Record of meeting 23 November 2011

ATTENDING.

Mandy, Wendy, Dave C, Leonie, Geoff

Short News Spot.

Wendy. Today Wendy has been married 49yrs and a very happy marriage it has been. Congratulations.

Dave. Dave bragged about being 70 in 2012 and he is going on a cruise to celebrate. Best of all it is all paid for. We all would like to join him. One of his brother in laws found a bay window for him to put in his house and he was thrilled to get one so cheap.

Leonie. Her kitchen in her new house is on the move and may be finished by Friday. Fingers crossed.

Geoff. Had sad news a friend passed away and he has funerals to attend. Always a sad time.

Mandy. Feeling a bit up tight and wanting to run away from her responsibilities in the church. She will come back for writers though.

WORD OF THE DAY

WENDY: Cahoots. Partnership or league often in crime or something shady.

Mandy: Spondulicks slang for money. Also Dottle. The remains of tobacco in the pipe bowl the little bit or dottle.

Geoff; Redolent. Reminding or reminiscent and something that can mean smelling strongly.

Leone: Chasten to subdue, or pursue or tell off.

Dave; Hyperbolic expressive or exaggerate.

Quick write using the above words.

Mandy's Quickwrite.

He was in cahoots with the outlaws, we all knew it but no one dared to say anything. The way he swaggered around town made our mother so mad. One time after an encounter with him she came back furious and slapped us kids then turned on dad. "That man is full of redolent, hyperbolic bullshit and he could take his spondulicks and stick it in his pipe," she yelled. Dad laughed and said it would never burn down to a dottle, probably choke him instead, mum said, "I hope it will suffocate him," she gave Dad one of her looks, he was chastened and hurriedly went out to feed the pigs.

HOMEWORK.

Dave, A poem on I remembered. Lovely memories of childhood.

Leone. Memories of her son and children. Memories only a mother has that takes us back to her own childhood. Some very moving passages.

Geoff. Robert Yates. a story about his foster uncle. Moving, very life like and descriptive.

Mandy. Relived a divorce, a new love and finding happiness. Life if good if you don't run away from it.

Wendy. A memory of her son trying to grow a moustache to raise money for Charity and it was so sparse he got paid by the hair instead. Very funny Poem.

Wendy read something from the net.

Where I have and have not been.

Quick write. Something Excruciating Uncomfortable.

Mandy's Quickwrite.

When I was thirteen I left England and sailed across the world to Singapore. It was the biggest adventure of my young life, it was also the most uncomfortable because I was sea sick from leaving Southampton till two weeks after I arrived in Singapore. The most annoying thing was all the wonderful events and parties on the ship I had missed, it was just so annoying to have to write to my friend and tell her I was ill. I never indulged in the crossing the equator party, the rides on camels I missed the feeding of the Barbary Apes in Gibralter. All the things I said I would do and didn't. What a wash out. Slowly I regained some of my strength and was very interested to find my dresses no longer fitted snuggly around me they were loose and for the first time in my life I was quite slim.

I went to school and that was very different. I would catch a bus at 6.30am and be in school for 7.30 and we finished at 1pm but they made us go on a Saturday, just to make sure we did the regulation hours.

I loved my new school and soon made friends. Our form teacher was a large bear of a man, Mr Dean and he liked me and didn't hit me with the board pointer or smack me over the head when I asked questions. This school treated you like a lady and it was wonderful.

Mr Dean asked me to stay behind one time and vigorously cleaned the black board. He was a big man and his bottom wobbled as he cleaned, it made me want to giggle. When he suddenly stopped and turned around he looked very stern and for a moment I thought he knew why I was smiling.

"Mandy,' he said in a deep nice way, "I don't want to embarrass you but er you are quite a well developed young woman. I think you need to wear a brassiere.' With that he nodded and walked out of the room.

Our classroom was made of basher leaves in the native style and the large panels that did as windows where propped open. I wished they would close and let me die quietly of mortification. I was so embarrassed and ran out to the toilets to look at my boobs. They were bigger than I remembered and when I told my mother she thought it very funny, she would! Girls didn't wear bra's, according to her till you went to work, like boys didn't wear long pants till they were working men. She gave me one of hers to try on and it nearly strangled me. I definitely needed a bra.

Poor Mr Dean it took us months to get over our embarrassment and regain our friendship. Bra's I discovered were excruciatingly uncomfortable.

We all did this subject in different ways and it was very interesting. As I was doing the minutes I left mine in.

Homework.

A Christmas Story - write something about your interpretation of Christmas.

Remember our Christmas Lunch on the 7th Dec at May's place ??? if you want to go and haven't told Wendy phone 4443 9741. Those who have been attending all year will be subsidised out of Club funds others are welcome if you book and you can pay separately.

Our last meeting will be on the 14th Dec till the 11th Jan 2012 when we start again. Anyone is welcome and new ideas and exercises are always acceptable.

Mandy.