EVERY so often, I am going to write a “Trafford Spotlight” column here in Wayne’s World to shine a light on the accomplishments of somebody in our borough who deserves recognition for their achievements and this week I am going to tell you about Jim Steele.

When I attended the dog show at Flixton Field a few weeks ago I sat next to James (Jim) Steele and his wife Elaine, a lovely couple who have lived in the area all their lives. We chatted as we watched the show and it turned out Jim is a very accomplished published author. It just shows you that you never know who you will meet at such events.

James Harold Dalton Steele has been writing poetry ever since his late teens and had several poems published in the 1970s. One of his poems, “Sarajevo Child Spirit of Innocence” was highly commended by The Poetry Society.

His two current poetry books are A Mindful of Rhyme, which contains poems James has written for over 50 years, and Forever Yours, a book of love poems James has written to his wife, Elaine, since first meeting and falling in love with her, way back in 1967. How lovely is that?

Due to his love of all things science fiction, James has also written a series of science fiction novels called the Cosmic Cell Series, which contain The Great Divide, Grid World and Demon Orb, which is in two parts.

I asked James, now retired, what he does to fill his time?

“I continue to write as well as having several hobbies which include in no particular order, swimming and snorkeling, holidays, computers and technology, family, playing blues and folk guitar, reading, health and fitness, and wood carving”.

I’m always interested in the process artists have when creating their work and wondered what was James’s particular process for writing poetry.

“Poetry came to me naturally. I used to wake up in the night with the basis of some poem or other and quickly write it down on a notepad that I kept beside my bed. I loved this because I could express my concerns, ideas or ideology”.

I wanted to know what appealed to James about science fiction.

“I love writing fantasy and science fiction, for I can excitingly create whole new worlds in which to live, even if only in my mind, and when I’m engrossed in writing my novels, these worlds and their characters, are as real to me, as our own Earth is to us all.”

It is always good to meet nice people and it was a pleasure to meet Jim and Eileen. I send them both the very best wishes and I hope Jim has continued success with his writing. Take care and see you all next week!