Gathering Gifts

 

I nearly didn’t go to the ACW Autumn Gathering. Ken my OH and I had a rough time over the summer and with illness and losing a close relative. We still felt she’ll-shocked. In the end, we decided that we could come home if we couldn’t cope. 

We managed to get lost in Rugby and were despairing of finding where we were when Asda’s bright lights appeared and we knew that’s where we should park. It was a relief to reach our room in the hotel.

At the Friday evening meeting, we fell into conversation with old friends and Ken was instantly included as if he too was a writer. We were entertained by Annmarie Miles, fed cakes (with gluten free for me) and even had a quiz from Joanne Gilcrest with prizes for everyone! Bryony Wood gave a great presentation of her book ‘The Sound of Musings’ which included clips from the Sound of Music plus a chance to sing along. The highlight for me was the blessing Bryony had written to be sung to the tune of ‘Edelweiss’.

Meanwhile I was suffering - shaking from what turned out to be an allergic reaction. By the end of the evening I was freezing cold and shuddering. Thankfully it gradually calmed down once I was really warm in bed. My wheat intolerance is becoming more of a problem. And who knew that the gin from my very first ever gin and tonic would set it off?

But it was still a marvellous evening and to have two free books between us felt rather good especially as I now possessed a signed Margaret McAllister book I had wanted and Ken had gained a book by Andy Whitman, who we had met several times. What gifts! Thank you for organising this Joanne.

There was more to come across the weekend.

Arriving at the Saturday venue it was like walking into a room of warmth as friends greeted each other face-to-face and not via a screen. And there was coffee with pastries on offer. Thank you to Jane Walters’ husband Roy who was behind the coffee bar serving and washing-up.

It’s always lovely to hear Paul Karensa speak and with his more serious side he taught us quite a bit about screenwriting as well as writing in general, in a short time. Although he wasn’t there to do stand-up comedy, his sense of humour crept through at unexpected moments. People’s imaginations were on fire - when he talked about well-known stories being told from a different angle, one person’s idea was to write the story of Noah from the point of view of a unicorn. I hope she writes it! Thank you Paul.

I don’t often eat lunch at events in other places because I can’t join in with sandwiches and sausage rolls etc., being gluten free. But there was a whole free-from table with a choice of sandwiches plus lots of fruit. So my emergency cereal bars stayed in my bag. What a gift! Thank you caterers! 

It was a very interesting AGM immediately after lunch which included video messages from both the ACW patron, James Catford, and our President Adrian Plass. Such a lovely idea! And Jane Walters led the AGM beautifully. Thank you for this Jane and for the way you are managing to cover for the empty posts on the committee.

I went to Joanne’s seminar in the afternoon which was all about how to generate inspiration. Great ideas but I think the best one is to chat and mix with other writers, which she had very ably set up. Thank you Joanne.

And finally we prayed in our local ACW groups and had the joy of welcoming two new people who want to join us.

I felt blessed by this day - and blessed again in the evening when we had a delicious meal in the nearby Thai restaurant and were presented with the bowls from our desert to take away as a momento. On our return to the hotel the receptionist asked if I was a writer and within five minutes had bought two of my books. My only regret is that I didn’t think to sign them for her.

Thank you, committee, you did a marvellous job and I took away so much from the day.

What a marvellous Autumn Gathering.

Annie Try writes novels for grown-ups and children, including the Mike Lewis stories published by Instant Apostle. Her latest book ‘The Dangerous Dance of Emma JJ’ is published by Kevin Mayhew Publishers and she has now submitted the sequel for possible publication early next year.