Hello everyone,

General:
It struck me, as I was sitting in the library enjoying the net…

Well firstly, Dianne has been plying us with sites to go and look at and maybe we should find a way of restarting the process of ‘formally’ telling one another about sources of inspiration. The ‘Learning Curve’ section of our web-site could be beefed up, I guess. I’ll talk to Sally when she comes back from her round the world cruise!!!

Secondly, I had a mail back in the depths of winter, when it was even more difficult to get at the net, from an organisation called ‘short story radio’.

So today I’ve been in looking at the site and what they’re all about. Okay, so it’s writing for radio but nevertheless, it’s short story stuff similar to what we write. The stories last about ten minutes (give or take) which is a couple of thousand words. Now, I’m not suggesting that each challenge is suddenly hiked up to that word count but expanding an anecdote to suit that total wouldn’t be too far off the difficulty scale, would it?

The point is, that I thought the idea (writing things to be said instead of read – as Geoff has us doing) might be of interest to some of you; and as a link to other writers, it could be useful. (shortstoryradio.com)

TV??:
Now I know we’re all busy folk and have no time for tv, but Dianne’s comment in the last log did bring me up short. She watches ‘New Tricks’! (I love it too but that’s because I see myself in Jack and his decrepit buddies) And the thought went through my mind about how many other UK originals wing their way to the far ends of the globe? Apart from Geoff and Christine, I think I’m right that the rest of us are in ‘English’ speaking countries, so between us we could see quite a few.

The reason I ask this is that I’m addicted to ‘QI’ with Stephen Fry and buddies. And I’d be interested to know which panellists others (others who watch, of course!) would have on their all-star panel. If you have an opinion, send me a mail (subject strip QI) and I’ll make some further comment.

And while the thought of tv is in my mind, I need to say thank you to ‘France vingt-quatre’ which not only keeps me up to date with what’s going on in France but has a weather forecast which tells me when it’s raining on Geoff and you folks in New Zealand or Margie in the Western Cape!

Challenges:
There have been several challenges this season which, when the organiser has first floated them, I’ve said ‘Mmm’ and sat cogitating the idea for some time. None less so than this ‘last words’ challenge from Geoff. I don’t know about you, but when my mind started to focus on what might be said, it took me back to the times when I’ve sat at the bedside of someone who is drifting away. I’m sure we’ve all been there as one of our nearest and dearest breathes their last.

But in the context of Geoff’s challenge, it reminded me how, at that time, your mind goes blank and only when they’ve gone do all the things you wish you’d said come to the front of your mind. Wouldn’t life be easy if you could forward plan everything…

But there have been other equally thought provoking challenges and I want to thank all of you for coming up with some super ideas for the season.

Season Six:
...Which moves me neatly on to some advance thoughts about next season. I sincerely hope that all (or most) of the angst and disruption of this season will be gone from my life by the time we start season six and that I can enjoy it, and be more ‘in command’ (as it were) of what is going on around me.

Olaf and I have had a conversation or two about next season and recruitment and publicity and so on. Between now and the end of season five, I shall start conversations about next season and hope that we can have an even more active group than we’ve had this year. Let’s have a pact: no house moves. Get them out of the way before next season starts!

Another facet of this season that has gone by the board is the Group Story. Whilst I’m content to manage this, if people have ideas about themes or styles or whatever, let me know at your leisure before next season starts so we can get that on the road again. It’s been fun in the past and produced some interesting stories.

I shall also be looking at the challenges for next season. This season, notwithstanding the positive comments I’ve made just now, lacked any reportage. No press items, no précis, no advertising, all of which we’ve had before. I’d like to have some of those in the list alongside poems and some thought provoking prose. But that’s for later…

Scores:
I’m enclosing the scores so far for this season – just the votes for Geoff’s piece to add. Close, I think you’ll agree. And who knows how our famous last words will influence the final totals…

Sorry folks but I came first in the ‘impossible’ stories with Rosemary hot on my heels. Then we had a three way tie with Chris, Olaf and Zena.

Our running totals now have Chris in the lead (20 points plus three stars); Margie 19+*, Christine 18+**, Rosemary 17+*, Julie 13+**, Dianne 13+*, Margaret 13, Zena 12+*, David 11+*, Geoff 11, Olaf 11, Sue 11, Sally 10+*, Clare 10, Betty 9, John 9.

Finally...:
Well, I’m not sure if this goes in the ever-growing list of impossibles (along with my wife bending my ear for not answering the question she hadn’t asked me!). But I was having a problem with broadband (again) and this bloke at BT asked me to join everything up and then said to enter some fancy address in my googlestrip and download some stuff that was coming my way. (note the technical language!)

When it was downloaded, he told me not to touch the mouse – and I duly complied. Then things started to happen on my screen and I asked him (on the phone) what was happening. “Oh,” he told me, “I’m controlling your computer now!” And he sorted the problem as I watched open-mouthed. I then asked him a question about whether I would have problems with my laptop – and he thought I might and then demonstrated what to do – window-lets popping up all over the screen and things just, well, happening!

Apart from being scary, it was quite comical and at one point I burst out laughing (curmudgeon that I am!) and he said it often freaked people out…

A man in India operating my computer while talking to me on the phone. Impossible!

On a different tack, I have to make note of the comments by some judges about spelling, grammar and general presentation in challenge nine. Whilst I accept some of the criticisms because I’ve been doing my best under awkward circumstances to make sure that all entries and votes and mails are read, noted and filed/used – but there have been some hitches on my part; it does seem that there is an undercurrent of (my words) sadness that entries are being spoiled because of errors.

I’m saying no more than this in this particular mail but will read the mails that have been sent to me (along with the comments in the judging sheet) and try to think about possible ways forward. I’d hate it if someone felt they couldn’t take part because they didn’t get English Language ‘O’ level (as I knew it) and weren’t fully tuned in to clause analysis, less and fewer(!), and where you place commas in relation to speech marks…

But I agree with the comments that it is a shame that such things can blinker you when reading and enjoying entries. Please, let’s NOT start the discussion yet: let me read, let me think, let me make further comment next time.

Interesting that on the day I was writing this section of the missive, I came across a piece in the papers about Australian authors having their “American publishers reworking some of their finest prose.” [So says the Guardian in the UK] And it talks about when slang is used, and one Australian author complaining that it was as if she were “speaking another tongue.” It spoke about the assumption that American English was English and the Australian version was a sub-category needing subtitles. I wonder where English English fits in the sequence?

I also wonder what they’d have made of our comments about grammar… [Rhetorical! No observations, please!]

Best wishes to you and yours in your time zone

- David