Record of Meeting 3rd October 2012

Present
Terry, Geoff, David R, Wendy W, Kath, Leonie, Mary, Wendy G, Jo, David C.

News Terry was (too late) just in time to enter the Ulladulla 1st Paragraph Competition
          Geoff had a great night of poetry
          David R Started swimming again [ Chilly ]
          Wendy W Booked our Christmas Lunch at Mels Wed 5th Dec
          Mary Going to see Rhonda Birchmore tonight
          Wendy G Has got her vegetable garden organised
          Kath Had visitors from the Gold Coast 16 hr trip
          Leonie Had a problem with her car insurance (cost her a $600 fine...drats)
          Jo  had a look at the fire that destroyed the school near her
          David C walk about 10 km in training for ------
Words  Of the day
DICHOTOMY Difference between opposites
MELEE             Good old fashioned Punch Up
IN FLAGRANTE DELECTO  A criminal offence
DISARRAY  Confusion untidy lack of discipline
PUSILLANIMOUS Cowardly Timid
SUCCOUR  To assist aid or rescue
SUBJORN To suduce into crime
PREDICAMENT A trying condition
MORIBUND End of a cycle or Life
IMBUE inspire to beleive
Quickwrite from the words of the day
A Dichotomy of stories all well received
Homework
David R  Kismet, Wendy W Broken down body, Kath Convolution, Leonie Not everyone has someone,
Wendy Did this realy happen, Jo rebeccas poem to Danny, David C My mate George, Terry Destiny,
Garry Lucky Kickamole
Excercise Was an Acrostic Poem Quickwrite, Summertime and Predicament
Homework a choice of
It Was The Wrong House or The Suitcase From the Attic or a compiliation of the two
This is my first attempt at the blog so if there are any mistakes join the queue

Record of meeting 26 September 2012

Present

 

Leonie, Jenny, David C, David R, Helene, Wendy W, Terry, Trish, Cath, Geoff.

News
 

Helene’s granddaughter was the star of her primary school play. Terry is taking his grandsons to Sanctuary Point for free play. Trish dropped raw eggs on the partly finished kitchen floor. Leonie went to Floriade in Canberra last Wednesday, to the Sydney Eye hospital on Saturday and went on a river cruise on Sunday. Jenny went to her daughters wedding in Queensland a few weeks ago. Geoff had a quiet week and went to a music concert in Berry with a small crowd. Cath had a visit from family from Queensland. David C had a visit from his grandson and took him to Putt Putt golf and lunch. David R has been away to various locations and caught up with his children and grandchildren – a liberating trip.

 

Words of the day

A troll = someone who posts inflammatory messages in an online community, with the primary intent of provoking readers into an emotional response or disrupting normal on-topic discussion. Also to sing loudly and a type of fishing.

Impinge = to restrict or affect something

Numinous = mysterious, awe inspiring

Shenanigans = prankish, trickery

Puerile = boyish, childish

Rivulet = small stream (water and words)

Inordinate = extreme or unusual

Meander = wander aimlessly with no fixed direction.

Eleutheromania = a mania for freedom

Surreptitious = kept secret because it would not be approved of

Writing from words of the day

A range of fascinately stories covering the topics of Trolling; Sitting by a rivulet with Elvis; Don’t impinge on my freedom; Meandering back chat; The crowd; Below the bridge rivulets of revenge; New council; On the computer.

Reading of homework

Garry – Such a glorious day. David R - Bored of living – a funny poem. David C – I’m David and Neville.  Geoff – my conscience. Jenny – I want to go to my funeral. Leonie – the power plug was pulled. Trish – having a photo with a giraffe. Terry – Ted a new best friend – a great story.

Discussions

1. Christmas lunch at Mel’s Place on 5 December - Wendy W to make a booking and confirm the details. Lunch will be funded from our contributions.

2.  Discussion on afternoon activities.

*Quick write was agreed as popular and to continue.

* A number of suggestions for activities were discussed including writing for children and working towards an anthology of children’s stories.

* It was agreed each person should bring to the next meeting two exercises to use at next weeks and future meetings.

Quick write on children

Wendy - The joys of school holidays. Terry – Crimes against the state. Trish – Charity a family search. Leonie – a joy never to be surpassed. Jenny – the grand daughter. Geoff – my own place. Cath – the blue tongued lizard. David C – Hamburgers and the lost rainbow. David R – grandchildren. Helene - Maya's daughters.

Homework

1. Kismet, Everybody has somebody, Windows or your choice of topic.

2. Prepare two exercises and bring to the next meeting.

 

 

 

 

Meeting on 19th September

Record of Meeting Wednesday 19^th September

Present:  David C, Geoff. Cath, Wendy, Terry, Mary Wendy, Jo and Robyn

News

David has been chopping wood, lots of wood; Geoff has had an uneventful week, catching up on some TV shows. Kath brought in some Thunder eggs from her collection. Wendy has some warts frozen on her big toe, very painful. Terry spoke of his daughter’s recent operation to remove a brain tumour. All seems to have gone well. Mary spending time in the garden and enjoying the grandchildren, Wendy enjoying spring, clearing the bush preparing for a long hot summer. Jo, just an ordinary week, enjoyed watching some old movies from the days of “dialogue”. Robyn’s glad to have Joe home from hospital, and being at home.

 Word of the day

Jo                     Secretion            Separating substances

Wendy             Envision             To conceive of possibility in future

Mary                Nebulous            Cloud like, vague

Terry                Contemporaneously                  At the Same Time

Wendy             Mendacity          Untruth or lie  

Cath                 Turgid                Swollen or bombastic

Geoff                Attenuate            Thin out or reduce

David               Vernacular          Mother tongue, basic speech

Robyn              Implicit   Having no doubts, implied or understood though directly expressed.

                        Explicit   Absolute, accurate, easy to understand

Quickwrite for members using the words of the day. As usual many different stories,

Shire Effluent – Double Dipping – Toxemia – Cow Dung – Verbal Diarrhea-

A Natural Piece – Crossing the River – Drips Under the Bed – The Politician

Home set from the previous week was “Unconscious”. Members found this difficult to get a handle on, but Terry did not let us down with a very witty poem.

Geoff read some more of his novel, set in Japan.

A short discussion was held on the interaction between strangers, and how much we can learn about people in a very short time, this was following by members using “dialogue with a stranger” as the theme

As always some excellent and varied subjects, Lost in the Atherton Tablelands- a Trip on the Bankstown Line –The hardship of the Quiet old man on the Train – The friendly Ozzie, Coffee in the Park - 
A Ride on the Ferry.

Homework for the week         “Should I go to the Funeral?”

           

 The Reader's Digest has a writing competition with a prize of $1000, with the winning story being published.  The story is to be exactly 100 words long, any subject.  Closing date is 30th November, entries to be sent to:- 100wordstory@readersidigest.com.au

Record of meeting 12 September 2012

Present

Geoff, David C, Leonie, Cath, Helene, Jo, Robyn

 

News

 

David C has a new crown on one of his teeth. Jo has a possum bite on her arm. Geoff attended the rehearsal and the concert of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. Cath has been watching the birds courting in her garden. Leonie had a disaster with her computer. Helene went out on the whale watch boat on Sunday but saw no whales. Robyn’s husband is in St Vincent’s hospital in Sydney.

 

Words of the day

Desultory = unsettled

Hector = nag or aggravate

Scenario = situation, circumstances,

Tenacity = persistent

Moraine = the debris at the end of the glacier

Disparagement = to belittle, to denigrate

Volatile = changeable, explosive,

We created stories including Saved from a belligerent woman; The Greens and the art of the possible; A scientific discovery; Hector and the mountain; The broken computer; The meeting.

 

Reading of homework

The homework readings included a poem using lots of comparisons; Lost mind; The nanny state; Shark versus cannibals; Another theory on heaven.

 

Reading

David C – read out part of a Western story he is writing,

 

Exercise and activity

* We wrote the opening para for a novel using the words branching out and harbour.

The opening paragraphs covered A visit to Ulladulla; The potential; The rhythm of the water; No risks; A boy under a tree; No surf today and The shop branching out.

* Together we also answered 20 questions from a literary quiz.

 

Homework

Write something using the word unconscious.

Record of meeting 5 September 2012

Present

Garry, Leonie, Jo, Terry, Trish, Wendy W, Helene and  Cath. Welcome back Mary and Wendy G and welcome to Jenny visiting from the Gold Coast.

 

News

Cath supervised a learner driver. Leonie went to see to the Sydney Long exhibition at the National Gallery Canberra. Garry called his birth mum who has had a stroke and has a live in carer and his step mother is still in respite. Helene’s husband has bought a new boat. Wendy going to Victoria for a few days and will go on a talking tram in Ballarat. Trish has her own garden bed. Terry has enjoyed watching the Para Olympics and the attitudes of the athletes. Wendy G has her first great grandchild. Mary went on a great 32 day cruise around the Mediterranean and looked for a job with MI5. Jo saw a dead wallaby with a shoe on the side of the road. Jenny watched the Para Olympics and commented on the skills of the presenters.

 

Words of the day

Evoke = to summon, to recall

Ineradicable = cannot be torn out

Backronym = makes a word forward or backwards

Pinking = producing a zigzag pattern instead of a straight edge

Moral turpitude = depraved in mind and body

Arbitration = a legal technique for disputes outside the court system

Sardonic = cold scornful, bitterly contemptuous

Aggrandise = to increase power, wealth, prestige etc

Assuage = to calm, sooth

Prodigy = wonderful, extraordinary, freak of nature, child of extraordinary talent

Spotting = keeping the eyes on an object while turning the head when dancing to avoid giddiness

 

Writing from the words of the day

Terry – the adult prodigy a brilliant poem

Wendy G – the lawyers and the tutu

Helene – Chinese food

Trish – The prodigy in my head

Mary – the wicker man

Garry – Gina the prodigy and money

Jo – the genius

Wendy W – in the pen

Jenny – the black swan

Cath – to flog and to golf

 

Homework

Garry – Peggy from Joyville collected horse poop - hilarious

Leonie – Red riding hood, Cinderella, Snow White and Bo Peep working together – another hilarious story

Trish – a dark pub, pale grey eyes in the dark

Terry - if the Foo shits wear it

Jo – be sure of your facts

Jenny – an ode to Vincentia

Helene – do not fall

Terry – graffiti  

 

Reading

Leonie read a poem she had written in the 80s – Direction - Choose wisely

 

Exercise

We then did the old Progressive write which produced some strange stories with lots of laughs.

 

Homework

What is worse – make a comparison between two options eg fat or thin, with children or childless, rich or poor, being ambitious or not being ambitious, drought and floods – make a choice or not - LOL.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Record of meeting 29 August 2012

Present

Jo, David R, Geoff, Garry, Helene, Wendy W, Cath, Terry, Trish, Robyn

 

News

Wendy W went for a picnic in a lovely spot at Congo near Moruya.  Helene has been reading lots of books on her e-reader and found it is possible to borrow e-books from the library. Garry found he couldn’t remember how to live without his computer. Geoff brought in a cartoon about the liberal party and work choices. David R is going away for some time including the bush, Kempsey, Kyogle, then to Queensland. Jo has been running round keeping busy. Robyn’s husband has been in hospital for a week and is now home. Terry is catching up with his son for the first time for many years and his daughter is having her surgery next week. Cath has been gardening and bought in old maps of Vincentia and other areas for us to examine.

 

Words of the day

Calumny = false statement used to destroy someone’s reputation, slander.

Panoply = complete equipment of a warrior, magnificent array

Hobnobbing = to mix socially with the upper class

Courteous = polite, considerate, chivalrous

Stupidity = foolishness

Asymmetric = uneven, oddly matched

Zephyr = a soft wind or gauzy material

Ichneumon = a mongoose

Translucent = transparent

Catalyst = help or encouragement for progress or change

We constructed amazing stories from the diverse range of the words of the day. The stories were about The missionary and the headman, the mongoose, The corruption, Asymmetrical steering, The hoi poli, Egyptian fashion, The work meeting, A blue butterfly (a great poem), The council and My niche (a funny poem).

 

Reading of homework

Our fractured fairy stories were extremely creative with the following topics

 

A grim tale of long hair and no stairs

Three pigs as the neighbours from hell and the generous council

A young woman who lived in shoe on benefits

Red and the wolf

Mary had a little lamb called Shadow including singing by Garry - very creative

Three brothers, Telstra and Optus - a modern intellectual tale of brothers reunited

Sunday dinner from the lamb’s point of view

Two little pigs – never believe what your mother tells you

Other stuff

David R read a poem called “Windy town” written for Wendy and our recent windy weather.

Terry shared information about naming characters in fictional writing.

 

Homework

Write a story that has moral.