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.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
BEYOND THE THIRD EYE
This new book from Rochelle Moore BEYOND THE THIRD EYE promises to be another fascinating read. Due out on May 1st through amazon it can be preordered and autographed from www.andborough.com
APOLOGIES: MORAG, RUTH, DAVE (HOLIDAYING AGAIN), JUDY, LAUREN W, ANGELA AND ANGELA L
ATTENDING PETER (CHAIR) DICK, JANE, CAROLINE P, TONY, STEVEN, SUE, LAUREN, TRISH, LILIANE, DEBBIE, BARRY and ALI.
MATTERS ARISING and NEWS:
The minor matter of only having thirteen writers in attendance did nothing to detract from the quality and diversity of the contributions. As usual the different variations on one word or theme was amazing.
The Bill Budner Competition will be closing this Saturday. There have been a gratifying number of entries lodged at the library so the judging will commence forthwith.
The Anthology is progressing with several entries sent to Barry and Dave already.
Connie was due to read a 1500 word piece this week but thought it prudent to rest her eye after the operation. We all wish her well.
Judy was spied at Felixstowe Fort by chance by Dick and Barry. She apologises for her non appearances but has been very busy and will be so for a while.
Caroline P quietly let slip that she has had a story accepted by ‘People’s Friend.’ Congrats.
Lauren W is attending a 10 week course at the river of life church so has to miss some meetings but promises to be back soon.
Trish’s Granddaughter, our other Lauren, graced us tonight with an untitled piece which was well received as it was her first attempt at public speaking.
THE PLATFORM
The 1,500 word open themed homework assignment
Dick; 'Advance, Canteen Keys.’
Caroline P; Smile.
The 500 word homework assignment on ‘Safe’
Tony: The things we do for Timothy Whiteboots.
Steven: The crossdressing murder.
Jane: Feeling the cold.
Lauren: Untitled concerning London at night.
Trish: An Excerpt from her journal entitled My Easter.
Liliane: The Key.
Debbie: The hole in the door.
Barry: Morning Mist.
Ali: The magic door.
Peter: Belted key.
OUR NEXT MEETING
Takes place in two weeks time on the 5th of May in the Cafe Libra, Felixstowe Library.
The two 1500 word open themed assignments will be read by Steven and Ali while the remaining writers
have the theme of Funfair to grapple with using 500 words.
Thanks to all that attended and see you next time.
Keep Scribbling!
*****
Support those who support us! Have a look at Scott’s website at http://www.mrcobblerandmrlocks.co.uk Don’t forget that Scott has special ‘Felixstowe Scribblers’ mugs on sale at £5 each. Not only does it have the Scribblers logo on the front, but your name can also be added on the rear.
2009 Ip-art Short Story Competition launched! This years short story competition is on the theme of 'Safe' and entries are open in three categories 1) Adult 2) Young people (ages 12-16) 3) Children (ages 7-11)
Plenty of Prizes to be won so don't delay! The deadline is 2nd May 2009 so time is running out!
The Ipswich Arts Festival takes place from June 27th until July 12th.
***** The Debenham arts festival.
This is the first year we have had literary events and art shows, rather than being purely a music festival. I think you'll agree we have an impressive line up of writers.
By the way, Debenham, a small village a few miles north of Ipswich, has been named in a survey as one of the best places in the country to live, so it is always worth a detour. More so, I would say, on a sunny July day with writers to talk to.
Arts Festival at Debenham, Suffolk.
A strong literary line-up will appear at the first Debenham Arts Festival, July 9 - 12. Writers include Hilary Mantel, reading her new novel, Wolf Hall; Joan Lock, historical fiction and non-fiction; Tessa West, who writes East Anglian novels; Lesley Grant-Adamson, crime novelist and author of "Writing Crime Fiction"; Natalie Williams, children's author; playwright Gwyn Guy; and Shirley Bignell who will reading favourite Caribbean poetry.
Cormorant Publishing Hartlepool is now able to offer to publish your book for less than £300 with full laminated cover, ISBN number and barcode, promotional website and TEN free copies of your book. You will also receive royalties on every book sold on Amazon, ebay or direct to the public. This is to fill a small gap in our publishing diary and may not be repeated again this year. If you are interested please contact me not later than Wednesday 29th April at cormorantpublishing@yahoo.co.uk John
A reminder that our next meeting takes place this coming Tuesday April 21st at the Cafe Libra, Felixstowe Library, starting at 7.30pm. The 1,500 open themed task will be undertaken by Caroline P whilst the rest of us are asked to write up to 500 words on 'Key or Quay'.
Please remember to enter the Bill Budner Short Story competition on the theme ‘The Last Day of the Holiday’ in which you must create an original title for your fictional story which should have a no more than 2,000 words. Entry is open to all, with separate awards for children (16 and under at the closing date).Prizes will be awarded for the three best stories in each category, as follows: 1st prize £25, 2nd prize £15, 3rd prize £10.
Each entry must be the original and unpublished work of the entrant and all entries should be clearly typed in double spacing on single sides of A4 paper, The author’s name, address, daytime phone number and (if possible) e-mail address should accompany the story on a separate sheet of paper. These details should not appear on the entry itself. If under 16 please include your age.
Competition entries should be handed in or posted to the staff at Felixstowe Library, Crescent Road , Felixstowe, IP11 7BY, clearly marked for the ‘Bill Budner Short Story Competition’, by the closing date of Saturday 25th April 2009
Our anthology is coming along well with several former Scribblers becoming involved. Up to a 1,000 words on any subject in any genre please and these will need to be submitted by the end of July.
APOLOGIES: Caro (rock climbing), Sue (holiday) Ruth (auditioning)
ATTENDING Dave (Chair) Dick, Di, Jane, Jack, Lauren (Trish’s granddaughter), Trish, Liliane, Caroline P, Alex, Caroline F, Connie, Tony, Morag, Kay, Angela, Barry, Ally, Stephen, Peter and Rani.
MATTERS ARISING and NEWS:
Reminders about our two main events that are coming up. Time rolls on relentlessly so if you want to enter the Bill Budner competition then you need to get writing! With the subject theme ‘The Last Day of the Holiday’ for which you must provide an original title, you have until the deadline of 25th April to get your entry in to the Library.
Don’t forget our anthology. With the hard work of the sub-committee the anthology is far from being just proposed but is now a reality. Work is beginning to arrive from former regulars interested in gracing the pages so we hope that all the present writers will be providing samples of their work. For the hobby writers amongst us this is a great opportunity to see yourselves in print.
What a splendid turnout this week, with a total of twenty-one people coming along to the meeting. Especially pleasing to see Morag attending and also Ally whilst Trish brought her granddaughter along for her first visit of the year.
Ruth was unable to attend the meeting after being invited to audition for a Susan Hawkes stage play following her starring role in ‘Roots’. Rushmere Players are entering ‘Roots’ into this years Brantham Festival.
We all wish Connie all the best for her cataract operation this week.
Caroline F informs us that Creative Writing Groups are holding a Short Story Workshop at their new home in Brantham on 25th April. Email caroline@cwgroups.org.uk or see details on this weblog
Jane revealed that she has another short story accepted for publication in People’s Friend and shared the story with the Scribblers.
THE PLATFORM
The 1,500 word open themed homework assignment
Jane: Flying the Nest Liliane: Anne-Marie’s Story
The 500 word homework assignment on ‘Safe’
Barry: Safe Angela: Mavis in Love Kay: It Isn’t About Safety (poem) Tony: Ambush Connie: Growing Pains Caroline F: Stay Safe Alex: Goodnight then... Caroline P: Smile Rani: Somebody on a Journey Trish: Nocturnal Tiger Jack: Mysterious Meeting Di: Safe Peter: Safe Hole Ally: Safe Stephen: Too Safe for Comfort Dave: Safe
OUR NEXT MEETING
Takes place in two weeks time on 21st April at 7.30pm in the Café Libra, Felixstowe Library.
The two 1,500 word open themed assignments will be undertaken by Caroline P and Connie.
The subject for the remaining writers will be 500 words on ‘Key’ or ‘Quay’
Until next time
Happy Easter
and
Keep Scribbling!
***** Support those who support us! Have a look at Scott’s website at http://www.mrcobblerandmrlocks.co.uk Don’t forget that Scott has special ‘Felixstowe Scribblers’ mugs on sale at £5 each. Not only does it have the Scribblers logo on the front, but your name can also be added on the rear.
2009 Ip-art Short Story Competition launched! This years short story competition is on the theme of 'Safe' and entries are open in three categories 1) Adult 2) Young people (ages 12-16) 3) Children (ages 7-11)
Plenty of Prizes to be won so don't delay! The deadline is 2nd May 2009 so get your thinking caps on now!
Last week I was in West London attending a conference.
While I was in the airport, returning home, I heard several people behind me beginning to clap and cheer.
I immediately turned around and witnessed one of the greatest acts of patriotism I have ever seen.
Moving through the terminal was a group of soldiers in their uniforms, as they began heading to their gate everyone (well almost everyone) was abruptly to their feet with their hands waving and cheering.
When I saw the soldiers, probably 30-40 of them, being applauded and cheered for, it hit me. I'm not alone. I'm not the only red blooded Briton who still loves this country and supports our troops and their families. Of course I immediately stopped and began clapping for these young unsung heroes who are putting their lives on the line everyday for us so we can go to school, work, and enjoy our home without fear or reprisal.
Just when I thought I could not be more proud of my country or of our service men and women a young girl, not more than 6 or 7 years old, ran up to one of the male soldiers.
He knelt down and said 'hi,' the little girl then asked him if he would give something to her daddy for her.
The young soldier didn't look any older than maybe 22 himself, said he would try and what did she want to give to her daddy.
Suddenly the little girl grabbed the neck of this soldier, gave him the biggest hug she could muster and then kissed him on the cheek.
The mother of the little girl, who said her daughters name was Courtney, told the young soldier that her husband was a Corporal and had been in Afghanistan for 5 months now.
As the mum was explaining how much her daughter, Courtney, missed her father, the young soldier began to tear up.
When this temporarily single mum was done explaining her situation, all of the soldiers huddled together for a brief second.
Then one of the other servicemen pulled out a military looking walkie-talkie.
They started playing with the device and talking back and forth on it.
After about 10-15 seconds of this, the young soldier walked back over to Courtney, bent down and said this to her, 'I spoke to your daddy and he told me to give this to you.'
He then hugged this little girl that he had just met and gave her a Kiss on the cheek.
He finished by saying 'Your daddy told me to tell you that he loves you more than anything and he is coming home very soon.'
The mum at this point was crying almost uncontrollably and as the young soldier stood to his feet he saluted Courtney and her mum.
I was standing no more than 6 feet away as this entire event unfolded.
As the soldiers began to leave, heading towards their gate, people resumed their applause.
As I stood there applauding and looked around, there were very few dry eyes, including my own.
That young soldier in one last act of moment turned around and blew a kiss to Courtney with a tear rolling down his cheek.
We need to remember everyday all of our soldiers and their families and thank God for them and their sacrifices.
At the end of the day, it's good to be an Englishman.
RED FRIDAYS
Very soon, you will see a great many people wearing Red every Friday.
The reason?
Englishmen and women who support our troops used to be called the 'silent majority'.
We are no longer silent, and are voicing our love for Country and home in record breaking numbers.
We are not organized, boisterous or over-bearing.
We get no liberal media coverage on TV, to reflect our message or our opinions.
Many English people, like you, me and all our friends, simply want to recognize that the vast majority of Britain supports our troops.
Our idea of showing solidarity and support for our troops with dignity and respect starts this Friday and continues each and every Friday until the troops all come home, sending a deafening message that every Briton who supports our men and women afar will wear something red.
By word of mouth, press, TV -- let's make Great Britain on every Friday a sea of red much like a homecoming football team
If every one of us who loves this country will share this with acquaintances, co-workers, friends, and family, It will not be long before Britain is covered in RED and it will let our troops know the once 'silent' majority is on their side more than ever, certainly more than the media lets on.
The first thing a soldier says when asked 'What can we do to make things better for you?' is...'We need your support and your prayers'...
Let's get the word out and lead with class and dignity, by example; and wear something red every Friday.
A reminder that our next meeting takes place this coming Tuesday April 7th at the Cafe Libra, Felixstowe Library, starting at 7.30pm. The 1,500 open themed task will be undertaken by Liliane and Jane whilst the rest of us are asked to write up to 500 words on 'SAFE', ironically the same subject and length as the Ip-Art Short Story Competition.
The Committee meeting last week was switched to Barry's after Dick was taken ill so we all wish him a speedy recovery. Barry has offered to be the liaison with Felixstowe Library for the Bill Budner Short Story Competition:
This is for a fictional short story on the theme ‘The Last Day of the Holiday’ in which you must create an original title for your story which should have a no more than 2,000 words. Entry is open to all, with separate awards for children (16 and under at the closing date).Prizes will be awarded for the three best stories in each category, as follows: 1st prize £25, 2nd prize £15, 3rd prize £10.
Each entry must be the original and unpublished work of the entrant and all entries should be clearly typed in double spacing on single sides of A4 paper, The author’s name, address, daytime phone number and (if possible) e-mail address should accompany the story on a separate sheet of paper. These details should not appear on the entry itself. If under 16 please include your age.
Competition entries should be handed in or posted to the staff at Felixstowe Library, Crescent Road , Felixstowe, IP11 7BY, clearly marked for the ‘Bill Budner Short Story Competition’, by the closing date of Saturday 25th April 2009
Plans for our anthology are coming to fruition thanks to the determined efforts of the subcommittee of Barry, Jane and Les. Barry requests confirmation if you would like to be included in the anthology which has a deadline for submissions by the end of July. The maximum word count is for one thousand word stories or poems which can comprise of one complete or a collection of pieces with that limit. Time tends to run quickly away so it might be a good idea to beginning planning your story/poem now because the sooner it is submitted the easier it will be for our editorial team to begin the long process of preparing lay-outs etc. Don't forget that Barry asks for a short addition to your masterpieces a few words about yourself together with a small snapshot to be included in the personal index so people can see what you look like. It is intended that we organise a launch (sounds grand) in November with the advertisers and the press present. More details on this event will be forthcoming. The price of the Anthology is to be confirmed but there will be a discount for Scribblers.
It is expected that several former regulars and distant friends of the Scribblers will also be included to provide a flavour of our writers group through the recent years.
We here from Scott that he and Aimee have both suffered injuries during judo and now intend to give it up as they have suffered a lot of injuries in a short space of time and sooner or later it may be a problem. They have both been graded to orange belt in kickboxing and Aimee graded to second brown last week in aiki jutsu (despite her injury) and they both graded to orange yellow stripe in karate. Scott confirms he will being doing something fopr the anthology although he still has a bit of a time issue completing a four day first aid course for his aiki jutsu coaching which he may be teaching soon. They are soon off to America for two weeks for a bit of a rest! IScott also says that the Scribblers still means a lot to him and intends to return to the group in the forseeable future.
BBC College of Comedy --------------------- The BBC College of Comedy offers six writers or writing teams the chance to be attached to a BBC comedy production and mentored in their own work over the course of a year. Applications are open until noon on 24 April 2009. http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/opportunity/college_of_comedy.shtml
Armando Iannucci: In The Loop Q and A ------------------------------------- The writer/producer/director of The Thick of It will talk about his work and his new film In The Loop on Wednesday 15 April 2009 from 5:00pm to 6:30pm in London. http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/insight/armando_iannucci_in_the_loop.shtml
BBC Writersroom Roadshow - Leicester ------------------------------------ Find out how the BBC writersroom assesses your work and what we're looking for at our Roadshow event in Leicester on the 7 May 2009. You can also bring a script to hand in to us in person. http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/insight/roadshows.shtml
Blog ---- Not only has Paul finished the Perfect 10 list of hints and tips and good advice, but the blog has a shiny new look. Check it out. http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/writersroom/
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.
It can be purchased at The Deben Butchers in Felixstowe or direct from Caz
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