Issue 410 23rd October 2015

All praise and thanks to Nigel who has kindly produced the above amended map of Trentby Island for the benefit of those brave souls at-tempting this year‘s farce ... It is not too late to join in this merry romp,

full of misunderstandings, through the flapper age of the 1920s ...

2

FLASH FICTION: Random Words: popular, cat, Abbey, kaleidoscope,

golden generation, genuine, congealing

Assignment: fireworks

A warm welcome awaits. COME to WORKSHOP ... Every Monday 1.30 start Rising Brook Library

Clearing out your

bookshelves?

Help us raise funds for

The National Literacy Trust.

Please help us ‗bring

and buy‘ at workshops in November. Thank you.

Should supermarkets and shops be allowed to sell fireworks to the

general public?

What do you think?

Should all fireworks be set off only

at officially organised events?

www.issuu.com/risingbrookwriters

The Charge Of The Light Brigade by Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Memorializing Events in the Battle of Balaclava, October 25, 1854

Written 1854

Half a league half a league, Half a league onward,

All in the valley of Death Rode the six hundred:

'Forward, the Light Brigade! Charge for the guns' he said:

Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.

'Forward, the Light Brigade!'

Was there a man dismay'd ? Not tho' the soldier knew Some one had blunder'd: Theirs not to make reply,

Theirs not to reason why, Theirs but to do & die, Into the valley of Death Rode the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them, Cannon to left of them, Cannon in front of them

Volley'd & thunder'd; Storm'd at with shot and shell,

Boldly they rode and well, Into the jaws of Death, Into the mouth of Hell

Rode the six hundred.

Flash'd all their sabres bare, Flash'd as they turn'd in air Sabring the gunners there,

Charging an army while All the world wonder'd:

Plunged in the battery-smoke Right thro' the line they broke;

Cossack & Russian Reel'd from the sabre-stroke,

Shatter'd & sunder'd.

Then they rode back, but not Not the six hundred.

Cannon to right of them,

Cannon to left of them, Cannon behind them

Volley'd and thunder'd; Storm'd at with shot and shell,

While horse & hero fell, They that had fought so well

Came thro' the jaws of Death, Back from the mouth of Hell,

All that was left of them, Left of six hundred.

When can their glory fade?

O the wild charge they made! All the world wonder'd.

Honour the charge they made! Honour the Light Brigade,

Noble six hundred!

The Battle of Balaclava, fought on 25 October 1854

during the Crimean War, was part of Siege of Sevastopol

(1854–1855) to capture the port and fortress of Sevasto-

pol, Russia's principal naval base on the Black Sea. The

engagement followed the earlier Allied victory in Sep-

tember at the Battle of the Alma, but a tardy pursuit by

the Allies failed to gain a decisive victory, allowing the

Russians to regroup, recover and prepare their defence.

The British, under the command of Lord Raglan, and the

French, under Canrobert, positioned their troops to the

south of the port on the Chersonese Peninsula: the French

Army occupied Kamiesh on the west coast whilst the

British moved to the southern port of Balaclava. The

battle began with a Russian artillery and infantry attack

on the Ottoman redoubts that formed Balaclava's first

line of defence. When the redoubts fell, the Russian cav-

alry moved to engage the second defensive line held by

the Ottoman and the Scottish 93rd Highland Regiment in

what came to be known as the 'Thin Red Line'. This line

held and repulsed the attack; as did General James Scar-

lett's British Heavy Brigade who charged forcing the

Russians onto the defensive. However, a final cavalry

charge, stemming from a misinterpreted order from Lord

Raglan, led to one of the most disastrous events in

British military history – the Charge of the

Light Brigade.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Balaclava

Trick or treat? I‘m wishing stomach ache and diarrhoea, They need a tap upon their rear. Tooth decay and pain in gobs, All deserved by thieving slobs. From our porch a whole tin pinched, Trick or treat, I want them lynched! Greedy, no good, little robbers, Spoil the fun, their stuffed mouth slobbers, Ugly, nasty, uncontrolled, Think they‘re clever, in groups so bold. Sweetie tin all contents stuffed, With themselves proud and chuffed. I hope one day they‘ll meet their match, On scrawny necks huge fingers latch And give the beg**rs such a shake That more that teeth will start to ache! Autumn It‘s nippy round my neck, it‘s chilly round my chin! A damp autumnal feeling is slowly creeping in. The draught around my feet sends shivers up my spine, But cobwebs lace the garden along the washing line. The sky is quite spectacular in shades of red and blue, The sunrise split wide open in ever changing hue. Leaves of gold and umber, like mice flit over lawn A tapestry to tantalise delivered by the dawn. Rooftops silhouetted beneath the morning glow A world of muted colours to vibrancy will grow Baskets for the summer, their contents soon forlorn, Still raise their pretty heads, to greet this lovely morn. So, although it‘s getting colder and my slippers I must find, And a long and cosy scarf around my neck I‘ll wind, The palette of creation continues to excel, Colours for the day, I wish I could paint so well!

Royal Mail launches National Letter Writing Week

(Publicity Release Nat Lit Trust) 14 Sep 2015

In partnership with the National Literacy Trust, Royal Mail has today launched National Letter Writing Week - a week dedicated

to the art of letter writing

Taking place from today until Friday 18 September, the national campaign aims to encourage people to rediscover the joy and

value of putting pen to paper, with a host of activities planned for the next five days.

The campaign has been supported with a letter from David Cameron, which mentions our work. The Prime Minister said: “We

very much welcome the contributions organisations such as the National Literacy Trust provide to improve literacy”.

To kick off National Letter Writing Week, Royal Mail has released a new report by the University of Derby on the importance of

letter writing for young people seeking employment.

The report reveals that while 90% of young people feel confident about their cover letter writing skills, nearly half of businesses

said they were being forced to actively develop the writing skills of staff due to low standards. More than two thirds of businesses also

stated that they would not hire someone with a poorly written covering letter.

To coincide with Letter Writing Week, we will be releasing our Children and Young People's Letter Writing report later this week.

The survey of more than 32,000 children and young people reveals their letter writing behaviours and attitudes.

Our Director Jonathan Douglas said:

“We want to encourage children and families to put pen to paper more often to write letters. National Letter Writing Week will

show the impact letters can have on people‟s lives long after they were sent or received. Writing letters helps to improve literacy as

writers tend to choose their words carefully and take more time to craft a letter than send an email, which is why letter writing is such

an art.”

News and press releases Royal Mail 14 September 2015

UK business struggle to recruit young people with the necessary letter writing skills

Royal Mail releases new report into the importance of letter writing for young people‟s

employability to launch National Letter Writing Week (Monday 14 to Friday 18 September)

The report, by University of Derby, reveals that while young people feel confident about

their cover letter writing skills (90%) nearly half of businesses (48%) said they were being

forced to actively develop the writing skills of staff due to low standards

More than two thirds (67%) of businesses stated that they would not hire someone with a

poorly written covering letter

A third (33%) of young people believe that “writing letters is a thing of the past” while the same amount (36%) write at least one

letter a month

Perception gap between young people and businesses when it comes to letter writing

As part of the National Letter Writing Week activity, the company is launching a nationwide schools competition and will release

exclusive research into the declining letter writing skills set

The campaign has been backed by Prime Minister, David Cameron

A new report released today by Royal Mail reveals that despite the fact that young people believe they are good at writing cover

letters, businesses are struggling to find staff with adequate writing skills.

The research launches Royal Mail‟s first National Letter Writing Week which runs from Monday 14 to Friday 18 September. The

aim of the week is to encourage people to rediscover the joy of sending and receiving a letter. The campaign has been backed by the

Prime Minister, David Cameron, who said that “it is a great opportunity to help engage young people and improve literacy.”

The study, which was undertaken by the International Centre for Guidance Studies (iCeGS) at the University of Derby, looked

into the importance of letter writing to young people‟s employability.

Perception gap

The findings highlight a clear perception gap between young people‟s belief in their skills and the employer‟s reality. Nearly all

(90%) young people interviewed said that they feel confident about their cover letter writing skills with more than three-quarters

(79%) understanding that a well written letter was important when securing employment.

Employers agreed that a cover letter was important – more than two thirds (67%) stated that they would not consider hiring some-

one who had sent in a poorly written cover letter. However, over half (51%) found it difficult to recruit staff with good writing skills.

As a result half (48%) were forced to spend money and time actively developing the letter writing skills of their teams.

Nearly all (90%) business leaders rated good letter writing skills as important or very important to their organisation with over half

(56%) saying that 61% or more of staff were tasked with writing formal letters on a regular basis.

Ben Nicholson, Hospital Director at Spire South Bank Hospital, said: “In the world of medicine, written communication between

medical practitioners and by hospitals with their patients is still largely by letter. The need to compose a well written, clear, concise,

grammatically correct message, free from the jargon pervading social media and texting, is paramount.”

Despite having confidence in their writing skills and believing that cover letters play an important role in securing employment

(79%), a third of young people (33%) consider letter writing as “a thing of the past‟. Three quarters of women (81%) believed that a

good covering letter was important to securing employment, compared to just 75% of men.

In contrast to those that think that letter writing is a “thing of the past”, more than a third (36%) of young people said they wrote

letters every month. More than half of the women interviewed (55%) said that they enjoyed letter writing, compared to less than half

of men (49%). Only two thirds (68%) admitted that they wrote letters once a year.

Stephen Agar, Managing Director of Consumer and Network Access at Royal Mail, said: “This research demonstrates the rele-

vance of letter writing to young people today. It is clear that a good cover letter can make the difference between getting the job and

not.”

On the back of the research, Royal Mail is launching a schools competition for children up to 14. The theme of the competition is

dream jobs with children being asked to write a letter in response to the question; „What‟s your dream job?‟ Two winning letters will

be selected by a panel of judges, including Helen Skelton, former Children‟s Laureate, Michael Rosen and Royal Mail, CEO, Moya

Green. The winners will be awarded £1,000 for them and their school.

National Literacy Trust Director, Jonathan Douglas said: “Writing letters improves children‟s literacy and our research shows that

young letter writers recognise how important their writing skills will be in enabling them to get better job.”

Vanessa Dodd, from University of Derby and author of the report, said: "Our research shows that letter writing continues to be an

important skill for many types of work. Young people recognise this and believe that they have mastered this important skill. How-

ever, many employers feel that young people's letter writing is not up to scratch. There is a need for us to do more in the education

system and to give young people more exposure to the world of work."

Technical notes:

The International Centre for Guidance Studies (iCeGS) at the University of Derby used a mixed methods approach to (1) understand the context and importance of letter writing as a commu-

nication tool for business and (2) to understand young people’s attitudes toward letter writing.

2,000, 16 – 24 year olds were questioned via OnePoll while 31 businesses were questioned for by the iCeGS.

Royal Mail plc is the parent company of Royal Mail Group Limited, the leading provider of postal and delivery services in the UK and the UK’s designated universal postal service provider.

UK Parcels, International and Letters (“UKPIL”) comprises the company’s UK and international parcels and letters delivery businesses operating under the “Royal Mail” and “Parcelforce

Worldwide” brands. Through the Royal Mail Core Network, the company delivers a one-price-goes-anywhere service on a range of parcels and letters products. Royal Mail has the capability

to deliver to more than 29 million addresses in the UK, six days a week (excluding UK public holidays). Parcelforce Worldwide operates a separate UK network which collects and delivers

express parcels. Royal Mail also owns General Logistics Systems (GLS) which operates one of the largest ground-based, deferred parcel delivery networks in Europe.

www.literacytrust.org.uk

POETRY LIBRARY Latest News: CK Williams obituary | 13-Oct-15 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/news/poetryscene/?id=1411 The Bridge by Hart Crane | 07-Oct-15 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/news/acquisitions/?id=1409

The Society of Authors create new group for poets | 06-Oct-15 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/news/poetryscene/?id=1408

National Poetry Day 2015 | 05-Oct-15 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/news/poetryscene/?id=1407

We British by Andrew Marr | 05-Oct-15 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/news/poetryscene/?id=1406

Poetry Magazines Received in September 2015 | 01-Oct-15 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/news/library/?id=1404

New TS Eliot poems reveal assured sexuality | 01-Oct-15 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/news/poetryscene/?id=1403

Facebook: Stafford

Silver Surfers Group

R. Clay

9

Gardening Tips for October ... Frances Hartley

Another dull, dark, few days, but there are still plenty of flowers in the garden. I

have a big shrub called Viburnum Tynus growing in front of part of the greenhouse

and it is in full flower now. There are several different Viburnums, but most are

Summer flowering and deciduous such as Opulus, whereas Tynus is classed as late,

or Winter flowering and it is also evergreen, so when I look through the window I

can see the splashes of white amongst its dark green leaves which is quite cheery.

The flowers are slightly scented and there is also an Abelia nearby that has pretty

little pink flowers that I like for pressing as well, but they are so small I can only

see them when I go out to feed the birds. Alan took me to a large garden centre and

there seemed to be far more gift stuff, tools and books than plants. There was also

one large section that had been cleared ready for their Christmas display although it

was only September 20th when we went! They had already put about a dozen large

artificial trees on a white base to start it off.

Our tubs of, Geraniums etc at the back of the house, and Begonias and trailing Pe-

tunias at the front, are all still good and bright. We have 4, or 5 vases, around the

house, full of beautiful Chrysanthemum flowers with some cut from our allotment

and some from our garden, which are welcoming. Chrysanthemums are really

worthwhile growing as all they need is some good, firm soil and a cane for a little

support, and the flowers will last for weeks in water if the stems are gently split be-

fore arranging them. If you don‟t want, or can‟t dig up the old “Stools,” or roots, so

that you can pot them and keep them over Winter inside in an unheated greenhouse,

then instead try covering the roots outside with some bark chippings, straw, or old

compost for extra protection. Remember though, that Chrysanthemums are not

good over-wintering outside in wet soil, as they will rot! Don‟t dig Dahlias up until

frost has turned the flowers and stems black.

If like me you have grown the large flowered begonias this year, it is a good idea

when the basket or tubs are emptied, to try and save the corms as they are expen-

sive. Dry them off, keep them in a cool place and next Spring, about April, place

them on some damp compost, then lightly spray them about every other day and

they should start into growth before flowering again. There is a large range of bulbs

for sale now, but if you want bulbs in flower for Christmas in the house, or as pre-

sents, they should go in pots now. I like to use a deep pot and put in a layer of com-

post at the bottom, then place a few bulbs onto it leaving a small space between

them. Next I add another layer of compost and some more bulbs trying to remem-

ber where the noses of the previous ones were, but it is not vital as they will all

flower, but the bottom ones may be a little slower coming up giving a longer dis-

play of flowers.

With the colder weather coming the Runner Beans are more or less finished, so cut

the plants down to ground level, but don‟t dig the roots out as the nodules on the

roots contain Nitrogen which will do the soil good as they gradually decompose.

Well that‟s all for now. Cheerio. Frances Hartley (2012)

“ALL THAT

JAZZ”

Won the vote and

will be the next

RBW farce.

ALL THAT JAZZ. CAST OF CHARACTERS

Many of these characters are two dimensional as yet: where you have a physical description in mind please write it in some-where so that we all know about it. AND check these notes for updates and send in any updates please.

Hotel staff free for all to use - opening gambits by CMH. Nigel Thomas Bluddschott – Manager part owner of ‗Hotel Bluddschott'. Married to Winifred. Tubby, balding, brown hair,

brown eyes, 34, 5' 7‖ tall. Tenor voice but wobbly and hesitant unless using a prepared script. Not good at thinking on his feet. If something CAN go wrong it WILL. Smuggles brandy, fags and other taxable goods as a part time job.

Winfred Alice Bluddschott (nee Gray) – Manager part owner of ‗Hotel Bluddschott'. Wife of Nigel. Plump more than tubby, brown hair bleached blonde, brown eyes, 35, 5' 6‖ tall. MUCH more capable than hubby with a hard edge to her speech.

CMH.

Sally Gray. - A MYSTERY WOMAN in any case. Don't know (yet) if she's staff, entertainer (torch singer or fan dancer) or

guest. Youngish woman. Tall, hazel eyes, auburn hair, very capable. I have her earmarked as an ex-QA/WRNS/WRAF

officer who has just completed her time & wants to 'get away from it all'. BUT, she could be something entirely different! Norbert Bunbury. Staff, driver and odd job man at the HB. Was Infantryman – possibly W.O.2 (Sgt. Maj.) or higher. I fancy a field promotion, mid 1918, not a Sandhurst man – with a few gongs to his credit. Tall, brown eyes, dark brown hair. Well built.

Blackleg Bill Bluddschott - the ghost of. Comic relief characters. You never know! These ladies may, possibly, be descended from those who went with Captain Fowlnett onboard 'The Star' in 'Packet to India'. They are middle aged, overweight, often slightly 1-over-the-8 and about to be tented! Vera Accrington -

Gloria Stanley - Dorothy Calcutt (their much younger niece) Ronnie Manservant only lasts a day.

NP Griggleswade (Griggles). Flyboy. Ex-RAF now working for M.I.5 (or something) as some kind of 'Air Detective'. Ch. Supt. Chorlton-cum-Hardy. Previously Colonel. Griggles superior officer in M.I.5

Mossy. Working with Griggles. Windle. Working with Griggles. Jones. Aircraft mechanic works for Griggles.

Wilhelm von Eisenbahn, aka Osbert Lessly or 'Big Shorts'. Khaki Shorts leader. Comrade 'Ironside' aka Joseph. Lenin boys leader. Comrade Plotskie aka Leon. Assistant to 'Ironside'.

ACW.

Christiana Aggott posing as Lady Arbuthnot Christian. Novelist. Actually married to Col. Beaumont Walsgrave but using a nom-de-plume for secrecy; & for advertising purposes about her new book, 'The man who shed crocodile tears'. (This neatly gets the requisite reptile into the plot line)

Arbuthnot Aggott or Uncle Arbuthnot. Head of a Security Organisation (Home Office?) Christiana is working for him.

General Arbuthnot Aggott. Christiana's father and brother of Arbuthnott Aggott. Something in the War Office (as the

MoD (Army) was known then) to do with Counter Espionage. Col. Beaumont Walsgrave. Christiana's sorely missed hubby.

Bright Young Things: Ruby Rawlings, Charlotte Ponsonby-Smythe & Katherine Wallasey. Bright Young Things brothers: Everet Rawlings, Eugene Ponsonby-Smythe & Virgil Wallasey.

Communists et al ACW Comrade St. John. Lenin boys Comrade Bunson-Smythe. Lenin boys

Bro.?? Muckleby. Leader of 'The Workers Party' also something to do with Arbuthnot Aggott. Bruder Wilhelm Bergmann. German trades union leader.

Bro. Kevin Harvey. A Workers Party member. (Changed from Hardy) Ernst Graf von Rockenbaker. Sir John Keithly.

Lord John Markham. Sir Martin Wickham.

SMS. Barnard Hot Sax Player Musician and nice guy. Errol Holiday. Band leader and piano player Tallulah tubby torch singer Errol‘s girl friend, hates Jo-Jo Jo-Jo. Fan dancer from Red Parrot Club, Paris sister of Errol. Hates Tallulah.

Cpt Digby Makepeace — hotel guest Barrington nephew of Makepeace knew Jo-Jo in Paris and knows PoWales.

LF Rooster Pearmaine detective — drunkard

Balsom Fry valet Cpt Hove-Brighton assistant on trail of missing novelist

AP

Boys and Girls Camp‘s characters and storyline Gilbert and Walter

Simon Bligh pack leader Jenny H.B. STAFF LIST. Awaiting names/descriptions and free to use. Head Waiter. Head Gardener. Head Chef. (Unnamed but has been used) Geordie pretending to be a French Chef, as they get paid more. No good at accents. Head porter/Concierge. 'Dell boy'. He knows about the smuggling racket. Wine Waiter/Sommelier/barman. All on the take from the 'duty free' wine.

OH CRICKEY ... Encroachment!

Some folks are very not happy ... And, rightly so ...

Can all farce writers please be very careful to stick to their

own characters and plotlines, or negotiate.

Cease and Desist! Barging into other people‟s plotlines is a big no-no!

Where characters and plotlines are being shared can more experienced writers

please give way to newer writers to give them a chance.

If experienced writers are sharing plotlines: I’ll hold your coats while you slug it out ...

Please, think of your poor editor‟s blood pressure. Thank you.

'Brothers! We are being held capitive! We must rise and strike off the chains that hold us … I

think,' Vera declaimed to an empty room. ‗Capitive? What the ...‘ Gloria, busy not being at all impressed by the words; and thinking that

their delivery left a lot to be desired, sniffed loudly and said, 'That's rubbish our Vera. I ain't being captivated nor are you neither. Not too excited by this rubbish you've found, neither. Who in their

right mind writes piffle like that?' 'Dunno, our Gloria, it were on the dressing table when we come in. Just look here,' she pointed to

a paragraph on the smudged, scrawled, and badly hectographed sheet. 'Says that the working man

is being done down by them with money, I think. There's a lot of long words here what I don't un-derstand; foreign words I think.'

'Oh well! They can say what they likes in foreign, our Vera, that don't count. It's what they says in English I don't hold with.'

Vera thought about that one for a minute, 'But what if that there foreign there asays that they're

agoin' to take over the country, our Gloria. Us can't for stand that, can us?' 'Hmmm … Gotta think about that, our Vera. Maybe we should tell the Bobbies and get 'em run in,

once our luggage is sent up that is!' 'And once we've had some dinner, our Gloria. Can't do all this thinking, not on an empty stomach,

nor without a good 'ot bath neither!' The rooms that the pair had ―found‖, on the top floor at the back of hotel, were far from ―the

luxurious suite‖ that the brochure had promised but they were, as Vera put it, ‗a darned sight better

than any old tent, partic'lar now it's blowing a gale and raining stair rods.' Vera was musing, mainly to herself, but she did have a very loud muse. 'He was quite good look-

ing, was that Beaumont Walsgrave. What did he call himself? Lately of His Majesty‘s Foreign Office, now on leave! Single too; or he'd never get away with that odd-looking shirt, nor the shorts, beard

and sandals.' Gloria, never backwards in pinching good ideas, was thinking along similar lines. 'I'll ask the nice

Mr. Walsgrave about this note later tonight. He's one of the nobs in the civil service, he's bound to

know!'

Post apocalypse – or there-abouts The Bluddschotts stood on the top step of the entrance surveying the wreckage left draped all

over the island after the storm.

'Not a nice sight is it, Nigel ?' said his wife as she turned away. 'You'll have to get the groundsmen and sports staff to clear it up this morning!' Having delivered her, patently impossible, orders she

turned away to harass the few waiters and others who had turned up this morning. 'Mr. Bluddschott, sir. There's a telephone call for you.' The girl behind the desk called across.

'Telephone call?' Who on earth would be calling at this hour of the morning? 'I'm too busy clear-ing up the wreckage of my campsites to take personal calls!' He wasn't going to get his hand dirty but he had to sound busy. 'You aren't a receptionist! Why are you answering the phone and who is

it?' 'I'm answering it as there's no-one else in the office because the road has been washed away at

the causeway! It's an overseas call sir, from Canada, from a Mr. Gray who says that he's the Chair-man of the Consortium.'

Nigel nearly fainted. A conversation with his father-in-law was the last thing he needed this morn-ing, or for that matter, any morning. It was bound to be about money and he wasn't too good with the accounts. He perked up at the thought that the storm had done some damage, maybe something

about an insurance claim would sound good? Stuff he was busy working on and he couldn't tell what sort of impact it would have.

'Good morning Mr. Gray and how are you this fine morning?' he boomed into the mouthpiece. 'Sorry about the delay in answering, clearing up all the storm damage, you know? I'll have the old place spotless by lunchtime, we seem to be cut off but the ferry will be running by midmorning so we

shouldn't have any problems with food.' 'Storm!' said the telephone back to him in a voice that was, slightly, like his wife‘s father. 'What

storm? Not had any news of a storm.'

'Nothing much, really. Just a normal Autumn channel storm.' Nigel was playing the unflappable

Englishman card for all he was worth. 'It's blown a few dozen tents away, cut us off from the mainland, sunk a few boats, ripped tiles off, etcetera. Shouldn't wonder if it's damaged a few 'planes

at the airfield. It's far too early to tell, but it's nothing that won't be covered by the insurance, I'm sure. Now what did you want to talk to me about?' (CMH)

Sitting on the bed, ‗Tallulah, is coming today,‘ said Errol re-reading the telegram. Barnard slicked a

comb through heat-straightened hair and applied another handful of pomade. Tallulah! that would put the cat amongst the pigeons. Jo-Jo and Tallulah had history. Recent history and not too pleasant.

‗She‘ll be here in time for tonight‘s performance.‘ ‗Where‘s she staying?‘ asked Barnard doing his level best to keep the anxiety out of his voice. ‗Emm ...,‘ said Errol, while looking out of the window from where he could see his sister in conver-

sation with a punter by the lawn where the English guests played a nonsensical game with wooden mallets and hoops. ‗Jo-Jo won‘t be too pleased.‘

Barnard‘s eyes wrinkled into slits. Not too pleased, she‘d be apoplectic if she had to share a room with the Tallulah.

‗They don‘t get on brother. Two cats in a sack. You can‘t put two gals like them pair on the same stage at the same time let alone share a room. No, no, no! Hell‘s to Betsy.‘

Errol knew Barnard was right; his sister and his squeeze hated each other. But Tallulah was the

best torch singer in the whole of Paris, when she sang Bye Bye Blackbird the room smouldered, the dancers melted onto the floor and the tips went through the roof. Errol always had a clichéd turn of

phrase when thinking about money. Besides, he‘d been missing his best gal. ‗So what do you suggest? We‘ve only got the two rooms.‘

‗I‘ll move out,‘ said Barnard, ever the gallant. ‗Tallulah can ...‘ he was going to say sleep in here, but this was a difficult thing to say out loud: it wasn‘t his business who Errol shared his bed with, or for how long. Tallulah and Errol had been an item for over two years with no sign of a wedding: his

momma would have said it was time Errol peed or got off the pot. Momma had a certain turn of phrase on such issues: if he enjoyed it, he should slap a ring on it, his momma would have said in

her church-going hat and a very loud voice. Tallulah and his momma shared many fine characteris-tics and some not so fine. Tallulah was almost as round as she was tall and sallied forth onto a stage like a battleship under full diamanté sail; she commanded attention even before she opened her

mouth to sing: at this point Barnard decided to change tack. ‗Jo-Jo can keep her own room.‘ ‗Where‘ll you sleep?‘

‗Oh don‘t worry about me. I‘ll be fine. There‘s loads of empty tents ...‘ sighed Barnard looking out forlornly across the field of debris from last night‘s storm to where several matchstick sized folk were

scrambling hither and thither trying to salvage soggy canvas and tent poles from the pile of rubble washed up against a wall. (SMS)

PERFORMANCE: The Art of Storytelling Part 2 Nigel Peckett The aborigines of Australia say that a story looks for the right person to tell it, rather like a hunter looking for its prey. If you want to tell a story it is best to look at only a few stories before choosing one, otherwise you will get confused by the sheer number of stories that are just waiting to be told or retold. Once you have chosen your story then comes the tricky bit, which is to remember it. That doesn‘t mean learning it off by heart because that would be a recital rather than telling a story. Storytelling is an art and bit like a jazz be-cause time you tell a story varies rather like an improvisation on a theme. How you will remember a story depends how your memory works. I find that I can read a story a few times and remember it. There are different techniques here are a few:

Learning from the written story. Read the story a few times, in your own room tell out it loud a few times and

then give it whirl.

Remember the story as series of pictures and perhaps put it down as a series pictures which you can easily

remember.

Learn the story as a series of key facts or learn the story by ear. Read the story into a sound recording de-

vice and play the story back to yourself several times. Next time: how to tell the story to an audience (Storytelling in Stafford once a month at The Rose and Crown 7.30 start £5.00 admission — dates can be found on Facebook)

ASSIGNMENT: Letting the cat out of the bag ... Shhh ... it‘s a secret ... some of the best writers in the world can‘t spell for toffee or punctuate. To some of them ‗grammar‘ is something they should have been taught in prep school but were away that day under matron‘s glassy glare like they were away

also for the lessons in long division ... Unfortunately, for lesser mortals who haven‘t yet secured a major publishing con-

tract, or even a caustic agent, which will provide those budding best-seller authors with an editor and a proof reading service, there is a bitter pill to swallow.

GRAMMAR matters! So suck that up, and if your knowledge of grammar is lacking, there is only once

thing to do. Learn, that is, unless you are prepared to pay handsomely for a freelance editor and/or proof readership service. Yes. Gulp! They are not the same thing. Most editors do not teach grammar, they do not also proof read. Most proof readers only cor-rect text, they don‘t edit text. They all know how to charge!

What is the difference between published books and self-published books? Try reading some online self-published books, often the difference shouts out ...

nothing shouts ‗amateur‘ more than poor editing and bad grammar. So you want to learn. That is a good first step towards being taken seriously as a

writer. Writers who are secure in their grammatical ignorance are wasting their own and everyone else‘s time.

What should one brush up on? In my experience punctuation of speech is usually a good place to start, as are those

tricky little devils, homonyms. It is horrific to most editors to see the number of experienced writers who do not

know where the comma, or full stop, goes when writing dialogue ... Is it inside or out-side the quotation marks? Tricky enough to make a parson swear ...

And ... What is a homonym? Wiki says ... (yes, you can look up grammatical issues on Wiki) ... In linguistics, a

homonym is a word that has different meanings. Words that share the same spelling but have different meanings. Thus homonyms are simultaneously homographs (words that share the same spelling, regardless of their pronunciation) and homophones (words that share the same pronunciation, regardless of their spelling). Examples: stalk (noun, plant stem) and stalk (verb, harass a person) and left (past tense of leave) and left (opposite of right). Let‘s have a look at some of the usual suspects: there (a place), their (belonging to them), they’re (shortened form of they are).

Other disaster areas surround the use of apostrophes: all you need to remember is about belonging. It’s = it is; Its, belonging to it. So short form where a vowel etc is removed, it is replaced with an apostrophe and yet if it denotes ‗belonging‘ no apostro-phe. For a couple of quid any GCSE English revision book will contain simple instruc-tions on use of the apostrophe for plurals etc.. There are plenty of grammar instruction

sites online: surprisingly, self-education is something search engines can be used for besides seeking out videos of cats getting stuck in boxes.

So there you have it ... the cat is out of the bag ... there is nowhere to hide, if you want to be a serious writer you have to have a working knowledge of how your own language functions. Self-education is like slimming and giving up smoking ... only the person directly involved can make that required change for the better. (SMS)

Award Winning Journalist Sue Lloyd-Roberts died 13th October 2015

Accolades and Tributes from her peers have been

paid to the "pioneering" journalist/war-correspondent Sue Lloyd-Roberts, who died on

Tuesday 13th October 2015 aged 64. Ms Lloyd-Roberts, who had acute myeloid leukaemia, died following complications from a stem cell trans-

plant on Tuesday at London‘s University College Hospital.

She had run a public appeal to find a donor and kept a video blog on her illness while con-fined to bed with pneumonia. (Image from her

hospital blog on Word Press.) Among the many paying tribute was Myan-mar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi, who

praised her "great courage".

Ms Lloyd-Roberts, a predominantly BBC journalist, had reported on events and unrest in Syria,

Burma and North Korea.

BBC director general Tony Hall called her a "pioneer video journalist" and praised her "extraordinary" determination and courage. "She went to dangerous places to give a voice to peo-

ple who otherwise would not be heard," he said. "She was quite simply a remarkable woman who got remarkable stories. She will be deeply missed."

According to published obituaries Sue Lloyd-Roberts was educated at Cheltenham Ladies' College

and St Hilda's College, Oxford. She worked as a journalist for ITN before joining the BBC, reporting on issues including human rights abuses around the world. It is reported that in 2011, she was the

first journalist into the city of Homs, Syria. During her extensive career, she was sentenced in her absence in China to seven years in prison

for her work and was among the first journalists to publish on female genital mutilation. She was

awarded the MBE and CBE for humanitarian journalism. She also received the European Women of Achievement Award and an Emmy for reporting from North Korea.

Describing being shot at while on assignment in war-torn Bosnia, it is reported that she once told

the Daily Mail: "Concentrating on filming displaces you from what's going on. There is nothing bet-ter at dispelling fear than having something constructive to do."

Ms Lloyd-Roberts was married to Nick Guthrie and lived in Spain, where they ran a country hotel. The BBC website says she wrote a number of articles for the BBC Magazine. Links below:

Gambian women fleeing female genital mutilation threat A US soldier searches for his Vietnamese son

The unopened 'Pleasure Hospital' of Bobo Syrians accuse Greece of 'pushing back' migrant boats Vietnam's illegal trade in rhino horn

Demanding justice for women and children abused by Irish nuns

Man Booker Prize 13th Oct 2015

Marlon James awarded the Man Booker prize 2015

Author of A Brief History of Seven Killings – a fictional account of an attempt to kill the iconic

Jamaican performer Bob Marley. Marlon James has become the first Jamaican writer

to win the Man Booker prize, taking the award for an uncompromising novel. It has been reviewed as brimming with shocking gang-warfare violence,

with graphic sexual imagery and drug trafficking but also, said the judges, ―a lot of laughs‖.

James said that once he cracked the structure, he struggled with the style, which incorporates dialect and Jamaican patois, sprinkled with free verse. ―I thought it would be considered as one of those experimental nov-els that no one reads.‖

Reviewers called it, ―visceral and uncompromising‖. A Brief History of Seven Killings, a fictional account of the attempted murder of Bob Marley in 1976, was ―an extraordinary book,‖ said Michael Wood chair of judges.

―very exciting, very violent. It was a unanimous decision, a little bit to our surprise.‖ Marlon James, aged 44, lives in Minneapolis and is the first Jamaican author to win the prize in the Man

Booker‘s 47-year history. His novel was described by the New York Times: ―like a Tarantino remake of the The

Harder They Come, with a soundtrack by Bob Marley and a script by Oliver Stone/William Faulkner … sweeping, mythic, over-the-top, colossal and dizzyingly complex.‖

Accepting the award from the Duchess of Cambridge at the London Guildhall, James said: ― ... my literary sensibilities were shaped by the Man Booker prize ... it suddenly increases your library by 13 books.‖

He dedicated his win to his late father. James said he hoped the prize win would bring more attention to

Caribbean writers but he said he had to leave Jamaica to write the book: it was ―a novel of exile ... I needed that distance, I needed that sense of maybe there wouldn‘t be consequences.‖

POETRY LIBRARY UPDATE: Latest Competitions: National Poetry Competition 2015 | Closing Date: 31-Oct-15 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/competitions/?id=1834 Gregory O'Donoghue International Poetry Competition 2015 | Closing Date: 30-Nov-15 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/competitions/?id=1840 T S Eliot Prize Writing Competition 2015 | Closing Date: 11-Dec-15 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/competitions/?id=1832

Beaumont Park's Beautiful Poetry Trail Competition | Closing Date: 25-Dec-15 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/competitions/?id=1839

Kent & Sussex Poetry Society Open Poetry Competition 2015 | Closing Date: 31-Jan-16 http://www.poetrylibrary.org.uk/competitions/?id=1835

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