Apologies: Liz, Kath, Andy, Martin, Jayne, Tony T and Tony H
For the warm-up exercise, Marie provided us with several diverse topics to write about.
Adam was the first to read out what he had written. His piece was inspired by the lightning that he had witnessed from his window earlier that day. It told the tale of a woman who, during a storm, believed that she was alone in her house, in the dark. But then, following a flash of lightning, she thought that she had seen a man in the shadows, causing her to become frightened. Adam’s use of description was excellent, as usual.
Alex chose the ‘Oxford comma’ from the list of topics provided, and gave us some interesting details regarding its history, informing the group that many early-twentieth-century grammarians argued against its use, and so since then it has been frowned upon by many English teachers in this country. He also gave examples of ambiguous sentences that can occur when it is not used.
Jennie wrote about a First World War soldier, struggling in mud in No-Man’s-Land, trying to free his comrade, who was almost drowning in it. Her descriptions of the scene, which included imaginative phrases such as ‘limbless trees’, provided vivid images of the stark reality of war in the trenches.
Marie wrote about a bad start to the day worsening when the main protagonist of her tale was misunderstood by a taxi driver, who took her part of the way to Scotland instead of a village outside Wolverhampton. The window between the driver and the passenger was stuck, and she couldn’t attract his attention, so she assumed that she was being kidnapped!
The group’s members then decided to read out some of their previous work.
Jennie went first, reciting a poem called ‘Hail the republic’. It was about the coronation of King Charles, and it contemplated the monarchy’s place in society. Is it a relic, and could the public’s taxes be better spent helping people who can barely find the money to top up their pre-payment fuel meters…? It was a clever and insightful piece.
Stuart had written an atmospheric story set in the Iron Age and had incorporated some of the beliefs of the people living in that time into it. We learnt about the god Taranis, who stood on his chariot while the storm awakened a primal evil. This was another descriptive piece.
Irena recited a poem entitled ‘The chair and the big black dog’. It was extremely clever and funny and was about Alex’s ill-fated experience at the previous supplementary meeting. She then informed us that she is currently writing a short story that she plans to submit to a competition that is being run by Intelligent Horsemanship magazine. She will be reading out the story at a future meeting and would like some objective feedback regarding it.
Alex then continued the dog-themed comedy, supplying us with another of his dialogues. It was entitled ‘Dogma’ and was his contribution to Liz’s homework task, which was set at the previous main meeting. The piece was about a PA, a secretary and a dog-walker, the latter being the only one apparently able to speak ‘Woof’.
Adam decided to share a work-in-progress with us. It was a fast-paced and exciting description of the daredevil driver of a black Mini. In it, the car was careering round corners too quickly, all its wheels leaving the ground as it flew over the brow of a hill.
Jennie then concluded the session with a poem that she had written in 2012. It was about the bedroom tax that was being imposed upon the public at that time, and the heartbreak caused to those who were affected by it.
The next main meeting has been scheduled for 7 pm, at Peepo’s, on Tuesday, 23rd May, and Jennie should be chairing it.
5 comments:
It was a fun evening.
...that ended far too soon -- roll on The Crown!!
Alex :)
It was short but indeed sweet!'
Yes, but I hear that drinks at The Crown are far more sugary...
Alex
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