We are a long established Writers Circle based in Felixstowe, Suffolk. This Weblog will be about us, Writing, Writing Competitions, Writing in Felixstowe, life and generally what we are up to as a Group and individuals and what interests us.
We are based in Felixstowe but our membership comes both from a wide area within Suffolk and we also have many 'online' members from around the UK, Europe and the US.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION. Please note our New! contact address is scribblers@btinternet.com . Please note all previous email addresses are now defunct.
Friday, June 27, 2008
OUR NEXT MEETING
Our next Felixstowe Scribblers meeting takes place this coming Tuesday 1st July at 7.30 in the Café Libra in Felixstowe Library.
Lauren and Trish will provide the 1,500 open themed homework whilst, if I recall correctly, the rest of us should write up to 500 words on ‘Memory'. Peter will make his 'debut' chairing the meeting.
A little word of warning - an email has been received from "The NTLWORLD Webmail Team" asking for personal webmail account details and passwords to be provided because of security upgrades. For NTL users who receive this email I would suggest it should be deleted from your inbox and from your deleted box also. It appears that similar style emails asking for account names and passwords are being targeted on some Virgin customers as well. So beware!
On a friendlier note the BBC Writersroom newsletter follows at the end of this email.
BBC writersroom roadshows ------------------------- We're taking the BBC writersroom countrywide. Hear us talk about how our unsolicited scripts system works - and you can even give us your script in person. http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/insight/roadshows.shtml
Blog ---- Micheal Jacob tells more about the Comedy College, while Paul Ashton talks about Sharps. Join the conversation. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/
For all your research and information for writers visit your local Felixstowe Library and the Suffolk Record Office .
FELIXSTOWE SCRIBBLERS NEWSHEET
Incorporating the
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD 17th JUNE 2008
In the Chair: Alex.
In attendance: Trish, Lilian, Peter, Lauren, Steven, Barry, Les, Ruth, Dick, Tony, Morag, Alex and thanks to Dave and Jane for being able to make it in spite of their house move situations and a warm welcome to first time visitor Trish's Sister Sylvia.
SCRIBBLERS NEWS
In a lively news session we learned that the 'Peoples Friend' has asked Morag to write a story based on a picture they have sent her. Morag also mentioned that she has an interview on Felixstowe Radio. Felixstowe Radio is also now available by podcast at http://www.felixstoweradio.co.uk/. Tony told us a funny story about the shipping industry. Dick told us about an eerie event at the fort where he had heard a 'Winston Churchill' speech echoing around the rooms. Trish told us of her recent excellent Adriatic holiday and her difficulty with her travelling companion snoring. Lilian had lost and found the key to the library - as ever thanks once again to Lilian for collecting the key. Ruth reminded us that we could still submit our 200 word 'Suffolk' themed short story to Suffolk Magazine. It was her understanding that they planned to run a number of them in a spread so this is a really good opportunity to get in to print. Peter recounted how he was just back from a round the world trip. Lauren has started and has got quite a way in to writing a book and asked for a reader. Ruth said we would contact Sue Smith to see if this was of interest to her. Jane recounted her troubles with a house sale.
The platform:
Long Pieces: Barry read the introduction to a novel he is writing, 'Strictly a family affair' which will consist of two parallel stories that will eventually meet. Alex read his longer piece 'Boat Train.'
Short Pieces: Lilian read 'Things that go bump in Suffolk,' a collection of the ghost stories of Suffolk. Ruth read 'Suffolk' an almost poetic story of dizzy vertigo causing skies. Peter read 'Where I was brung up' in accent a tale of Suffolk lives and loves that concluded with Suffolk’s aeronautical history. Lauren read 'The Mindless Journey' a tale of a child’s imagination and the places it can go to. Jane read 'Woodbridge' about the richness and variety of a small community. Dave read a piece from his 'Chapter and Verse' project 'The Rood to Framlingham' in accent about the encounter of a Londoner with a Suffolker. Les read 'Silly Suffolk?' about how he loves Suffolk and its People, countryside, buildings and waterscape. Morag read 'Trimley Marshes,' about the sights and senses of this piece of seaside set in the countryside. Tony read 'Part of the things we do for Timothy Whiteboots,' more tales of the strange fantasy world he is constructing. Dick read 'Suffolk' which was about the counties rich delights, craftsmanship and variety of character. Sylvia read 'A chance reunion,' a story of a chance meeting with teacher Mr Bower. Trish finished up by reading two pieces, a piece of 'Homespun Philosophy' and a sonnet 'Before Nightfall darkness will come'.
Next time we meet is on Tuesday 1st July at 730pm in Cafe Libra.
Long pieces have been volunteered by Lauren and Trish with Ruth putting her name down for the meeting after.
The 500 word homework subject is 'Memory' suggested by Les.
Forthcoming Social Event: Put this in your diaries - It is the Beach Party on 8th July at a Beach Hut near the Spa Pavilion. Full details will be given nearer the time. It is on a Tuesday evening and will start at 7.30pm. All Scribblers are welcome!
Another entry for your diary is the Ipswich Arts Festival that takes place from Saturday 28th June until Sunday 13th July with various events organised throughout including the Writer’s Café @ Starbucks on Monday 7th July. Book now or be disappointed!
Thanks to Lauren and Steven for yet again providing the cakes
Until next time,
Keep Scribbling!
Alex
***** LEAF BOOKS NEWSLETTER JUNE 2008 In this newsletter: • New and ongoing competitions: Poetry Competition (*new*) and humour competition for Mostly Life; • The Someday Supplement – available for purchase; • Private printing project: The Siren of Salamanca by Brenda Ray; • Proof-reader available; • Shoe Tales. Current Competitions New: Poetry Competition. Leaf Books invites you to submit poetry of any length and on any subject. Enter online or by post. £3 per single submission; £10 for four submissions. Winner receives £200. Runner-up receives ten free pocket-sized Leaf Books. All selected entries will be published in a competition anthology. Closes 31st October 2008. Ongoing: Mostly Life Competition Mostly Life (a sister site of Leaf Books: www.mostlylife.com) invites you to submit humorous material in any publishable medium imaginable: writing (fiction or non-fiction, including comic verse), videos (live-action or animated), audio files, cartoon strips, still pictures, games and anything else that comes to mind. All original, previously-unpublished and non-offensive material will be considered.
Video/audio material should ideally be no longer than five or six minutes, if that – remember that it has to quickly capture and then maintain its audience's attention. Similarly, writing should ideally not go beyond a couple of pages.
Entry fee: £3 per entry, £10 for four entries. One winning entry will receive £200 and publication on the Mostly Life website. Other selected entries may also be published if they sufficiently tickle the judges' fancy. The winner or winners will be announced on the Leaf and the Mostly Life website. All copyright remains with the authors.
Enter online only and pay via paypal or credit card. Note that the payments go to the mothership at Leaf Books. Closed: The Leaf Books Micro-Fiction Competition 2008 has now closed and is in the process of being judged. Please wait for further announcements. *Note – if you’re paying for two or three entries at once, eg. £6 or £9, we advise you to make each payment separately (as in two or three lots of £3), otherwise you’ll incur an erroneous £1 p&p charge. It’s a PayPal glitch – we have to designate price groupings for postage charges and we can’t mark those amounts as p&p free without losing the p&p for our anthologies. There’s no problem, however, with paying for a single entry at £3 or a group of four entries as £10 – no p&p fee will be incurred. Now available: The Someday Supplement In 2007, Leaf Books ran a Spoof and Humour competition. In 2008, we tunnelled our way out of the mound of entries, blinking mole-ishly and very much tickled about the ribs. We were clutching some horoscopes and comical diaries and political satires and product reviews, and useful information on how to tell if someone fancies you via the medium of quantum physics. The Someday Supplement contains the fourteen winning entries from that very competition – including 1st prize winner Gearalt MacAodha’s ‘Nota Bene’ and runner-up Robert Wilton’s ‘Horoscopes’ – with additional material by the Leaf Team. The book is available for purchase from our website, www.leafbooks.co.uk and costs £7.99 (plus £1 p&p per copy) or £6 if you’re a featured author. Standing on the Cast-Iron Shore and Other Poems, which will contain the winning entries from our most recent poetry competition, is in the final stages of production. Keep checking the website for further announcements. ivate printing project: The Siren of Salamanca by Brenda Ray. Author Brenda Ray recently and joyfully received her copies of The Siren of Salamanca, the book she had printed through our private printing service. For further information about the book and the printing service and to purchase the book direct from the author at £9.99 per copy (via brendaray@hotmail.co.uk), please see our website at www.leafbooks.co.uk. The Siren of Salamanca: 'Beyond the buildings, I can rise up now, above the cornfields, above the trees towards the blue mountains. A single shadow ripples over the stubble like a passing cloud. I have returned. I have come back. I am home.' – ‘Return Journey’ In this evocative collection of fourteen stories, nothing is quite what it seems. A girl is haunted by the story of a child who vanished from her grandmother’s house many years before. A resistance fighter tells her tale in an alternative England of the 1940s. A schoolboy becomes obsessed by a girl whose name appears on a war memorial. Two boys delivering newspapers discover a severed human head. Unruly children provoke a strange woman they encounter on a tour of Italy, alas for them, while other children are haunted by a strange doll they dig up in a suburban garden. Lovers are parted by the Spanish Civil War. A workplace romance precipitates jealousy and murder. And in the title story, a successful lawyer cheats on his wife whose doppelganger pursues him through the beautiful Spanish city of Salamanca. Brenda Ray was born in Derby, where she still lives. She has worked at various times in librarianship and as a creative writing tutor. In the 1980s she worked as a free-lance playwright, with professional productions at a number of venues. In the 1990s, she returned to education to take a degree in Photographic Studies at the University of Derby. She has three grown-up daughters and one grandson. She now concentrates mainly on the short story form and her work is set largely in the East Midlands and in Spain, the country that haunted her as a child. The title story, ‘The Siren of Salamanca’, was the winner of the Allianz Cornhill Short Story Competition at the Guildford Book Festival in 2005. Proof-reader available. One of our published authors, Jo Horsman, is looking for proof-reading work. We’re too impoverished to offer her any right now, but we’d like to recommend her to anyone else out there in need of a spot of proof-reading. If you’re interested, get in touch with us at contact@leafbooks.co.uk and we’ll pass on your information. Shoe Tales. And finally … our wonderful work-experience person, Sarah, who’s presently undertaking the fairly mammoth task of databasing all your micro-fiction entries, has produced a blog called ‘Shoe Tales’ at http://shoe-tales.blogspot.com/ . In her own words: ‘Shoe Tales is a postcard project. It invites you to tell the story of your most memorable pair of shoes on a postcard. Old shoes, borrowed boots and shoes you laughed in or wore on a long walk - use words, doodles, photos to share their story. As postcards are received they'll be posted on this blog - as you can see it's a-filling up with shoe tales from far and wide. I hope you enjoy browsing through and if inspired, tell the story of YOUR memorable shoes.’ The address to which you ought to send your shoe tales is: PO BOX 1048, CARDIFF CF11 1JH, WALES, UNITED KINGDOM ¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬¬ Contacting Leaf Books Email: contact@leafbooks.co.uk Telephone: 029 20810726 Post: Leaf Books Limited, GTi Suite, Valleys Innovation Centre, Abercynon, Rhondda Cynon Taff CF45 4SN http://www.leafbooks.co.uk A member of the GTi Business Network.
Our next Felixstowe Scribblers meeting takes place this coming Tuesday 17th June at 7.30 in the Café Libra in Felixstowe Library.
Alex and Barry have opted to undertake the 1,500 open themed homework assignment whilst the rest of us are asked to write up to 500 words on ‘Suffolk' Apart from anything else, we all know where Suffolk is! We expect Peter to have returned from his holiday in the Antipodes in time to chair the meeting.
We have a message from Vincent West at Online Scribblers that the entries for the current competition are disappointingly low with only three so far. The competition ends on June 21st and is for fun only, but there is still the prestige at stake of winning. So if you are a member of Online Scribblers then why not have a go? The subject is something that has been very close to our hearts in Felixstowe, 'Beach Bomb'. Go to http://onlinescribblers.com
Something that is close to our wallets is the ever increasing cost of fuel that has a knock-on effect with virtually everything you can think off. There is a new group known as Transaction 2008.co.uk specifically formed for the General Motorist and Motorcyclist to help try and lower Duty or Fuel prices. Information on the group, including a fuel protest scheduled for Bristol tomorrow can be found on their website. http://www.transaction-2008.co.uk or http://www.transaction-2008.co.uk/bstl.html
REPORT OF THE MEETING HELD 3rd JUNE 2008 In the Chair: Ruth.
Apologies for absence were received from, Morag, Debbie, Ally, Scott and Peter.
In attendance Ruth, Alex, Di, Barry, Dave, Dick, Les, Tony, Liliane and Jane.
SCRIBBLERS NEWS
Main news this meeting is that Scott has now taken on a Karate course in a bid to keep himself fit and gain another black belt. The downside is that the classes are held on a Tuesday and it means that in the foreseeable future ge will be missing from Scribblers. We hope, just like Arnie, he’ll be back!
Ally was unable to attend having suffered a very temporary bout of writer’s block with the homework theme. Quite understandable following three weddings in quick succession.
Dick was really thrilled to have won the Bill Budner trophy and immensely proud to have had his name engraved on it. Just goes to show that some folk deserve an award for their creativity and Dick is certainly one of them! Thanks to Scott for the engraving.
The Committee meeting due for Tuesday 10th June has been cancelled but with no demanding issues outstanding this does not pose a problem. The meeting will be rescheduled in due course.
Dave is likely to miss a few meetings over the coming months as he moves home and waits for an eye operation. This has put a new spin on his understanding of downsizing for a three storey house plus loft, garage and shed somehow have to be cleared quite quickly… He will attend meetings whenever he can but currently cannot plan too far ahead.
One thing he has done is to order a ticket and a reading slot at the Writers’ Café @ Starbucks in July with fingers crossed that he will make it. Hopefully there will be other Scribblers represented there.
An Experience…..
A family trip to London and a theatre booking to see The Phantom of The Opera was brilliant for Dave and family. He says,
“If you haven’t seen it then this show really is one not to be missed. Events after the show though were quite frightening. Following a declaration by Boris Johnson, the new Mayor of London, to banish alcohol in public places and on the London Transport system, protesting hordes of drinkers spent their time riding round the underground’s central line and causing mayhem on stations, fighting, swearing, throwing bottles, spilling beer and being sick. Some stations were closed and some services ceased running on safety grounds. Public order disappeared and attempts to get to Liverpool Street for a train back home were almost thwarted but quick decisions to use alternative routes sufficed. Eventually we made it to Moorgate then a few minutes walk to find Liverpool Street only to find it swamped by the marauding masses and closed off by scores of police. Thankfully we got home safely in the end!”
The platform:
1,500 word open themed assignment:
Tony: Honian’s Travels. Dave: Lady.
500 word assignment on “Industry”
Liliane: The Aviary Jane: Postcard from the Front Line Les: Industrial Waste Dick: The Fate of St Hughes Barry: What Industry? Di: Industrious Hands Alex: Boat Train Ruth: Family Snap
A smaller group than usual allowed more time for feedback and discussion on all work again. Very interesting and diverse they were too.
Once again there were some problems with security as the other group using the premises left windows open. Always worth checking before locking the premises!
Next meeting, to be chaired by Peter, is on Tuesday 17th June at 7.30pm in the Café Libra at Felixstowe Library.
The homework assignment is to write up to 500 words on ‘Suffolk’, an easier subject this time with endless possibilities for creativity.
The two 1,500 open themed work will be provided by Alex and Barry.
Forthcoming Social Events: Put these in your diaries - It is the Beach Party on 8th July at a Beach Hut near the Spa Pavilion. Full details will be given nearer the time. It is on a Tuesday evening and will start at 7.30pm. All Scribblers are welcome!
The Pulse Fringe Festival in Ipswich is already under way. Go to their website for details and how and where to order tickets. http://www.pulsefringe.com/home.htmAlso coming up is the Ipswich Arts Festival and their programme of events is now online at http://www.ip-art.com/ with workshops and the Writers’ Café @ Starbucks included.
Until next time,
Keep Scribbling!
*****
The Ads:
A message fro Rexie and Gordon
Our Charity – the Children of Pulilan Foundation has booked a trip to Belgium on Saturday 6th of September. We leave Ipswich Crown Street layby at about 6AM. Those who wish to stay at Citie Europe can be dropped off and those who wish to go to Adinkerke can go directly to Adinkerke then go back to Citie Europe to meet the rest of the group then back to the ferry.
Cost of the trip is £30.00 per person
Those who wish to stay at Citie Europe will then have a longer time to shop around. If you are interested to book please let me know so that I can add your name to our lsit. We need a deposit of £15.00 and the rest of the balance is payable at the end of July. Should you have any further queries please let me know.
Telephone number 01473 273500 or 01473 729103 Cheers Rexie
Itenerary pick up at Crown Street layby, Ipswich at 6.00 am and to travel to Dover for 1005 P & O ferry to Calais which arrives 1235 local time and then droff some passengers at Cite Europe before going on to Adinkereke and returning back to Cite Europe before catching the 1945 ferry from Calais to Dover which arrives at Dover 2015.
*** A THOUGHT PERHAPS?
We are hitting 123.9 a litre in some areas now, soon we will be faced with paying 2.00 a ltr.. Philip Hollsworth offered this good idea:
This makes MUCH MORE SENSE than the 'don't buy petrol on a certain day campaign that was going around last April or May! The oil companies just laughed at that because they knew we wouldn't continue to hurt ourselves by refusing to buy petrol. It was more of an inconvenience to us than it was a problem for them. BUT,whoever thought of this idea, has come up with a plan that can really work.
Please read it and join in!
Now that the oil companies and the OPEC nations have conditioned us to think that the cost of a litre is CHEAP, we need to take aggressive action to teach them that BUYERS control the market place not sellers.. With the price of petrol going up more each day, we consumers need to take action. The only way we are going to see the price of petrol come down is if we hit someone in the pocket by not purchasing their Petrol! And we can do that WITHOUT hurting ourselves. Here's the idea:
For the rest of this year DON'T purchase ANY petrol from the two biggest oil companies (which now are one), ESSO and BP.
If they are not selling any petrol, they will be inclined to reduce their prices. If they reduce their prices, the other companies will have to follow suit. But to have an impact we need to reach literally millions of Esso and BP petrol buyers. It's really simple to do!!
Now, don't wimp out at this point... keep reading and I'll explain how simple it is to reach millions of people!!
I am sending this note to a lot of people. If each of you send it to at least ten more (30 x 10 = 300)... and those 300 send it to at least ten more (300 x 10 = 3,000) ... and so on, by the time the message reaches the sixth generation of people, we will have reached over THREE MILLION consumers! If those three million get excited and pass this on to ten friends each, then 30 million people will have been contacted! If it goes one level further, you guessed it... ..
Interested? Then why not join us at one of our meetings?
We meet on the First and Third Tuesday of each month at the Felixstowe Library in Crescent Road, Felixstowe, IP11 7BY., meetings start at 7.30 pm and we endeavour to be finished by 10pm.
The New!2009 programme is:-
All meetings are held at Felixstowe Library
Start at 7.30 pm and finish by 10.00 pm.
Suggested 50 pence donation per meeting, includes tea or coffee
January
20 Bill Budner Trophy – Anonymous competition for attending writers only
24 Social meal at Castle Lodge Hotel
25 Group session with Maureen Blundell at Castle Lodge Hotel
February
3 Meeting
17 Meeting
March
3 Meeting
17 Creative writing exercise
April
7 Meeting
21 Meeting
May
5 Meeting
19 Bill Budner Trophy – Anonymous competition for attending writers only
June
2 Meeting
16 Meeting
Beach Party Social to be arranged June/July
July
7 Meeting
21 Creative writing exercise
August
4 Meeting
18 Meeting
September
1 Meeting
15 Bill Budner Trophy – Anonymous competition for attending writers only
October
6 Meeting
20 Torchlight Halloween Meeting
November
3 Meeting
17 Meeting
December
1 Meeting
15 Creative writing exercise followed by the Christmas party.
Remember, membership is FREE, so why not come along? We ask for an optional donation of 50p per meeting to help towards running costs but that does include tea or coffee and a biscuit!
New!IMPORTANT - you can help.....do you know information or content that would help other readers of the Felixstowe Scribblers Weblog?...mail us at Dave Feakes, scribblers@btinternet.com with your comments, additions and suggestions TA! The Scribblers.
Sponsored Links
The Felixstowe Scribblers are an initiative created with the support of Suffolk County Council to help, support and encourage writers living in Suffolk.
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