MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE FELIXSTOWE SCRIBBLERS ON TUESDAY 6th AUGUST
AT THE ROOM AT THE TOP, FELIXSTOWE LIBRARY
Apologies were received from Carolyn, Martin, Beryl, Mai and Barry D.
Those present were Dave, Barry M, Les, Dick, Liliane, Ray, Tony,
Clive and me.
We were very pleased to welcome two new members this evening Susie and Liliane’s
granddaughter Thalia. We hope they enjoyed the first of many evenings with us.
Some news: Tony is in talks
with both Felixstowe and Ipswich Radio stations with the growing possibility of
his plays being broadcast alongside other Felixstowe Scribblers work either in
story form or, possibly as a radio play. Sounds good so hope it all comes to
fruition.
Our other Suzie was unable to attend but tells us about the Telegraph
weekly travel writing competition? (Google Telegraph Travel Writing).
Mai won it a few weeks ago with ‘Historic Manor Life’ which can be read here. Suzie’s daughter
Rosemary won it this week with ‘Tatra Mountains’. Now they are
entered for the annual prize of £1,000. Something for us
Scribblers to think about? 500 words.
The Homework:
CLIVE – THE MAIN NIALL
Niall moaned, sucking pebbles, cold, wet, still alive somehow, pain
shooting through his head. It was dark (night time). Strange thoughts about his
surroundings, a beach that was pebbled. Took a deep breath felt nauseous,
as he tried to move himself up the beach. Surrounded with pebbles felt a
real empathy with turtles, with a slow movement of his limbs. His
breathing laboured, wondering what had happened. The breeze was
drying him off. It was luxury surveying surroundings. No
moon but the water gently rustling. Niall was in a cove of some
sort. It had lumps of wood and sea weed all over. He had
washed up, he was sure, somewhere in England. He was with a
compliment of four and in a split second he was recognized and they clubbed
him, then tossed him off the yacht. Unknown to the crew he was
wearing a concealed, self inflating lifebelt. Warm seas lapped and
the throb was easing – able to get his bearings. Feeling cold and he knew he
had to get dry. In the distance he saw lights and a roadway. Niall staggered
his thirty eight year old body to civilisation. He must get to the town and get
medical help as blood was seeping out of his body it was about 6.30 am when he
knocked at the door of an hotel worker opened as Niall staggered and fell to
the ground unconscious. The paramedics arrived and took him to hospital.
RAY – Ten Thousand Dollar Bounty – An extract from his
book published in 1986
A cowboy wearing a rounded pebbled Stetson, walked along an uneven
surface and came to a dead stop along the board walk near the town’s
bank. It had a red and gold sign more in line with a saloon than a bank.
So much had happened to this man who was once a farm boy in Idaho and had since
turned into a gunman. He was a natural born hunter. This did not
bode well that Matt Broker had a natural flair and a love of guns. His father
had lost the family farm to gambling around his 12th birthday.
BARRY M – The Red Purse
Pebbles stood outside Wilkinson’s when an old lady passed by then bent
over to pick up a stray penny. The lady had a Bag for Life in her hand; her
blouse pulled at her ample breast. As she was standing there Pebbles
got bored waiting for her brother and mother who were in the shop. Soon they
walked along the high street past New Look, when she spotted a man staring at
them. He was wearing blue faded jeans and an iron maiden t-shirt. He, she
was sure, was following them. She grabbed her brother Craig’s hand then
they ran for it into the open market. ‘There is a man following us,’
Pebbles said breathless, as she pointed to him, and her Mother squinted to see but
wasn't wearing her glasses. As they ran, the man was hit by the moving traffic.
In his hand Pebble’s red purse she had dropped which he was trying to return to
her..An off duty policeman gave him CPR but a doctor pronounced him dead at the
scene.
LILIANE – Beaches
I hadn’t seen a beach until I was seven. When I went to the
seaside with my Great Aunty Marie – who I assumed at the time was a
witch. In May 1940 we had boarded a ship to escape the German
invasion. A trip to Blackpool beach on the way to a picnic with Irene’s
family. Newspapers were especially rare. We went to the Belgium
Coast on school trips. We lived in Worthing where the beach was all
pebbles and. sea weed that attracted the flies.. There was a
children’s playground, nice buildings like The Prince Regent. I remembered
making castles in the sand at Little Hampton. There were artificial
beaches which made you feel you were falling in quick sand. Paddling was marred
by fishermen. Then beautiful sculptures on Bondi beach,. Sharks swimming off the
shores of the east coast of Australia,.no pebbles there just palm trees and
paradise.
THALIA – Seagulls
Blue gentle waves, golden sands, fish and chips. There was a lone
seagull with a sharp beak. As he looked down over the people he scanned the
ground for more of the tit bits that were being left then swooped down for
more.
DICK – History Can Prove Useful
1762 King George III reigned when taxation was being lost to smuggling. The
shifting of contraband by the smugglers who were managing to get away with so
much and not be caught on the ‘Spirit of The Marshes’. They hid until the
full moon was somehow hidden. It was the Hawkesmoor Gang, murderers in rowing
boats and small craft. Captain Collins was involved in these activities in
the mudflats. A French sloop. open to gun planks. Faced with problems Bates and
Hughes were in a work party for this patrol but collapsed in a drunken
stupor. They only checked eight cannonballs aboard. The
smugglers were at Oyster Creek, with precious little to lose as they landed
their contraband. Bosun Lucas spotted them through his telescope
then opened fire, each of the cannonballs crashing into the sand spreading
shells and pebbles all round and causing panic. History was certainly repeating
itself when the Danes attack on Landguard Fort was defeated.
LES – Beauty and the Beach
Our dear Les is always ultra keen to get to our meetings, so much so that he came along last Tuesday eagerly waving his non-rhyming poem. Unfortunately Les chose the wrong Tuesday which was good news for us! He re-wrote his poem, came back on the right Tuesday and read his rhyming version out and that was greatly appreciated ! Difficult to recall the lines but it included so many inspirational thoughts of a pebbled beach, and the ocean and all the beauty that nature provides.
Tony – Psychedelic Stones
Tony’s history of music! The haves and have nots – scrabbling for every
penny. Created about 1967/68. Many outselling the Beatles and the Stones Under
The Silent Tree/ Bands such as SQ, Kinks, Onex, Blonde on Blonde,
Neo Myer, Episode Six. It was incredible music that changed the music history.
Adapted from Wilson Malone. Mother Love, Orange Bicycle, Strings –
Verve. Music of the 1960/70s albums. We Can Fly, Fruit Machine, The
Kissing Spell. Dark, Fifty Copies Around The Edges. Millions
reformed thirty years later. Stone Age, Nervous Whisper, Andromide, Johny Ducan
labels changed. Champion European bands. Musical Truth, Sonic Boom, Salt River
Navy Band. The Sun, Pink, Fresh Carbage, US inadvertantly Walk. The Rain, First
Crow To The Moon. US Label champions lesser known artists. UK and European
Electric Some body To Love. Great Society, Jefferson Airplane. I’m allergic to
Flowers by The Ravalls. It’s a Psychedelic Movement. Two eyed title – one
eyed cufflink!
Dave – Bam Bam
The Three Corners on a narrow lane where the obnoxious Percy and his
wife Celia Bunting lived. City types who complained about traffic on the lane,
especially me and my motor bike. They were real stuck up folk and.I would
shatter their country tranquillity. I hit the corner at an acute angle,
leaning too far the other way and the front wheel went and my heart skipped a
thousand beats. Hands clenching into fists, eyes blinking,
lights shining. Painful world where starvation is rife, city folk
think they can buy the countryside, thoughtless jerks, all these muddled
thoughts to blot out the pain. Then pure peace, no sound, no whisper, or whimper.
Breath blasted from my screaming lungs. Just laying there in pain, with a
deep fear of my injuries, wanting someone to come to my aid. My new
motorbike damaged. I ignored the speed limit I was reckless. It was the
thrill of the power between my legs. It was my choice. I was in practice
for that 37 mile TT race, as a competitor and not a spectator this time.
It was such a thrill, such excitement. Then the realisation, that those
Buntings saw me but didn’t make a move to help. Police and ambulance arrived.
The realisation too, that my specialist leathers, had saved my spine. It
appears, they had scattered pebbles across the lane and were arrested.
Me - Rocks Pebbles and Sand
I read a wonderful piece, not written by me, about ‘shifting sands’,
making sure you take care of the small things in life and the big things then
take care of themselves.
.
Our next meeting will be held on
Tuesday 20h August at The Room at the Top in the Library. This will
be a "GENRE" meeting so rather than drawing a specific genre out of a
hat, we decided to allow each writer to produce up to 1,000 words in any genre
they choose - but something different to their normal creations. Sounds as if
it is going to be a very interesting evening.
Hope to see you all there in the meantime do...
Keep Scribbling.
Caz Wilkinson (Joint Secretary)
