Record of meeting 23 May 2012

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

News: David R saw a tall ship the James Craig in the bay and read a poem about it. Wendy W rang Integral Energy and asked for a discount and got a 10% discount she also got a discount from AAPT. Helene went to Canberra for some chilly morning and nights. Geoff is still battling with his toll way bill and found the RTA was best for passes. Mary is going on a cruise visiting 17 ports. Trish has had family staying. Leonie went to Queensland and had a disappointing time. Terry went to his uncle’s funeral last week he read his poem about his uncle. David C no news is good news. Robyn has booked another cruise in December.

Word of the day:

Soporific = inactive, serene, sluggish. Disgruntled = angry, dissatisfied. Inimical = unfriendly or hostile, harmful. Bombastic = pompous. Chipper = lively cheerful active. Perorations = last part or summing up delivered the force. Mandala = symbolic figure, symbol of the universe. Circular figure religious icon of the universe. Succinct = precise concise to the point.  Exude = make apparent by mood or behaviour, oozing. Exponent = a symbol of a mathematical expression and advocate or champion. Traduce = to expose to shame or blame falsely, violate or betray, slander.

Writing from words of the day

Terry a great poem about a winter’s morning. Leonie a story of the will and the lawyer. Trish the bath attendant. Robyn - welcome by the group. Mary the entrepreneur and the monk. Geoff - Jack puts me to sleep and Jill hums. Helene – the judge. Cath – reporting on our work. Wendy W – a poem needs a big shove. David R was hypnotised by a Dictaphone. David C the priest and his mandala. Jo the disgruntled speaker about a mandala and a tap dance.

Reading of homework

David R – Slinky the catwalk model. Wendy I’m the boss she who must be obeyed. Cath – the slippery dip. Helene – French toast.  Geoff – the local council. Mary talked about a balance of power in the chicken coop and the back garden. Robyn - Dr Kent examined Thomas the cat. Trish - myths and facts of cannon balls, eye patches, gold earrings and the V sign. Leonie – vulnerable people after midnight. Terry – a brawler in a blue singlet, an athlete, a mathematician, a gymnast, the House. Jo - nature versus human endeavours. David C the tennis game.

Other information

Geoff will send out by email to all members a story which is part of his novel. He also read out a letter he had written to the editor about John Howard’s refusal to live in the Lodge in Canberra.

David R read an article about the super rich in the UK.

Exercise from Robyn

Robyn bought in a tray containing 17 items - Pink scissor, pink pliers, matches, ring holder, staple remover, gecko, snail, rose, candle, visitors pass, cricket ball, small gold box, dental floss, pyramid, shower cap, lip balm, bottle stopper.

The items were covered and we tried to remember the items on the tray. Wendy W with 15 had the highest score. 

We then wrote about some or all of the items. Leonie – wanting to be a real snail. Terry – pink handled pliers. Jo – the scissors the most useful item. David C – art and a thief. David R – brains have gone on a cruise. Wendy W – the animals climbed up the pyramid. Cath – in the garden with roses. Helene - stolen goods. Geoff scissors on the table. Mary - in the zoo. Robyn my memory is slipping. Trish the lizard.

Homework

Write a positive story and turn into a negative story. If you don’t like the topic write what you want.

Competitions

Some competition closing dates coming up soon 
31 May,
ABR Elizabeth Jolley short story  ($5000, $2000, $1000)

The Australian/Vogel's Literary award ($20,000) - but ageist criteria rule us
out !?

Shoalhaven Literary award - poetry ($1000)

1 June,
NSW Premier's Literary awards ($285,000 total, various prizes)

13 July,
All Poetry competition, Shoalhaven ($200, $80, $50)

30 July,
PressPress Chapbook award, for poetry


For more details, see 'Arts in Shoalhaven' events list
(http://www.arts.shoalhaven.net.au/NewsEvents.html)

Record of meeting 18 May 2012

Facilitator – David R
Attendees: Mandy, Robin, David R, David C, Jo, Terry, Garry, Wendy G, Mary.

A warm welcome to Mandy who is visiting friends and had time to join us. It was good to catch up with her again.

News:
Mandy: she joined the Feather Brain Club (Writers) in her village and also joined the Thespians and volunteered as a ‘Helper’.
Mary: joys of Mother’s Day; Wendy G: joys of Mother’s Day; Garry: Mother’s Day joys; Terry: his 100 y/o uncle passed away and he has a beautiful, fun poem to be given at the funeral; Jo: reorganizing files; David C: shared a letter that he had written to his grandson; also told us briefly of the recent loss of a good friend...his dog (we understand David)
David R: had a very good friend come to visit and went for walks along the beach and also the St George’s Basin ‘walk’; Robin: both eyes have now been repaired from cataracts and her husband is doing well health wise.


WORDS OF THE DAY
Robin: unhinged = deranged
Mary: phlegmatic = calm, unemotional
Wendy G: sagacious = making good judgment
Garry: snollygoster = shrewd, unprincipled person
Terry: irascible = easily irritated
Jo: lust = a really strong desire
David C: epigram = satirical observation
David R: nefarious = wicked, sinful activity


QUICK WRITE using all the words given and everyone wrote interesting stories and poems

HOMEWORK
The topic given was: lust, after midnight and bath
The sharing of stories and poems was refreshing and showed the variety of ‘thought’ in writings.


READINGS
Terry shared about his current reading of, Silence of the Lambs.


ACTIVITY
Cuttings from magazines were handed to all and a ‘quick write’ was done. It was an enjoyable activity and once again the skills of writers were apparent.


HOMEWORK
“Balance of Power” 

Record of meeting 9 May 2012

Present: David C, Jo, Cath, Leonie, Wendy G, Mary, Di, Helene, Wendy W and David R. Apologies from Garry.

News: Leonie is confused if she will visit her mother on the Gold Coast or not. Wendy G enjoyed walking under the moon light last week. Mary has started Tai Chai and her grandson has his orange belt in Karate. Di has been in Sydney with her daughter and had a lovely time. Helene tried painting. Wendy went to Apple day at Talong 20 k from Bundanoon and had a wonderful day. David R has been enjoying his swims, beautiful sunrises and the dolphins. David C has finished putting in a bay window and is having a new wardrobe fitted. Jo has found she has had cataracts, has sent a letter to Mercury about verbal contracts and told us you can get a 10% discount from Integral energy. Cath lifted 300 kgs of stones yesterday.

Words of the day: David C covenant = a written agreement or note between parties.  Jo – chortle = to laugh loudly and snort. Cath – vicarious = substitute for another. Leonie – sibilant – hissing sound. Wendy G – ignominious = shame. Mary puerile = childish. Di – meteoric – brilliant and very rapid.  Helene – sinister = threatening or suggestive on the left hand unlucky or evil. Wendy – chagrin = embarrassed. David R – laconic = using very few words.

Writing from words of the day

Wendy G – the vicar Mary and priest. Di – the drunken group. Helene – Fred the mayor. Wendy covenant from Mum. David R – words reflect the person. David C – Swanny snorted coke. Jo – you nearly choked. Cath – secreacy. Leonie – rules of the school.

Reading of homework

David C – Remember me – remembering the fallen excellent story. Jo – bits and pieces – wooden and marble stair cases the piano and the funeral dreams unravel. Cath – foretold – a terrifying experience. Leonie – Sleep takes me on journeys - been to another life, selling and buying a house, a hospital bed, a leaf as a bed. Wendy G – 3 types of dreams. Di – nothing stays the same. Helene – ants under my fingernails. Wendy W – Foxy Jean a bikie chick – a brilliant poem and dream. David R – dreams and schemes – a car crash flying to Transylvania, kisses and flying high.

 Quick write -  We chose pictures of characters and wrote about them  as follows;

Mary – a poem – my granny is bikie mole. Di – the garden we created together. Helene – the gun toting, cigar smoking girl. Wendy W – hideous lump of fur. David R – the freak with the long nose. David C – looking for a nose ring with Babe. Jo – I don’t like this man Ernest. Cath – Jealousy what is she thinking. Leonie – Sharon thanks her mother’s friends. Wendy G – Chloe in the garden.

Reading

David R – homemade limerick – lived at home with his mummy. David R recommended the book Sole survivor by Derek Hansen – the lives of a number of people living on a NZ island in the 60s. Mary is reading Daphne De Maurier's Jamaica – it has long sentences but a good read. David C – a dream sequence saving a maiden. We also had a discussion on e-book readers.

 Homework: After midnight or Lust or both if you can't decide.

Record of meeting 2 May 2012

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

News: Wendy G tripped, dislocated her shoulder, went by ambulance to hospital and had her arm in a sling. Geoff was charged for not using his toll pass. Garry was moved by ANZAC day and the words “we were there”. Leonie went to Port Macquarie on the spur of the moment and saw her best friend. Trish had her family visit for the school holidays and washed lots of towels. Trish warned about a bogus email from the Tax Office. Terry happily announced the signs are now up on the Ray Brooks reserve. Jo has changed to Southern Phone and has had problems. David R spent a week in the cabin and enjoyed the moon and stars. Wendy W has had pleurisy but is feeling better. Cath bought a digital camera. Helene made several trips to Canberra and ate delicious hamburgers at the Nerriga and Tarago pubs.

Words of the day

Ruthless = having no pity, merciless and cruel. Untenable = unable to be up held or maintained. Adulterated = spoil something by adding inferior material. Appetence = a strong craving, instinct or tendency. Nefarious = wicked. Sobriquet = nick name. Unkempt = untidy, no combed slovenly or untidy, rough dishevelled. Scuttlebutt = gossip and rumours. Dissonance = combination of sounds that are not harmonious, assonance = harmonious. Binary thinking = only two options. Pragmatic = ability to understand another speaker. Unction = to anoint with oil, soothing or flattering words, keen enjoyment. Mondegreen = misheard lyric. Bunker = a maritime word for fuel, sand filled hollow on a golf course.

Stories from words of the day – we wrote about the choir, I am a woman, Cold Hands, Mr Slipper, demise, Jump for joy, singing in the bunker, the colours of war and much more.

 Homework readings

David – ending of the war. Wendy - feeling peckish. Mary – moving memories of an aging veteran. Geoff – does anyone else think about Robert a NZ Sergent, and Garry a birthday on Anzac day and Anzac biscuits. Leonie and Terry both wrote about the futility of war.

Other readings

Trish – My garbage bin has been stolen – very funny story and more to come we hope

Geoff – The Foley artist apprentice – the sounds used in films etc

Terry – The Brussels sprout – funny story

David R – Venus d lilo – funny poem.

Homework: Write about dreams awake or asleep

Record of meeting 18 April 2012

Minutes for 18^th April 2012

Note...NO MEETING NEXT WEEK

25^TH APRIL 2012 (ANZAC DAY)

Chairperson: David C

Attendees: David R, Robin, Geoff, Mary, Garry, Kath, Leonie, Terry, Jo, David C.

NEWS

David R is off to his cabin near Oberon then to Sydney for ANZAC Day.

Robin told us of a sad story of a woman at the shopping centre with dementia whom she tried to help.

Geoff is getting the accounts settled for the Youth Orchestra.

Mary was happy after having her grandchildren for a holiday.

Garry talked about his hopes in house-sitting.

Kath shared about her new ENJO – a window cleaner.

Leonie was pleased with her gardening.

Terry shared about a long time friend who is also a writer – up until 1850’s there were no such things as right/left shoes – they were the same, just like clogs.

Jo reminded us that 69 reporters died during the Vietnam war and they are still being killed in conflicts around the world.

David C told about the recent cruise when there was an evening when ‘unusual’ words were discussed: bipennis – a double edged axe; chubble – when you are pulling on a wet-suit, that part that hangs down in the middle is the ‘chubble’.

WORDS OF THE DAY

Jo: pragmatic = practical, realistic.

Terry: pedant = a person who is narrow minded.

Leonie: canker = any source of spreading badness.

Kath: benevolence = charity, generosity.

Garry: pronoia = the unshakeable and irrational belief that everyone is out to help you.

Mary: winsome = generally cheerful and light hearted.

Geoff: dissimulate = disguise something.

Robin: osmosis = gradual absorbtion.

David R: peregrinate = travel/wander around.

David C: canard = when someone writes a something that is really untrue.

QUICK WRITE

All writers did a good job in using all the words in poems and prose.

HOMEWORK – ‘Titanic’ was the topic.

Once again, all poems and stories were extremely interesting. Terry wrote a poem worthy of publishing and David C wrote a story, though fiction, worthy of mention.

WRITING EXERCISE

The word, ‘shazam’ was put forward to write about.

It was a lot of fun to listen to the stories and poems with Jo being the last but BEST.

HOMEWORK

ANZAC DAY – write about it or another topic of your choice.

Record of meeting 11 April 2012

Present: David R, Jo, Terry, Leonie, Geoff, Garry, Mary, Wendy G, Trish, Helene, Wendy W, David C and welcome back to Cath after a break. 

News: Mary has been staying at Tumut near the Gubraganda River which recently peaked at 6 metres. Cath’s grandson got married recently and she looked good on Facebook. Garry had a nice quiet Easter. Geoff has taken over as treasurer for the Youth Orchestra. Leonie has been busy since the last meeting and found an amazing freeway to Sydney Airport. Terry has been working for two years through the council and the Geographic Name Board has been successful in having the Palm Beach reserve renamed the Ray Brook’s reserve. Jo showed a picture of her new great grandson Tyler. David C is putting a bay window in his house but needs help. David R swam with two dolphins this morning. Helene went to Canberra at the weekend. Trish was expecting 9 people for Easter but they did not arrive – what a shame. Wendy G celebrated her 54 th wedding anniversary and cut down a big tree with family teamwork.

Word of the day: Mary – machinate = to plot or scheme. Cath – chicanery = deceit. Garry - irk = irritating, wearisome, annoy. Geoff – dissolute = loose or amoral. Leonie – idolum = mental image, an idea, fallacy. Terry – expiate = to make amends to atone for. Jo – heterograft = living graft from one species to another. David C – metaphor = a figure of speech. David R - querulous = complaining in a petulant manner.  Wendy W – stoic = impassive to pleasure or pain. Helene – veto = official power to cancel a proposal. Trish – cathartis = adjective to purge feelings. Wendy G - surreptitiously = done secretly or stealthily.

Quick write from words of the day

 We wrote stories of a sisterly conspiracy, the cattle dog, the gorilla and the old man, the prostitute and power, the boyfriend and the shark, bird brained revenge, the wrong picture, hetrografted heart, Roger the mean politician, transplanting a mouse, dog man, by the back door and monkey images of nit picking.

Reading of homework

The group expressed thanks to Jo for the homework which encouraged many to rewrite opening paragraphs and consider a variety of titles. There were many examples of great opening lines, great descriptions and wonderful memories.

Reading

Trish read two poems about indigenous people and a child's lament.

Geoff recommended “The bone people” by Kerri Hulme about a NZ woman and child abuse. He read an excerpt from the novel he is writing “Showa 46”.

Terry read a short story ‘the grand old lady’ a description of the Carrington in the Blue Mountains.

Exercise

We took 13 minutes to each write a few lines with each word starting with the same letter - Writers wrote worrying works with worthy, wise, worldly wisdom.

Competition

Elizabeth Jolley short story prize $5,000, second prize $1,000. Entries to ABR Elizabeth Jolley Short Story Prize, PO Box 2320, Richmond South, VIC 3121, entries close 31 May 2012. See the Shoalhaven Arts site for more information.

Homework – Wrote a poem or story about the Titanic.