First Night - 5th September, 2012

Faces old and new gathered at Prestwick Bowling Club on 5th September for the first meeting of the new AWC year. Excitement buzzed, writing was anticipated… and done! After all, that is what we are all about. As Dorothy said in her introduction for new members, the main thing drawing us all to this point on a Wednesday night, no matter how dark or cold outside, is that we all want to write, simple as that. And then, along the road, we find friends who also write and who are with us as we are pushed out of our comfort zones.

Ann introduced us to the programme for the year, which boasts no fewer than eight speakers and twelve workshops, with nine competitions to challenge us. She told us about her first night at the club, way back when (sorry, Ann!), and being sucked, terrified, through the double doors into a meeting she didn’t think she had any right to be at. But what a lot has happened since then for Ann – a truly awesome record of work for the BBC, a novel, and more articles than… well, just more than!

On the other hand, Kirsty and Andy told us about their experiences as new members of AWC, both having joined last year. Both spoke of their trepidation, but of how short-lived this was in the supportive environment of the club. Andy ended with a bit of sterling advice – to come along to club activities, whether you think they are for you or not, and approach all with an open mind and a light heart.

Fiona McFadzean told us about the Scottish Association of Writers’ Conference, which takes place over the weekend of 22nd-24th March 2013. There are 14 competitions to enter for the weekend, and Fiona pledged that for every competition she does NOT enter, she will donate the entry fee to the club. Better get scribbling, Fiona!

The evening ended with a writing activity led by Janice, leading to much creative thinking and scribbling of ideas, from assassinated husbands to graffiti-painting grannies. Finally, Sheila’s wonderful quiz had us all scratching our heads for bits of information that we knew we knew, but just couldn’t quite bring to the fore (e.g. Scotland’s second highest mountain – I’m sure I climbed it once, but could I remember the name of it?). The winning score was 15/20. Swots!
Alison Craig