​Our optional café catch up meeting at the Northo was well attended, with seven participants gathering on Labour Day to share contributions including Pat’s stories on the theme ‘Shut Up’; a timely and fascinating article Shirley found on the many uses of the word ‘up’; Joy’s story on the alternative topic ‘I Broke It’; and readings from some cleverly written ‘100 word novels’ published in in a recent ‘Monthly’.  Bev explained that it is best to keep our regular topic stories until they are shared in class, though they can always be shared at the café catch up afterwards if we are unable to present them on the nominated day.  By the time the next newsletter comes out our stories on our March topic, ‘Stock and Land’, will have been shared. 
 
The topic for our regular meeting on Monday 24th  April at 1.30 pm is ‘Failure’ – the brief – ‘Write about a failure you’ve experienced – from the commonplace to the catastrophic’ – in 500 words.  

We welcomed new members Elizabeth, Helen, Mardi and Ray to our first meeting on 27th February.  After some introductory activities and ‘housekeeping’ we became quite immersed in sharing and listening to each other’s memories of being 'New in Town'.  Contexts included being new in Canberra; outback Australia; coastal NSW; London and Madrid as well as being ‘New in Benalla’.  While most pieces were written as memoirs, Neville took the opportunity to create a fictional story from the viewpoint of a young girl watching her mother, new to town, wanting her family to ‘make a good impression’. 
 
The topic for our March 27th session is ‘Stock and Land’ – ‘Tell us about a significant memory involving farming, agriculture or rural life.  You must include mention of at least one animal or crop and one piece of farm equipment.  If you haven’t lived on a farm, you might like to write about a long remembered visit to or experience of a farm or agriculture, something referencing rural life, ideally set in the north east.  It could even be about memories of a visit to an agricultural show or about backyard chooks in urban settings.  Write about something you haven’t written about before which you’d like to share with your family and others’. 
 
We will meet for a coffee and catch up at the North Eastern Hotel on Monday 13th March from 2.30 to 3.30.  
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