Minutes of the meeting at La Rosa Hotel on the above date.
Present: Adele (acting Chair, and minutes), Harry, Ian, Jenny, Laura, Lesley.
Apologies: Gill, John, Kaz, Michele, Pip.
Topic: Members’ work-in-progress.
News and updates:
Adele reminded everyone of the up and coming Fish and Ships Festival over the weekend of 18/19th May Fish & Ships Festival 2024 Whitby Library is sharing the Museums tent for creative crafts for children along with the gallery, museums and Dogwood Theatre who will be performing min plays throughout the weekend as well. Everyone is invited to create a poem or (very) short story around the theme of Fish and Ships which can be displayed in the library during and after the event. Please send to her at adele.duffield@northyorks.gov.uk if you have one to share.
Ian has become a volunteer reader at the Mayfield Care Home, where WWG member Michele works, reading fortnightly to a group of residents from his Uncle’s book ‘Chota Sahib’, which the group were really pleased to hear.
Dacre Stoker, the great, grand-nephew of Bram Stoker is going to be doing a talk on his g g uncle at 7pm 26th May at the Chapel on the Hill, if anyone is interested.
Readings
Laura
…read short extracts from her Gratitude Journal. The aim is to celebrate the small things in daily life and be grateful for them. Following these readings a discussion ensued. Laura explained it is bigger thing in America than here, Oprah Winfrey is a huge advocate of them and people maintain they invoke a positive mental attitude to convert. It was agreed these sounded like a great idea for those in need of mental uplift or for therapeutic purposes, though reservations also came through about the reality of life, and needing a balance on which to weigh pleasure and positives in that we must accept there are negatives. It was interesting to hear different views on this and to compare spiritual envelopment and emotional need in America as opposed to the denial of need often seen in the UK. Gratitude Journaling
Adele
…read an extract from the end of July to New Year’s Eve 2022, from her Covid Diary. She has moved from regular daily input to monthly reporting or if anything major occurred. This reading included an extract about the struggles with the failing NHS system and processes over the care options when her mother’s partner William was gravely ill and they were travelling to various hospitals to visit. Eventually after being transferred to Whitby Court care home and not being particularly well attended to, he passed away on New Year’s Eve, which Adele had only found out about on returning from an enjoyable party to receive a distressed phone call from her mother. It was an emotional reading as the diary moved from statistical and national to personal at times.
Harry
…read a further extract from his memoir Sea Wife.
June 26th 1960: this piece covers the first day of the Islamic New Year in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, and Harry and his wife Beryl experiencing vehement protest at anyone (men or women) showing bare arms or legs (Beryl was wearing shorts), and the prohibition against alcohol and filming of the event.
The group discussed the Muslim culture and its prohibitions, and Harry wondered if he should include mention of it, but the group collectively agreed it was of the time and should remain. He was not being offensive, just factual. Double standards of different cultures were then discussed further, and Harry revealed that he was happy to be classed as an alcoholic for purposes of travel in certain countries as this permitted him to access alcohol where others would be denied it. A humorous discussion also followed on the crew member with an extra thumb who was known as “five fingered Jack” (c/f USA: five finger discount).
Lesley
…read notes from a workshop she had attended on short story writing around characterisation. The group had been provided with the setting: a hotel, several characters to work with, and a murder, from which they could take the story where they wished – past/present/future. The characters given were:
Gordon, 40 – tall, slim, into walking and fitness, yet a drinker and computer geek (bit of an unlikely character in my view),
Derek, 30 – unfit, fat, liked to be noticed, suits/polo shirts, fancy cars and accessories,
Amelia, 25 – 5’3” curvy but inappropriately heavy footwear (for what?) drinks and smokes and yet into fitness and martial arts (again, an unlikely set of characteristics),
Vernon, 50 – businessman, wants everything his way, ’keeps’ a wife, arrogant,
Alice, 80 – slim, frail, smart, Christian church, a widow who is deaf, lives with daughter and son-in-law, good memory and very musical,
Bernie – 5’5” strong-willed woman, independent , has a facial scar she doesn’t talk about, speaks her mind, sensible,
and finally: William, 55 – grey hair, stoop, pale, scruffy, fluent in several languages.
Lesley based her story in the year 2100, springtime in the Blue Mountains of Australia at a ‘hosp-hotel where all the characters come together. She revealed that Vernon is the victim, and gave us some clues about who knows who and connections, former incidents including a plane crash in 2080 which is the main link for all these characters in one way or another. WWG is looking forward to hearing Lesley’s story if she brings it next time.
Ian
…read again from his uncle Charles Nida’s memoir, Chota Sahib of being a box-wallah in India between 1913-1916. In this episode the hero encounters the Poker table for first time under the guidance of the worldly wise Dr Novino. He experiences the elation of winning big and then being tricked and tempted into further play where he loses and incurs debts he cannot afford. Lesson learned very sharply and now he has traded his poker debts to one person: the lovely Gertie who therefore now has some control over him, with interest!
The group enjoyed the way the book has been written and the story so far.
Jenny
…read an article she has written for Whitby Civic Society entitled Sending a letter in Georgian Whitby This informs the reader of the problems this entailed, including making a quill pen, creating the ink, pulping paper to write on, knowing what to say and how guides were available for such things, that xxx meant blessings and not kisses as we know it today, using flour and water if poor, or sealing wax if it could be afforded, and finally the methods of delivery before road, rail and postal services were improved. Apparently the recipient paid for the delivery upon receipt and could reject it, yet of the 10,000 letters sent only 200 were returned. It was perilous to journey the roads at that time with robberies aplenty, and a local man John Williamson was hanged for such crimes.
The group all felt this was an interesting piece and discussions followed about literacy, wealth, and the postal service today in comparison.
The meeting closed at 1.10pm.
Whitby Writers Group 