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 Tuesday 13th May

The last regular meeting of the group was a session for open manuscripts. Apologies were received from Donnie, Marilyn and Lorna. Sandra began proceedings by briefly reviewing the year and commended to us the fact that four of our number were now published authors in their own right (or should that be write??) - Sandra herself, Jeannie, Lorna and John McD and she felt that this was a huge achievement .

Jeannie opened proceedings with a reading from her novel based in Clydebank during the war. It remains a work in progress but the piece with which we were entertained was wonderfully descriptive and atmospheric. The story of Flora. a selective mute and unmarried mother torn away from her rural roots to be housed in the an urban conglomerate has yet to be concluded and, indeed, Jeannie is still undecided as to where it will take us but we await the outcome with anticipation. John H’s two hander with John McD was a clever play on the Mastermind format and its comic content was enjoyed by all. Morag’s poem “A Simple Life”, a contribution to the “I’ve never….” Challenge, was a delicate and reflective poem listing the things she had not achieved in contrast to more modest attainments. However, it demonstrated that what Morag HAD achieved was far greater than the more expansive experiences and that is a happy, contented, fulfilling life.

Hilary also gave us a taste of her “novel on the blocks” - a murder set on the stormy island of Cumbrae where none could arrive and none could leave. The hurricane hitting Millport was well described as was a somewhat “hair raising” visit to the barber but the key as to the identity of the murder victim was held by…..a key! All  will be revealed in the fullness of time. Rob read out his article on the relevance of tribute bands along with the revealing and honest crit it had received and Joan’s piece entitled “Homeless” described the trials and tribulations of a schoolboy forced to leave the family home on the appearance of the suspicious Eddie. This story has legs. Finally, Sandra gave us her short story “Dougal’s Bunnet” a simple tale of life on a western isle when the loss of a well loved headpiece caused consternation to an entire community. It benefitted from a wonderful accented telling and was enjoyed by all.

And so to the garden party and prize giving and members are reminded that it begins at Sandra’s at 12.30 and that everyone is advised to bring a hat as it promises to be a warm and sunny day!

 Tuesday 6th May

Thirteen members attended the penultimate “working” meeting of the session with apologies coming from Morag and Donnie. Highlight of the afternoon was John McD producing a hard copy of the first of his Italian mystery novels, a very exciting moment for him in particular and for the group as a whole. He hopes to have the three others published by the end of the year thereby completing his “seasonal cycle” to which he has been aiming. While we all enthused about the quality of the book, Sandra gave him some really useful advice based on her years of experience and we all thought it a good idea were he to take as many copies as possible with him when he goes for his three month sojourn to Italy at the end of the month.

The rest of the day was given over to readings on the subject of “I’ve never….” which was thinly based around peoples’ bucket lists. It was a relaxed afternoon with lots of time given over to much animated and interesting discussion. Irene opened proceedings telling us of visits to Paisley Swimming Pool when a young girl and her attempts to dive - not jump - from the high board so it bore resonance with many of the members. Hilary’s piece entitled “An Adventure Not To Be Missed” was an astute interpretation of that last journey which faces us all and how it could be explained and prepared for by various platforms on the Internet. A very clever and thought provoking piece.

Although not written down,  Sandra R hinted that something on her list was to experience para-gliding, something I would applaud but would never attempt myself! John H’s poem, in his own inimitable and humorous style drew attention to all the things which he had yet to achieve including dancing naked in an April shower and ascending the Eiffel Tower. One wonders what would happen if he were to combine the two!!. Brian’s offering, “Feeling Groovy”, gave us an insight on the career of Simon and Garfunkel and, whereas he had seen both as individuals, he would love to see them re-unite and perform one more time so he could attend.

Sandra McG  gave us “Castles in the Air”, a clever title which highlighted the fact that, although she had seen Windsor Castle whilst landing at Heathrow she had yet to visit it and see da Vinci’s sketches of cats which are part of the Royal Collection. Achieving this would tick off at least two items on her bucket list. Rob gave us the fact that he had never seen “Game of Thrones” and wished to attend the Cymru Wasgar ceremony at the Welsh National Eisteddfod.

Jackie believes in spontaneity and doesn’t invest in bucket lists. She prefers to live in the moment, satisfied with what she has and what she has achieved. However, this does not prevent her wanting to hold her new born Australian grand-daughter, something she hopes to accomplish in the very near future. Joan gave us a thoughtful piece on her climbing of the Cobbler and, whereas it seemed a pointless thing to do, it did give her ideas on her future and how it would pan out. The next offering was based around Sardinia, its food, its geography, its people and its overall attraction. No prizes for guessing that this was given by John McD who is planning a road trip there soon. Jeannie gave us things she had already achieved on her bucket, well, more of a reservoir, list but had yet to land on Barra beach by scheduled aeroplane. 

The readings were closed by Jeannie’s offering “Brigida’s Brooch”, which achieved “wall status” at the recent SAW weekend and Ryan’s poem based on a morning in his life and it was a pleasure to see Ryan, mindful of the times of his job and the demands they make.

Next week is Own Manuscripts week so if you have entries to the Article Competition and their crits which have still to be heard, something of which you are particularly proud and which we would like to hear again or, indeed, something new then bring along. 

 Tuesday 29th April

The sunshine seemed to bring people out and we had fourteen members around the table. Apologies were received from Donnie and John McD.

The challenge over the past week was to write a piece, the last sentence of which was to begin with the words “If only……” This brought quite a variety of ideas to the fore and it was a fascinating afternoon. Sandra began proceedings relating the story of a down at heel theatre in the hands of two ageing actors who were doing their best to rectify the fortunes of the theatre as well as their failing marriage. It reminded me of an old black and white film starring Virginia McKenna and Peter Sellars. John McD’s story, “The Dalai Lama’s Spaniel” was a study of the internal trials   of the Dalia Lama as he faced the world and its problems and discussed the same with his pet spaniel Nirvana. It provoked a lot of discussion within the group and was followed by Rob’s article “Living with a Silent History” a reflection on the forthcoming eightieth anniversary of the Second World War.

Lorna described a paddle boating incident which could have been easily avoided had the main character read the tide tables for the day. Thankfully it had a happy ending. Marilyn’s piece on “The Power of Thyme/Time” was a clever construction using both senses of the word and their properties in healing and this was followed by Joan’s story which related on the mysterious goings on in a tiled floor kitchen and the antics of a family of slugs who came out “when the human had gone to bed”. Unfortunately its ending was NOT so fortunate.

Jackie’s “The Story of Agnes” told of the sad life of her heroine where he cleverly use of both comedy and tragedy was employed to entertain before a rather doleful ending. To a degree comedy was also at the centre of Irene’s offering whose story told of the ultimate dangers of wearing mittens in a snowstorm!

Jeannie produced a “first” for the Writing Club - a collaborative story written with her grandson. With a cast of  colourful characters, all blessed with a descriptive nickname it told of the bloody antics of a Borders clan and how it was eventually drawn to a close. Hilary told the tale of Emma, a steerage passenger - one of only a handful who survived the sinking of the Titanic and cleverly entitled “The Sea Will Not Take Me”. The sea also played a part in Sandra R’s poem telling of a trip ‘doon the watter’ which ended with a cry for help as she and Irene missed the bus home, the poem laced with Sandra’s homespun humour. John H gave us “Thirteen Down`; a clever  tale of the hero struggling to complete a crossword whilst under pressure from the family pet who wanted his morning walk. The last two clues were solved by the words “if” and “only”. Finally Brian gave us a very courageous piece entitled “ A Day in the Life” and is to be congratulated on his bravery in reading it out to the rest of us.

With a little time to spare we returned to the articles recently judged by David  Robinson. Irene’s offering “Science Fiction - Fiction or Reality” gave us a sobering history of the relative frequency in which asteroids land on Earth and the measures being currently undertaken to protect the planet; it was a fascinating insight which benefitted from her own love of the sci fi genre. Finally Morag read out her third prize winning offering “The Pittenween Arts Festival. The Hidden Treasures” which encouraged everybody to pack a bag and head for the Fifeshire coast as soon as possible. Her obvious love, appreciation and detail of the event shone through!.

Next week……”I’ve never…..” so dust off your bucket lists!

 Tuesday 22nd April

The first session of the new “term” was blessed by an excellent turn-out of fourteen members and it was a joy to welcome Jeannie back into the fold; she had been much missed. Also returning was the birthday girl Lorna back from her travels in Australia and she gave us a detailed account of her visit to Gavinburn Primary School in Old Kilpatrick where she conducted a handful of workshops to virtually the whole school following the publication of her first children’s  book. This is soon to be followed by a visit to a primary school in Paisley and I wonder if she’ll be asked for her autograph by admiring P7 pupils there!

Sandra gave us an update on her meetings with the Scottish Association of Writers, specifically saying that a request had been made that we, as a group, help with the adjudication of the national flash fiction competition. This suggestion was put to those present and was unanimously agreed that we should help. Watch this space.

Joan reported that an article relating to her time in school had been published in “Etcetera”, the alumini magazine for pupils from Westbourne School and Glasgow Academy.

The remainder of the day was given over to the results of the last competition of the year - an article which could be published in a magazine or newspaper. This had been judged by David Robinson, past editor of The Scotsman Weekend Magazine who said it was an ‘honour” to be asked and he thoroughly enjoyed reading the entries. Placing the articles, he said, was extremely difficult and his views on which should make up the top three changed repeatedly until he eventually arrived at his decision. Because his critiques were so detailed, encouraging and comprehensive, only a handful of entries were read out leaving us with a treat to look forward to.

David’s eventually winner was Joan’s very moving piece entitled “Death of a Partner” This was a heartfelt account of life following the death of her beloved husband and one to which I could particularly relate. Jackie’s fascinating article on “The Daphne Clock” told of a family heirloom which had been awarded  to her great great grandfather in recognition of his help as a member of the Linthouse Ambulance Corps during the Daphne Disaster on 3rd July 1883. One of only 28 such clocks in existence (one of which featured in “The Antiques Roadshow”), her tale was a captivating insight into the greatest disaster recorded in the Scottish ship building industry. We await Morag’s piece on “ Pitenweem Arts Festival: Hidden Treasures” which was awarded third place.

Rob’s piece “The Mysterious Death of Canada’s Van Gogh”, one of his Toronto Tales, was highly commended and Brian’s detailed historical background and analysis of the current situation in Eastern Europe entitled “War and Peace in the Ukraine. What next?”  was clear, concise and concerning and was commended by David.

Hilary’s article “The Wanted Poster” gave us a possible solution to the problem of “canine waste” (!) and irresponsible dog owners. Written in her own irreverent style and with a novel use of modern technology it was enjoyed by all as was John H’s piece “To Keep or Not To Keep. Declutterring”. This was his own humorous approach to spring cleaning as tackled by husband and wife and benefitted from his gentle comedic skills. I feel the contrast between these two entries and Brian’s piece in particular illustrate the rich diversity our writers have. 

Those we didn’t get to hear are asked to bring them to the Open Manuscripts meeting on 13th May. In the meantime, members are requested to inform Sandra of their intended contributions to the Garden Party on 20th May. Challenge for next week, a 500 word story which concludes with the sentence “If only……”

Good luck!

 Good morning everyone. Two points. Firstly, yet another correction! (I feel my job is on the line here!) Jackie’s  highly commended entry in the children’s literature entry was entitled “What Made the Mouse go Eeeeek?” not as  previously stated. My apologies to Jackie. Secondly, the provisional draft of the 2025-26 has been drawn up but this is very much a working document so if anyone has any ideas they would like to see included can they please let me know. See you all next Tuesday!

 A couple of corrections to the minutes of last week and my apologies if I upset any members by not including them in my original note. Firstly, in addition to her poetry success, Jeannie was placed third in the recent SAW conference competition for her self-published book “Adults and How To Survive Them”, John Mac was commended for huis humorous short story “Love in a Time of Covid” and for his 3-5 minute sketch “Chef Marco’s Phone-In”. Victoria Gemmell, one of our postal members gained third AND second place for her humorous stories “Half Cut” (3rd) and “The Opposite of Cake” (2nd) and Jackie’s story for children “What Made the Mouse Go Eat” was HIGHLY commended in our in-house competition not commended as was previously reported. Again my apologies for my mistakes and omissions! Enjoy the weather!