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Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Report of the Meeting Held on 5th June 2007

FELIXSTOWE SCRIBBLERS NEWSHEET

Incorporating the

REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD 5th JUNE 2007

In the Chair: Dave.

Apologies for absence were received from Ruth, Lisa, Morag, Dick, Judy, Ken, Alex, Zoe and Les.

In attendance were Rosemary, Kay, Liliane, Trish, Barry, Tony, Peter, Louis and Dave.

Scribblers News:

The Scribblers had their lowest attendance for a number of years, perhaps a worrying sign after the massive attendances two years ago. Attendances have been fairly steady since then but the question has to be asked why our attendances have dropped off? Is there an underlying cause? Should we be concerned?

The answer really speaks for itself.

Morag and Dick were on holiday, Judy is out sailing, Ken delayed by work, Les dog sitting at Kessingland, Ruth meeting up with a University friend, Alex under the weather and Lisa almost forgetting her wedding anniversary! Zoe was unavailable. Kate is still recuperating from her operation whilst Caz still needs time before feeling able to attend meetings again. Then there is Scott currently out on dancing lessons and preparing for his fast approaching marriage to Aimee.

Perhaps things aren’t really as bleak as initially thought!

Mind you there is enthusiasm out there for there are whispered reports that both Les and Lisa arrived for the meeting the previous week…

After all this it was nice to welcome Louis back Scribblers. His work does interfere with his ability to attend meetings. Something that affects us all at times.

The cheque from Maureen Budner for Belinda’s donated prize money has been received and passed to Peter for banking and also to send a receipt to Maureen. It was such a lovely thought to hold the competition in the first place and then to have the winner donate the money to our group was fantastic.

I am sure that both Maureen and Belinda will be extremely pleased to know that this has gone to the provision of a silver cup that has been engraved with The Bill Budner Trophy and also the name of the fist winner - Tony. The cup will be presented at our next meeting.

Other news:

Received a recent email out that will interest the Scribblers. It reads

“Greetings Dave and to your fellow scribblers! My name is Chris Shaw and I live in Cairns, Far North Queensland in Australia.

“A very quick introduction: I was born and brought up in Felixstowe, went to Fram College, did Pharmacy, worked in London, went to West Indies for seven years, and now live with my Librarian wife Rebecca in a suburb called Lake Placid, just outside Cairns.

“In 2001-2002 we spent 12 months in UK, with me doing Locum pharmacy work and spending some quality time with my ageing parents. I wrote some newsletters back to friends in Cairns, about where we had been, and when I got back I put them all together and came up with around 40,000 words! Since writing a two page letter had been a chore in the past, I felt very pleased. The upshot of that was, that I have continued writing, well, yes, scribbling really, and I have found that I enjoy it no end.

“This is the climax! I will be in Felixstowe from around 8/9th July to about 20th July, which includes one of your Tuesday meetings, and I would be very happy to attend. May I be invited? I should really like to meet you and chat, and, since I haven’t really exposed my work to the public, I would value your opinion on a piece or two, if time permits

“The reason for my flying visit across the globe is that my dear Father is turning 100 on 13th July and really, I should be there. I may have to do it all again in a couple of years since Mother is 98 and looks like holding out!

So that’s my intro, and I have to congratulate Alex on the beautiful and easy website.

“Cheers,

Chris and Rebecca.”
Now that really is a good reason for flying into Britain - to celebrate your father’s 100th birthday, isn’t it? I have replied to Chris inviting him to one of our meetings and have suggested that maybe he joins Online Scribblers to post some of his work for feedback. I’m sure the organiser Vincent will welcome him into the fold. Another good reason for the online group is that it does provide the ability to keep in touch when unable to attend meetings. Go to http://onlinescribblers.com

I am now able to post again on the weblog so updates will be provided from time to time and certainly will want them to be posted at least once a week. Watch this space - or better still go to http://nar8or.blogspot.com

Don’t forget our website at http://felixstowescribblers.com that can be viewed at any time.

News of the summer social will follow at our next meeting.

The Homework Assignment:

This was another special evening with both winning stories from the Bill Budner competition being read out by Rosemary and Kay on behalf of Belinda.

Rosemary: “Driftwood”:
An excellent work full of metaphors, inspired by the sea from under the pier. The story concerned a girl who lost her father went into foster care.

Belinda (read by Kay): “Miss Sandy Shores Mid Life Crisis”:
Another excellent work. Written in the first person this is a story relating the stunning affair between the beach and the sea.

The 500 word homework assignment on ‘Bottles’.

Liliane: The Last Wish - The 91 year old buried with a bottle of gin.

Trish: Henry Moore Wished and a poem - Written in the wake of sisters visit.

Barry: Bottle - A narrative, feeding the parrot.

Kay: Bottle - A Japanese Tanker, a poem containing 31 syllables.

Tony: Ambush - Hiding in the bushes, sent down the hill by Grebslrac .

Peter: Glass Chatter - Dialogue between bottles.

Louis: The Message Reads - Billy and Mikey and the message in the bottle.

Rosemary: To Top It All - Arthur tries to open the bottle.

Dave: A Foggy Night in Newcastle - mystery of the old disappearing soldier..

Our next Felixstowe Scribblers meeting is set for Tuesday 19th June at 7.30pm in the Café Libra at the Library and will be chaired by Morag.

The homework assignment is to write 500 words maximum on “STEP(S)”.

The 1500 word work will feature Peter and Louis.

So until next time,

Keep Scribbling!

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