MINUTES OF WOKING WRITERS CIRCLE MEETING ON 17 MAY 2018

 

Apologies: Hilary, Sarah SH, Cathy, Heather

Present: Carla, Shaun, Sarah DD, Amanda, Peter, Simon, Alan, Greg, Tricia, Liz, Danny.

 

News

Book group:  Liz explained that the reading group met a guy who went to school with Kazuo Ishiguro, the author of The Remains of the Day, and brought speech day leaflets from Woking County grammar school to prove her point.

With the imminent increase in hire fees at the Baden Powell Centre, beginning in September, Peter and a couple of others will go and look at some alternative venues.

Liz is having her play Tinklers read through at Camberley international festival  and is looking for volunteer readers to support her there.

Liz arrived late after visiting Dermot at the nearby hospice. He is moving to a care home in Sunninghill.

Writing competition: The Best Advice Book Award 2018.Citizens Advice Waverley and the Surrey Advertiser invite you to submit prose or poetry entries titled ‘The Best Advice I Ever Had’ for inclusion in a book to be published in November 2018 reflecting both the serious and humorous aspects of advice. More details

 

Readings

Liz shared her play Tinkler. This starts with the interactions between an elderly mother and her daughter, who is worried about her mother’s re-writing of her will. There was good, natural dialogue that flowed well and although we only heard the first part it seemed to be heading in an interesting direction.

Shaun requested the group’s assistance with the title, blurb and quotes, of his Two Tonys book. The group made various suggestions which Shaun took on board, although I am not sure quite what will be decided. The Mob Philosopher was felt to be quite powerful, but most people felt that the Two Tonys was a very original title. Shaun has decided to keep the philosopher elements within the book, despite his original publisher wanting to drop them.

Greg read from his profile of fellow poet Kitty Coles published in the current South poetry magazine. There was a good use of quotes from her poetry in this piece of well-crafted writing.

Carla read two versions of her poem ‘Janet’ inspired by the mother of a performance poet. The poem speaks of a mother’s pride, but also her worries as her daughter braves the world. Most listeners preferred the second version.

Peter read Baby boomers and bikes, a nostalgic look at peters and his dads love of bikes, the clever structure used motorcycles to navigate through this family history. The level of detail was positively commented on, and everyone liked the ending where we were told he is still looking for the bike like the one that dad left behind in the war. This article has since been published in Old Bike Mart magazine

Simon’s poem told of his mixed feelings about the annual graduation ceremony at his school; a Larkinesque journey through the mind. Liz made some suggestions.

Alan’s tale, Preserved in Amber, looked at the round table being a mathematical-style table, a form of logarithmic table, told in Alan’s distinctive style. The Welsh accent was liked, astrolabes were an integral part of this tale, lovely descriptive writing used throughout. A great turn of phrase, interesting, humorous.

Amanda: Team 40/50. This forms part of an ongoing project, the current part was a continuation of Maria’s story. Adfter being caught for stealing at work and trying to kill herself, she is now being supported to seek help from her close friends.  The piece was full of suspense and beautifully written. The group wanted to find out what happens next. Amanda asked for help with the name as she still feels that Maria is not right for this character.

Sarah DD read two pieces – the first, ‘Whatever Love Means’, was a homage to the royal wedding. It was fun and apt for the forthcoming nuptials. The next piece titled Yoga expressed and was inspired by the mantra used to guide people into a meditative state at the end of the yoga session. This work drew you in and was almost hypnotic.

 

Next meeting: June 21 at the Baden Powell Room, The Generation Centre, Goldsworth Park Centre.

Homework: A fresh Interpretation

Jobs

Alan, milk and biscuits; Amanda, chair; Tricia, wine; Peter, minutes.