Record of meeting 16 December 2015

The writers

Juan, Wendy, Cath, Pauline, Helene, Lynn, David C, Di and welcome back to Elizabeth.

The words of the day

Waspish = petulant

Brusque = abrupt, harsh

Epoch = era, point in time

Logophile = lover of words

Erudite = learned or scholarly

Maudlin = sad, morose, sentimental

Halcyon = calm, tranquil, prosperous

Déjà vu = from French, literally "already seen", strong sensation of a previous event or experience. 

Writing from words of the day

The logophiles grabbed the words of the day and in 10 minutes produced an erudite range of stories -Tom sneered as he delivered my lunch, Walking in the rain, A letter to my dad, I thought it would be different, Looking back, The smile returned, My grandson and The good old days.

Reading of homework

Eight diligent writers read homework as follows - Magical Christmas memories from Helene, The face never forgotten by Juan, When did Christmas change from Lynn, The happiest Christmas – 1973 from Di, The spider that saved Christmas from David C, Pommies with sunburn on Christmas day – sung by Pauline, Christmas shopping alone by Cath and Xmas who needs it by Wendy.

February 2016 Forensic month

Juan raised for discussion his offer to make forensic presentations to the group.

1.      The group agreed to make February 2016 forensic month.

2.     Writers to bring forensic/crime type words for word of the day

3.     Use the forensic topic for our quick write exercise

4.     Crime theme homework

Anthology for 2016

We agreed to work towards publishing an Anthology in 2016.

First meeting for 2016

6 January 2016

Homework

A new beginning  

Christmas lunch 2015

Members of the Bay and Basin writing group enjoyed Christmas lunch at The Lodge in Sanctuary Point.

Here are some pictures from the 2015 Christmas lunch and the 2014 lunch.

David C 2015

David C 2015 with bag prize

Terry, Lynn & Wendy 2015

Di & Yuan 2015

Pauline with tie 2015

  

David C & Geff Trish & Helene in background  2014

Record of meeting 9 December 2015

Christmas lunch 

Last reminder Christmas lunch 12 noon Thursday 10 December - ring Wendy to let her know you will be there if you havent already done so

The Writers

Yuan, Helene, Wendy, Pauline, Terry, Lynn, Diane, David C and Cath

Words of the day

Parsiminious = stingy

Poltroon = craven coward

Graven = carved or engraved

Ethereal = delicate or highly refined

Soiree = evening party or gathering

Dénouement = final outcome or solution

Pique = hurt pride, sharp irritation or interest

Transcendentalism = nature and humanity from a divine position

Digitise = to convert pictures or sounds into a digital form that can be processed by a computer

Stories from words of the day

Following a French word theme we wrote about -Memories from France, Crime on his mind, A deep disappointment, He goggled it, Around the campfire, A horror show, Pirot and Barnaby Joyce, Invited to a degustation and Pierre and I.

Reading of homework

Some lovely crystals a great story from Terry, Atuma and her Burka from Helene, How can I describe the sky? From Pauline, Sorry I cant tell you (fun from Yuan), Where are murderers buried – a morbid story from Lynn, Too hot from Cath, and The Reindeer whisperer – an iconic Australian Christmas tale from David C.

Exercise

Lynn assembled a group of objects for us to choose and write about linking to a character. We created the following brilliant stores and poems -

My mother’s philosophy, My friends Chris the cotton bud and Sam the rock, An empty bowl, Many stories from my life, Hands and branches, Thunderbird memories, The people’s princess, The English language & Stones, leaves and deciduous trees.

Homework

Its the time of year to write about Christmas or is it Bah humbug

Meeting 2nd December 2015

Present:

 Wendy, Lyn, David C, Cath, Juan, Di, Terry, and a new addition to our group Deb.  Welcome Deb .

News of the week varied from Tree frogs, historic cars, to cruising, canoeing at Falls Creek.

Word of the day:

Paradox--- a statement that seems to be contradictory to common sense but may be true

Tactile-- sense of touch, touchy feeling

Integrity-- Honest moral values, 

Obtuse--difficult, dull. 

Insouciant-- nonchalant unconcerned

Hubris-- overly self confident, excessive pride. R

Ripple-- a wave motion or a ruffle of small waves, rise and fall gently

Allure-- entice, powerful attractiveness or charm. 

Using these words we had a Quick write mixture of brilliance, poetry, a groper to Concordia to a weirdly smiling Eric Abetz

Quick write  exercise: WAITING. 

Dean entertaining mix varying from doctors and dentists to trains and buses.

The dreaded Homework.

Use the 'words' ATMU and BUKRA in a poem or story relevant to what you think they mean.  

Meeting of 25th November 2015

Another smallish meeting but a lot of fun.

In attendance: Wendy, Cath, Juan, Diane, Terry

Words of the day:
Shilly-shallying;  Beating around the bush, not getting to the point
Penury:                 Extreme poverty
Charlatan:            A fraudster
Exalt:                    To praise, raise up
Enthral (enthrall)  To beguile

From the words: A charlatan, Lady luck, Dreams, A convict, Poor James

Homework: Some rather interesting stories/poems.
Ghosts in norfolk (true story)
Yesterday...through a mirror,
The dry country (true story)
A two word poem
Showtime...a bawdy carnival tale      

Homework:
Write a short story describing something you accidentally found or discovered.It must be something tangible such as an old photograph, a piece of jewellery, a letter...anything. describe how you found it and the emotion created upon its discovery.It can be funny, sad, scary, or even made you angry.

                                

                                

RECORD OF MEETING11TH NOVEMBER 2015

                  

The Writers

           

Wendy, Juan, Terry, Di, Leonie, Cathy and Lynn

Word of the Day

Decoction             to boil down, extraction by mashing and boiling
Eggcorn                form of malapropism, word or phrase
                             misinterpreted - old wise tale to old wives tale
Insular                   isolation from others ideology, disinterested
Hostile                  aggressive opposition
Crestfallen            dejected, coward
Elongate               make longer  
Quixotically          romantic, impulsive, Don Quixote characteristics

From this eclectic mix came stories of pilots, self evaluation, old men including a professor and words and phrases.

The reading of the homework about the knife and blood stains elicited tales of murder weapons found, Big Jack's knife, a man on the run and Wendy's cleverly and quickly written Reply to Big Jack's Knife.

Leonie wrote a beautiful piece on Brain Stains.  The memories that stain our brains and we never forget, whether they are good or bad, guilty or guilt free we never lose sight of them.

From Juan came an entwined intelligent ditty condemning cliches written entirely in cliches.

The rest of the afternoon was spent in watching a Powerpoint presentation on forensics and an introduction of a series of DVD lessons on writing.   

Homework
        

                                               
As they departed Macy felt a shiver.  It felt cold...and unsettling...for...well something that wasn't supposed to exist.  And somehow she didn't trust the clammy little hand now clenched within hers..


                                    

.http://www.writerscentre.com.au/how-to-create-compelling-characters-in-picture-books/

                                             

RECORD OF MEETING 4TH NOVEMBER 2015                   

     

 

 

            

Reminder of Christmas Party 10th Dec,  please contact Wendy for bookings





                              

David, Pauline, Cathy, Wendy, Terry, Di and Lynn

                                                  

Words of the day

Flocculent   -   resembling tufts of wool, crumpled texture

Desultory   -   digressing from, disconnected

Butterball   -   overweight person

Extol      -    praise the virtue of

Avarice     -    extreme wealth

Pungent     -    strong sharp bitter smell

Entranced  -    to put into trance, cast a spell on

                                               

From the words came stories of balls of butter, Melbourne Cup victory, leaking dams and poetic puns.

Reading of Homework

The famous people we meet and the reaction we have to them inspired some interesting stories of Eric Morcombe, Hoges and Clive James.  

A reading by Terry left the group wanting to know more in an intriguing mysterious narrative about a floating cadaver.  

We finished up a very social day with several versions of word association getting the grey matter working. 

                     

HOMEWORK

Brown stains marked the bone handle of the hunting knife.  Blood does that ...

 

Record of meeting - 28 October 2015

Reminder - Christmas lunch 

12 noon Thursday 10 December 2015 –

The Lodge Sanctuary Point

The writers

Terry, Juan, Wendy, 
Diane, Cath, Helene,
Pauline, Leonie

Words of the day

Karma = future fate

Vexation = annoyance

Scourge = plague, affliction

Veritable = true, real or actual

Simple = easily understood, humble

Assiduous = diligent, perseverance

Retribution = personal vengeance for evil deeds

Devious = insincere and dishonest, indirect

Writing from words of the day

The writers used the words of the day to assemble a range of stories on -Sleeping pills, Annexing properties, Enjoying the Tapestry, Tell the truth, In the dock, Mayoral or electric chair, Climate change and It comes easily to my family.

Reading of homework

Five dedicated writers read out homework on the topics - Guess what I found, Rat ruined a good pair of boots, Not on my lawn, Foot wanting eyes and Outside the Op shop.

Discussion on trial of DVDs as a training aid

It was agreed we would trial on 11 November the use of DVDs for exercises for writing. Yuan will supply the DVDs.

Exercises

1. We used the word Encyclopaedia to start each sentence to write stories and poems for the amazing stories - Entwined daily, Too much information, Enjoying a day at the beach, Imagine I’m a butcher, No way I can read it, Brocchili recipe and Every morning.

2. We started progressive writes with the sentence “The sacred cows have come home to roost”. The writers created stories and poems with a focus on - Eggs, milk and manure, Scrambled eggs, An extension to the chicken pen, I know the feeling, No mate and Tweezers in the roosting cage.

Homework

Interaction with a famous person or celebrity – make it fact or fiction 

Jennifer Anniston

Record of meeting 21 October 2014

Reminder - Christmas lunch 12 noon Thursday 10 December 2015 –

The Lodge Sanctuary Point

The writers

Wendy, Juan, Helene, Leonie, Terry, Lynn, Cath and Di

We shared fond memories of Geoff

Words of the day                         

Callow = inexperienced

Prattle = talk like a child

Caprice = change of mind

Glib = fluent but insincere

Aquiline = curved like an eagles beak

Lesson = a single period of instruction

Redolent = reminiscence or strong smelling

Flunky or flunkey = servile person, manservant who wears a livery

Writing from words of the day

From the interesting collection of words we created a range of glib stories and poems - In King Charles’ Palace, They really stink, Like a small child, Makes my uncle mad, Water from the horse trough, Gentleman’s gentleman, The scent of frangipani and The young speaker.

Reading of homework

The writers present read out a range of interesting stories and poems on the topics - Ted and Brady, Anne Teak, Unexpected, A 50 year old letter, The fish walker and The pencil.

Exercise – the looser

The writers concocted great stories and poems on the topics -

Recognition of the tooth fairy, Don’t Loose her, The prize, In control, A bit of a looser, The plumber and the loo, The tooth fairy’s mother and the lawyer and Probably a man with an axe.

Homework

When I arrived home I found I had a boot full of blood

Tribute to Geoff Bolton 14 October 2015

Christmas lunch 2014

Geoff Bolton contributed his writing skills, wit and political commentary to the Bay and Basin Writers Group each Wednesday afternoon.

Geoff passed away on 5 October 2015 and he will be sadly missed by the group.

Tributes below 

• Farewell my frined - Terry
• Never forgotten - David R
• A quiet man - Leonie

Farewell my Friend

Some people tread lightly on this earth, their footprints barely visible

Yet for all their lightness their imprint is substantial

Such a man was our friend, Geoff, a quiet man, a gentle man

A man who walked in the background,

A man whom we knew for just a few short years,

A man of substance, a deep thinker, a fellow scribe

Geoffrey Bolton, you will be missed on our Wednesday meetings

We will miss your insights, your writings, your friendship

Farewell my friend, may you continue in the next life

Whatever, wherever that may be.

Terry McLafferty

NEVER FORGOTTEN

Like a ship in the night

Passing out of sight

He’s left with me a memory

A bright and shining light

Always unassuming

Quick witted and kind

Never lost for words

Never in a bind

Quiet and smooth and witty

Drinking in the atmosphere

Never making waves

Living without fear

A love of words and music

Lending a helping hand

A connoisseur of living

His footprints in the sand

Geoff left us a legacy

To be kind to one another

Treat each other with respect

Sister lover and brother

Friends are indispensible

Treat friendship like gold

The joie de vivre of living

As we all grow old

Gone but not forgotten

Geoff left a mark on me

His friendship has taught me

The way that I should be

Ó

David Rudder

14^th October 2015

With love and respect to my colleague and friend

Geoff Bolton

A quiet man

 Geoff was a quiet man, except when it came to putting pen to paper, then he was the ‘David’ who slayed the ‘Goliath’s’ of our political world. He made us laugh with his quick wit and with his antics about ‘Our Tony,’ the ‘Tony we must have.’ I can only say I am glad Tony was pulled from his throne before ‘Our Geoff’ passed away.

I imagine Geoff was to the other groups he belonged to, as valuable as he was to us and will be as sadly missed. He was a giver to the community, a person who was always endeavoring to improve things. I would often find email reminders from him about competitions and events he thought we would all enjoy or benefit from, and was grateful. His efforts with children in regard to music must have been truly valuable. One less at our table, Geoff was a prolific and true writer.  Leonie 

Record of meeting 7th October 2015  

The Writers 

Leonie, Cathy, Melissa :), Di, Terry, Juan, Lynn - Great to have a visit from Melissa 

Words of the day

Habituated - to make or become accustomed to something

Scales of Justice - symbol of modern law, fair distribution of law

Paucity - scarcity or small amount

Anachronism - attributing an event, object or custom to the wrong period

Acerbic - bitter or harsh 

Bonanza - rich vein of gold, abundance

Exigency - an urgent need or demand

Deontic - relating to duty and obligation as in ethical concepts

Given the eclectic choice of words some very inventive stories were written in the short space of 10 minutes. These were about TV Football commentators, court cases, fairness, Wild West and exploring the emotional aftermath when things are not fair.

Reading of Homework

The exercise was "Antique" and the description of the Hillbilly antique shop complete with accent to match was a gem, followed by a descriptive and poignant story of a chance discovery of a jewellery box. The poem on the antique shop on the hill in Milton galloped along with a Man from Snowy River lilt that Banjo would have been proud of. 

Other poems read were a moving tribute to trees and their importance in the environment and a very funny poem on the humble but not so loveable rat.

   
Exercise of the Day 

Write a descriptive essay on hands, the observation perhaps of someone sitting in a doctors waiting room, or watching someone's hand in the making of something. A potter, labourer, knitter, shipwright, builder, pianist, a cook an artist. Are they young hands worn before their time, gnarled, veined, beautiful, graceful. The majority of writers wrote from experience of either their mums or grandmothers. One with an intriguing twist was about blood on the hands of what turned about to be a worker in an abattoir.

Homework

You receive a letter from the past. Focus part of the story on the external appearance of the envelope, is it typed or handwritten, do you recognise the writing, can you see the postmark, if it has one? Are there faded letters on the envelope? Describe the letter itself, the feel, the smell, the paper, the emotions on reading it. Where are you when you receive it and where are you when you read it? What were you doing and what mood were you in before and after the letter came? 

Record of meeting 30 September 2015

The writers

Terry, Helene, David R, Leonie, Cath and welcome to Juan

Words of the day

Ineffable = too great or extreme for description

Soporific = sleep inducing

Peruke = a wig

Trauma = unpleasant experience, injury

Peluca = wig

Plethora = overabundance

Stories from words of the day

The six diligent writers created amazing stories and poems from words of the day - The antique shop, Send the audience to sleep, The jury, Boring Joe lost his wig, Watching an adult cartoon and A beautiful sunset.

Reading of homework

The writers present read out their entertaining homework on the topics - Fertile imagination, In her head, Doing it for her, Too many ideas in my head, Dead row inmate and The Death penalty.

Exercise - The place was a real dump

From the depleted numbers we used our creativity to describe a real dump in the following stories and poems - Away a few days, The fight at the airport, Person of interest and My first house sitting job.

Homework

Antique