Record of meeting 18 May 2012

Facilitator – David R
Attendees: Mandy, Robin, David R, David C, Jo, Terry, Garry, Wendy G, Mary.

A warm welcome to Mandy who is visiting friends and had time to join us. It was good to catch up with her again.

News:
Mandy: she joined the Feather Brain Club (Writers) in her village and also joined the Thespians and volunteered as a ‘Helper’.
Mary: joys of Mother’s Day; Wendy G: joys of Mother’s Day; Garry: Mother’s Day joys; Terry: his 100 y/o uncle passed away and he has a beautiful, fun poem to be given at the funeral; Jo: reorganizing files; David C: shared a letter that he had written to his grandson; also told us briefly of the recent loss of a good friend...his dog (we understand David)
David R: had a very good friend come to visit and went for walks along the beach and also the St George’s Basin ‘walk’; Robin: both eyes have now been repaired from cataracts and her husband is doing well health wise.


WORDS OF THE DAY
Robin: unhinged = deranged
Mary: phlegmatic = calm, unemotional
Wendy G: sagacious = making good judgment
Garry: snollygoster = shrewd, unprincipled person
Terry: irascible = easily irritated
Jo: lust = a really strong desire
David C: epigram = satirical observation
David R: nefarious = wicked, sinful activity


QUICK WRITE using all the words given and everyone wrote interesting stories and poems

HOMEWORK
The topic given was: lust, after midnight and bath
The sharing of stories and poems was refreshing and showed the variety of ‘thought’ in writings.


READINGS
Terry shared about his current reading of, Silence of the Lambs.


ACTIVITY
Cuttings from magazines were handed to all and a ‘quick write’ was done. It was an enjoyable activity and once again the skills of writers were apparent.


HOMEWORK
“Balance of Power” 

Record of meeting 9 May 2012

Present: David C, Jo, Cath, Leonie, Wendy G, Mary, Di, Helene, Wendy W and David R. Apologies from Garry.

News: Leonie is confused if she will visit her mother on the Gold Coast or not. Wendy G enjoyed walking under the moon light last week. Mary has started Tai Chai and her grandson has his orange belt in Karate. Di has been in Sydney with her daughter and had a lovely time. Helene tried painting. Wendy went to Apple day at Talong 20 k from Bundanoon and had a wonderful day. David R has been enjoying his swims, beautiful sunrises and the dolphins. David C has finished putting in a bay window and is having a new wardrobe fitted. Jo has found she has had cataracts, has sent a letter to Mercury about verbal contracts and told us you can get a 10% discount from Integral energy. Cath lifted 300 kgs of stones yesterday.

Words of the day: David C covenant = a written agreement or note between parties.  Jo – chortle = to laugh loudly and snort. Cath – vicarious = substitute for another. Leonie – sibilant – hissing sound. Wendy G – ignominious = shame. Mary puerile = childish. Di – meteoric – brilliant and very rapid.  Helene – sinister = threatening or suggestive on the left hand unlucky or evil. Wendy – chagrin = embarrassed. David R – laconic = using very few words.

Writing from words of the day

Wendy G – the vicar Mary and priest. Di – the drunken group. Helene – Fred the mayor. Wendy covenant from Mum. David R – words reflect the person. David C – Swanny snorted coke. Jo – you nearly choked. Cath – secreacy. Leonie – rules of the school.

Reading of homework

David C – Remember me – remembering the fallen excellent story. Jo – bits and pieces – wooden and marble stair cases the piano and the funeral dreams unravel. Cath – foretold – a terrifying experience. Leonie – Sleep takes me on journeys - been to another life, selling and buying a house, a hospital bed, a leaf as a bed. Wendy G – 3 types of dreams. Di – nothing stays the same. Helene – ants under my fingernails. Wendy W – Foxy Jean a bikie chick – a brilliant poem and dream. David R – dreams and schemes – a car crash flying to Transylvania, kisses and flying high.

 Quick write -  We chose pictures of characters and wrote about them  as follows;

Mary – a poem – my granny is bikie mole. Di – the garden we created together. Helene – the gun toting, cigar smoking girl. Wendy W – hideous lump of fur. David R – the freak with the long nose. David C – looking for a nose ring with Babe. Jo – I don’t like this man Ernest. Cath – Jealousy what is she thinking. Leonie – Sharon thanks her mother’s friends. Wendy G – Chloe in the garden.

Reading

David R – homemade limerick – lived at home with his mummy. David R recommended the book Sole survivor by Derek Hansen – the lives of a number of people living on a NZ island in the 60s. Mary is reading Daphne De Maurier's Jamaica – it has long sentences but a good read. David C – a dream sequence saving a maiden. We also had a discussion on e-book readers.

 Homework: After midnight or Lust or both if you can't decide.

Record of meeting 2 May 2012

 Present: Trish, Garry, Geoff, Mary, Wendy G, Helene, Cath, Wendy W, David R, Leonie, Terry, Jo, Robyn.

News: Wendy G tripped, dislocated her shoulder, went by ambulance to hospital and had her arm in a sling. Geoff was charged for not using his toll pass. Garry was moved by ANZAC day and the words “we were there”. Leonie went to Port Macquarie on the spur of the moment and saw her best friend. Trish had her family visit for the school holidays and washed lots of towels. Trish warned about a bogus email from the Tax Office. Terry happily announced the signs are now up on the Ray Brooks reserve. Jo has changed to Southern Phone and has had problems. David R spent a week in the cabin and enjoyed the moon and stars. Wendy W has had pleurisy but is feeling better. Cath bought a digital camera. Helene made several trips to Canberra and ate delicious hamburgers at the Nerriga and Tarago pubs.

Words of the day

Ruthless = having no pity, merciless and cruel. Untenable = unable to be up held or maintained. Adulterated = spoil something by adding inferior material. Appetence = a strong craving, instinct or tendency. Nefarious = wicked. Sobriquet = nick name. Unkempt = untidy, no combed slovenly or untidy, rough dishevelled. Scuttlebutt = gossip and rumours. Dissonance = combination of sounds that are not harmonious, assonance = harmonious. Binary thinking = only two options. Pragmatic = ability to understand another speaker. Unction = to anoint with oil, soothing or flattering words, keen enjoyment. Mondegreen = misheard lyric. Bunker = a maritime word for fuel, sand filled hollow on a golf course.

Stories from words of the day – we wrote about the choir, I am a woman, Cold Hands, Mr Slipper, demise, Jump for joy, singing in the bunker, the colours of war and much more.

 Homework readings

David – ending of the war. Wendy - feeling peckish. Mary – moving memories of an aging veteran. Geoff – does anyone else think about Robert a NZ Sergent, and Garry a birthday on Anzac day and Anzac biscuits. Leonie and Terry both wrote about the futility of war.

Other readings

Trish – My garbage bin has been stolen – very funny story and more to come we hope

Geoff – The Foley artist apprentice – the sounds used in films etc

Terry – The Brussels sprout – funny story

David R – Venus d lilo – funny poem.

Homework: Write about dreams awake or asleep

Record of meeting 18 April 2012

Minutes for 18^th April 2012

Note...NO MEETING NEXT WEEK

25^TH APRIL 2012 (ANZAC DAY)

Chairperson: David C

Attendees: David R, Robin, Geoff, Mary, Garry, Kath, Leonie, Terry, Jo, David C.

NEWS

David R is off to his cabin near Oberon then to Sydney for ANZAC Day.

Robin told us of a sad story of a woman at the shopping centre with dementia whom she tried to help.

Geoff is getting the accounts settled for the Youth Orchestra.

Mary was happy after having her grandchildren for a holiday.

Garry talked about his hopes in house-sitting.

Kath shared about her new ENJO – a window cleaner.

Leonie was pleased with her gardening.

Terry shared about a long time friend who is also a writer – up until 1850’s there were no such things as right/left shoes – they were the same, just like clogs.

Jo reminded us that 69 reporters died during the Vietnam war and they are still being killed in conflicts around the world.

David C told about the recent cruise when there was an evening when ‘unusual’ words were discussed: bipennis – a double edged axe; chubble – when you are pulling on a wet-suit, that part that hangs down in the middle is the ‘chubble’.

WORDS OF THE DAY

Jo: pragmatic = practical, realistic.

Terry: pedant = a person who is narrow minded.

Leonie: canker = any source of spreading badness.

Kath: benevolence = charity, generosity.

Garry: pronoia = the unshakeable and irrational belief that everyone is out to help you.

Mary: winsome = generally cheerful and light hearted.

Geoff: dissimulate = disguise something.

Robin: osmosis = gradual absorbtion.

David R: peregrinate = travel/wander around.

David C: canard = when someone writes a something that is really untrue.

QUICK WRITE

All writers did a good job in using all the words in poems and prose.

HOMEWORK – ‘Titanic’ was the topic.

Once again, all poems and stories were extremely interesting. Terry wrote a poem worthy of publishing and David C wrote a story, though fiction, worthy of mention.

WRITING EXERCISE

The word, ‘shazam’ was put forward to write about.

It was a lot of fun to listen to the stories and poems with Jo being the last but BEST.

HOMEWORK

ANZAC DAY – write about it or another topic of your choice.

Record of meeting 11 April 2012

Present: David R, Jo, Terry, Leonie, Geoff, Garry, Mary, Wendy G, Trish, Helene, Wendy W, David C and welcome back to Cath after a break. 

News: Mary has been staying at Tumut near the Gubraganda River which recently peaked at 6 metres. Cath’s grandson got married recently and she looked good on Facebook. Garry had a nice quiet Easter. Geoff has taken over as treasurer for the Youth Orchestra. Leonie has been busy since the last meeting and found an amazing freeway to Sydney Airport. Terry has been working for two years through the council and the Geographic Name Board has been successful in having the Palm Beach reserve renamed the Ray Brook’s reserve. Jo showed a picture of her new great grandson Tyler. David C is putting a bay window in his house but needs help. David R swam with two dolphins this morning. Helene went to Canberra at the weekend. Trish was expecting 9 people for Easter but they did not arrive – what a shame. Wendy G celebrated her 54 th wedding anniversary and cut down a big tree with family teamwork.

Word of the day: Mary – machinate = to plot or scheme. Cath – chicanery = deceit. Garry - irk = irritating, wearisome, annoy. Geoff – dissolute = loose or amoral. Leonie – idolum = mental image, an idea, fallacy. Terry – expiate = to make amends to atone for. Jo – heterograft = living graft from one species to another. David C – metaphor = a figure of speech. David R - querulous = complaining in a petulant manner.  Wendy W – stoic = impassive to pleasure or pain. Helene – veto = official power to cancel a proposal. Trish – cathartis = adjective to purge feelings. Wendy G - surreptitiously = done secretly or stealthily.

Quick write from words of the day

 We wrote stories of a sisterly conspiracy, the cattle dog, the gorilla and the old man, the prostitute and power, the boyfriend and the shark, bird brained revenge, the wrong picture, hetrografted heart, Roger the mean politician, transplanting a mouse, dog man, by the back door and monkey images of nit picking.

Reading of homework

The group expressed thanks to Jo for the homework which encouraged many to rewrite opening paragraphs and consider a variety of titles. There were many examples of great opening lines, great descriptions and wonderful memories.

Reading

Trish read two poems about indigenous people and a child's lament.

Geoff recommended “The bone people” by Kerri Hulme about a NZ woman and child abuse. He read an excerpt from the novel he is writing “Showa 46”.

Terry read a short story ‘the grand old lady’ a description of the Carrington in the Blue Mountains.

Exercise

We took 13 minutes to each write a few lines with each word starting with the same letter - Writers wrote worrying works with worthy, wise, worldly wisdom.

Competition

Elizabeth Jolley short story prize $5,000, second prize $1,000. Entries to ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize, PO Box 2320, Richmond South, VIC 3121, entries close 31 May 2012. See the Shoalhaven Arts site for more information.

Homework – Wrote a poem or story about the Titanic.

Record of meeting 4 April 2012

Present: Jo, Terry, Robyn, Garry, Leonie, David C, Geoff, Helene, Wendy, David R and Di

News

Terry was pleased to get the conundrum on "Letters and numbers" last night. Di is going to visit her family in Victoria for Easter. David’s eye test was OK. Wendy went to Nowra players “Nearly the Eurovision” and could not stop laughing. Helene told about a letter she received from the Minister of Human Services about payments to aged pensioners and refugees. Geoff gave us bad news about the termination of literary awards by Campbell Newman in Queensland to save money. David C returned from his cruise Zealand and described the brilliant use of shipping containers as shops in Christchurch. Leonie’s mother is coming from Queensland to visit for Easter. Garry completed a comprehensive driving test and now has an Australian driving licence. Robyn has been away for several weeks, has had a cataract removed and a new lens installed and has now recovered from sinusitis - its scarey how well she can now see dust and everything so clearly.

Robyn read out the process and record for the election of new officer bearers. President Terry, Secretary Helene, Treasurer Wendy, Committee members David R and Geoff. Thanks to Robyn for her work as Treasurer for the group

Word of the day

Terry – bagatelle = a mere trifle, a game and a light piece of music. Jo – ensanguine = to smear or cover with blood. Enrockment = a rock sea wall. Di lyrical = enthusiastic or effusive pleasure gratitude. David R – nostrum = medicine not considered effective, a quack remedy. Wendy – carmageddon = a traffic jam. Helene – explicate = to develop a principle, to make plain or clear, explain or interpret. Geoff - protean = constantly changing from Protease the sea god. David C – fremescence = tumultuous noise. Leonie - obeisance = a gesture of respect a bow or a curtsy. Garry – A paraprosdokian = is a figure of speech in which the latter part of a sentence or phrase is surprising or unexpected in a way that causes the reader or listener to reframe or reinterpret the first part. It is frequently used for humorous or dramatic effect by comedians and satirists. 

Quick write from words of the day

We created amazing stories about Goldilocks the girlfriend, A rock wall causing a wall of death. A beautiful woman bowing. A bag who was an engineer. Using quack medicine. The comedian. Rocks for murder. The Minister smiled. A musical evening out and a bleeding nose. Toad parking in Malibu and the professor.

Reading of homework

A range of interesting stories including a monument to irrelevance and how did I get here. Climbing a tree, marriage, strength and creativity. Decorum and lots of deca words ringing of bells. School as stability with a family of serial renters. A new decade. Madeline’s ten years and yes I can.

Reading

Di read from her story “Cooking from the heart” a lovely picture of a meal for three in a beautiful garden.

Homework

Write a catchy first paragraph of a story and then a short outline of the rest of the story or use a short story you have previously written. Give the story a few different titles and discuss what about the titles and first paragraph will make people want to read your story.

Record of meeting 28 March 2012

Present:  Geoff, Terry, David R., Wendy, Wendy G., Mary, Di, Leonie, Gary, Jo.

News:  Gary told us how pleased he was to get through his operation.  Di has been supporting a friend.  Terry was pleased with his son in law's decision re job, and has been pursuing his own work iinterest with good signs.  David R's nephew kayaked from Bawley Point, a race, came l3th, but stalwart effort.  Wendy - her husband had a form of lockjaw - unusual for these days.  All going to be okay.  Geoff went to a Youth Concert, Choral and Orchestral, very pleasing. He has sites, 'Arts in Shoalhaven' website, please look, Poetry, Art, and Poker (?) on this. Wendy G:grandson being taught chain-sawing, Awesome!  Mary, played Putt-putt golf with the grandkids.  Saw the thousands of bats heading south. Leonie, went to Melbourne, went out with kids, saw belly-dancer, grandson mesmerised!

Word of the Day

Dave: Impugn - Dispute the truth, or question honesty. Wendy: Recyclopath - militant about recycling, obsessive practitioner.  Geoff: discreet: wise, restrained, judicious .- discrete -separate, not continuous.  Wendy G: ubiquitous - to be seen to be everywhere at once.  Mary: reprobate - a person ordained for damnation, a scoundrel.  Leonie: pernickety - fastidious, over-precise.  Gary: frisbeetaranianism - soul being stuck on a roof after death.  Di: immutable - unchanging.   Terry: apropos - with regard to.  Jo: pounce - to jump physically or to conclusions, otherwise,bird's claw, or a drying agent (for ink writing).

We did a quick write based on Word of the Day.

Everyone performed very, very well.

Geoff did it cleverly, Wendy: a poem, good effort (missed two words): David: a poem, how do these poets do it, and so quickly! Jo, a crowd scene. Terry: a long poem, honestly, you people are too much!  Di: another clever tale.  Gary: Village life. Leonie:Recyclopath's habits.  Mary: Religious frenzy.  Wendy G: A street person inspecting bins. 

Then came the reading of the homework, 'Five Minutes to Go'. Leonie: the tension of waiting for cues in theatre. Mary: Emily of the theatre also, but many members described. Wendy G:  boy's impatience, chooses a puppy.  Wendy: Poem. 'The Blushing Bride' who only married old sick men..ultimately for their money.  David R Poem about us here and the time limit for exercises.  Jo: Bus stop evil.  Terry: 'Showtime' Burlesque ... hurry,hurry.  Di: a poem. The threatre, sing-song, rhyming. Good. Gary: On the beach, a lamp appears, has a wish, loses it when goes into dreams. 

Person Interest time, Geoff read more of his Japan novel, mainly concerned with politics in Australia in 70's.

After tea we did a write on 'Wandering through the bush'. 

All acquitted themselves as usual in a super form, all different as chalk to cheese as usual, how does that happen? 

Homework: My Decadal...(describe your life in increments of 10 years)