THE REVIEW

STILL WRITING


Bob and Margaret and I were still the only ones present at our meeting on Wednesday. Does that mean we’re the only ones still writing?

Bob is recovering slowly from surgery he had 2 weeks ago, but was able to complete the piece he was writing about his memories of the WWII years. He read about seeing an aircraft carrier in Vancouver harbour, a small one that only carried 5 or 6 planes. He told us the allied invasion of Normandy was called Operation Overload. The Canadian infantry spent the winter of 1944-45 in Holland. CPR steamships ran the ferry to Victoria as part of the transcontinental railway system. In 1944 patients from Shaughnessy Military Hospital were seen in Bob’s neighbourhood. On April 12, 1945 there was an assembly at school because Roosevelt died. On May 6, 1945 the war was over in Europe. After the nuclear bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrendered on August 15, 1945. That fall Bob was sent to a boarding school where the cadets wore uniforms that were old leftovers from the Boer war. He remembers taking a trip with his parents from Ontario to Detroit to Chicago and a train trip on the Golden State Railway which traveled on the Atchison, Topeka and the Santa Fe Railway Line (AT&SF). He loved that name.

Margaret read “The Royal Bedroom”. Marie was reading the Christmas mail and learned that Hamish and his wife Matilda and their adopted son, Gaylord and his two pets were coming to visit Rev. Peabody for Christmas. Marie had already invited her own son and daughter-in-law and their two children and two pets. Where would they all sleep? Rev. Peabody found her in the office as she was planning to turn it into an extra bedroom. He wanted to know if she was cooking supper as they hadn’t had any lunch.

Then Margaret read the next chapter, “Dear Diary”. Marie is writing in her diary about the Christmas holidays they had with seven guests and four pets. The remains of Mandrake, the English black rat, were found in front of Angora, one of the cats. Aristotle, the second cat, attacked the turkey. Gooseberry, the 8 legged spider in the canning jar got loose and Rev. Peabody stepped on him. Marie was relieved to see that for the next Christmas, they were invited to the Flemish castle with Hamish and Matilda to celebrate.

I read Chapter 17 in my novel. Fiona woke up Saturday morning on Easter weekend, thinking she’d have the day to herself. She heard Cam leave for work. She relaxed over coffee and remembered her years with her husband before he died, and then saw how lucky her job in the complex was as it enabled her to be close by for Cam as she was working. She couldn’t do anything more about the arson fires until Monday or Tuesday and she planned to have dinner at home that night with her son. Then she checked telephone messages and learned an emergency Council meeting had been called for that afternoon to discuss the fires and she would have to attend.

Next Meeting on Wednesday, March 4th at 7:00 p.m. here at my place. Hope to see you then.

Lisa

THE REVIEW

WEDNESDAY’S CHILD


We have moved our Meetings to the 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of the month and hope that might make it possible for more to attend. According to the nursery rhyme, “Wednesday’s child is full of woe”. But the original version from 1887 had “Wednesday’s child is loving and giving”. So whatever inspires your writing, pain or pleasure, Wednesday can handle it all!

Bob had written more about his childhood memories during WWII. He did some research on Zombies and Zoot Suiters. Zombies were draftees in the army as non-fighting forces. Zoot Suiters wore a strange fashion made in Chinatown with high-waisted baggy-bottom trousers that had a very narrow cuff. The jackets were very long, double breasted, and had padded shoulders. Bob also had many pictures of aircraft used during WWII and we enjoyed looking at them.

Margaret read “Bearer Of Gifts” from her Peabody collection. The farmer, Mr. Lamb, who raises sheep, noticed that somebody stole all his mistletoe. Peabody went to cut down a Xmas tree but found somebody else had already cut it down and it was gone. Then Rev. Peacock answered his door and from a young boy, bought a Xmas tree and some mistletoe, which, because he was going away to visit Marigold for Xmas, he then gave to Peabody.

Margaret and I both received our copies of “Summer Tapestry”, an anthology which includes our short stories; my “The Perfect Size” and Margaret’s “The Assignment”. Nice to see my name in a book instead of a newspaper or magazine. Is that a step up?

The February issue of Today’s Senior Newsmagazine has Margaret’s story “The Hat” and a reprint of Gemma’s “New Year’s Resolution”. I read Margaret’s story out loud. It’s about one day in 1945 when she went to a shop on Granville St. to buy a hat, and a huge explosion rocked the street and blew out windows. The ship Greenhill Park had blown up in the harbour.

Bob has decided to forego writing the history of the jewllery business in B.C. and focus his talents on writing a novel, humour and a little mystery, based on all the interesting stories he has told us on the side. That way, he can use all that’s most interesting if he’s writing fiction instead of fact. He was all smiles talking about it. This could be fun.

Robin Ryan is recovering from knee surgery and some complications since. We wish him a speedy recovery and return to good health.

Bob had day surgery on Friday, and though I haven’t heard anything since, we assume he, too, is recovering.

Next Meeting here at my place at 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 18th. Would love to see you then. Happy Valentine’s Day in the meantime.

Lisa