28th November 2016: New Members Evening

On 28^th November we held an extremely successful ‘new members’ evening. Prospective members were invited to come and see exactly what we do at the Hastings Writers Group. The event was very well attended and began with a lively period of introductions and discussion. Having been plied with nibbles and wine, the prospective new members were given a baptism of fire in the form of one of our most challenging, but most fun, writing exercises. Organised by our vice chair, Kate O’Hearn, the activity saw those present scribbling frantically for the 15 minutes allowed to create tales that all began with the same nervous wait in a restaurant to meet a blind date. The challenge of incorporating the random items Kate brought in led the stories in weird, wonderful and mostly comedic directions. Everyone coped admirably as they ingeniously managed to weave in a pirates eye-patch, a crocodile, two pocket watches, a pair of sun glasses, a toothbrush, hatpins and the characters from the 70s children’s TV show, The Banana Splits! Overall, it was a great evening that once again demonstrated the tremendous wealth of creative talent to be found in Hastings.