05 August 2010

meeting on 4.8.10

Members present were:- Vala with news of her daughter's appointment as Assistant to Secretary of Treasury. Congratulations & good wishes also to Vala for her 60th birthday: Jo had some news of a North West tree octopus???, Robyn recently celebrated her husband Joe's birthday. We welcomed Helene wearing a new Pandora bracelet which she obtained whilst visiting her family in Canberra. Wendy had nothing new to report & Mandy is excited about her forthcoming cruise of the Pacific. David returned from finalising his house move, he read a witty poem he composed for Vala's birthday. Terry has been assisting one of the speakers in a mental health forum prior to a Meet the Candidates election meeting.

As usual the Word of the Day caused some discussion:-
Wendy's were internet related - blamestorming - working out who to blame
ego-surfing - looking up your name on the internet
swiped out - credit card overuse
mouse potato - internet user
starter marriage - first marriage (practice?)
David puzzled us with nonet, explanation - uneaten
Jo's word could be used to describe some of our meetings - persiflage or joking chatter. Another word of Jo's was negatory - worthless: of no value
Terry:- Prognosticate: Predict or forecast
Helene:- Gravitas: substantial. serious demeanour
Cath:- Brabble: Quarrel noisily over trifles: discord: brawl
Vala:- Capacious: Roomy

There were interesting ideas on the subject from last week:- Three shades of white - in verse and prose.
Mandy wrote a moving tale of a poor family and a Peace rose.
Terry's poem covered many shades of white, from clouds to snow & surf
Robyn had researched white, how it is used as an example for purity, cowardice etc.
Helene used the subject to add another chapter to her novel
Wendy wrote an amusing poem of ladies obsessed with laundering sheets
Cath's piece involved wedding dresses worn by three generations of a family
David read a heartfelt poem relating to war experience, he then made fun of being on a diet with another poem, followed by a witty piece regarding laundry and three shades of white

Terry suggested an exercise which kept everyone occupied, silence reigned as the words, ivy, squat, mizzenmast, iguana, rivulet, muzzle, xerography, twosome, foyer, decibel, were woven into a sentence with top marks if they could be used consecutively. Hilarity was caused when the results of these efforts were read by the composers. It is amazing where a mizzenmast could be placed.

Next weeks's subject is A 60yr old transvestite man who loves Prada,favourite colour mauve,works at the Zoo, has an athletic build, speaks 3 languages with a lisp, has white, pointed teeth, teaches Zumba at a retirement home for old transvestites, drives an old Combi van, is South American, his name is Jesus and his hobby is writing poetry. We hope to hear some interesting stories about Jesus next week.