P.W.G Minutes of the Meeting on 25 June 2020

Venue: Neo’s Sports Bar, Peyia and Zoom

Present:

John Goodwin (z) Bob Barker Jennie Rook (z) Richard Powell June Megennis Derek Whittle Caroline Harman Smith Yvonne Ackrill

Apologies: Gill Ainsworth, Dee Leigh, Mike White, David Greensmith, Nikki Burrows.

Greetings Scribes,

As always, we hope that you and your closest are healthy and safe.

The last week of June, where did that month go? We were in person and online again. As we had plenty of homework readings, we decided to leave last week’s readings until the end. Bob announced that our meeting had to be concluded by 12:45 on the dot, as Neo’s were hosting a wake and needed time to set up the room. We had plenty of topical discussions. Bob also introduced Yvonne to June, as they may become writing buddies, as they have/are working on biographies laid out in memoirs. It’s good to collaborate and share our writing tips in the group.

Readings:

Derek: Friends – a well written, part true story of a stag night.

Bob briefly told the group about his stag night and Caroline shared her story of pre-wedding nerves.

Caroline: Odds on – based on a previous week’s homework using the number 100 – a true story around placing a bet on a horse.

A discussion was led by Derek on placing bets and John told some stories of witnessing men passing on wads of notes around west-end pubs. Derek told a hilarious ‘Frank Bruno’ story.

John: Based on a previous week’s homework – ‘A bit of a pantomime’ – a different take on various fairy tales and pantomime.

Derek: Hundred – a good tale, just one word ending, ‘Dalmation’ – Derek said ‘It was all I could think of when hearing the prompt 100.’

Yvonne: Based on this week’s homework: The House was empty – a well-structured story, capturing perfectly, the element of an Alzheimer sufferer. A good reveal at the end.

Yvonne talked of her aunt who had Alzheimer’s, when asked if she’d had experience with Alzheimer’s sufferers. John could also relate to Yvonne’s story with memories of his father. Derek also told an Alzheimer story.

June: Berlin – an extract from her memoirs – a story about a state-of-the-art music hall in Berlin, and her memories during the fall of the Berlin wall, the contrast of great music vs the devastation of the country at that time. It read well and very evocative of the time.

Coffee break

Readings:

Rick: Chapter 5 of his POW story – enter ‘Valerie.’ A good mix of dialogue, description and story. The ending is a hook and we can’t wait to hear/read on.

Derek led a discussion on when we took on the metric system and the differences between American and English language. The conversation was around how we still speak in lbs and feet rather than kgs and metres, miles and kms. The Americanised language Rick uses in his story is relatable though and adds authenticity.

‘2 metres socially distanced’, how many of us converted this into feet to be able to relate the distance?

Bob: A chapter of his new novel: ‘The Woman across the Street’ – the young boys starts to work for the ‘Woman’ and overhears a phone call, which sets his mind wandering. Really good flow and a cleverly structured chapter.

Caroline left the meeting 15 minutes early, she had to get back home before peak traffic.

There were two stories that had been submitted by Gill and David, but sadly due to the need to end the meeting early, we didn’t get to read them. David will be able to read his story when he returns and Jennie can read for Gill who is still in UK.

Jennie ended the meeting by asking who would not be present next week at Neo’s in order to keep track of attendees. Bob may still be present in–person next week as flights out of Cyprus are being cancelled daily. He will keep us informed.

We have more new members starting in the new term, in September.

Homework:

‘Word of the Month’

Take note of a word that is new to you, that you’ve overheard or read this month.

Write a piece around that word, making good use of its meaning. In any genre, up to 500 words.

For those attending the call or meeting, please send your piece to Jennie to upload to the PWG Zoom Group, or any other you would like feedback on.

Next meeting will be on: Thursday 2 July at Neo’s Sports Bar and on Zoom.

For those interested and want to know more about Zoom, please go here for details: https://zoom.us/meetings

For those interested in joining our PWG Online Skype group, please email us your skype name to add you to the group.

Thanks to all who attended.

Stay healthy, safe and happy writing.