Have you had a unique experience when you were a 'fish out of water'? A time when you:

• Felt totally out of your element
• Felt like an outsider
• Were a foreigner traveling or living in a new country
• Were a rookie on the new job
• Were in another unfamiliar and uncomfortable situation

Share your experience in 500 words.  

With our memoir related theme for July ‘Travel Tales’, we invited published travel writer and U3A Benalla member Judy Perry to be our guest speaker.  Judy drew upon two of her articles published in the Seniors Magazine to demonstrate strategies she employs to intrigue and influence readers to travel, in this case to Benalla.  The ‘hooks’ used involved stories from Benalla’s past –the story of the ‘Bugle Boy’ of Benalla and recollections of ‘Heavy Harry’ the train—engaging us all.  Thank you Judy for preparing and presenting such an interesting and practical introduction to travel writing.

Following the break, class members shared a diversity of travel tales and some more wonderful stories of rebellion, including Elizabeth’s diverting story of a playful rebellion against patriarchy as a young girl in Ireland.  At our next regular session on August 28th we will be sharing tales of being the ‘Odd One Out’  ‘Have you ever felt like you didn't fit in? Too old or too young? Wrong clothes or different culture? Write about a time you felt out of place and why’.
 
There was almost a full house at our Northo gathering this month.  Stories shared included Ray’s ‘If Only I’d’… (worn a seatbelt!); Jenny’s humorous story inciting ‘Rebellion’ against the overcharging for tea in our current café culture, and David’s story about two ‘swashbuckling’ ancestors in a family history piece inspired by the birth of his first grandson.  

Finally, a reminder that creative writing from 1 to 2.15 pm now precedes our catch up at the Northo from 2.30 to 3.30pm on the 2nd Monday.
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Bev Lee