Notes from our meeting for 18 July, 2012

Facilitator: Terry

Attendees: Wendy, David R, Terry, Leonie, Robin, Garry, Cath, Geoff

News:

Robin had a good day out going to Wollongong for medical/optical visits; Garry enjoyed another birthday – one of his nephews now 47; Leonie had done a trip to Kiama to drop her friend off at the railway, enjoyed the trip and scenery despite not liking to drive at night; Wendy was still not well, along with her chest infection she is also suffering from sciatica…but she braved it all; David R had been enjoying swims and walks and daily poetry writing; Cath was having problems with her digital TV but she’ll struggle through; Terry shared how his daughter would be going for surgery soon for the tumor she has on her brain; Geoff shared about a surprise visit from his son who lives in Melbourne and a poem that is evolving from the visit.

Words of the Day

Garry…Reflective introvert…writers are often described so. Leonie… leporine…rabbit like; Geoff…irresolute…indecisive, dithering; Robyn… ramifications…consequences resulting from an action; Wendy…wifty….silly, inane; David…mnemonics…pattern of letters to aid the memory; Cath…synesthaesia…seeing letters/numbers in colour; Terry…arrant…downright (as in downright liar)

Quick write, 10 minutes, using all the words, brought out the cleverness of the Poets and Writers

Homework: ……the baby sitter saw a disturbing photograph

Once again, the Poets and Writers expressed themselves admirably.

Discussion:

David R shared about how he writes daily and read an example ‘poem’ about togetherness

Homework

Leonie shared about ‘TIME’ : in time, on time, out of time, best time and many other things related to, TIME, so our topic for homework is : TIME

Record of meeting 11 July 2012

Present and opinionated: David R, Jo, Terry, Trish, Geoff, Leonie, David C, Helene, Geoff.

 News: Terry quoted a saying – there’s something special about being unique. Terry will send the link to a pod-cast about a young man motivated by poverty who started Beechworth Bakeries and has been successful through hard work. Trish had the family visiting at the weekend and won four meat trays which meant she had to cook. Garry shared a birthday cake with his nephew and regained contact with a Karin friend in the States thanks to the Internet and Skype. Leonie was concerned she had another skin cancer but the dermatologist cleared her. David C has looked after his sick wife. Helene’s four year old grandson has delayed his visit to attend his girlfriend’s birthday party. Geoff received a parking fine last week in Nowra. David R is back swimming at 8 am in the mornings and has been on a few walks from Palm Beach. Jo had her son visiting and told us about positive feedback from the Cancer Council and has entry forms for a local poetry competition.

Word of the day

Malleable = can be moulded Disquisition = a long or elaborate treatis or discourse on a subject. Preconceived = to form an opinion before hand. Stalemate = deadlock. Adverse = unfavourable, undesirable. Censorial = adj an aspect of the superego from the subconscious from the translation of zensur. Ponderous = very heavy, weighty, important. Intransigent = unwilling to agree or move. Inane = senseless. Inamorata = in love.

Writing from words of the day

 The plastic brain. The committee on climate change. An open forum not a love in. Kat’s eyes. Uncle Paul - a very funny poem. Casanova and a basket of figs. Ducks on a ponder.

Reading of homework

 David C – Signing the contract. Leonie – how opinions are changed. Garry – an opinionated person, a gambler, leaders, experiences, knowledge and freedom of speech. Trish – a great story of buying the best house twice. Terry – debating from different points of view, media and mind games. Jo – read an opinion from the paper on National Parks and Shooters Party. David R – O pines I eaten - a poem.   

Other readings

Leonie – Her grand father - the husband of Rose. Terry – a poem about refugees on leaky boats

A quick write on - your manuscript will not be returned

Produced great work on the topics of Murder by mail. A work of art. Thomas wrote the declaration – my life’s work. My children’s story. A true story his alone. The literary agent. Environmentally friendly. Poisoning the editor. A poem on expecting huge prizes.

Homework - The baby sitter finds a disturbing photograph.

Record of meeting 4 July 2012

Present and aware: Cath, Terry, Trish, Garry, David C, Leonie, Robyn, Helene, Wendy, David R, Jo.

News: Helene went to see the movie “The Lady” the story of Aung Sun Su Kyu. David has been in the cold country and recently went for a swim in the bay around midday. Jo has had needles in her eye and her family have gone home. Cath has been busy making her will and we had a discussion about making wills. Terry’s grandson has an effective way to deal with bullies. Trish and Garry told different family stories. David C had new bleach resistant carpet laid. Leonie has written a story for her grandchild and sent him a treasure.

Words of day

nimby = not in back yard

ponder = to weight up carefully and reflect

abnegate = to renounce a right or belief

eloquence = well spoken

serendipity = fate, destiny

wonton = immoral, frisky or lude

lycanthrope = werewolf

liberal = generous, free from narrowness

innocuous = harmless

implacable – relentless, cannot be appeased, unyielding

unique = one of a kind.

 Writing from words of the days

 From our words we wrote about the girl next door. Telecommunication towers. A poem about us all. Clean water, the troll, the man from Mullumbimby, the nimby in my backyard, Tom’s lycanthrope, Dr Jeckel, pondering on the story, thoughts about cats.

Reading of homework

Wendy – the creator of the wonder bra. David R – crystal waters a poem about a tropical paradise. Terry – Leonardo in a parallel universe and Charles Dickens. Trish – the first breakfast. Garry – dreams of meeting Gina Reinhardt. David C interviewed John Cleese - but wanted more. Leonie – Rose, my grandmother. Robyn – my great grandmother.  Helene - Simone de Bouvier

Readings and discussion

David R is reading Elizabeth George – Believing the lie – a fascinating read. Terry is reading the Steve Jobs book. Helene bought in the book "Christmas Island naturally".

We discussed our book preferences and writing about the truth and our opinions

Homework

Opinions or onions which ever you prefer.

Record of meeting 27 June 2012

The in crowd today - Terry, Trish, Garry, Leonie, Geoff, Helene, Wendy, David C. 

 

 

News

Helene went back to a Pump class today and feels fit and healthy. Wendy drove over 600 kms for a picnic. David C has been busy painting and emptying the house for new carpet. Terry lost his phone and it was returned.  Trish bought a photo of the time she lost her hair. Garry has lost a house sit because of a sick cat. Happy birthday to Leonie who will have a friend and her son visiting soon and is having a cataract removed tomorrow. Geoff went to a great concert last Sunday and a friend’s café was burnt down.

Words of the day

Annuit = a receiver of a payment, imbroglio = complicated or difficult situation, vassal = a slave who looks after land, convoluted to make more complicated, rancorous – unforgiving, revengeful, vengeful, implacable, resentful, bitter, merciless, pitiless, fulsome = exaggerated, overblown, abrogate = to cancel or repeal, visceral = bitter, gut feeling

Writing from words of the day

Geoff - Tony Abbot on asylum seekers. Helene – Tom the monk Wendy – Black Adder. David C – the beheading of David Wasselhoff. Terry – Get rid of politicians. Garry – The baron and Clyde’s mistress. Leonie - Out on the street.

Reading of homework gems

Garry – Door keeper at an Anglican ball in the country. Leonie – Being near boys made me happy. Wendy – the stalker. David C – Dreams. Helene – the rabbit. Terry – the blonde in a blue dress. Trish – The last tram after the dance.

Future events and contests 

* River reading 1:30 pm Sunday 23 September with Les Murray - $20 for entry.
* The Kembla Flame poetry competition closes today - but keep in mind for next year.

Exercise

Some funny characters emerged as we developed a character through a progressive exercise.

Quick and quirky writes based on favourite colours

David C – the rainbow. Terry – Ferrari red. Trish – a sparkly person. Garry – the colour of snow. Leonie – pale pink carnations. Geoff – indigo. Helene – sea green. Wendy black.

Homework

Write about an encounter with a character you would like to meet. The character can be real, fictional, dead or alive.

Record of meeting 20 June 2012

Present: Helene, Trish, Leonie, Jo, David C, David R, Wendy, Robyn, Geoff & Garry.

News: Garry is enjoying dog sitting. Trish is enjoying living here. Leonie had a mini accident and then saw 5 dolphins so didn’t feel so bad. Jo has had her sons the fridge locusts visiting. David C is losing it. David R is off to the cabin next week. Wendy is going to Canberra this weekend. Helene went to the abandoned lighthouse. Robyn is not moving north and will build close to home. Geoff went to the Les Crosby memorial concert. He also received a rejection slip from the Overland publication and was informed they only accept on line submissions.

 Words of the day: Garry – curmudgeon = bad tempered skin flint. Trish – popinjay = deeply insulting word for a vain person also the name for a parrot.  Leonie – petulant = peevishly impatient. Jo – vacuum = space devoid of all matter. David C –iconoclast = someone who goes out of their way to berate anything to do to do with religion. David R - pedantic = overscrupulous, makes a show of learning. Helene – wonk = a student who spends much time studying and has little or no social life. Wendy - invidious = to incite envy or ill will. Robyn – pettifogging = over concerned with unimportant details. Geoff – inchoate = about to happen

Writing from words of the day : Wendy -Didn’t believe in what he didn’t know. Helene - twitching curtains. Robyn – his life’s work. Geoff – crazy for Newton. Garry – Gina. Trish – A popinjay. Leonie the wonk worked on his computer. Jo – the boss. David C – the diving instructor. David R – a witty poem about the group.

 Reading of homework

 Leonie – a shell on the beach life a cycle and a moment of perfection with Torvill and Dean – a beautiful description of perfection. Jo – a fairy story of perfect shoes. David C – Julia Gillard. David R – poem searching for perfection. Wendy – my perfect family. Helene – giving up perfection. Robyn – friendship is imperfect. Garry – fairy stories through the eyes of a child. Trish - if you believe this.

 Reading of other work

Geoff read an exert from his Japanese novel. David R read a couple of poems the dance and Yeti spaghetti. Trish read “As times moved on” written for her mum.

Exercise: Wendy guided us through a progressive group exercise based on a man’s name, a woman’s name, met at/in, he said, she said, he gave her, she gave him and the consequences were. Some funny stories emerged.

Homework: My first date or the school dance.

Record of meeting 13 June 2012

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

News: Terry will be away for a week looking after a friends business. Cath’s cat had two teeth extracted and had to go back to the vet for antibiotics. Trish had her daughter and two grandsons visiting. Garry has been looking after his foster mum who has been taken to hospital. David C played in a band this morning. Geoff had a letter published in the Financial Times about a company where he had shares and has now collapsed. He was interviewed by ABC radio and it may be broadcast. Helene has been housing sitting near Muswellbrook for three weeks. Wendy went to Nowra Players – A pack of lies – about neighbours being sleepers. David R’s brother in law died yesterday of bowel cancer. Robyn did an electronic whiteboard course.

 Words of the day: Terry - Piste – the beaten track of snow or an animal. Cath – ternary – triplicate consisting of three parts. Trish – quatrefoil – leaf composed of four leaflets, four decoration on churches. Garry – silver sage = the name for elderly people old and wise. Leonie – isthmus = a narrow piece of land that connects two pieces of land. David C – dejevous. Geoff – love = from the word leouef – egg. Helene - Perfidious – disloyal, treacherous, deceitful, dishonest, lying, untrue. Wendy – larrup = wallop, thrash David R –coruscate = flash of light, a formal sparkle. Robyn – illusive – deceitful, unreal untrue. Jo – abhorrence = horror, detest.

 We wrote short stories from the words of the day about skiing, lights, egg shaped head, tennis, drums, writing in quatrefoil, being on an isthmus, stressed writing, the love race, the church reflected in the water, leadlight window and the Queen’s silver jubilee.

 Reading of homework

Trish – A walk in the park – the difference between walking an Afghan and walking Sebastian running like a cheetah with a silver coat. Cath – reminiscences of childhood memories. Terry – an obsession in the progression regression and suppression. Jo – a hypnotist took her back as a kookaburra. Robyn – traveled to a Scottish village and finds ancestors, David in my previous life golden memories. Wendy – Privligided – money and no cares. Geoff was transmuted. Helene was Todman. David C – a hypnotist reminds him of his life as Adam. Leonie – a small boy from a village is to be trained as a scribe. Garry – found on the big U he was a Philippines house builder.

 Exercise - We did a progressive write which created lots of fun and laughter.

Homework - Even perfection is imperfect.

Minutes for  June 6, 2012

Facilitator: Wendy

Attendees: Wendy, David R, Terry, Leonie, Robin, Garry, Cath, David C, Jo

News:

Robin had visited Mandy and had a good time; Garry had visited his foster parents in Toolangi (home of C J Dennis) Vic and had a good time; David C had a good time playing ‘bush bass’ (box with a string) with a band; Leonie had done a scenic run to Braidwood then to Batemans Bay; Wendy was going to Nowra Players tonight; david R had been swimming with the huge waves in Jervis Bay – King Tide and huge waves; Cath was having ‘Yahoo’ problems with her computer; Terry shared how a friend, Catholic Nun, had been staying at his place; Jo brought a cutting from a newspaper about the giant squid that had floated to the surface near Jervis Bay.

 

Words of the Day

Fealty, stolid, apoplectic, caisson, laud, saturnine, galvanise, learning by heart, vituperation.

 

Quick write, using all the words, brought out the cleverness of the Poets and Writers

 

Homework: Autumn to Winter

Once again, the Poets and Writers expressed themselves admirably.

 

Discussion: FAW = Federation of Australian Writers, to be contacted about their resources that our group can use.

2 words that use all 5 vowels in correct order = abstemious, facetious

 

Activity for the day

Write as many words as possible from

O P R L I Q U N S

Jo gave the longest word = PURLOINS

Another ‘words’ activity from

ABSTEMIOUS

Discussion for next week...re the overall content of meetings...generally feel that pre cuppa time is working really well but that the post cuppa time is a bit random. Suggestions for next week please.

 

Homework

‘In my previous life’