MEETING REPORT 6TH DECEMBER 2011

Good day Scribes.

This is the penultimate meeting report for the year and the last containing homework, which was REBELS.
Those present included:
DAVE, DICK, LILIANE, CAZ, SANDY, SALLY, TONY, BERYL, MARTIN, RAY, SARAH AND BARRY.

Apologies came from Carolyn, Les and Cathy.

We started the session with a tale from our esteemed Treasurer, BERYL. Her piece was entitled THE SISTER, a couple of pages from her work in progress novel. We look forward to reading more about Rudolph and his partner Roma together with his two Aunts, Annie and Hettie.

Next came our resident comedian TONY. What can I say about his piece. I sat bemused, as did most other listeners at his rendition of part of a sequel to his Sword of the Kings. This was called (I think) WIND ISLAND and suffice it to say I just noted the two words in my minute book. ‘Plus one.’ These seemed to encapsulate the convoluted language of his chapter. I’m sure it will make sense one day.

Our youngest member was next, SALLY gave us a very bored housewife’s view of her early life with her then handsome husband Jonathan who had attracted her greatly when she was younger but his appeal had steadily declined until she was simply a lady who loves nothing more than a good book and a glass of wine. A REBEL WIFE hopefully is not a peek into her future. Still, she has been warned now.

Sally brought her mother as usual and SANDY amused us all with MARCH TO MILE END, a story of mother and daughter Mabel and Jane, and Mabel’s insistence that they follow the example of Wat Tyler and the Poll Tax Rebels and march to Mile End with demands similar to those of the Peasants revolt. After her daughter explained the distance to Mile End ... They took the train!

LILIANE was next with THE LAST CITY TO FALL, the story of Antwerp enshrined in a very informative account of the way Europe was shaped by the various Kings and Queens of Holland, Belgium and other rulers of Germany etc. I could not possibly give you the names and titles of her extensive research but would say that the history lesson was engrossing.

CAZ gave us REBEL, telling of the way she and her brother coped through their early years and how her rebellious brother went from Military school to live in Germany where he was involved in a serious accident while in Berlin. Caz told with feeling how she was torn at the time, from being able to visit him in hospital and trying to cope with terrible news about Jack, her son who grew to be a rebel in his own right and a gifted writer until he was cruelly taken from Caz and her family.

DICK, our deep voiced schoolteacher (retired) gave us A RISK FOR THE TEACHER.
This was one thousand words telling of a schoolteacher rebellion in Lowood School because of the way the children were treated and the dire state of the food being served from the dirty and scruffy school cook. The rebellion was a risk in those early days when the school board were as likely to sack the complainants rather than the offending culprits.
Charlotte Bronte would have been pleased to have this piece as part of Jane Eyre.

DAVE was in the spirit world with REBEL IN THE SKY where his subject rebels against the norm to dwell in the in between world and wait for opportunities to take his revenge on Hatcher, a bully from his early life and one who had subsequently killed the narrator by forcing his car off a cliff. His obvious relish at the many ways Hatcher had been thwarted and persecuted until his eventual demise makes us all wary of the way we treat Dave.

BARRY. My piece was an attempt at humour which was received quite well I thought. It concerned a few words from an ongoing project about The Rubicon Rebels entiltled
TILTING AT WINDMILLS. My group of feisty residents of the Rubicon Rest Home told of a residents meeting and the way the convoy of mobility scooters should behave on their next foray into town.

RAY captivated us all with a surprise account of his early life and his desire to engage with the law. Not on the wrong side of course but completely against his father’s wishes he followed his dream and went to Law School. His piece entitled YOU ONLY GET ONE LIFE told us how, when he had passed his exams he became disillusioned with the workings of our high courts, explicitly the Old Bailey and how he performed his one and only criminal case only to go into another arm of jurisprudence.

MARTIN was a playwright for tonight and gave us some narrative from a play he is writing. The piece was part of his play ST JOAN THE FIGHTER involving two rebellious teenagers, Anne and Sophie.

SARAH was in attendance but due to other commitments she was unable to complete a homework piece, but just came to meet and listen to our stories.

Thus concluded the meeting.

My thanks to all who attended and I’m sure you all join me in wishing Les’s wife Joan a speedy recovery after her unexpected trip to hospital.

The last meeting of 2011 will be in the normal place on the 20th December when you are encouraged to bring four words on separate slips of paper. We shall have a short writing exercise until the extended break where we can partake of refreshments and the usual mince pies etc to get us in the mood for Christmas.

One final note about the Scribblers Meal at the Brook a week ago. We had a good turnout and a very enjoyable time was had by all while sampling the excellent carvery put on at the venue. Everyone left feeling very satisfied I think. Thank you Les for organising.

Regards to all and see you on the 20th. NO HOMEWORK, just four words.

Barry.