This is our third outdoor meeting, as dictated by the ongoing Covid regulations, and I thought In the Park sounded more descriptive than Outdoor meeting. After all, our last two such gatherings have taken place picturesquely in the shade of an oak tree while we lounged on the grass. And today was Midsummer Day, so it was bound to be sunny and warm.
And if it hadn’t been for the driving rain and the cold winds I am sure it would have been. But, come on, we are both British and Shorelinkers so we were hardly going to let a small setback like that spoil our meeting, were we? Hardy and resolute as ever, we crossed the footbridge to our destination, noticing en route that the usually tiny stream had turned into a mini-torrent, and marched onwards to the bandstand.
Not much competition today, only one person in sight languishing in a wheel chair outside the closed café, but – wait a moment, isn’t that…? And yes, it was indeed, our temporarily disabled member heroically waiting our arrival.. (Well, and the return of her lovely carer, who was travelling some distance to find them both a much needed hot drink.) There were also some ducks around, obviously under the impression that the whole park had turned into a duck pool.
We rescued our member, then gathered up even more of our hardy members before huddling together for warmth in the bandstand. Last week, when summer was still here, we heard an absolute cornucopia of stories and essays on the theme Dire Consequences. Funny ones, sad ones, touching ones, so much to reflect on and to admire.
This week our theme was The Monster and although several of us had stuck to it, we were treated to some diversity, a chapter from one member’s second novel, which was very moving, an enchanting poem from another member’s recently published latest book of poems, and a fascinating essay on animation and film making were among the gems.
Now you would think, given the weather, that the afternoon might have been, well, a washout. But no. It wasn’t. In fact, I think it was one of the most fun meetings we have had. Sheltering from the elements in our refuge, close together so we could hear the pieces being read over the noise of the wind and rain, gave us a special bonding. We knew we were quite mad, sitting reading in the rain, but there was something uniquely Shorelink about our madness and our ability to laugh at ourselves
It was a Midsummer’s Day to remember. Thank you all. See you next Monday.
Sally xxxxx
Shorelink Writers 