An Unexpected Surprise

Last Wednesday I looked a bit like the dog. I didn´t think it was me doing the blog and suddenly about halfway through the session I realised it was. So the blog this week is a tad sketchy.

The theme was "Waking up late..." and it seemed to touch a chord as most people were inspired by it. Margaret, Anne G and Mary K were . They were, however, reading when I wasn´t taking notes, so for the life of me I can´t say what their pieces were about. I´m sure they were excellent (Grovel, grovel).

Cathy also wrote a piece which she read then and although I remember it had an American setting, that´s all I do remember.(More grovel).

I (Chris) read a poem on the theme, which I have included here - see below, (a) Because I´m writing the blog, so there, and  (b) because the blog needs a bit of padding this week.
I then started taking notes but, on reflection, it doesn´t seem to have made a whole lot of difference to the content, quality or length (!!Tut!!).

John McC read a piece based on his time as a rep, called "A Profitable Lunchtime" and recounted some advice given at the start of his hero´s career which stood him in good stead for his retirement package.The Personnel boss casting the pearls of wisdom was described brilliantly as being "to personnel matters what Herod was to babies". Great stuff!

Brenda read a short story about an elderly man making an annual trip to Calais without his wife. A twist in this tale. Very good.

Heather, having spent time recently with grandchildren, was inspired to write a rhyming story about the steep learning curve of a naughty puppy. We were all enchanted by the warm puppy syndrome.

Rita read a short piece about a thief, caught in the act, meeting a violent end.

And that was all I managed to dredge up.

ANY VOLUNTEERS TO TAKE TURNS WRITING THE BLOG WOULD BE APPRECIATED.

So here´s my poem.And a miserable one at that.

Decision Time

We woke up late - I don´t know why
The air is clear, the sun is high.
A day to savour with delight
Not face with dread and creeping fright

The time has come – I can´t delay
I must decide, I have to say.
Today´s the day when I must choose
But if I do, I know I´ll lose.

To go with him or stay at home?
He wants to travel, longs to roam.
I go with him, I lose my friends.
I stay right here, away he wends.

Whichever way I cast my lot
I end unhappy, like as not.
He won´t discuss, it´s up to me
He´ll wait a while and then he´ll see.

So what to do? To stay or go?
I have to choose, he has to know.
It all feels cruel, hard and bad.
We woke up late and now I´m sad.   

Chris J

Blog for 15/6/11

21 members attended this meeting. Ian opened it by calling on Brenda who told the group she had been in contact with a "Synopsis Doctor" and had found it most enlightening. The advice she received was to keep it as short as possible (one page) giving the outliine of the plot and the flavour of the main characters in order to get the agent hooked and wanting to learn more.

The theme for this week was "Going Home" although not all took up the challenge.

Rita wrote a very detailed piece on a day trip to Valencia. She had researched her subject well concerning the history and cultural aspects of the city.

Maureen then read about a conversation she overheard between two ladies, one of whom had met a German in s checkout queue and after a lunch and drinks ended up at his house where she was introduced to his German sausage-if you know what I mean. Hilarious.

Lisa's poem was a tweeking of the theme entitled Coming Home which was very thought provoking.

At this point, John reminded the group of the Open Mic competition based on Going Home. There are three categories= prose(500 word Max), poetry up to 40 lines and script writing.

Mary then gave us her composition of a song she has written with an Irish singer in mind.(Sorry Mary, I didn't catch his name} It was about a golfer who was playing whilst hung over from the previous night.

Gerry then read his poem on the theme about a man who had left his wife but now regretted the move, proving yet again that the grass is not always greener. Good for his wife though, she too had moved on.

Douglas' piece was entitled "Picking up the Pieces" concerning his time spent with a victim's support group, working in conjunction with his local police force, which was very interesting although the group believed the preamble was too long and should have excluded his previous employments. The fact that he would have liked to join the force was a sufficient introduction.

Brenda resumed reading her Minerva diary of 1931/32 after her first baby had died and her subsequent failure to bond with her second baby. We all agreed that Brenda is very good painting a picture with her dialogues.

Phil read a blank verse entitled "No Breaksown Cover" loaded with analogies a lorry driver feels on life whilst following the tail lights of a vehicle in front of him.


Chris read a short poem entitled "Road Kill" which was rather disquieting.

Mary's poem was on the theme written in Limerick form.

Avril read a piece about Chilhood Memories set during the war. It recalled how she and two boys would collect hot shrapnel on their way to school following the air raids.

Cheryl read another instalment of her novel about Chloe, who used to save her pocket money in order to buy new books rather than borrow from the library

Jane told of a stressful night she had just experienced- the cause- a new kitten called Poppy. Jane is gradually gaining the poor thing's confidence but knows it will take time.

Kathy gave us a poem entitled "Inner Self" which was very deep and philosophical about human feelings.

Ian rounded off the meeting by reading a poem about the fate of a fishing boat caught in a storm. It covered the launch of the lifeboat and the feeling of dependants waiting for the return of their loved ones. Very sad but quite marvellous.

The theme for next week is "We woke up late and......."
Hope to see you then. PLEASE lets have some comedy.
. Anne G.

Blog for 8/6/11

There were 22 people attending this week including a new member, Nicola who told us that she had joined a writers course but was experiencing writers block. We hope we can give her the key to unlock it.
MARGARET opened by reading a piece about her childhood spent at her grandmas house in a pit village. It was a very nostalgic view of playing in meadows and making daisy chains. Those were the days.
IARLA then read a lovely piece about going to visit an ageing cousin who was a priest and had experienced many tragedies in his life one of which was the loss of
32 lives in a shipping disaster.
kATHY had written on the weeks theme-Memorable Wedding-about a mother preparing for her daughter's "shotgun" nuptials which happened to be a case of history repeating itself.
JANE gave us an insight into the exotic, happy clappy ceremony she attended in Canada when two ladies got married in spite of the fact they had six children between them and both husbands were in attendance.
ANNE G read a poem on the theme which ended in a free for all.
CHERYL who is writing a novel about Chloe and her ups and downs striving to gain her mother's approval, read a synopsis of her work so far. The group agreed it shows promise
AVRIL wrote on the theme, recalling her son's wedding which didn't start off too well, but we were pleased to learn the marriage has survived and Avril thinks the world of her daughter in law.
MARY read a very amusing tale of her second wedding and how she became the "awful wedded wife" Her husbandd obviously had trouble with the letter L it seemed.
ANN B told of her marriages in Splitz and the Middle East.Oh what a varied life we have had between us.
CHRIS J got married in Cyprus to a Swedish man during the troubles on the island and wrote a poem about the bureaucracy involved.
JOHN M varied from the theme by an account of being left in charge of a promotional stand at a trade fair, which included a competition to win a TV set as first prize and his run in with Bill the Bandit.
BRENDA read a poem about a holiday in Majorca which varied from my memories of that lovely island. She then read her first attempts at several versions of Haiku.
Thanks,Brenda, for showing me the text after the meeting. Daylight dawned when you explained Haiku.
GLYN read an edited version of his train journey from Halifax to Birmingham when, at age 15, he was off to join the army. His characters of Grandad,Keith and the
other passengers were well drawn.
DOUGLAS was the next to read his memoirs of service life in 1947 before being posted to Egypt. I wasn't the only one who misheard his account of polishing his weBBing tackle. [I'm deaf you know]

PHIL then read a poem about the wedding party. Have you noticed he was the only man
who touched on weddings. I'm sure Freud would have the answer.
The meeting closed at 1.0pm with a number still to read. The theme for next week is
GOING HOME. See you then. Anne G.

Mrs A Grierson

1/6/11.: Ian was back in the chair this week with a report that the bell had died but his whistle pea was in fine form. 15 people attended.
Mary M began by reading her piece concerning what subject to choose from her life's experiences. It was felt we'd like to know more aboiut the men she'd met.
Gerry read his first instalment of his proposed western novel concerning Harv. the sheriff who has a premonition that the coming day will prove to be eventful.The group agreed it showed potential, Lisa suggesting that perhaps
Harvey had an intellectual and secret past to give the western a novel twist;
Douglas read about Joe and his cat Lucky who have a narrow escape when an intruder breaks into the house.Lucky saves the day and is awarded a gallantry medal.
Geoff then read an amusing piece entitled Vocal Aerobics concerning Jason who practices while looking in the mirror brushing his teeth and enunciating challenging verbals.
Brenda continued her Beth saga and following a visit to her doctor,is made to stop blaming herself for the abuse she suffers.She resolves to tell her policeman boyfriend.
John read Highly Strung, another of his memoirs as a salesman when he's detailed to cover for a colleague who prefers to entertain at a mediaeval banquet but still incorporates his party trick with a packet of cigarettes and lighter concealed in his cod piece. The mind boggles.
Avril read a piece on the theme "When do you leave" altering slightly to when do we leave. She had been invited to an evening out at a club which turned out to be an all nighter and more tiring than her busy working life.
Mary also tweaked the theme to Please dont go, about a hysteerical woman pleading with her husband not to fly, only to learn in the last line of the poem why he had to go- he was the pilot.
Jane gave us an autobiographical poem on the theme concerning her first husband's decision to emigrate to Canada without the family. Her last line told him in no uncertain terms where to go. SHOCK HORROR JANE. Wash thy mouth.
Anne G had a poem on the theme advising consideration to holidaymakers feelings and suggesting a better way of discovering when the b.......s are leaving.
Kathy R. read a piece about a mothers heartache when her children are leaving to be evaccuated during the war. She followed with an amusing tale of the lovelorn Camilla the Gorilla.
Unuusually there was time for a second round of readings, therefore in lieu of hotpen, we had Gerry,Brenda'Ian
John,Avril,Ann B and Anne G. reading short pieces.
Avril read a poem called Going Home-a Utopian view of Engl;and. It made me feel quite homesick but not for Rochdale. No thatched cottages there.
Incidentally Going Home is the subject for 15/6/11 and also a competition for Open mic. 5/7/11. Ian took the opportunity to remind members that reading at TWC does not preclude entering a competition but to beware that some organisers retain the copywright of the submissions. THIS DID NOT APPLY TO THE OPEN MIC COMPETITION.
I hope you've enjoyed my first attempt at a blog. Hope I've not misheard anything[I'm deaf you know.Its the bells} Oh and speaking of bells, ours had a Lazarus moment when consigned to Ann B's ministrations. Please feel free to criticise. Anne Grierson.