None But The Brave

At the duly allotted meeting time there was only a handful of members in attendance and it was suggested that because the day's topic was "Hot Pen" a number of members had got cold feet. (Hardly likely in this weather!!)

Apologies were given from Nik,Rob and Heather. Eventually a total of 11 members attended.

Some members had pieces to read and it was decided to read as normal and then, if time allowed, we could do a hot pen.

Gerry attempted a piece of poetry in the style of Pam Ayres, entitled "Would I Like To Live Forever?" It provided pros and cons for such an event. Everyone thought that as a first attempt the poem was excellent and should possibly be sent to The Oldie magazine.

This must have been the day for poetry as Brenda had two poems to read. The first detailed the frustration of being a golfer and I'm sure that anyone who has attempted to play the game could associate with its sentiments. The second item entitled "Time" dealt with a life governed by time and how we deal with it. Again this was something that we all recognised within ourselves.

Ian's piece was a reworked version of an old short story called "Too Hot To Handle." This was about the formation of an undercover anti-crime force. We all enjoyed the story and felt it should either be expanded or put into a series of episodes.

Mary had two short items. The first was an explanation of how "Tapas and Salads" were named i.e. Tapas from the Spanish - to cover and the use of bread to keep flies out of beer and Salads from the use of Sal (Salt) to enhance flavour. Her poem, entitled "Agendas" dealt with activities in an attempt to find a partner. (Roundabouts were excluded)

Douglas gave us a piece called "Mendacity" and was a spoof on Superman being required to mend a city. This was an excellent play on words.

Maureen gave us a review of a recent camping/touring holiday in Spain, aptly named "A Girl, A Granny and Two Dogs.

After the break there was a hot pen and the word chosen was "Cracking".

Jane - A story about the disposal of family goods between sisters after their father's death.
Pat - The return home of a wife to her husband's diy.
Mary - The different interpretations and uses of the word cracking.
Douglas - Revenge against "feeble" humour.
Maureen - Took the word "Craic" and explained a recent event in Germany where its use was totally misunderstood.
Jerry - A story of chidren venturing onto thin ice.
Brenda - A short piece describing fire.
Ian - A conversation between two young men admiring a young woman.
Christina - Three verses describing the use of the word.
Mary - This was a piece about a beach party.
Ann - First a piece about rhymes and then a story about a dog going through the ice.

As there was still time left, Douglas provided a filler with a story based on the song "Miss Otis Regrets".

Maureen suggested a barbecue be held at her place before the end of summer. She was advised to contact Glynn because he also had spoken about hosting a barbecue.

Christina proffered her apologies for the next two weeks.

All in all, a good session.

Ian