Writers Group, visiting and A Stranger's Table

First off, here’s this morning’s meditation piece:

Meditation 58

A thousand rituals
to avoid the rhythmic beat

of the light
but finally it comes,

breaking through
when you are least ready.

Mercy is not weighed
in these familiar scales.


Still feeling rather groggy today but it seems to have moved towards the physical and away from the mental at the moment, thank the Lord. I’ll have to keep an eye on it anyway.

At work, I’m concentrating on getting the first draft of yesterday’s minutes out before the memories disappear entirely from my head. Hmm, best be quick then. Meanwhile this week’s heroes are the Dean of Students’ Office (for doing an incredibly good job in difficult circumstances this week) and Ruth’s husband for being a great panto dame, hurrah.

And the first Writers’ Group of 2009 took place at lunchtime – a fairly good turn-out and lots of interesting scripts to look at. I decided to be cruel and give them a challenging writing game to play rather than an easing-in one, but they seemed fine about it. Well, they didn’t rend me limb from limb, which is a plus point. And there was a nice sprinkling of returners and new folk too, so that was good. Also, as a result, I think I’ve started a piece of flash fiction about an old woman and a garden, but we’ll see.

Tonight, I’ll pop into see Gladys on the way home – the birds will be needing their birdseed today for sure. After all, it took me ten minutes to scrape the ice off the car this morning, so if they can get their beaks into the soil at all it will be a miracle.

Meanwhile some exciting news about A Stranger's Table. The lovely Rochita at Haruah Webzine has not only asked to see a copy for review, but has also suggested another review site who might be interested. So thank you hugely for that, Rochita - very much appreciated, and I hope you like at least some of the poems.

Not much on TV this evening however – though there is the gloriously retro half hour of James & Oz getting drunk around Britain. Ah, it has its charms, you know.

Today’s nice things:

1. Poetry
2. This week’s heroes
3. Writers Group
4. Flash fiction ideas
5. The review request for A Stranger's Table
6. A night in.

Anne Brooke
Anne's website - feeling unexpectedly hopeful