In attendance: Tony, Richard, Susie H, Liliane, Jane, Les, Beryl, Dick, Martin, Dave and two new faces, Ali and Bruce.
Apologies were received from Derek, Aidan, Carolyn, Tom, Suzy G, Barry and Caz.
Welcome.
We welcomed Ali and Bruce to the meeting. Ali enjoys writing and interestingly is related to the famous round the world sailor, Sir Robin Knox-Johnston. Bruce is a highly accomplished writer having creative writing courses behind him, written two novels, stories and plays. Both are looking to join a writing group and hopefully they will have enjoyed their first visit to Scribblers.
It was nice to see Susie back with us once again after moving home.
The Anthology.
The anthology draft was delivered to Gipping Press last Friday with a few more pages than originally requested – meaning that the price has been increased by something like £6.
Having finally had contact with Felixstowe Radio, a short story will be read on Friday to link up with the Book Festival advertising. As Beryl is not available Fridays, then Dave has volunteered to step in.
The Book Festival:
We have been asked to read a short story in conjunction with The Book Festival advert which will be broadcast on Felixstowe Radio. Originally Beryl was to read one on our behalf but is not available for the specified time so that task will fall
More stories please!
All the entries from the Bill Budner competition have been passed to Tony for possible future broadcast in one of the slots on Felixstowe and ICR radio stations.
Our Weblog.
I am not certain what has happened but I am both pleased and astonished that the number of hits on the weblog for last month, May, reached a staggering 2,254 posts beating our previous haigh figure set in March 2012 of 1,779. Are we popular or what?
Presentation.
Beryl was to have made a small presentation to Caz for her efforts in obtaining funding and also for making a donation to our funds. Unfortunately Caz was unable to be with us tonight and, as Beryl will be absent next time, the gift will be delivered in the next day or two.
Now the Mining Town stories.
Beryl: Coalville:
Never volunteer. Everyone in the army knows that. But Tom, my husband, volunteered to train as a cook in North London he was told, near our home. It was a fabrication, the course was in Glasgow. He was posted to Leicestershire and with the blitz under way we rented a place near to where Tom was stationed. That’s how we ended up in Coalville a bleak mining town that came into existence in the 19thcentury with the discovery of coal. Our landlady’s daughter used to let me hold baby Georgie. His palms were black with grime but I was told to leave them as it meant he would go down the mines like his father and grandfather before him.
Tony: The Great Kidney Stone Mining Disaster:
Another of Tony’s creations that begins with the mine manager, Arthur ‘Scarface’ Ligg having just employed the famous bounty hunter, Egawes Dabknits who might need assistance. Sam asked why they were referred to as treacle mines as ore was normally hard. It transpired that Lake Sidekarpark was formed during the Great Tachoclysm from what was a volcano and much of the ore that was first found was still in a molten state and, like treacle, it stuck.
Another of Tony’s creations that begins with the mine manager, Arthur ‘Scarface’ Ligg having just employed the famous bounty hunter, Egawes Dabknits who might need assistance. Sam asked why they were referred to as treacle mines as ore was normally hard. It transpired that Lake Sidekarpark was formed during the Great Tachoclysm from what was a volcano and much of the ore that was first found was still in a molten state and, like treacle, it stuck.
Susie H: Mining Town: Closely cluttered cottages propping each other up, sagging roofs, dripping gutters, stinging pain of icy blasts. A ghost town with its boarded up shops and silent streets. The hard granite faced town looks down to its past. Rich veins are spent, mineral lords snatched their wealth then plundered elsewhere. Cornwall’s white glistening silica beaches, formed from mining operations, Once home to aching malnourished bodies the mining town has new nourished inhabitants living under the iconic blue sky and Cornish sun. The pain of history washes into the sea.
Liliane: The Last Bottle:
The last bottle of whiskey in the deserted mining town stood in front of him on the table. After the mine closed down the place became a ghost town, everyone dying or deserting. When old Sam died, old Mikey buried him; no-one would come looking for him. Mikey, the last survivor, wanted to escape the hellhole but there was no petrol for his rusting vehicle, no transport, only the encroaching desert. He was finished. Taking a last look at the crumbling town, Mikey cradled the last bottle in his arms and walked into the vast emptiness beyond.
The last bottle of whiskey in the deserted mining town stood in front of him on the table. After the mine closed down the place became a ghost town, everyone dying or deserting. When old Sam died, old Mikey buried him; no-one would come looking for him. Mikey, the last survivor, wanted to escape the hellhole but there was no petrol for his rusting vehicle, no transport, only the encroaching desert. He was finished. Taking a last look at the crumbling town, Mikey cradled the last bottle in his arms and walked into the vast emptiness beyond.
Jane: The Real Fantasy:
Tom got the idea from a film; write down your top three fantasies and swop them with your partner. Your sex life would be re-ignited. Lying in bed Tom gave Linda paper and pencil to write her list but she wasn’t in the mood, her mind as blank as the paper. In the morning when Tom went off to football, Linda promised to write her list then but struggled for ideas. When she heard Tom come home she quickly wrote down ‘whipped cream’. It would be messy, she’d have to change the sheets but if they did it often enough the cholesterol would get him!
Tom got the idea from a film; write down your top three fantasies and swop them with your partner. Your sex life would be re-ignited. Lying in bed Tom gave Linda paper and pencil to write her list but she wasn’t in the mood, her mind as blank as the paper. In the morning when Tom went off to football, Linda promised to write her list then but struggled for ideas. When she heard Tom come home she quickly wrote down ‘whipped cream’. It would be messy, she’d have to change the sheets but if they did it often enough the cholesterol would get him!
Martin: Voices from the Heartland:
Having set the homework theme, Martin produced one of his most powerful works based on the mid-eighties Miners Strike and the confrontation and brutality of the enforcing powers. Always a strong writer, his vivid words were probably the best of the night.
Having set the homework theme, Martin produced one of his most powerful works based on the mid-eighties Miners Strike and the confrontation and brutality of the enforcing powers. Always a strong writer, his vivid words were probably the best of the night.
Richard: Angry Mining Town (poem) and Geography Lesson (poem):
Richard has found strength in his poetry, both his contributions strong in description and telling the story of the pits. From his first poem; ‘Rewards for the rewarded, but not for the miners; Toiling beneath manicured, tuxedo country.’ In his second a fog of geography tells the loss of our British mines replaced with coal by cheap labour, cheap lives in South Africa, or Chile, or China or other unpronounceable places.
Richard has found strength in his poetry, both his contributions strong in description and telling the story of the pits. From his first poem; ‘Rewards for the rewarded, but not for the miners; Toiling beneath manicured, tuxedo country.’ In his second a fog of geography tells the loss of our British mines replaced with coal by cheap labour, cheap lives in South Africa, or Chile, or China or other unpronounceable places.
Les: Mount Olive:
Henry looked at his equipment, rope, nylon clothes line, two dozen six inch nails and a claw hammer. A quarter of cough sweets, an extra jumper, two pairs of sock and his wellies. Ready to climb Mount Olive, it was better than being with that boring lot from the coach. Off he went, equipment in a Tesco bag. He realised the summit was a long way up and rested halfway only to see the mirage of Mrs Brocklebank walking down, then encountered jeering schoolchildren. Finally achieving the impossible he reached the summit. Later Henry limped back into the hotel only for Mrs Brocklebank to state ‘It’s a lovely view from the top isn’t it?’
Henry looked at his equipment, rope, nylon clothes line, two dozen six inch nails and a claw hammer. A quarter of cough sweets, an extra jumper, two pairs of sock and his wellies. Ready to climb Mount Olive, it was better than being with that boring lot from the coach. Off he went, equipment in a Tesco bag. He realised the summit was a long way up and rested halfway only to see the mirage of Mrs Brocklebank walking down, then encountered jeering schoolchildren. Finally achieving the impossible he reached the summit. Later Henry limped back into the hotel only for Mrs Brocklebank to state ‘It’s a lovely view from the top isn’t it?’
Dick: Deadwood South Dakota:
The story of Emily Lucas the wife of Abraham of Deadwood’s Quiet Waters General Store. Overlooked by the Black Hills, this was sacred Sioux land. In 1874 someone discovered gold in those hills. As prospective miners arrived so the Abraham’s charged them exorbitant prices for their needs. They had arrived in the mining town and invested in wood and carpenters to build their store from which they sold everything apart from booze. The town was riddled with harlots and drunks, gamblers, miners and gunslingers so a town marshall was employed to bring law and order - James Butler Hickock, better known as Wild Bill Hickock.
The story of Emily Lucas the wife of Abraham of Deadwood’s Quiet Waters General Store. Overlooked by the Black Hills, this was sacred Sioux land. In 1874 someone discovered gold in those hills. As prospective miners arrived so the Abraham’s charged them exorbitant prices for their needs. They had arrived in the mining town and invested in wood and carpenters to build their store from which they sold everything apart from booze. The town was riddled with harlots and drunks, gamblers, miners and gunslingers so a town marshall was employed to bring law and order - James Butler Hickock, better known as Wild Bill Hickock.
Dave: Forgotten History:
Family history is a strange thing, it leads you to places where you never dreamed of going. A unfamiliar name on the family tree led to a Yorkshire Mining Town where an explosion claimed 23 lives, including George whose widow Maude, died ten months later of a broken heart.
Family history is a strange thing, it leads you to places where you never dreamed of going. A unfamiliar name on the family tree led to a Yorkshire Mining Town where an explosion claimed 23 lives, including George whose widow Maude, died ten months later of a broken heart.
Our next meeting is in TWO WEEKS time on Tuesday 17th June which will be the special creative writing session on a photograph or postcard. Please bring your own choice along if you wish, then one will be chosen for us to write about. Should be fun!
Hope to see everyone next time, so
Keep Scribbling!
