Special Guest

[Zondrae]

G'day all,

We had a special guest at IBP this morning. A wide awake, but quieter than I expected, Mr Neville Briggs. He was a most charming guest and shared a couple of his poems with us. He says he has trouble memorising poems but I only saw a few glances at his cheat sheet. We would certainly have him back.
Now he can tell you all about us. Next week being a unusual 29th February and a fifth Wednesday in the month - we have an open topic. That is we can write about anything.

At this point I would like to extend that invitation to anyone who is in the Wollongong area. We are always happy to meet new poets or those who simply like to listen. We had a group of 14 today and a wide variety of poems. Another new member Frances had her poem printed and presented on a beautiful fan. I'll have to remember that one. It is another way to build up a 'fan base'.

[Maureen K Clifford]

good on you Neville - you are becoming like that Gold Nugget "The Welcome Stranger' popping up out of nowhere as it were.

Zondrae how did they print the poem onto the fan ???? Was it Laser printed perhaps??? Sounds like a fabulous idea and also a novel way to present a poem as a gift to someone rather than just having it in an A4 frame

Has anyone out there had any experience with having a poem of theirs printed on one of those triptych type large canvases they do now with family photos?????

[Neville Briggs]

Thanks Zondrae, Marty, Maureen..I only just bought a new hat at Tamworth, I'll have to buy a new bigger one already with those kind words.

Not only was it dark o'clock Marty, but I got up early to catch the train in to the meeting place. The track to the railway station at Austinmer goes through a jungle, complete with snakes, giant spiders, dripping monster plants, soaking muddy paths, leeches and sounds of rushing water and other strange things.

The Illawarra Poets' group is a great bunch. Very enthusiastic; and Auntie Zondrae keeps them in order without challenge They ( almost ) all faithfully presented something for their homework project. Quite varied and a lot of work put in there, including Noel Causer with his plumber's eel .

I was very very interested to see that their group included a young lady who is plainly from a culture far from that of the Australian Bush Poetry tradition, and she has still not completely gained facility in speaking English, yet I was very impressed that this lady chose as her contribution to the group to read a poem by Henry Lawson. Fantastic.

It was a very enjoyable experience. Let's hope that the Illawarra bush poets prosper.