Record of meeting 5 March 2015

 

Present:

Wendy, Geoff, Jo, Diane, Elizabeth, Dave C, Lynn, Cath. Helene arrived late. 

 

News:

Wendy went to Wellington.  All clear for her leg.

Geoff: Rec'd letter from historian acquaintance.  Very pleased.

Diane: Got her licence renewed in time.  Cat got sick unexpectedly.

Elizabeth: Nothing to report.

Jo: Nothing to say.  Had a birthday, that's why she's saying nothing, 76th!

 

Dave C: Had Anzac poem published in Club Magazine.  Had a birthday yesterday.  Didn't say which one.  Mmm.

Lynn: Been gardening.

Cath: Repaired fence.

Helene told us about David R's health problems.  Sorry from all of us. 

 

Words of the Day (WOD)

Wendy:  Latent: not yet developed.

Geoff:    Tacit: understood w/out being stated.

Diane:    Fortitude: courage in adversity or endurance (pain).

Elizabeth:    Epoch: age. 

Jo:        Debar: to prevent or prohibit an action.

Dave:    Subterfuge: justifying your underhand conduct.

Lin:       Terrene: earthly, worldly.

Cath:     Benign: mild.

 

Stories arising from WOD

Wendy: A poem, gave up idea of lollies, will she succeed?

Geoff: Government doesn't please him.  No voting.

Diane: Group would debar anyone different.

Elizabeth: Someone without bravery.  Where is her Paradise?

Jo: Hooligans.

Lyn: He had trouble with letter writers.

David C: Period in country.  Politics again.

Cath: Epidemic - scholars, professors.

Helene: Terrence will not be barred.  (Helene arrived in time for writing from WOD).

 

Reading of homework: 'I'm not dead!'

Diane: Sailing after funeral.  Robert was good on Trivia Nights. He seemed to be dead but wasn't. A Government Man!

Elizabeth: Her son in Portugal went to USA, bought a yacht.  Fell asleep, friend's gone, okay, diving under the boat.

Geoff: Got a postcard.  Went to the funeral.  Bloke died from smoking, won a lot of money, mystery voice.

Jo: The man who might have been dead instead of the stated one.

Lyn: Used symbolism in her story - the impossible becomes real.

 

Discussion

We discussed publishing, all to do with a final product.  

 

We did an exercise starting with and using 'colour'.

Lyn: Blue - she reads - butterflies there. 

Elizabeth: Yellow, cheerful, has her yellow dress in wardrobe today.

David: Orange, sun colours, farm colours, sunlight.

 

 

Geoff: Yellow, flowers in his mind still.

Diane: Lovely yellow - depressed, chose yellow to heal her mind.

Cathy: Lavender, lilac, in the grass - a bee stings.

 

 

Helene: Lilac.  Girls and flowers.

Wendy: Couldn't think of anything.

Jo: Grey - is the way of things.

We talked about the different diagnoses we have found we are given by medics, for much the same problem.

 

Homework:

'In the Bag!'

 

 

 

 

 

Meeting 25th Feb 2015

Present:  Pauline, Geoff, Wendy, Cath, Leonie, Jo, Elizabeth, Terry , Diane, David arriving later.

News:  

Geoff sent another letter re politics. Always right, Geoff.

Leonie has a new puppy.

Wendy went to Wellington for the weekend.  Always on the go.

Cathy: Went to beach, fell over.  Vines stopped her body from careening down.  No, someone, she was not drunk.

Pauline: Went to her daughter's.

Jo: Got the needle in her shoulder.  Not better yet.

Elizabeth: Fell over last week, her hero has avoided her ever since.  Then she fell over in Ulladulla.  A shopkeeper helped her. 

Terry: Home from hospital.  Men's business.

Words of the Day.

Jo: materialise - to come to into view or to assume a solid shape.

Terry: reticent - not revealing one's thoughts readily.

Elizabeth: virgin - new, unspoiled, (virginal...an early keyboard instrument)

Geoff: contrite - humble, apologetic.

Leonie: infallible - incapable of error or failure.

Cathy: evocative - reminiscent, invoking memories.

Pauline: Krypton - an inert gas present in the atmosphere.

Diane: ramification - consequence

Writings from WOTD:

Diane: A plane in a storm.  Pilots being heroes in the storm, but they were dead heroes.

Elizabeth: A virgin forest gets knocked down.  Awful gas is there.

Geoff: School - paying a lot of money for what?

Leonie: Clark Kent is Superman.  He is tired of vigorous women after him.

Wendy: Trying to find a virgin: pigs don't fly.

Cathy: Laboratory accident: scientist among them when it exploded.

Pauline: The meanings of 'virgin'.  Finds Superman is concerned with reality of Krypton.

Diane: Distraught and very upset.

Terry: Poem.  Teamwork.  Wants luck, not a political virgin.  A strange big-eared man.

Reading of Homework: 'We had to join a queue ...'

Cath: A boy trying to obey his mother.  Discovering the beach.  Must catch the ferry, mum misses the queue.

Pauline: Three at breakfast.  In a queue for an opening.  Queue grows, but the Louvre is shut.

Jo: The hunger queue in war-time.  People might eat each other.

Terry: A tall young man, a girl, on phones in the queue. The writer gets told to get in line or else.  It is at Centrelink!

Di:  Told a story of visiting Palace of Versailles.  Everyone who was Italian tried to push in.  But Di beat them for once as the English were next to go. Last laugh for Di.

David:  Abbott again, kissing babies.  He put his head in the park stocks.  Someone pulled his pants down, painted a big eye on his bum.

Leonie: Described an article: last week's homework. The mystery item was

 'rocks'.

There ensued a discussion about the Japanese culture by those members who have been there or, as in Geoff's case, lived there.  Very informative.

Later, Terry read out '50 Shades of Grey' by Pam Ayres.  A wife who turned her husband's hair grey by stripping in front of him at more than 80 years of age!

There was then a conversation of what is porn or not, depends on your idea of it.

We discussed publishing - what would work, what wouldn't.  Self-publishing?

Would each of us be able to put a book together from what we have, smaller stories.  Where is the best place to publish this type of book.

Terry to send a link for a site relating to Indie publishing.

Homework: One week after attending the funeral of a close friend, you receive a postcard saying 'I'm not dead!' 

Meeting on 18th Feb 2015

Present: Geoff, Cathy, Elizabeth, Jo, Pauline, David and Wendy.

News: First, Helene is cruising, hope she doesn't run into any cyclones up there.

Pauline read an outline of a meeting she attended.  Wendy, happy with her leg operation.  Cathy, went to the Pelican.  Elizabeth, has a sore finger, therefore couldn't do her homework.  Mmm.  David, found another tree in his yard.  Jo, going to get a needle on Monday.  Geoff, talked about the 'American Snipper (Sniper) which is still showing at the theatre.

Word of the Day:

lascivious: inclined to lust

limerence: falling in lust

sporadic: intermittent

tactile: palpable, tangible

fallacious: faulty reasoning

veritable: truly, verifiable

endure: to suffer in silence

Wordwrites:

Wendy: Poem. Why was he so tactile, she wonders.

Cath: Behave yourself.

Elizabeth: Man behaving most badly.  But he was not a liar.

David: Bulldust - a hunger for wealth.  Not sex.

Geoff: Tony A. again.  Words cannot do them justice.

Jo: A soul of lust.

Pauline: Will limerence last forever?

The homework from last week was: Write about something not giving any clues about the subject.  

It was done by three members. 

Pauline's was excellent and about lipstick.

David's was about a waterfall.  Cathy guessed it.

Jo wrote about walking a dog and meeting another.

We did a quikwrite before tea.

'She realized at last it was over with him'.

Cath wrote - 'They had a fight - he gets into the car.  She cried.  It was over.

Elizabeth - She watched passers by - all glum.  He hadn't come back, but was down the street with a blonde.

David - Jenny.  Abused.  Blamed for not being efficient.  He moved out one day.  It was over for her.

Geoff - Relationships.  Naomi's not happy, she sees Dean pushing a pram - finis!

Jo - Innocent husband - wife wanting better life.

Pauline - About a worker who sees that her boss was using her.

Wendy - He started to wear her clothes.  It was her Dad!  She wants to stick him in a home.

Tea and then the next theme was:

A Policeman stood at the door. 'I'm afraid you'll have to come with me to the Station,' he said.

David wrote - Constable peering in at window - Billy Bob in gaol.

Geoff - A man escaping - gets caught - too smart.

Jo - Coming home to love.

Pauline: Stolen jewels.  Weren't stolen after all.

Cathy - Waiting for the bad news.

Elizabeth - Who is it at the door?

We ended the time with a round table write.  How on earth do these things sometimes make sense?

Homework: 'We had to join the queue'.

Record of meeting 11 February 2015

News

Helene enjoyed walking and swimming on Collingwood beach. Wendy has been on two picnics and told us about a new men’s barber at 33 Kerry Street Sanctuary Point, cost $15. Cath is finished celebrating her birthday. Elizabeth worked in the garden and visited Ulladulla. Jo had an ultrasound on her arm. No news from Lynn. Diane had family visit for her birthday. David C spent time in Sydney with his daughter and grandson. Terry watched his 8 year old grandson play cricket. Geoff enjoyed the movie the Water diviner and had a letter on East Timor published in the Australian.

Diane is looking for a tenant and cat sitter for May, June and July - preferably a woman who loves cats. Let Diane know if you are interested or if someone you know may be suitable.

 Geoff has offered to organise a group to see a Miriam Margolyes show in about a month’s time in Wollongong.  Let Geoff know if you are interested.

 

Miriam Margolyes with Julia Gillard
 

Words of the day

Hurdy-gurdy - a stringed instrument

Persiflage – frivolous talk or writing

Poppycock – humbug, nonsense

Portend – foreshadow, warning omen

Hermetic – air tight

Pantechnicon – furniture removal van

Interlocutor – a person who takes part in a conversation

Ambiguous – more than one meaning

Recidivate – return to a previous behaviour

Discern – notice or recognise

 

Stories from words of the day

Terry – Have some fun

Geoff – Avoided the dump

Helene – Total frustration

Wendy – Lets cut it out

Cath – Fresh air

Elizabeth – The interloper

Jo – A noxious woman

Lynn – The witch

Diane – In the fair ground

David C – Silence

 

Reading of homework

The topic of wolves was highly favoured in our fairy tales from a different view

Geoff – Day of the wolf

Helene – The real baddies

Elizabeth – No presents this year

Jo – Granma looks for work

Lynn – An average family

David C – A property investor

Terry – The big gingerbread mixer

 

Exercises

1. We wrote the dialogue when meeting after 10 years, the bully who had made our lives miserable at school

Geoff – A cigarette in his fingers

Helene – Anything for cheesecake

Wendy – I bet you wish you were nice to me

Cath – I thought it was you

Elizabeth – I watched her

Jo – No one below me

Lynn – Maybe she won’t see me

Diane – The narcissist becomes a worker bee

David C – Kitty

Terry – Came back to haunt him

2. We created stories on the topic what the psychic said or it’s best to count you chickens before they are hatched.

Diane – It’s my own fault

David C – The old mother hen

Terry – The lottery ticket

Geoff – You don’t believe in all that crap

Helene – Maddie’s ballet class

Wendy – Don’t be absurd

Elizabeth – Aunt Alice

Jo – I might be mistaken

Lynn – My perfect match

 

Homework

Describe an object without naming it or naming the colour – show don’t tell

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Record of meeting 4 February 2015

News



Happy birthday Cath and Diane



Helene enjoyed her Pump class. Wendy’s leg is now pain free after having surgery for a bypass to her leg. Cath had visitors over the weekend and its happy birthday to her today. Jo had the computer man who could not find her missing document but was a nice man John Dagg -see contact details below. Lynn nothing to report. Diane has cleared her pool of tadpoles, enjoyed a swim and will celebrate her birthday tomorrow. David is going to spend the weekend with his grandson in Sydney. Geoff had a good week with letters published in the Fin Review and other publications.

Micro Maze - John Dagg - Computer Guru
Computer sales and service
john@micromaze.com.au
02 4447 8405 and 0435 059 005

 

Words of the day

Razed – completely destroyed

Maladroit – clumsy or awkward

Verdant – green with

Desecrate – to divest of sacred or hallowed character

Exclude – to leave out

Megalomaniac – passion for big things or insanity for self exhalation

Nephrologists – a person who studies clouds

Manifest – clear and obvious

 

Stories from words of the day

Diane – coal seam gas mining

Lynn – The report

Jo – my flower garden

Cathy – Commercial development

Wendy – Parliament House

Helene – Diverting his gaze

Geoff – Press Club speech

David C – The valley

 

Reading of homework

Helene – Roast lamb and vegetables

Garry – Rainbow balls

Jo – That’s me sitting there

Lynn – The new Fred is wed

Diane – An alien creature

David C – Dorothy’s dilemma – a brilliant story

Terry - Parallel dimensions

 

Exercises

1. My day

 

We created stories and poems which included 5 activities, 3 colours, a dream and a childhood memory

 Cath – My birth day

Jo – red roses

Lynn – mundane tasks – it rhymed

Diane – Escape from boarding school

David C – I am a regular guy

Geoff – I’m floating

Helene – The road bumps of life

Wendy – A yellow sunshiny day

Terry – A comic book

2. “Some relationships are better than others” and including animal noises

 

We produced the following range of furry, slimy, woolly, scaly, noisy stories

Lynn – What are we bleating about?

Diane – Making hay

David C – Mermaids on my pond

Geoff – Always owned cats

Helene – Sounds of silence

Wendy – If you treat me right

Terry – A yard of turkeys

Cathy – Bleating and hissing

Jo – In the jungle

 

Homework

Little red riding hood

Rewrite a fairy tale from the opposite/another point of view

 

The boy who cried wolf

 

 

 

Record of meeting 28 January 2015

News

 

Leonie’s son and grandson visited and she had a busy week. Lynn went to cards at the Country Club. Jo received a spider catcher and recommends it. Terry's second grandson has written a fantastic story. David C played at Coastal Waters and later played again after an Australia Day BBQ. Helene has been to the beach and an Australia Day BBQ. Geoff saw the movie “Turner” about the painter, worth seeing for art lovers. Cath went to the beach. Pauline had a phone call from her daughter who had been doing adventurous activities in Bali. Elizabeth had more family visitors over the weekend.

 

Words of the day

Albeit = not withstanding

Abstruse = vague

Martinet = one who demands adherence to the rules

Polemicist = supports controversial opinions

Capricious = impulsive, unpredictable

Amoeba = microscopic one cell animal

Appeasement = to satisfy, pacify

Quintessence = pure, highly concentrated

Bucolic = rural

Wabbling = to move in an uneven way, vacillate

 

Writing from words of the day

Lyn – Dysentery

Leonie – Feet in water

Elizabeth – My father

Pauline – Down on the lane

Cath – The casual scientist

Geoff – This week’s stumble

Helene – Modern language

David C – The masters of the hunt

Terry – A tiny brain – a great poem

Jo – I can remember my mother’s control

 

Reading of homework

Helene – 99% true

Geoff – Communication with the Modern jazz quartet

Cath – World War II

Pauline – Royal views

Elizabeth – Lambing time

Leonie – A nice cup of tea spoiled by a spider

Diane – A lovely village in Spain

Lynn – A walking holiday

Jo – How to explain oldness

Terry – Gotcha

David C – I have done many things

Garry – Wild life in Africa

 

Other stuff

Terry recommended subscribing to a good resource the Writers digest on line in the UK.

Geoff read out his Limerick - Tony OBE

 

Exercise

We wrote the dialogue between people stuck in an elevator

Lynn – a metal grill

Diane – smells like beer

Elizabeth – too crowded in here

Pauline – appointment with a publisher

Cath – between 8 and 9

Geoff – Mr Crampton

Helene – Lucky escape

David C – Tools on the 5 th floor

Terry – The Otis cell

Jo – Enjoying themselves

 

Homework

 

 

You arrive home to find someone who looks like you eating dinner with your family. Your family is convinced you are the imposter.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Record of meeting 21 January 2015

News

Snake skin

Terry took a grandson to Mogo Zoo and asserted common sense at the entrance.  Elizabeth has had a hoard of visitors to check on her.  Jo brought in snake skins from two diamond pythons. David C visited his 18 year old grandson in Queensland. Geoff had another letter published in the Fin Review about constructive Government policy development. Helene has two grandchildren staying and a plumber found a plunger in her drain. Cath is cleaning up for visitors. Pauline has relinquished her patronage of P&O. Lynn is painting again. Diane had her grandson visiting for a few days and played cricket and monopoly.

 

Words of the day

Mordacious = biting or sharp

Delve = research

Incorrigible = not able to be changed

Bizarre = strange, quaint or fantastic

Ambidextrous = able to write with both hands

Cavil = to raise trivial objections

Aberrant = going off track

Altruistic = living for the good of others

Obdurate = stubborn, refuse to change

Maladroit = lacking skill, fumbling, clumsy

 

Stories from words of the day

Jo – A good child

Elizabeth – Ancestry research

Diane – Conflict in the brain

Terry – Joe with a pout

Lynn – The attack

Pauline – The granny flat plan

Cath – Tom and the team

Helene – conflict in the group

Geoff – Our shallow PM

David C– Feet and hands in mouth

 

Reading of homework

Terry – Common or refined

Pauline – A visit to Melbourne

Cath – Manual to automatic

Helene – The snake

David C – RBT

Garry – two stories The Tsunami & Beauty

Jo – Frightened by school - What is “abc”

 

Exercise

We wrote short stories on the topic, what I recall

Cath – A Filipino fishing boat

Helene – What will people think?

Geoff –Times of economy

David C – When the Titanic sank, London fire etc

Jo – I couldn’t swim but won a cup

Elizabeth – A holiday in China

Diane – Life without TV

Terry – No regret

Lynn – Lollies three a penny

Pauline – The church

 

Homework

Write a true story include one detail which is 100% made up. When you read it next week see if we can guess the one lie.