Poetry Entries - 18th July, 2016

On 18^th July, we read out our entries for our fourth competition of the year: poetry, beautifully and aptly summed up in this little ditty by our Treasurer, Sam Davey:

In a room of budding poets,

Words are flowing – don’t you know it.
Sonnets, ballads and some haiku,
Laments, couplets to name a few,
Erotic missiles and dying drummer,
Silent Angus – what a bummer,
Grains of sand and introspection,
Beach huts ready for inspection,
Songs of sadness, songs of magic,
Global madness, personal, tragic –
In a room of poetry,
Weaving words beside the sea.

The group also agreed to accept Rosemary Bartholomew's proposal to produce a children's anthology as part of our celebration of the group's 70-year existence.

Humour Results - 4th July, 2016

On 4^th July, we were delighted to welcome our judge, Sally Holloway, to give her verdict on our Comedy Writing entries. She told us about her work as a stand-up comedienne, joke writer and author of the best seller, 'The Serious Guide To Joke Writing'. She shared her own writing process, advocating humour and a lightness of touch as they make books more saleable. Sally then gave detailed and constructive feedback on each story before announcing the winners.

In first place was the beautifully plotted and played out black comedy, 'Stuff and Nonesense' by Liz Caluori. Vicky Armstrong was second with 'Maurice and Dora Learn Swahili', praised for its gentle, lilting comedy. 'The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come' by Amanda Giles was third, and Godfrey Forder's 'Paper Hanging Hero' was fourth. Sally was generous enough to round off the evening with a rendition of two of her own humorous songs.