Minutes of the meeting at La Rosa Hotel on the above date.
Present: Adele, Harry, Ian, Jenny, John, Kaz, Michele.
Apologies: Gill, Jan, Jenny, Laura, Magda, Pip, Suzanne.
Topic: Members’ work-in-progress.
Matters Arising
Ian reported the sad news of the death of our member Lesley. She passed away following a brief illness on 12 November, shortly after booking with Jenny to come to the Christmas Lunch. However Ian had only got to hear about it from Lesley’s niece yesterday.
Ian also raised the possibility of holding another Coffee Clatch by popular request. The previous occasion arose in an ad-hoc way when our venue was pre-booked for a wedding on our meeting day, (Thursday 14 September 2023). Jenny confirmed that The Royal Hotel would be tolerant of us simply descending upon them to occupy a vacant corner of one of the ground floor lounges.
Support was unanimous for a Coffee Clatch on Thursday, 19 December 2024. This would not be an official event, but a “happening”. As before, attendees can bring their indie-published books to pass around and discuss. Ian will email a reminder and plan of campaign the day before (Wednesday, 18).
Members’ Readings
Michele —
handed out copies of a synopsis of her Anglo-Boer War book The Undesirables, which she read aloud to the meeting. The synopsis would form part of her submission to the writing competition by Curtis Brown called Discoveries 2025 aimed at female writers, previously unpublished (except self-published authors), with a closing date in January 2025.
It was generally agreed the synopsis fulfilled its purpose well. Members made several suggestions for minor points of style and clarification.
Adele —
read a further chapter of her memoir of life as a local estate agent, entitled Why don’t you think it’s selling? In the era of no-sale-no-fee, she has the unenviable task of selling the house of an eccentric former teacher, whose wife turned out to be even more eccentric than he was. Unsafe structural modifications, plus a bizarre DIY decor portraying all-too-literally the “beating heart” of the family, made it the commission-from-hell. Unable to sell in time for their projected move, the family moved out, leaving the property not completely vacant (the ideal) but in the care of their fun-loving teenage daughter. So viewers were greeted by libertine prospects not to be seen by children, or anyone else for that matter.
John —
read a powerful piece about living in a generic city that had become a war zone. After enduring fire-bombing with napalm, one sunny day three planes appear flying very high in the sky. It transpires that the city is Hiroshima and the event to unfold is the world’s first-ever combat use of a nuclear device.
Ian appraised John of Barefoot Gen, a Japanese manga which covers the Hiroshima atom-bombing in stark, personal detail.
Ian —
handed-out copies and read aloud an evocative poem River of Life by our deceased member Lesley, in her memory.
Kaz — read out the lyric of her song Lonely Man. Ian said that he’d love to hear it sung to music.
Harry —
continued reading from Sea Wife, his memoir in-progress of life at sea as a radio officer in the 1960s, the heyday of the British Merchant Navy.
The SS Marwarri, berthed in the foetid waters of Kidderpore Dock in Calcutta, receives news that she has been rescheduled to return to England via the USA, taking on-board a cargo of tea. His newlywed wife Beryl, along for the ride, is delighted with this unanticipated extension of her trip-of-a-lifetime, with its prospect of New Orleans and the Bay of Mexico. But messmates gave out that this was not good news to some, who’d be parted from their families for longer than originally expected.
Landlubbers craved clarification of the title: No Right Turn At Gib. “Gib” is Gibraltar, from which British ships from India passing through the Suez Canal would begin the last leg of their journey home. On sailing past “Gib” into the Atlantic Ocean, the ship would do a right turn (i.e. steam north) for England. To go straight ahead would end up in America.
The meeting closed at 1:10 PM. Members then adjourned to The Magpie Cafe for the annual Christmas Lunch.
Whitby Writers Group 