Archive for 2010

We are running on 9th and 16th December and then shut up shop til 6th Jan.

Please do check in case very bad weather drives us to cancel - otherwise, hope to see you at the group.

Despite the snow and cold, the pavements iced like mirrors, five of us made it in. We started a little late but discussions were thorough, so we just finished on time.

A good night.

A big crowd tonight, despite my reading BBC weather forecasts and relaying prognoses of sleet and doom and writers staying in their garrets to warm hands over tallow candles.

I thought the quality of work read out was pretty bad (with the exception of one piece, which I liked). But the bad pieces redeemed themselves by being short, so a good time was had in the pub afterwards.

It was Rachel's last session before she moves away to the strange wilds of saarf Lunnon. Hopefully she will find the literary aspirations of writers down there to be so stifling that she will come back us as often as childcare and public transport allow.

Wgwg is happening tonight, come rain or shine, sleet or snow see you there at 8pm

Eight of us tonight including a new member and I think it fair to say a cracking good time was had by all, it's nights like this that make it all worthwhile. Some damn fine writing was read out, and some damn fine literary criticism was doled out, can't really say fairer than that - plus I forgot to take any money ( again) so it was all for free!

Only three of us - the cream of the crop, I like to think. As we were already perfect writers, we decided to leave at 8.20 and go to the pub. A great evening. Not very literary, though.

Nine people last night - and what a good night it turned out to be. Indeed, Mr Moran, with these three poems, you are spoiling us! Yes, last night we had three new poems from Steve, whilst Raluca's story featuring a rusty penknife led us to a hypnotic and erotic place that was quite amazing and we are all on tenterhooks to hear more. Jamie had a 'madeleine moment' whilst Lynsey is still battling insomnia and Rachel looked both back and forwards...

A really good evening. There were a few new faces, which was excellent. I am looking forward to hearing their work.

Although only four pieces were read out, the feedback was pretty detailed so we went on til nearly 10.

And Anne was missed.

Saturday, October 2: Autumn fete at Willesden Green Library run by Brent Libraries, Arts and Heritage in aid of the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB)

Willesden Green Writers' Group read their hearts out for this and did the video show us? No. However it is a lively and charming video about a pleasant day at the Library Centre.

The question on everyone's lips is - did he do it? Did Bilal shave off his beard, and if he did, where is the photographic evidence?

Well, there was a preview of a very funny two hander that is due to be performed live in Camden in a couple of weeks, a poem and a caricature - you should have been there!

At last a decent turnout, eight people, three good readings given the wgwg treatment and a guest, but what happened to Susan :-o

Ok - wgwg is officially declaring summer over, and thus all future meetings will be in the ususal Space 1 room upstairs in the library centre. See you tomorrow ( with or without filth )

Started at 8pm, over by 8.30pm. Swift exit not caused by filth being read out, rather by only one person bringing anything to read out! Lets try again next week...

Tomorrow wgwg will be meeting in the library, in the usual room upstairs.
With added filth apparently...

Not to say that WGwg has taken a more continental approach, but the summer holidays seem to have thinned out the attendance a bit. But this week saw some new stories, three new faces, and a challenge for next week.

Have you been holding back a bit of risqué writing? Are you concerned about giving offence to artistic sensibilities of the group? Well, 19 August is your chance to prove that good writing can include naughty bits, the unofficial WGwg challenge is to bring some writing that's got the good kind of filth in it.

Don't worry if you're not inclined to write for more prurient interests, other content is still quite welcome.

Yes, it's the Willesden Green Library for the wgwg's tomorrow evening, sans Lily.
Bon Voyage Lily, we will miss you...

Bilal survived a duststorm, Mary had a handful of gore, Maureen tried to pin down the moment, Lynsey couldn't sleep and we said au revoir to Lily.

There were eleven of us, so not everyone got to read, shock horror! Them's the breaks I'm afraid. But fear not, those who lost out this week get to read first next week...

Now on to Saturday and Lily's goodbye BBQ, with a chance for everyone to say 'hello' to baby Milo.

Well, only tomorrow actually.

Tomorrow (Thursday 5th Aug) we will be meeting in the 'Education Room', so prepare to be Educated. It is downstairs in the library centre, behind the lift to the museum.
See you there!

Surrounded by women, I read out something about how intoxicating it had been to be surrounded by women.

We are meeting in the library centre on Thurs 29th.

Joe and Lily are going... Joe to China this weekend, Lily in a month or so to Siberia, thence China.

The group, which was good this evening, will be poorer for their departures.

We are meeting in the library centre tomorrow, Thurs 22nd. BBC News says it will rain hard.

News just in:

Clare went home last night after the group and had a baby!

He is called Milo and came in at 5.7 pounds and is doing fine.

Mother also well, if a bit shellshocked...

Congratulations to all concerned from all of us at wgwg

Hurrah!

Lynsey is back in London for good, Andrew only for the week, but it was great to see them both back where they belong, at the writer's group.

Nine of us altogether last night, producing amongst other things:-

1. Four very good but, it has to be said, fairly depressing poems - two each from Lynsey and Lee
2. A discourse on the nature of writing from Maureen
3. A further chapter of Lily's story set in Russia
4. The final chapter of Claire's American story
5. A tongue in cheek piece about possible future developments in the field of human intelligence from Andrew

Then, as predicted, off to the pub, where we were treated, at about midnight, to an off the cuff rap poem by some bloke at the bar, called Terry.

This Thursday, we will mostly be meeting at Willesden Green Library. We are not sure if we will be in the upstairs or the downstairs room. Just follow the signs - look on it as a sort of find the Writers' Group game - fun eh! And of course, we are not forsaking the pub altogether, we confidently expect to end up in the pub.

First it was too hot, then it was too cold.

It might rain tomorrow. Or it might not.

In any case, we have booked a room at the library centre, which is where are meeting.

Hitherto
It had been too good
To be true

Last night
One noise
Gave us such a fright

Mary was reading
And crash
Suddenly impeding

The song blared
From the stereo
Our hearing impaired

The nice barmaid
Smiled and said sorry
Returning us to the fade

Of a man's sight
Whose wife wore spandex
What a night!

It promises to be even warmer tomorrow... we are definitely in the Rising Sun's beer garden.

For new people, this is about 2 minutes away from the library centre at 25 Harlesden Road, WillesdenNW10 2BY at: http://www.ukpubfinder.com/pub/10483.

See you there!

Willesden Library Centre has kindly agreed that we can contact them by 10.30am on Wednesdays to book the room - this means that Anne/Sam/I will make a decision then as to whether we are in the Rising Sun or the room - please keep an eye on this blog as we will not be emailing everyone every week.

We wondered where the planes were that had plagued us last week.

We wondered why the pub's ventilation exhaust, that had rumbled at us last week was silent.

Where were all the other punters, popping out into the garden for a smoke and a (very loud) chat?

We had nine people, and eight had brought stuff to read out. Poor Steve, Mary and Joe did not get a chance... so they will go first next week.

A damn good evening.

Gorgeous weather today, so we are meeting again in the beer garden of the Rising Sun ( 25 Harlesden Road, London NW10 2BY), which is literally 2 minutes from the library centre.

Although there was noise from planes overhead and some of the other regulars were at times a little noisy, we think it beats the hell out of the airless room in the library centre.

See you at 8pm!

Well, you could knock me down with a feather - you just have to mention the possibility of holding the group in the pub garden - and twelve people turn up! Despite the occasional airplane noise and the odd patron wondering into the garden to discuss Eastenders at full volume, holding the group
al fresco turned out to be a great idea which we will no doubt re-visit.

Whilst sitting in the garden we were taken to visit a sultry summer camp in America and a model posing for an art class in a cold room, we then met two ballet students, a terrorist and a woman wrestling with the philosophy of altruism. We also welcomed two new members and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, you should have been there. Perhaps next time eh?

If the sun is shining next Thursday, we will decided around four pm whether wgwg will be in the library as usual or at the pub, so watch this space for more instructions, we wouldn't want you to go to the pub by mistake...

Look out for posters tonight if the glorious weather holds, we might be in the beer garden of a local pub, which is a 3 minute walk from the library centre...

8 chairs

Tonight, we were taken to Ireland (on the the day after the night before) and a poem transported us to a busy railway station in Japan where a man waits for his lover, hoping he will still recognise her when she finally arrives. We ended the night in a typical London school.

Talking of travel, our lovely globetrotting Joe is off again, this time to work in Istanbul, we wish him well and will all miss his poetry, his prose and his company ( but we trust he will come back again - he always does!)

And who says no one turns up at wgwg when the sun's out - we had another big group tonight, 10 people including two new members, one of whom was brave enough to read on her first visit to wgwg - well done Jane!

Biggest crowd in ages tonight - 11 people and more readers than we could fit into the two hours.

Fans of poetry and prose should check out The Golden Hour: a cabaret evening of literary delights. Visit the Green Note (106 Parkway, Camden NW1 7AN), readings from Erica Duffy, Jane Flett, Jason Morton and Ryan Van Winkle, a selection of live music and a Paper Cinema.
£5 admission, show starts at 7pm.

Oh yeah, also, Sam Taradash, one of the WGwg writers, will be reading something. So there's a "local" boy in this international literary brouhaha.

There were nine people in tonight but only two readings, which was fine as these took over an hour to listen to and discuss.

A new chap emailed us today and we naturally invited him to come along. Anne and I were there before 8pm. He turned up at 8 and we chatted... at 8.20 it looked like it would just be the three of us (embarrassing). Luckily, a couple of other members joined us and it turned out to be a good session with three readings. Anne wrote a poem called an amusing pantoum which I had to look up just before she read it out (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pantoum).