take my mind off my illness.

“I was delighted when I found out the group wanted to donate some of the profits from the book to Maggie’s Centres, which has an office at the Churchill Hospital in Oxford.

“I have found the staff there extremely helpful and there is a psychotherapist you can talk to and you can also do a make-up course.”

The mother-of-three, a former teacher at Frideswide School, now part of Cherwell School in Oxford, said she was now having a “rest period” following chemotherapy sessions.

She added: “There are about 15 of us in the group and I’m sure more people could join us if they wanted to – the more the merrier!”

Turl Street Writers’ member Robin Courage, 64, who is a former banker and keen sailor, said: “The group started a couple of years ago. When we found out that Val had cancer, we wanted to do something for Maggie’s Centres.

“All the stories in the book are linked to Oxford and it is already selling well in local bookshops – I think it has a very striking cover.”

Sandy Briscoe, a spokesman for Maggie’s Centres, said: “We were absolutely thrilled when we found out that the group was donating some of the profits to the Maggie’s Centre at the Churchill Hospital.

“At the moment we see 5,000 people a year from a temporary building on the site, but we have a £3m fundraising campaign for a new building.

“So far we have raised about half a million pounds, and we would like to be able to open at the end of next year.”

The book will be offically launched at Blackwell’s, in Broad Street, on March 4.

affrench@oxfordmail.co.uk