Notes of meeting of PWG at Neo’s sports Bar, Pegeia, 4th June 2020. With thanks to Bob Barker
Not too many ready and able to brave the ‘great outdoors;’ just yet for our first Actual, Real, Flesh and Blood Writers Group Meeting for some time, so I’m doing this more as a blog than coherent notes. Hope this is okay with everyone. (Also I’m rubbish at taking notes so I’m a bit short on the sort of details you’ve come to expect from previous meeting-scribers.)
Rick, David, Mike and myself met in Neo’s newly revamped upstairs lounge/meeting room at our new-for-the-time-being meeting time of 11am. Unfortunately, Jennie reported feeling a bit feverish overnight, so decided, wisely, not to risk it. (Hope you’re feeling a bit better Jennie,). John G was on a medical mission of mercy run so rang in, briefly, on Zoom to say hello. Nicki was busy, (I imagine), checking airline websites, government pronouncements, etc., and wondering when her B&B business may be able to get underway again.
The four of us spent a while swapping ‘lockdown’ experiences and reviewing the changes to our former meeting room.
Stavros has done it out more as a lounge now than a simple ‘meeting room’ with an extended bar, comfortable seating, moody décor and bar-style tables etc. (Sorry, should have taken pictures. Will do next time.). There were a couple of tables set up in the middle of the room for us, as before, with eight chairs. Don’t know how it will work when we get a ‘big’ meeting – particularly if we are still having to socially distance, but that is probably still some way off, so we’ll work it out then. It’s all very nice, just different. We’ll see how it works in due course.
We opened up a Zoom meeting and kept it open throughout the session, and we’ll keep this going, so if anyone is still reluctant to come in person but would like the option of joining the meeting remotely, you can do so.
The homework subject was ‘100’ or variations thereof. Mike, Rick and David all had stories that covered the homework topic in some form or other and they read them out.
Mike’s was one of his amusing ‘I once knew this bloke…’ anecdotes, full of character and interesting asides - as we have come to expect from his writing.
David read his own take on a Noddy and Big Ears story that told it as it really was, rather than that tripe served up by Enid Blyton. (“Who the f*** are you calling Big Ears, you bell-hatted little t**t.” I paraphrase, but you get the idea. Highly amusing.)
Rick read out a couple of contributions. Two were from his Roman Road Trip around East Sussex, full of fascinating historical detail and great imagery. He’s starting to include photographs in the layout to give an idea what the finished product may eventually look like. I’m pretty sure it’s set to be a best-seller amongst East Sussex walkers and hikers when he publishes it!
Rick had also written a short story about a Roman Centurion around the time they were giving up on Britannia. Based on a translated account from a (supposedly) found parchment, it again was full of stuff that sounded historically accurate, even if it wasn’t.
I inflicted on the group another chapter of my current work in progress – another in my DCI Jamie Carver Series. This one was a bit of a scene-setter. It seemed to go down okay. At least, no one complained. More next week. Maybe.
We enjoyed coffee and drinks at some point served to us by Mrs Stavros (sorry!). It wasn’t too busy. A few pairs playing bowls. A couple in the downstairs lounge. A couple of guys playing snooker. And us upstairs.
We wound things up about 12.40pm. It was too much of a stretch for four grown men to come up with an imaginative enough topic for homework so we decided to leave it to Jennie to set. (Sorry Jennie - and apologies if by the time anyone reads this it’s too late to feel challenged. Just come along with whatever you’ve got.
Next Meeting. Neos. Thursday 11th June. 11am.
Homework:
The Gift - write a scene or a story in which a character receives an unusual gift.
