No meeting...

Just to remind you that there is NO MEETING this week! Our next gathering will be on 7th May when we host another Bill Budner Trophy competition.

Until then,

Keep Scribbling!!!

A message from Luke Durbin's mother

Luke has been missing for 13 years in May , my family and I just cannot believe that we’re no further forward in finding Luke than the day I reported him missing.
We are currently working with Nine Lives Media, making a documentary about Luke’s disappearance which will be aired on Channel 5 in June/July. 
Working with Nine Lives Media has been hard going, this documentary is different to other media opportunities that I’ve taken part in, they are tenacious and want to find a resolution for me and my family.  So they have probed and poked to me, my family, our friends, the police and wider population.  Hopefully, this will finally prick someone’s conscience and they will come forward.
I’m appealing directly to Luke’s friends and acquaintances; Luke as a little person was more than happy to have his photo taken and we have a stack until the age of about 13, sadly after that Luke became camera shy and we only have a few after that time. Therefore if you have any photos or videos of him please can you message me?  Firstly, it will be like winning the lottery to see a new image of Luke – a lovely friend of Luke’s sent me a photo I hadn’t seen before, I cannot tell you how incredibly happy it made me feel.  Secondly, the more images of Luke of him in his late teens, the more chance of it perhaps jogging someone’s memory and jut maybe we will be able to bring my beautiful boy home no matter what the situation…
Thank you in advance, I will keep you updated about the screening of the documentary. 
With heartfelt thanks
Nicki

Meeting report.

Minutes of Scribblers meeting held on 16 April 2019

Present:  Dave, Tony, Kay, Liliane, Justin, Beryl, Gerry, Liz, Anne, Georgina, Cathy

Apologies:  Hazel, Jim, David, Carole, Derek

Business: 

Bank signatories – the confusion continues. We are waiting for the bank to advise us on the way forward.

Dave brought with him a generous £150 cheque, a donation from Debbie Sutton, an ex Scribbler.

Homework readings:

‘Tales of the past’ was the theme, and what a variety of stories we heard; fact, fiction, autobiographical work – we had it all!

Anne – Hogging and hiding

Justin – Freefall

Liz – Facing it

Georgina – D.O.G.

Beryl – Grandfather comes to stay, an excerpt from her recently published book

Liliane – The origins of the ballad of Mary Hamilton

Tony – 1. A letter to the EU minister for agriculture; and Very ‘umble

Dave – The battle of Little Bighorn

Kay – Childhood memories

Next meeting:

THREE weeks away, on 7 May, when it will be our Bill Budner trophy night. Up to 1000 words on a topic of your choice, printed off with no identifiers, to be read out at the meeting for judging. Readers will probably be Beryl and Cathy.

Tales of the Past.

There were some terrific tales from the past this evening with a wide range of subjects. Each and every one of them were attention getters and most gleaned some amazing facts. Never let it be said that the Scribblers are ever beaten in the challenges the homework assignments set.

The meeting opened  with comments about the banking situation that our bank needs to sort very quickly. We have our bill for room rental for which we are, apparently, unable to provide payment because of the ongoing signatory farce. We still await a reply to the details of the date way back in 2014 when the forms were filled in at the bank and handed to a member of staff. 

The anthology is taking shape, slowly but surely. Hopefully the editing team will get together next week to oversee the progress.

Our next meeting is in THREE weeks time on 6th May when we hold another Bill Budner Trophy competition. Rules are shown at the top of our weblog. The meeting will begin at 7.30.

Keep Scribbling!!!

Our next meeting...

Where has the time gone? Our next meeting is virtually upon us, Tuesday 16 April, 7.30pm to be precise and in the usual place of course. The homework this time asks for up to 1,000 words on "Tales from the Past."  How you define the past is entirely your choice as is the content. It is quite a popular subject, so I hope you will enjoy creating your story and delivering it to our group on Tuesday.

Well, time has been taken up with problems over signatories for our cheque account at the bank. I have been signing cheques for over five years after completing all the necessary paperwork at the branch back in 2014. Now wishing to replace Caz one of the signatories we are told that neither Caz nor I am not a signatory. Those that are recorded as such are no longer with us and no longer attend Scribblers. They include, amongst others, Ruth who is in the USA, and poor Dick who passed away last year. In theory we have just one signatory now, our treasurer, but we need two to appoint a new signatory... and two to sign cheques. We await a further reply to our letter containing the date of the meeting of which they apparently have no knowledge. Heaven knows what their security is like if I have been signing cheques for all this time without being challenged! The bank needs to sort it out and quickly too.

Talking banks, we have received a very welcome and large donation from Debbie in France which we will use towards the production of the anthology. Debbie used to be a member many years ago before emigrating to the other side of the channel. Debbie was a terrific writer back in those days and part of the reason for the donation was, she says, for what she learned at Scribblers. She has one book published, and has written pantomimes and murder mysteries for her locality in France. Oh, and she also designed the Lost Sock tee-shirt! A great big thankyou, to Debbie!

The anthology is coming along a little slower than anticipated due to family commitments and other work. But we're getting there. For those who have yet to send in a short two or three line biography and a picture, then please will you do so very soon otherwise I'll have to make something up about you!

Here's to our next meeting on Tuesday,

Until then...

Keep Scribbling!!!

Quiz Night

In support of the Childrenofpulilanfoundation Bulacan who write:

May the 4th be with you. Our Charity Quiz Night at Ipswich Wanderers Football ground, Humber Doucy Lane Ipswich, IP4 3NR. ONLY £5.00 per person maximum 4 in a team includes food. Start at 7:00 .There will be prize money for the winner. Monies raised will help underprivileged children in the Philippines.

Meeting report.

Minutes of Scribblers meeting held on 02 April 2019

Present:  Kay, Anne, Carole, David, Liliane, Liz, Justin, Tony, Georgina, Derek, Beryl, Gerry, Jane, Dave.

Apologies:  Jim, Cathy.

Business: How nice to see such a large attendance! Fourteen different members is one of the best gatherings for a long time! And this without Cathy, who is helping a friend, and Jim who will be travelling to Scotland for a goodly supply of haggis!

On the question of the Scribblers bank account and signatories for our cheques, a letter has been sent to the bank asking for an explanation of why amended signatories over the years have not been recorded. The names shown, Beryl apart, are all former members of our group. Dave has been a signatory for a number of years and in the course of time has signed many cheques. It is astonishing that, according to the bank, he is not a signatory, so one wonders what happened to their security checks? We await their response.

The anthology is progressing slowly but surely with most folk having submitted their stories. Thank you to everyone who has done this. One or two who have promised to send something in have yet to do so whilst a request is made for you to send in your own mini biographies – well a couple of lines or so – introducing yourselves. A photo would also be nice to include. It is agreed that 100 copies of the anthology will be ordered from Gipping Press with delivery to be requested by the end of May.

Thanks to Liliane for always collecting the key, and also Anne for gradually doing a hard cleanse on some of the mugs (those you drink from!) They are both much appreciated.

Sharing the Homework: Set as “Under the lamp he saw…” proved not to be as difficult as first thought. The evening was full of so many brilliant stories that could have been housed together for their own anthology. Murder, sex, espionage, mystery, ghosts, humour and dentists were but some elements of the evening. The meeting drew a comment from the acting secretary in thanking one and all for their tremendous contributions. The stories:

Jane: Richard and Karen (from her novel).

Anne: Tooth Problems.

David: Training Pays Off.

Carole: The Ritual.

Liz (Assisted by Anne): On the Beach.

Derek: Chemical Reaction.

Tony: Seren.

Justin: No U-Turn.

Georgina: Trapped.

Dave: Secrets.

Gerry: This Can’t Be Right.

Liliane: Haunted.

Kay: The Visit.

Next meeting: 7.30pm Tuesday 16th April when the 1,000 word homework assignment is simply:

"Tales from the past."

It is a reminder of our lamented Dick who had the original idea for this topic.

The past can be described as any point in time, yesterday perhaps, or something from further back in time, like pre-history maybe! The choice is yours!

Our last meeting...

What an absolutely grand attendance. Fourteen members present and all bar one reading out their fantastic stories from the assignment "Under the lamp he saw..." An illuminating meeting! A superb and greatly entertaining evening.

Will our next meeting attain such a high level of work? To be held on 16 April in the Room at the Top, starting at 7.30pm when the door will be locked.  The theme for the evening? "Tales from the past." In essence this could be a story from the far and distant past, or even closer to home, like yesterday! It is a terrific opportunity to use your creative skills in a fresh way. It is the meeting that poor lamented Dick proposed and always enjoyed. This is an opportunity to honour him.

Until next time...

Keep Scribbling!!!

Our next meeting...

Our next meeting is this week, Tuesday 2nd April starting at 7.30 pm. The homework assignment is set as "Under the lamp he saw..." What he saw is completely up to you! No more than 1,000 words please - but if this subject doesn't appeal to you, please feel free to bring along another piece of your work.

Spotted on television last week was a former member of the Scribblers. A joint writer of 'The Crabby Arms Affair' Trish Barnard was being interviewed about the devastating fire at the Levington 'Ship.' Good to see her looking so well.

Hope to see you all Tuesday, until then,

Keep Scribbling!!!