Tuesday 10th November

Apologies were received from Sandra M., Sandra R., Joan Mac., and Joan.

The order of the day was most definitely fun with two themes being explored.

The first was Flash Fiction, an area which was very familiar to members after last year’s task of adjudicating the SAW Competition. The titles given were as follows, with each member crating a short story of no more than one hundred words. 

John H. ‘Are we there yet?’

Jackie ‘You have one new voicemeil’

Jane ‘That knowing smile’

Marilyn ‘Close your eyes and count to ten’

Irene ‘The Plastic Surgeon’

Rob ‘Cut to the Chase’

Morag ‘Walking on Eggshells’

James ‘Now this might hurt’

Andrew ‘Don’t take this the wrong way’

Brian ‘ The Dark Secret’

This was followed by two nine word Wordle challenges where each member had to write a piece using each word in sequence….the gimlet eared (?) Jane ensuring that this was strictly adhered to!

The word selections were as follows

One                                  Two

Spasm                             Width

Twine                              Dizzy

Gross                               Wacky

Bound                              Quiet

Mucky                              Shyly

Halve                                Anvil

Thrum                               Vomit

Colon                                 Forth

Total                                   Kiosk

An eclectic mix on both counts and ones in which the alchemy in the room brought out some equally wide ranging subject matter.

Finally, Marilyn showed us a booklet her husband John had written. Taking inspiration from the war memorial in Gartcosh, he had researched the history of each fallen soul recorded on its sides. A labour of love, it had taken five years to complete and detailed the sad tales of those who paid the ultimate sacrifice between 1914 -18  and was most fitting for Armistice Week.

Next week we turn to the Carrick Centre for our third workshop of the year.

 With a healthy turn out of fourteen members, it was time for our next workshop. This time it was poetry and was delivered by Dr Greg Thomas and this time the accent was very much on WORK!

Greg takes an avant garde approach to poetry inspired by the Scots poet Edwin Morgan and he soon had the group busy with scissors, glue and various publications through which we scoured for pictures which we could include in a collage poem. We haven’t had such a messy workshop in my time with Erskine Writers! This was followed by an example of concrete poetry and we ended by writing a piece inspired by coloured poetry.

It was certainly a different approach to the genre and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and were certainly working outwith their comfort zone, pushing boundaries.

The challenge set by Greg for our next competition is a poem based on the phrase “What on earth is that?”

This can be in any format you wish - either those demonstrated by Greg or the more conventional kind(maximum of 40 lines) and entries are to be with Lorna by midnight on 2nd November.

I’ll see you all in a couple of weeks.

Rob

 Tuesday 13th October

Apologies were received from Sandra, Victoria, Andrew, Brian and Lorna and we had ten members in attendance. The day was devoted to the results of the  Short Story competition along with readings from members’ own manuscripts. However, the meeting opened with John Mac giving us the breakdown on an independent book festival organiser with whom he had worked and thoroughly recommended. Those of us who wish to follow his recommendation can find further details from the website which can be found at

https:literaryescapes.co uk

The results of the short story competition, adjudicated by our very own Sandra M, were as follows:

First: John Mac

Second: Hilary:

Third: Brian,

Highly Commended: Jane

Commended; Rob and Jackie.

Having already heard Rob and Jackie’s entries , we began with Jane’s beautiful and poignant memory of caring and, in particular, her relationship with a beloved elder sister whilst on a visit to New Zealand. This was followed by Hilary’s tale of a widower feeling pressurised into selling his ‘forever’ home before moving in with friends in Tenerife. John Mac’s tale of a son trying to write the obituary of his late father whilst making discoveries in his well-described studies was gently written and worthy of first place and Brian’s will be heard in the fullness of time.

Morag’s piece dealt with a lady being drawn into a relationship with a sinister Vietnamese restaurant owner and left us all wanting more and Sandra R’s autobiographical piece was very honest and well-received. Jamies’s wrote an article which analysed the poem ‘A Road Not Taken’ and his interpretation of the deeper meaning whilst John H gave us an amusing and instantly recognised tale of the interminable and difficult questions often posed by toddlers whilst on the school run.

Rob gave us a piece of Dumbarton’s naval history before reading out his poem and its analysis published in ‘Writing’ magazine.

It was a very busy and enjoyable afternoon and we now look forward to next week’s poetry workshop.

 Tuesday 6th October

There was an excellent turn out for our meeting on Tuesday - fourteen members, the majority of whom reading their creations based on the recent visit to MoMA. Those who couldn’t actually make the trip were happy to base it on photographs from the art gallery’s website.

Opening proceedings was John Mac who provided us with a rarity - one of his poems. This was stimulated by the gallery’s displays on Domestic Bliss it was entitled MoMA. Written in the Glasgow vernacular, it benefitted from his dry wit and humour as he was influenced by the crockery - especially the mugs which made up the majority of the exhibits. Sandra R followed and she had been drawn by the photograph and handbag artefacts drawn from the Seventies by one Frances Gordon. She saw a lot of herself in the exhibit especially in the fact that she had a photograph of herself posed in similar fashion to that adopted by Frances . They frequented the same shops and Sandra was amazed that a particular ticket stub proved that they had both attended a particular concerts at the same time, on the same day! They must have been in very close proximity at the time!.

Andrew was reminded of a particular painful episode when the display on the fire place, especially the gas fire, forced him to recall drying his wet feet and shoes, on his return from school, in front of a similar fire. Unfortunately he got too close and suffered a burn and melting plastic - the scenario worsened by his placing his wound under the tap and cooling it with hot water!! Brian was influenced by the painting of an old man by Edinburgh artist Henry Kondracky  It made him smile and brought back happy memories. I thought it looked a little like Alfred Hitchcock. Jacky was also taken by a reknowned artist, this time Grayson Perry, and a large ceramic made by him and decorated with scenes remembered from his boyhood. I liked it too. Jackie went on to give a warm appreciation of the artist.

Jane gave us a poem based on the Cat and Mouse Act poster produced by the Suffragettes which was very insightful as was the poem written by John H based on a picture from the Burrell Collection. It was called the Beggar’s Generosity and painted by Gustav Courbet and his work was both warm and optimistic. Morag was also influence by Kondracky’s as well as a particularly abstract piece based on energy. This encouraged her to write on Ode to GoMA. 

Rob followed Jane’s lead and took something from the Suffragette exhibits - this time a sketch of a prison door which adorned the cover of ‘Holloway Jingles’ an anthology written by inmates of the prison in the Spring of 1912 - Holloway Writers! This was followed by Hilary who had been affected by the portrait of a woman’s crying entitled ‘Power of Tears’ and she interpreted it as a picture of resilience, defiance and hope. She also drew our attention to how with modern ‘cropping’ techniques, the whole message behind a picture can be altered considerably. Sandra finished proceedings with her interpretation of  what looked like a hole in a muddy river bank - similar to Winnie the Pooh’s home. She, however, saw as the eye of a wise old elephant which was blessed with wisdom and perception.

We finished the afternoon with a taster of the first competition of the season - the short story but more of that next week!.

A couple of house keeping matters - when your turn comes around on the tea rota can you please come armed with a tea cloth from home to help with the washing up? Thanks. Finally, if anyone would like to take on the role of the club’s SAW representative can they please let me know? Details of their duties can be gained from Sandra.

 Tuesday 29th September

This week we  held our annual field expedition and this year it was to the Glasgow Museum of Modern Art.

There was a reasonable turnout of nine members accompanied by John Mac’s wife Carol. Apologies were received from

 Victoria John H, Lorna, Joan, Victoria and Sandra M. 

Our senses were assaulted by numerous shapes, colours, fabrics, materials, paint formation and the wildest of imagination and interpretation. After an hour or so of quite hard work we repaired to the cafe to recharge with tea, coffee, hot chocolate and lemon drizzle cake. 

Homework for next week is 500 words inspired by the visit or a particular exhibits. For those of you who couldn’t make it but would like to to bring forward a piece there are exhibits illustrated on the internet or I will send you a series of photographs from which you can take your pick.

Rob

 AGM

The Annual General Meeting of Erskine Writers was held at Inchannan Church on Tuesday 22nd September.

There was a healthy turn out of members with apologies being received from Jane, Joyce, Jackie and Joan. Initially the minutes from the 2025 Meeting were read out and were adopted as being correct - Morag proposing and Brian seconding. This was followed by Sandra’s Presidential Report, acceptance of which was proposed by Rob and seconded by Hilary whilst Rob’s Secretarial Report was agreed to with Sandra M and John H leading. Irene’s Treasurer’s Report was adopted with John H proposing and Lorna seconding.

Matters arising from the various reports were, in the main, confined to financial matters and it was agreed that annual subscriptions need to be raised and a sum of £60.00 was adopted. Members were to asked to pay individually by bank transfer - Rob to circulate bank details to make the payment easy. It was also agreed that competition fees were also to be raised to £2.00 per entry - cash to the Competitions Secretary.It was also agreed that £10 would remain as a membership fee fro postal members and John H agreed to contact them.

In regard to the election of officers it was agreed that      

     Sandra  M would remain as President from another year.        

    Hilary would continue as Vice President

    Rob would continue as Secretary

    Irene would continue as Trasurer

Having given notice of her intention to relinquish her role as Competitions Secretary at the AGM 2025, Morag was thanked for her tirelessness and efficiency in that role.

    Lorna will become the new Competitions Secretary sharing the role, at present with John H. 

There was discussion was held regarding how the remainder of our EngageRenfrewshire grant ought to be earmarked and spent. Irene and Lorna gave a comprehensive breakdown of the monies and how it had been allocated. It was suggested that the club invest in a small sound system and projector but ,before that step is taken, Sandra will contact SAW to investigate whether they had such equipment for loan or hire.

It was agreed that the current Website needed ‘freshening up’ and John H and Rob were tasked with leasing with David Penny to ascertain what could be done.

Mention was also made of our link with Erskine Hospital which may well develop over the next few months and plans were made for our forthcoming trip to the Glasgow Museum of Modern Art.

A tea rota was drawn up which Rob will circulate to members and the meeting ended with a very proud grandmother reading her grandson’s essay ‘Exploding Whales”

Finally, it is felt that the club is in a relatively healthy position and it was encouraging to see new members adding their opinions and comments along with the more established ladies and gentlemen. Also ALL members were encouraged to let me know if there is any thing specific, some long held ambition or particular genre they would like to see added to the syllabus. Please do not hold back!

                                                                                                     

 Tuesday 15th September.

Apologies were received from Joan, Victoria, Jane, John Mac, SarahVictoria and Joyce

It was quite a momentous meeting on Tuesday as well as being our first workshop of the month. It was held at the Carrick Centre in Houston, the change of  venue ensuring that we had enough room to accommodate everyone. As part of our commitment to EngageRenfrew and the grant which we were awarded, we were joined on this occasion by two teachers and fifteen senior pupils from Hutchesons G.S. thereby swelling our numbers to over thirty.

We were treated to a workshop given by Sandra who concentrated on the importance of ‘show don’t tell’ in creative writing. as well as illustrating the rule with examples from her own writing, we were set exercises in order to put into practice what we had learned.

After a somewhat slow start, the pupils soon found their feet and produced some excellent work to go alongside the offerings of our members. We look forward to welcoming them to our poetry workshop which is to be held at the same venue on 20th October.

Just a quick reminder that the challenge set by Sandra is a short story - between 1500 and 2500 words inspired by Robert Frost’s poem ‘A Road Not Taken’. Entries to be with the competitions secretary by midnight on 28th September so a quick turnaround.

Next week we are back at Inchannan for the AGM

Rob