Meeting Report: 14th May 2012

It was a dark and rainy evening in Hastings on Monday 14 May – but not for Group members who listened to their colleagues read out their entries for our current competition – travel writing. 

   We spent a romantic April in Paris, then journeyed across the Atlantic to Ecuador on a banana-boat.  We travelled Route 66 in a beat-up bug with an engine like an egg-whisk, hung out in dodgy bars in Sacramento, saw black bears in the Rockies and geysers in Iceland.  We went swimming on Christmas Day in New Zealand, and joined in a colourful family party in Karachi before going for a jog in New York’s Central Park. We travelled on buses in Bermuda while exploring museums in Barcelona and visiting the homes of the great composers in Germany.  Back in England, we walked the ancient walls of York in the footsteps of the Vikings, and then, coming right back home, settled down for a refreshing cuppa with ‘The Good Scone Guide to Hastings’.

   As well as enjoying the writing, it was also very interesting to discover the range and variety of others’ experiences, and to learn a bit about people’s personal histories.

   The competition will be judged by Jeff Jewson Fleming of Eastbourne New Writers, and we will learn the results next month.

    The Group meets fortnightly at the White Rock Hotel. If you are interested in joining (there is currently a waiting list), or in finding out more about our activities, please contact the Membership Secretary, Amanda Giles, on 01424 442707 or e-mail membership.hwg@gmail.com. You can also visit our website at www.hastingswriters.co.uk.

Report by Steph Gaunt

Meeting Report: 30th April 2012

Strewth!  Fair Dinkum, Cobbers!  On Monday 30 April the Group enjoyed a light-hearted writing workshop based on Strine (Australian English to you Poms.)  Ably organised and led by old Australia hand Richard Holdsworth, and aided by his cobber Nick Nicola, the activities were designed to help us foster our creativity and free up our thinking.  As one might expect, both Richard and Nick led proceedings wearing very stylish hats complete with dangling corks – and don’t ask what they did with the blow-up kangaroo.

We started with an enjoyable quiz to increase our Strine vocabulary.  (How many people know that a ‘Herbert Adams’ is a meat pie, a ‘red-back’ is a particularly nasty poisonous Australian spider, and an Egg Nisher?  An air-conditioner...).  We were then set an exercise to use as many of the words as possible in a story or a poem.   When we shared our efforts, the results were hilarious.   It was felt that some members’ work was particularly praiseworthy:  Jill Fricker, for using all the words to make a poem, John Cornelius, for using all the words in a story, and Steph Gaunt, who had not quite managed to include all the words but produced a story that made sense.  As Steph had also guessed the most words in the quiz, she was declared overall winner.  She was delighted to receive a copy of Richard’s book about his adventures in Australia, ‘In the Hot Seat’, as her prize.

We ended with a rendition of ‘Waltzing Matilda’.  Yes, we can sing as well as write!

The Group meets fortnightly at the White Rock Hotel. If you are interested in joining, (there is currently a waiting list), or in finding out more about our activities, please contact the Membership Secretary, Amanda Giles, on 01424 442707 or e-mail membership.hwg@gmail.com. You can also visit our website at www.hastingswriters.co.uk.

Report by Steph Gaunt