Next Meeting

Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday 6th January at 7.30pm in The Room at the Top, Felixstowe Library.  This is our AGM and, if time permits, it will be followed by a short creative writing exercise. 

SUFFOLK READING FESTIVAL BROADCASTS THIS WEEK.

Wed 31 Dec 1900-1930
Felixstowe Radio 107.5fm or via the internet
Program 49.
The Sword of the Kings by Tony Shearman ...
The Road Hill House Murder pt 4 - by David Morrison (theme by kind permission of Sarah Jane Scouten)
A Love for all pets by Les Smith

Performers: Angela Silburn, Ryan Guilder, Alison Miller, David Miller,
Peter Guilder, Alan Dix, Robin Saunders, Brian England

Fri 2nd Jan 1230-1300
Ipswich Community Radio (ICR) 105.7 FM, or via the internet
Program 43
The Sword of the Kings by Tony Shearman
The Mezzotint by M R James
All the fun of the Afterlife by Dave Feakes
Performers: Brian England, Alison Miller, Robin Saunders, David Miller
Martin Jarvis, Debbie Coveney, Sheila Martin, Su Steadman, Vincent Shearman,
Alan Dix.

Hope you enjoy them

All the best

Tony

Good news about Les

Had a very welcome message from Mairéad to say...

Went to see Les at Ipswich Hospital this morning. He was in great form and while I was there they told him he could go home this afternoon. He said that when his leg is out of plaster he will be back at the meetings. Doesn’t think he will make it next week. It was so good to see him.

She also wished everyone a Happy New Year.

Dave

Compliments of the Season

Merry Christmas
and a
very
Happy New Year
to all our Scribbler friends

Les

I had a message from Caz yesterday to say Les has a full plaster on his leg and seems quite comfortable on a newly provided mattress to prevent bed sores. He is ok and still able to laugh and joke.

Should you wish to send a get well card or wishes to him then please address it to:

Les Smith,
Saxmundham Ward
Ipswich Hospital,
Heath Road,
Ipswich.
IP4 5PD.

Check out the Writers Room at BBC

Want to keep up with the news? Check out the Writers Room at :-

http://www.bbc.co.uk/writersroom/

Update and Suffolk Reading Festival

A few lines to bring you up to date with the news. I understand that Les had a fall today and has broken his thigh. He has been admitted this evening to Saxmundham Ward at Ipswich Hospital. I will forward any updates as soon as I hear them.

Happier things, Christmas Wishes have been received from Suzy and many kind words have been said about our group from so many people. Hoping all is well with everyone and you are enjoying the run - up to Christmas. Help - it's nearly here. Got to start shopping soon...!

Dave

Now from Tony:

SUFFOLK READING FESTIVAL BROADCASTS THIS WEEK
We're on both Christmas Eve and Boxing Day.
Wed 24th 1900-1930
Felixstowe Radio 107.5fm or via the internet.
Program 48...
Sword of the Kings by Tony Shearman
Road Hill House Murder pt3 by David Morrison (theme by kind permission of Sarah Jane Scouten)
The Wrong Type by Jane Bailey

Performers: Angela Silburn, Ryan Guilder, David Miller, Alison Miller,
Robin Saunders,Tony Shearman, Peter Guilder, Sheila Martin.

Fri 26th 1230-1300
Ipswich Community Radio (ICR) 105.7 FM or via the internet.
Program 42
Sword of the Kings by Tony Shearman
Marbles Lost Again by Tony Shearman
Up in Smoke by Barry Martin
Performers: Brian England, Alison Miller, Angela Silburn, Peter Guilder
Debbie Coveney,David Miller, Tony Shearman, Robin Saunders, Beryl Sabel
Su Steadman, Alan Dix.

Hope you enjoy them. 

Cheers Tony 

Festive message from Angela

I wish all my Scribbler friends a happy Christmas and health, happiness and all the kind of writing you want to flow from your pens/keyboards.
Thanks for keeping me in the loop!
Very best wishes - Angela Petch

Writing courses and retreats at Ty Newydd, a historic house in beautiful North Wales

Hello there, 

I'm contacting you with some information about writing courses and retreats taking place in spring-summer 2015 at Ty Newydd; it's our 25th year. 

As a lover of literature, I hoped you might be able to pass it on to people who attend your writing group, or other friends or colleagues who might be interested.

The House 

Tŷ Newydd is a beautiful, historic house on the brink of Snowdonia National Park, just a ten-minute walk from the Cardigan Bay coastline, founded by Gillian Clarke, National Poet of Wales, 25 years ago. It was the final resting place of Lloyd George, Prime Minister of Great Britain during the First World War, and also the home of Clough Williams-Ellis, Wales’ world-renowned architect who created the famous nearby village of Portmeirion. It is your home while you are here, and comfortable rooms and home-made meals await you, in a relaxing and write-friendly atmosphere.

Coming soon in February and March are:

• Emerging Young Talent for writers aged 16-30
• Theatre Masterclass with Kaite O'Reilly
• Poetry and Dementia 
• Spring Retreat

The Programme

You can see what the full list of spring-summer courses here:  http://www.llenyddiaethcymru.org/courses/

Read Gillian Clarke's statement and view the programme online here: http://www.literaturewales.org/news/i/145989/

Visit  http://tynewydd.org/  for more information.

Thanks,

Gwyn Thomas de Chroustchoff

Gwyn Thomas de Chroustchoff

Swyddog Cefnogi a Rheolwr Lletygarwch Tŷ Newydd

Tŷ Newydd Support Officer and Hospitality Manager

_________________________________________

Report of Meeting held on Tuesday 16th December 2014

Apologies were received from: Liliane, Derek, Clive and Les,

In Attendance:  Caz, Tom, Mairéad, Caroline, Dick, Barry, Cathy, Tony, Beryl, Jane, Gerry, Richard and Dave.

We heard the news that Les had been to hospital earlier and was unable to attend the meeting. Our sincerest wishes to him. Also Liliane is well on her way to Australia by now whilst Derek sends his apologies for absence until March because he will be spending more in Yorkshire thanks to a certain lady friend, and holidays in Norway and Scotland as well. 

Caz requested the meeting start with a minutes silence in remembrance of the 132 children and 9 teachers who died in the dreadful Peshawar massacre, and also to the two hostage victims of the Sydney siege.

Steve, who attended for the first time last meeting emailed and explained that he had applied for a course on Creative Writing at UEA - it's in high demand and applications are competitive - and last week he heard that he had been accepted and starts the course in January. As a result, he is unsure of the work load and would like to join our sessions when he is sure of his commitments. Steve sends us his good wishes for a happy Christmas and New Year.

We have also heard from Belinda and Geoff who pass their seasonal wishes on from Down Under.

Nearer home, the notorious A14 struck again! An accident near the Orwell Bridge caused tailbacks and delayed Richard’s arrival for the second time in two meetings. Unfortunately it meant he arrived too late to join in the creative writing session which was already under way. Let’s hope next time he will have an easier journey!

After two mediocre attendances we were pleased to see a splendid turnout for this meeting including Cathy and Caroline’s welcome returns to the fold.  Thanks to everyone who attended and for bringing their lovely offerings and drink for the party that followed the creative writing.

The session produced some excellent work in the twenty allotted minutes for writing. A great exercise that kept the brain boxes ticking over! Below are the words drawn by the Scribblers and, in some cases, a title has also been given. There are no write-ups on the work as is normal for these meetings. That would be too much hard work at the end of a long year!

Jane: Disaffection, Popcorn, Talisman. “Tweezers”

Barry: Chastity, Bumper, Meteor, Death. “Chess.”

Dick: Earnest, Personal, Painting, Christmas.

Caroline: Lush, Patriot, Moonlight, Hirsute. “Feeling Scroogy”.

Mairéad: Pilchard, Murder, Flag, Death.

Tom: Harem, Broken, Death, Yuletide. “Politically Correct”.

Caz: Death, Glint, Charity, Antagonise.

Dave: Frosted, Idealist, Survive, Nightmare.

Beryl: Filthy, Scream, Realist, Horror.

Tony: Destitute, Fantasist, Emerald, Landslide. “Make Them Pay Their Own Way” or alternatively,“Politically Incorrect”.

Cathy: Stencil, Pragmatist, Flood, Abdicate.

With the ‘work’ done and dusted it was on with the merriment and light hearted discussions. All too soon time was up and we bade our farewells for a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.  

Our next meeting, the first of 2015, will be held on Tuesday 6^th January at 7.30pm in The Room at the Top in the library. This will be our Annual General Meeting which, hopefully, will be a brief affair so that we can enjoy another short Creative Writing Exercise.

Should you have any items you wish to be discussed in relation to the programme for 2015 (available above) or ideas to make meetings more enjoyable (Ed’s note: more enjoyable? Really?) or improve the formats then please email them to Dave preferably before Christmas if at all possible.

Have a fantastic Christmas and New Year!

See you at Scribblers but, until then,

Keep Scribbling!!!

Dave

Going out on a high - meeting wise.

This last meeting of the year was an unbridled success with some wonderful creativity from those present. Unfortunately an accident (again) on the A14 caused a delay to one of our writers who had to sit out the creative writing exercise which was in full flow when he arrived.

It was the best turn out for a long time and I am sure everyone enjoyed the results of the exercise.

Sadly we hear that Les had to stay at home tonight after a visit to hospital today. Everyone is thinking of him.

Meanwhile our next meeting will be on 6th January when we hold our AGM and then follow this with a short creative writing exercise (providing there is time.)

Until then,

Keep Scribbling!!!

Have a Very Merry Christmas and a Happy and Prosperous New Year.

Last Meeting of the Year

Well it has almost arrived, the final meeting of 2014. It takes place on Tuesday next, 16^th December in The Room at the Top. Start time is 7.30pm.

The meeting will take the form of a short creative writing session so please bring along four words each written on a small and separate slip of paper. These will be put into a hat and then each person in turn draws out four words which have to be included in a short piece of writing. This always produces some tremendous creativity and this meeting should be no different.

Following this session we will have our little Christmas party so if you would like to bring along food and/or non-alcoholic drink then we can have a good send-off into the forthcoming festive season. Please, though, just bring along a small portion of nibbles etc., we don’t want to have to take heaps home again afterwards!

A couple of days ago I saw the following featured on You Tube, it’s a question and answer session with our dear friend Ruth. It’s well worth a look so just click on the following link :-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku_SGGJhROc&feature=share

Until Tuesday,

Keep Scribbling!!!

Dave,

Ps to Liliane, Thank you for all the times you have collected the key for us. You deserve your holiday so have a safe flight to Australia. Have a lovely Christmas and then we’ll see you in the New Year!

SUFFOLK READING FESTIVAL BROADCASTS THIS WEEK

Wed 10th Dec 1900-1930
Felixstowe Radio 107.5fm or via the internet
Program 46
Sword of the Kings by Tony Shearman ...
The Road Hill House Murder pt1 by David Morrison (theme by kind permission of Sarah Jane Scouten)
Barth a Loner by Tony Shearman
I've decided I think by Les Smith

Performers: Angela Silburn, Ryan Guilder, Sheila Martin, David Miller, Brian England, Debbie Coveney, Alan Dix, Beryl Sabel, Su Steadman, Alison Miller,
Pete Guilder, Les Smith


Fri 12th Dec 1230-1300
Ipswich Community Radio (ICR) 105.7 FM or via the internet
Program 40
Sword of the Kings by Tony Shearman
Marbles Lost Again by Tony Shearman
The Last Bottle by Liliane Sivaraj
Performers: Beryl Sabel, Tony Shearman, David Miller, Sheila Martin, Alison Miller,
Debbie Coveney, Su Steadman, Pete Guilder, Angela Silburn, Robin Saunders

Hope you enjoy them

Cheers Tony

Report of Meeting held on Tuesday 2nd December 2014

Apologies were received from: Clive, Carolyn, Cathy, Les, Martin, Mairéad, Barry, Tom, Caz and Beryl.

In Attendance:  Suzy, Richard, Liliane, Derek, Dick, Tony, Jane, Dave and Steve who came along for the first time.

Circumstances often affect meetings like ours and tonight was another exception to our generally healthy rule. Obviously everyone has reasons for not attending and tonight was no exception. Let’s send our thoughts to Les for a full recovery after his operation, also to Caz whose aunt passed away in the afternoon. Of course there are those who are unwell and our thoughts should go to them too whilst others have various commitments, holidays and travel plans to contend with.

Then of course our meeting was a little late starting mainly due to those travelling into Felixstowe along the notorious A14 who were delayed by an accident. I have been travelling to the Scribblers for many years and this was the first time I had been affected in this way – fortunately I was able to weave my way through Kirton and the Trimleys to arrive in fairly good time.

On the brighter side it was nice to welcome Steve along to his first meeting. Having heard about the Scribblers at the Book Festival he later attended an author talk in the Library and decided to come and find out whether our group would be a benefit to his own writing. Let’s hope some of the feedback he received from the extract from his novel and the response to his questions were useful.

Next I must thank Mairéad for donating Phil Rickman’s novel ‘Night After Night’ for the Scribblers. A draw was held and I was the lucky recipient although circumstances meant I was unable to receive the book until today. A ghost story, it looks to be a real chiller. Thank you Mairéad. I look forward to reading it.

Thanks also to Caz for donating a tin of biscuits for our Scribblers coffee break. Much appreciated!

Further thanks to Liliane for regularly collecting the Library key. She will miss our final meeting of the year as she will be flying out to Australia for a well deserved holiday with her family.

We heard from Martin who explains that his work schedule is such that he has stopped writing for the time but hopes to be able to return sometime in the New Year. We really hope so and he is one of our most talented writers.

The homework assignment on ‘Absent Friends’:

Suzy: Absent Friends: Anna planned the special dinner to celebrate Phil and Wendy’s imminent baby, Simon’s engagement, Claire passing her driving test and Will landing the job of his dreams. She prepared the table ornately, laid out with all the places set, and even employed a butler for the evening. He was Kris from Denmark. Then the phone rang. Phil’s wife Wendy had gone into labour. Two places removed from the table. Next the police rang. Will had been in an accident. Kris removed another place setting. Then she saw Simon’s text that he’d run out of petrol on the motorway. Kris removed yet another setting. Finally Claire phoned, having gone down with a sod of a cold. So Kris joined Anna for dinner. After he had left she lay on the sofa and murmured, ‘To absent friends.’  

Steve: Three Degrees of Freedom: An excerpt from his book: The scene in Chapter One was set against the sun and sea in a South Coast hamlet. He was on a break, seeking all the excitement of scuba diving during the summer of 2011. He stayed in the Fisherman’s Cottage where a map of the wreck site was spread out on a table. As he checked over it, he recalled the wreck had been torpedoed in WW1 and was laying there on the bottom waiting for him and the other divers to explore the mysteries of the sunken vessel. There were six of them, three men and three girls. The opening chapter was discussed in length, in fact the whole novel had been re-written twice.

Richard: Oh Yes I Remember: When I reached sixty I sought out old friends that worked well though it took a few key facts to enter conversation. Not on the list was Barbara, a girl friend from forty years earlier. She was older than me. I met her at a seminar in the Harz Mountains and was the reason I moved to Germany. It all ended four years later. Now, 40 years on I waited with a mutual friend who had invited Barbara to the Spanish restaurant. Her taxi driver took her Zimmer frame from the boot. She was old, stooping and slow. Barbara was slow at responding, but we shared selective reminiscences. Then the truth struck me. I had deluded myself that I was approaching middle-age but I realise the truth, I am old. The past is a great place to live but it’s a trap. I remember Barbara’s Zimmer frame.  

Dick: From Tragedy to Friendship, a true story: It was 1948 when it happened. Dad came home from work and, after I had gone to bed, he related the story of young Colin who went home from school to find his mother trying to gas herself and his little sister. He broke in, switched off the gas and phoned 999. His mother was sectioned and his sister taken into care. Colin’s dad found it difficult coping so when my Dad asked me if I would like a brother for about a year I said ‘yes’. I accepted Colin though the first weeks were difficult but eventually he came out of his shell and we shared friends and the same school. Eventually he went home again and we kept in touch with Christmas cards through the years. When his wife passed away I thought it would be nice to meet him again and so in the summer of 2010 he stepped down from the bus and the past 62 years just slipped away.

Jane: Read ‘Meeting Point’ by Louis MacNeice which she dedicated to her sister. Here are the first verses of this rather lovely poem:

Time was away and somewhere else,

There were two glasses and two chairs

And two people with the one pulse

(Somebody stopped the moving stairs)

Time was away and somewhere else.

And they were neither up nor down;

The stream's music did not stop

Flowing through heather, limpid brown,

Although they sat in a coffee shop

And they were neither up nor down.

The bell was silent in the air

Holding its inverted poise -

Between the clang and clang a flower,

A brazen calyx of no noise:

The bell was silent in the air.

Derek: Us Suffolk Boys: Another really powerful work from Derek. An extract from his Great Uncle’s unpublished book tells of him and his three mates joining the Suffolk Regiment for the war predicted to be over by Christmas. I visited the Menin Gate in 1968. Fifty years had not erased the sounds, the smell, the suffering and futility of the trenches. Young, innocent and naive when I joined up escaping from the noise and dirt of Ransome’s. Bertie worked in Philip and Piper, a reputation with the female machinists. Harry worked on the Docks, hard as nails and always smiling. Charlie was always in overalls, a mechanic by trade. I saw the ocean of carved names in the Portland Stone and remembered last seeing Harry on the back of a horse drawn ambulance. He died two days later. Bertie was never found, his body, or remains from the blast, lay in reddy brown farmland. Charlie and I played in that Christmas Day football match when the two enemies met halfway between their lines. Charlie was killed two days later. I stood, head bowed, The Last Post playing into the night. Agnes squeezed my hand, tears ran down my cheeks. I remember you Charlie, and Bertie and Harry, your names liveth forever.

Dave; Absent Friends: A bit of a mystery really. At a business dinner Monica wanted to know why my wife Claire wasn’t with me. I was reluctant to tell her even if I really knew her whereabouts. Claire and I had an office affair resulting in a positive pregnancy test, a quickie wedding at the Registry Office before my hateful father-in-law paid the deposit on a new semi miles away from work. I drove home from the function to a cold empty house. The rancid smell drifted down from the bathroom. I retrieved the final dregs of the burgundy and, caught in the beam of tractor lights on the adjacent field, toasted absent friends. ‘Where the hell was she?’

Liliane: A Toast to Absent Friends: Another of Liliane’s ongoing stories from the family. This was in letter form, dated August 1960 from Kitty to Elly. Kitty reports on the Diamond Wedding do for Grandpa and Grandma. It was a big feast, the children having their meal first and being sent off to bed so the adults could relax. Old Uncle Everard proposed a toast to ‘Absent Friends, to all those who cannot be with us because they have gone before us to that other world that awaits us all.” This one toast covered scores of people – ‘to Papa may he rest in peace and the three lovely ladies who shared his life.’ The list seemed endless but was paused whilst courses were served and enjoyed before old Everard continued the toast to those who emigrated, ran off with foreign men or women, fell through the ice and died, Simone who was hit by a V2 and also died...’ all giving the impressions of a tragic if not dysfunctional family.  

Tony: Who’s Who: Here’s a thought provoking story from Tony. It features Simon Kirby and his wife Julie who went to Immingham to meet up with an old college friend Alex and wife Michelle. There was uneasiness from their hosts when Simon recalled that 37 years earlier, they had formed their band in the drama studio with Cliff, Stuart and Mickey. Silence! Simon recalled more events about the band and the Rag Week gig which bemused Alex. On their way home Simon said there was something wrong with Alex’s memory as he recalled nothing of the band. Meanwhile Alex told his wife Julie they were never in a band together but admitted joking about being in one with Simon and on their nights out would boast they were in a band. But the band never existed.

Our next meeting, the last of the year, will be held on Tuesday 16th December 2014 at 7.30pm in The Room at the Top in the library. There is no homework this time, instead just bring four words, each written on a separate small slip of paper for a short Creative Writing Exercise.

After this we will have our little Christmas party - please feel free to bring along some ‘goodies’ but the rule of thumb is to bring along no more than the amount that you would be able to eat. Otherwise we end up with loads of food and bulging waistlines even before Christmas!

Look forward to seeing you all again then.

Meanwhile...

Keep Scribbling!!!

Dave

ps. The following poem was the work I intended to read at the meeting but didn’t. I read a short story instead. This though would have fitted well into the homework theme and I produce it here.

THE EMPTY PLACE

Clarity of thought, of memory, of will,

Warms the heart from the wintry chill,

Then set the festive dinner table,

One place, solitary, no label.

For there should sit in the family group,

The one to complete the genetic loop.

Yet absence from this place again,

The toast, then tears, memory, pain -

Twenty-one years have coldly gone,

Since the seat was last taken on.

So why the need for this pretence?

Prolonging the agonising absence.

Of course, we know, we care, we love,

Our beloved one in His care above.

The loss, the death, so cruelly fated -

Earthly life now celebrated. 

© Dave Feakes. Written 08/12/98

in memory of cousin Mandy who

passed, tragically, aged 17 on

22/12/1977.

Tonight's meeting...

Glad to say this evening's meeting was better attended than last time despite a number of call-offs because of illness, other arrangements and also a sudden bereavement. The meeting was a little late starting because of  delays on the A14 after a two lorry accident but some of us managed to weave our way through Kirton and the Trimleys to arrive in fairly good time.

It was a good meeting with a fresh face who is very interested in writing and had many questions to ask about his ongoing novel.

Our next gathering, the last of the year, will be in two weeks time on Tuesday 16th December when we will have one of our four word creative writing sessions prior to our little Christmas party. Members are asked to bring along some nibbles - not too much as we don't want to have to hire a vehicle to take the left-overs home!

Until then,

Keep Scribbling!!!

SUFFOLK READING FESTIVAL BROADCASTS THIS WEEK

Wed 3rd Dec 1900-1930
Felixstowe Radio 107.5fm or via the internet
Program 45
Sword of the Kings by Tony Shearman ...
The Mezzotint by M R James (theme by kind permission of Sarah Jane Scouten)
Torrents of Desire by Tony Shearman
Dear Mum can you forgive me by Richard Bradshaw

Performers: Brian England, Alison Miller, Debbi Coveney, Sheila Martin, David Miller
Alan Dix, Ryan Guilder, Su Steadman, Tony Shearman, Robin Saunders,
Vincent Shearman, Martin Jarvis, Richard Bradshaw

Fri 5th Dec 1230-1300
Ipswich Community Radio (ICR) 105.7 FM, or via the internet
Program 39
Sword of the Kings by Tony Shearman
Marbles Lost Again by Tony Shearman
A Cold war in the Air by Richard Bradshaw
Reflexology by Jack Wilkinson
Performers: Beryl Sabel, Tony Shearman, David Miller, Pete Guilder, Martin Jarvis
Sheila Martin, Angela Silburn, Alan Dix, Su Steadman, Robin Saunders

Hope you enjoy them.
Cheers Tony

From the Felixstowe Book Festival Team

Dear Book Lovers,

Christmas is coming and we’re excited here at festival HQ! So much so, that our Yuletide enthusiasm has overspilled into a 24-day long treat for you all. For every day of advent we will be featuring a book or author on our blog and the rest of our social media. We’ll be bringing you some of our picks from the 2014 festival, a selection of our favourite festive reads (look out for some surprises), a few great books of 2014 and we will be exclusively revealing some of the authors who will be joining us next June. We’ve also got a brilliant selection of bloggers ready to review and reminisce us all the way to Christmas Eve.

The shops may have decked their halls in September but most of us will have only just started to turn our minds to presents, turkey and carols. Perhaps the thought of all those ‘perfect’ presents yet to be bought sends you reaching for the mulled wine. Or maybe you have a neat mountain of gifts wrapped and ready to go. I count myself in the former camp; those of you in the latter, how on earth do you do it? Regardless of which glove fits, our book advent is for both the wonderfully organised and ‘by the seat of your pants’ organised alike.

As we count down through December, each day will bring a little piece of inspiration for your Christmas shopping. We heartily recommend that you support your local bookshop this season. Not only will you find wonderful personal service, but you’ll also discover little bookish surprises that internet shopping just doesn’t provide. Why not have a little trip to Felixstowe where Stillwater Books, Treasure Chest Books, Poor Richard’s Books and The Red Cross Bookshop will all welcome you with open arms (and that delicious book smell)!

Our Book Advent will also provide plenty of inspiration for cosy festive nights curled up with something good to read and stollen/mince pie/family-sized box of Quality Street (I would say delete as appropriate but, let’s face it, ’tis the season to indulge). Whether it be something to get you in the festive mood or just a juicy new story to get your teeth into, we’ll make sure your ‘to read’ pile keeps on growing. Our selection has an eclectic mix from crime to romance, literary fiction to poetry, and of course we haven’t forgotten our younger readers. Get inspired and get excited too, as we offer tantalising glimpses of what the festival holds for next year – we can’t wait!

This will be exclusive to the Festival Blog so to make sure you receive our Book Advent updates straight to your inbox please subscribe to our blog on our website www.felixstowebookfestival.co.uk. Join in the bookish discussions by following us on twitter: @felixstowebook and liking us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/FelixstoweBookFest

Our next meeting

Our next meeting will be our AGM on 6th January in The Room at the Top. Providing there is time then we will also have a short creative writing exercise 

Ipswich Writers' Cafe

All welcome to this event...

SUFFOLK READING FESTIVAL BROADCASTS THIS WEEK

Wed 26th November 1900-1930
Felixstowe Radio 107.5fm or via the internet
Program 44
The Sword of the Kings by Tony Shearman ...
The Mezzotint by M R James (theme by kind permission of Sarah Jane Scouten
Methala by Tony Shearman

Performers: Brian England, Alison Miller, Debbi Coveney, Martin Jarvis,
David Miller, Angela Silburn, Sheila Martin, Su Steadman, Robin Saunders
Alan Dix, Tony Shearman


Fri 28th November 1230-1300
Ipswich Community Radio (ICR) 105.7 FM or via the internet
Program 38
The Sword of the Kings by Tony Shearman
Oh whistle and I'll come to you my lad by M R James
Just a Suffolk boy by Dave Feakes
Friday Evening by Beryl Sabel
Performers: Beryl Sabel, Tony Shearman, David Miller, Sheila Martin,
Brian England, Robin Saunders, Debbi Coveney, Su Steadman, Dave Feakes

Hope you enjoy them.
Cheers Tony

******************************************************************************

Report of Meeting held on Tuesday 18th November 2014

Apologies were received from: Dick, Beryl, Derek, Clive, Carolyn, Gary, Cathy and Caz.

In Attendance:  Barry, Richard, Liliane, Tony, Tom and Dave.

This evening’s meeting was a surprise with the smallest attendance for years.  Obviously we always expect that members are going to miss meetings and sometimes absences cannot be avoided. With apologies because of illness and other commitments we sincerely hope that those who are unwell will soon return to good health. Dick found a new set of ladies to shock in the Copdock-Washbrook area when delivering another ghost talk to the WI!!  Poor ladies!!

It is sad for the Scribblers that Hattie has now moved away from Felixstowe for an exciting position in an Austrian Hotel where she will be able to enjoy her skiing. This talented young lady was a ray of sunshine amongst us and we sincerely hope that she continues her writing and enjoys her stay in Austria.

Both Barry and Cathy entered the National Novel Writing project and have to write 50,000 words of a novel within the target time. Good luck to them both! Others have participated in previous years and found it an onerous task that demands so much time to keep increasing the word count.

Angela Petch, as we have reported, came a very creditable third in the Mash Stories Competition and she thanks everyone who voted for her story. Maybe more Scribblers will enter their competitions -http://mashstories.com/competition/mash-short-story-competition-results/

Talking of competitions I am pleased to learn there is another short story competition for next year’s Felixstowe Book Festival.

Details are available at: http://www.felixstowebookfestival.co.uk/competitions/

Our friend Jan has sent a link to an interesting website that includes a list of competitionshttp://www.christopherfielden.com/short-story-tips-and-writing-advice/short-story-competitions.php#RegularComps  It includes a lot of information and I particularly found this to be of interest:  

How Long is a Short Story?

In terms of competitions, short story length is usually between 1,000 and 5,000 words, although I have seen short story competitions with a 17,000 word maximum. Some people might regard this as a novelette or novella. If you write a story of under 500 words, most people seem to regard this as flash fiction. Below is a guide to story lengths and how they might be named (there’s a fair bit of overlap as research shows that opinions differ greatly):

• Flash fiction: under 500 words
• Short story: 500 to 17,000 words
• Novelette: 7,500 to 25,000 words
• Novella: 10,000 to 70,000 words
• Novel: 50,000 words or more

I’m of the opinion that the correct name or length is whatever any publisher, competition judge or magazine editor deem it to be. Just write within the parameters they ask for and you’re more likely to win competitions and be published.

By Christopher Fielden.

Now to the subject of our homework theme, ‘Winter’:

Liliane: The Grim Season: After Christmas and New Year everything fell flat. Dull weather, bare trees and gardens. My family sunk into the misery and gloom of winter, having over-spent and over-indulged when much of the festive outlay would have been better spent on home improvements. The family were always cold and vying for a place round one of the stoves; the thought of central heating was a pipe dream. Elza never grumbled about the cold, only about other folk’s morals. She grew up in an orphanage then became a servant and didn’t know about luxuries such as heat. Uncle Jan had his own solution, going off to ‘The Flemish Lion’ where there was always the warmth of the big blond barmaid, Cecilia...

Tony: Methala: Upon the small white orb that had circled a much larger orange one for billions of years, a tiny insignificant speck stirred. It called itself Methala. Rising from her bed she had dug in the snow she packed her hides away. She moved along the metre deep snow and noted the signal on her indicator had sped up then changed direction. The signal meant life, human life. Eventually it seemed to stop and remained stationary. Companionship she thought as she reached the top of a hill and looked down into the darkness. Down there was the signal where she found a dead wolf which became her first meal for days. And there was the signal. Perhaps the owner had been the wolf’s last meal. Methala wondered if she was the last human on the desolate planet.

Dave: In the Chill of the Night: Written for the Halloween meeting and subsequently edited to fit the winter them, this was perhaps an unusually dark story. Vic had set out walking to meet his date at a town centre rendezvous. On the way a mysterious woman appeared ahead of him and her magnetic effect drew him into a mysterious unknown alleyway which was more Victorian than present day. The woman kept beckoning him on but behind him some terrifying animal trapped him. As she turned towards him he realised she was not human... He never did meet his date.

Tom: Joe’s Dilemma: Joe Simmons stood by the operating table watching the surgeon pull off his theatre clothing then throw them into the waiting bin. Joe wondered why he could see himself but couldn’t move any part of his body then realised he’d croaked it. Joe learned about astral projection from a book so tried moving out into the corridor. It worked! The day had started crap and gone downhill fast. Late signing on, he spilled his tea in the Domino Cafe, dropped his toast before the blonde assistant told him his flies were undone. He left the cafe in a blue funk and got hit by a pantechnicon. Being dead meant no fags, booze nor sex. What there was to live for? He went to his sister Anne’s where her dog freaked out just before she got news of Joe’s demise. About fifteen folk attended his funeral when a man spoke to Joe. ‘My name is Karl and I have to prepare you for the final move,’ then everything became a blur.

Richard: Bleak: Lisbet’s story is about lying, deception and betrayal and how hard it is to reconcile with the people I knew all those years ago. I supposed Lisbet and Joachim would have lived on as I knew them, a linear path, predictable. Joachim owned a gardening business which was stressful. Lisbet did the bookkeeping and looked after their family affairs. All was not well. Ten years ago Joachim told her that eighteen years earlier he had an affair with an employee who had a child. To support them Joachim siphoned off cash from the business always lying about the increased cost of jobs. Lisbet eventually overcame the long term deception. When Joachim died Lisbet sent a formal notice of his death. Richard says, ‘I have good memories of Hamburg and two welcoming generous people. On the whole, I prefer living in the past.’

Barry: Sharing: Something Barry wished to share. Summer nights get darker, winter nights draw in, the wind chills the bones and makes the leaves fall. A summer walk along the promenade is pleasant, but the sea invades the land in winter storms whilst beach huts are dragged seawards. Life can be very hard in winter. One person who will not suffer this is my grandfather Ernest French, known to all as Will or Pops. He had his flu jab then went to hospital for a routine operation which was successful. Then he needed an emergency operation and lost a lot of blood. He battled a chest infection then was gone on 24^th October. The last thing he asked was for me to prop up his pillows. On 20^th November I will be at his funeral. An extract from my eulogy:

Ernest French was born 11^th September 1924. A true gentleman. There were only two places Pops loved to be – the golf course or making his garden look beautiful for my Nan. Now he is with her. He only needed three things to make him truly happy. Someone to love, that was my Nan, Florrie. Something to do, which was his golf. Good friends and family, all of you here prove he had that too. Thanks for being a fantastic grandfather and a good friend to us all. We will miss you. Bless you Pops.  

Although so few in attendance there were some really gripping words, and some sad words too. Another good evening though.

Just a gentle reminder that membership fees are now due.

Our next Meeting will be on Tuesday 2^nd December 2014 at 7.30pm at The Room at the Top in the library. The homework theme of up to 1,000 words is rather appropriately, 'ABSENT FRIENDS’!!

Look forward to seeing you all again then.

 In the meantime,

Keep Scribbling!!!

Dave

Ps Thanks for all your good wishes and cards.