Minutes of the meeting at La Rosa Hotel on the above date.
Present: Harry, Jenny (chair), John, Jonathan, Kaz, Suzanne.
Apologies: Adele, Gill, Ian, Laura, Michele, Pip.
Topic: Members’ work-in-progress.
Matters Arising
NOTE: This was the last meeting before the August break. We will start meeting again fortnightly on Thursday 12 September 2024.
Jenny announced a story reading event at St Ninian’s Church in Baxtergate, Whitby on August 7th at 7.30. Robert Lloyd Parry will be reading some of Arthur Machen’s stories inspired by his visit to Whitby in 1916. (See poster above.)
Members’ Readings
Jonathan —
read some amusing anecdotes about Yorkshire life. In one, a school inspector visited a remote rural school. He offered sixpence to the child who could name the greatest Englishman, a little boy replied Churchill and was given the 6d. When asked why he had chosen the great man, he replied, “I should have said Len Hutton, but business is business.”
Harry —
continued reading his 1960s seafaring memoir. A sperm whale is spotted.
There followed an interesting discussion about how much attitudes had changed about whales in the last 60 years, with a deep respect for them in present times.
Kaz —
read a short story describing a visit to a festival. The anticipation as the car was loaded with camping gear, despite heavy rain. The excitement on arrival, seeing hundreds of people arrive in their colourful clothes and the magical peace she experienced listening to music over the next 2 days, where troubles and stresses could be forgotten and the sun managed to shine.
John —
read from his 3rd novel, Bugle Blast, describing the almost idyllic life of his protagonists in their little cottage with its gorgeous garden. However, the reader has a sense of impending doom and there was a discussion about the slightly menacing feeling to be had at Pendle Hill, and the feeling that this story will not end well.
All agreed that John had created an evocative piece of writing.
Suzanne —
read from her blog about coping with becoming a widow, which she hopes to develop into a published book. She described the various stages of grief, pointing out that everyone is different in their reactions to this situation.
A discussion followed about feelings following a death and then a short discussion about the perils of getting published and how rejections could be taken very personally when the subject matter is so close to one’s heart.
Jenny —
read an article written for Whitby Civic Society entitled Getting a Square Meal on a Whaling Ship, the title coming from the square platters that the sailors ate their meals from. The whalers were very well fed compared to their contemporaries in the Navy, with a varied and substantial diet of around 6000 calories a day. Bread, meats, vegetables, and porridge – all washed down with beers and a daily allowance of rum for the first few weeks of the five month round trip. On reaching the Greenland fisheries, the diet could be supplemented by seal meat, polar bear meat, fullers and other seabirds, with fresh drinking water from melted ice.
The meeting closed at 1:00 PM.
Whitby Writers Group 