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Minutes of Woking Writers’ Circle Meeting at St Mary’s Church Hall, Horsell On 19th October 2023
Present: Peter M, Peter H, Tricia, Heather, Liz, Keith, Simona Apologies: Alan, Nathan, and Sarah ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION: NEWS: Liz announced that the book reading group will be next meeting on the 13/11 and will be reading Free Fall by William Golding. Reviews of their previous book, Thomas Keneally’s The Playmaker ranged from ‘brilliant’ to ‘not worth reading’. Peter H., our visitor from Wallington, announced that his story had been shortlisted in a competition by Bridport. Congratulations were extended by Heather and the group as this a very outstanding achievement. Many congratulations Peter! Heather noted that her Frosted Fire First…
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What happened at our September meeting: news and readings
MINUTES OF WOKING WRITERS’ CIRCLE MEETING AT ST MARY’S CHURCH HALL, HORSELL ON 21st September 2023 Present: Peter, Liz, Sarah, Alan, Heather, Keith, Simona, Nathan, Peter (Visitor) Apologies: Tricia, Hilary INTRODUCTIONS Members welcomed Peter, a visitor from Wallington to the meeting and introduced themselves. Peter belongs to a writers’ circle in his home area and mainly writes short stories. NEWS Simona said that Sarah’s poem and photographs of Sean Henry’s statues were ready to appear on the WWC website. There was discussion about possible controversy concerning WBC’s financial difficulties. It was important for WWC to be seen as politically neutral. …
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What happened at our August meeting: news and readings
MINUTES OF THE WOKING WRITERS CIRCLE MEETING of 17 August 2023 at 7.30 PM at St. Mary’s Church Hall, Horsell. An enjoyable meeting with good spirits in a carbon-neutral (no electricity) setting. Members assisted each other with personal lighting as the light grew dim. Simona’s wine and Liz’s nibbles helped the flow. Present: Liz, Peter (Chair & minutes), Heather, Tricia, Alan, Colette, Nathan, Simona Introduction and apologies Colette and Nathan introduced to Heather, Heather, introduced to Colette and Nathan Apologies from Sarah, Tricia looked in briefly to also apologise due to poorly husband – we send our best wishes. News…
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“If I waited for perfection…I would never write a word” MARGARET ATWOOD
Woking Writers Circle Do you long to write more creatively but have not got around to it? Do you write but find it can be solitary? A writing circle helps provide a regular writing opportunity and connects people who share a passion for writing. The Woking Writers Circle takes place once a month when our short stories, poetry, prose, reviews, extracts from novels and even the occasional short play are read aloud. Discussion and feedback are provided, and this can help build confidence and courage in the craft of writing. Members of the Woking Writers Circle enjoy meeting up at…
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What happened at our July meeting: farewells, celebrations, guests, news and readings
MINUTES OF WOKING WRITERS’ CIRCLE MEETING AT ST MARY’S CHURCH HALL, HORSELL ON 40th JULY 2023 Present: Peter, Sarah, Nathan, Tricia, Liz, Colette, Keith, Amanda, Simona INTRODUCTIONS The Circle welcomed two guests, Nathan and Colette and Peter invited everyone for a short introduction: Peter, our member of 10 years and retired engineer, writes informally and is currently working on a novel. He sometimes writes poetry and has in the past written plays. Peter enjoys the group’s range of skills and diverse points of view and finds these beneficial in his own development. Nathan, one of our guests, is 24 and…
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What happened at our June meeting: news and readings
MINUTES OF WOKING WRITERS’ CIRCLE MEETING AT ST MARY’S CHURCH HALL, HORSELL ON 15th June 2023 Present: Peter, Liz, Keith, Heather, Alan, Amanda (for a short time) INTRODUCTIONS Having been joined by a guest, Keith, the group began the meeting with introductions: Peter, our chairman, an engineer by profession, writes informally and is currently working on a novel. He sometimes writes poetry and has in the past written plays. Amanda, our secretary, will be leaving the country on a new adventure in Tanzania and enjoys writing in a variety of styles: poetry, drama, satire. Keith, our guest, has a software…
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What happened at our May meeting: news and readings
MINUTES OF WOKING WRITERS’ CIRCLE MEETING AT ST MARY’S CHURCH HALL, HORSELL ON 18th MAY 2023 Present: Liz, Hilary, Sarah, Alan, Tricia, Heather Apologies: Peter, Amanda, Simona NEWS: Liz and Heather had attended Carla’s funeral. Liz also reported that the Book Group had all enjoyed The Mountains Sing, by Nguyen Phan Que Mai, and had awarded it a mark of 9 out of 10. The next book is Lessons in Chemistry, by Bonnie Garmus. There was a brief discussion about membership numbers and it was agreed that Hilary would present a financial statement at the July meeting so that concerns…
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What happened at our April meeting: news and readings
MINUTES OF WOKING WRITERS’ CIRCLE MEETING AT ST MARY’S CHURCH HALL, HORSELL ON 20th APRIL 2023 Present: Peter, Alan, Simona, Liz, Heather Apologies: Hilary, Sarah DD, Amanda, Tricia NEWS: Congratulations to Amanda, who has been selected for a post abroad. Amanda’s new role will begin in August 2023 and will be for two years. This is wonderful news for Amanda, but sad news for WWC. Heather suggested that ‘business cards’ with basic information about WWC would be a useful way of seizing the moment when talking with potential new members. It was agreed that this would be well worth a…
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What happened at our March meeting: news and readings
MINUTES OF WOKING WRITERS’ CIRCLE MEETING, THURSDAY 19th MAY 2022 (held at the Crown, Horsell, by kind permission of the proprietors, entrance to the usual venue of the Church hall, St Mary The Virgin having been unavoidably prevented, due to circumstances beyond our control). Present: Tricia (Chair) , Alan (Minutes), Hilary, Heather, Peter, Liz Apologies: Simona, Amanda, Sara DD NEWS: Carla Scarano D’Antonio Following the death of our much loved, highly talented and acclaimed Carla, Peter confirmed that members’ tributes will be posted on the WWC website. The Poetry Evening held at the Lionsheart Bookshop the previous evening was a resounding…
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What happened at our February meeting: news and readings
MINUTES OF WOKING WRITERS’ CIRCLE MEETING AT ST MARY’S CHURCH HALL, HORSELL ON 16TH FEBRUARY 2023 Present: Amanda, Tricia, Carla, Liz, Alan, Peter, Simona, Hillary, Sarah Apologies: Heather NEWS: Amanda and Tricia’s latest theatre review was of Matthew Bourne’s Sleeping Beauty. They both describe the modernised performance as very gothic, beautiful, and in Tricia’s words, ‘fantabulous!’. Amanda noted that the theatre was full which added to the experience. The topic of subscriptions was brought up and the group re-confirmed that as per our AGM decision, subscriptions will remain at £35, and Hilary will circulate bank details. WWC’s first event at Lionsheart…
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What happened at our January meeting: news and readings
MINUTES OF WOKING WRITERS’ CIRCLE MEETING AT ST MARY’S CHURCH HALL, HORSELL ON 19TH JANUARY 2023 Present: Peter, Liz, Carla, Tricia, Sarah, Simona Heather Apologies: Alan, Emily, Hilary, Amanda ATTRACTING NEW MEMBERS Peter agreed to send a note round about progressing links with the Library. Liz reported that no progress had been possible with the Woking News and Mail, but the bookshop had reacted very positively and were keen to further links with WWC. It was agreed that Liz would act as Project Manager to arrange for members to read their work at this venue at a date to be…
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What happened at our December meeting: news and readings
WOKING WRITERS CIRCLE MEETING ON THURSDAY DECEMBER 15 AT ST MARY’S CHURCH, HORSELL Emily, Simona, Hilary, Heather, Tricia, and Alan sent apologies. It was a frosty night when Peter, Liz, Amanda, Carla, and Sarah arrived at our Woking Writers Circle venue, greeted by the pretty sound of choir practice in the adjacent church. The warden, Mike, made a friendly appearance at the start of the meeting, and we welcomed him to the table to join in with the festive treats, wine and the news update. News Peter introduced the subject of attracting new members to the WWC. It is important…
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What happened at our November meeting: AGM and readings
MINUTES OF WOKING WRITERS’ CIRCLE MEETING AT ST MARY’S CHURCH HALL, HORSELL ON 17 NOVEMBER 2022 Present: Simona, Tricia, Sarah, Amanda, Heather, Peter, Liz, Carla ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Our November meeting started with our 30th Woking Writers Circle AGM. Copies of the Agenda and Constitution were distributed, and each item was discussed individually. NEWS Liz announced that the Book Group’s previous meeting was centred around ‘The Promise’ by Damon Galgut. The group gave it a unanimous 8/10. Liz described the read as a ‘depressing family saga’ with little in terms of cultural nuance. The Group’s next meeting will be discussing…
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What happened at our October meeting: news and readings
MINUTES OF WOKING WRITERS’ CIRCLE MEETING AT ST MARY’S CHURCH HALL, HORSELL ON 20 OCTOBER 2022 Present: Peter, Alan, Hilary, Carla, Simona, Liz, Heather Apologies: Tricia, Sarah, Amanda News: Carla very kindly presented everyone with signed copies of her anthology ‘Workwear’. This wonderful book has a stunning cover which is the work of Carla’s daughter, Irene. Thank you so much, Carla. The Write Out Loud Woking anthology is now on sale (available on Amazon) and includes poems by Carla, Liz and Greg. Carla will be co-compering the Woking Write Out Loud group with Rodney now that Greg has fulfilled his…
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What happened at our September meeting: news and readings
WOKING WRITERS CIRCLE MEETING ON THURSDAY SEPTEMBER 15 AT ST MARY’S CHURCH, HORSELL Present: Alan, Liz, Carla, Tricia, Peter, Sarah, Greg, Heather, Simona Apologies: Amanda NEWS Greg was celebrating his 20th anniversary as a member of Woking Writers Circle, at his last meeting before he moves to Northumberland. It was also his 70th birthday the following day. When Greg joined in September 2002 he was immediately voted in as treasurer, a position he only relinquished a few years ago. He remains in charge of our website, for now! We marked all this with a birthday cake baked by Carla, see…