WOWO Thursday 29 May 2025, 7-9pm

Welcome to our last session of the current Write-On Year! What a wonderful journey it’s been, discovering a wealth of new stories, poems, songs and – a novelty – videos that celebrate our talented and dedicated members, both old, more recent and new. Besides the creativity, we can also revel in the mutual encouragement and friendship that powers our Thursday sessions and makes each meeting a special and delightful occasion.

Over the summer, Frank will be working on the Anthology 2026, showcasing the best of the past year’s offering. In the meantime, three months of summer ‘holidays’ will allow us to sap new energy and to think about and start on novel ideas, projects, stories, poems, songs for 2025/2026.

We’ll reconvene on Thursday, 28 August, and our AGM will be held on Thursday, 4 September. See you all then! In the meantime, enjoy this evening’s offerings!

In celebration of the upcoming publication of ‘Beyond the Mountain Foot Road’, a collection of stories and poems by Mary Hodson, we are presenting a small sample of her work. These selections – two stories and two poems – showcase her extraordinary and wondrous gift for capturing emotion, memory, and meaning in deceptively simple moments.

Pertinent Nest by James Conway is a lyrical meditation on joy, music, and the quiet power of nature. As a blackbird sings at dawn, its song captivates the world around it – free from structure, rich in emotion. Conway’s imagery transforms the street into a stage, the trees into listeners, and the morning into a moment of rebirth. This is poetry as celebration: tender, hopeful, and tuned to the rhythms of spring.

Turning Point by Deirdre Anne Gialamas is set against the chilly backdrop of a 1960s convent school. This quietly humorous and richly textured piece captures a moment of youthful misinterpreatation and inner awakening. When a teacher announces an unexpected classroom task, the narrator’s imagination takes flight in one direction, only to be grounded by a far more earthly challenge.

The Years by James Conway is a tender, meditative poem that drifts between memory and presence. It reflects on love, shared landscapes, and the quiet beauty of enduring connection. With sea-light, windows, and wild grass as its touchstones, the piece evokes a relationship gently shaped by time and the natural world. Lyrical and intimate, it invites the reader to linger in moments both fleeting and timeless.

Life with a Spark by Anne Murray celebrates half a century beside a quick-witted electrician whose bright hands power everything from appliances to family life. Anne charts laughter, setbacks and seven lively ‘sprongs’ as the couple move to their own rhythm – an affectionate portrait glowing with humour and hard-won resilience. This poem is also being presented as a song!

Come Take my Hand by Bill Geoghegan is a heartfelt and patriotic anthem, calling for unity, truth, and compassion in the face of division. With simple, sincere lyrics and a recurring plea for justice and peace, it celebrates democratic values and the enduring spirit of community. Framed by a prayerful refrain, it is both a love song to a nation and a reminder of the work needed to keep it whole.

Programme

Mug of the Month Five Members Competition

A Single Tear Mary Hawkshaw Video

Pertinent Nest James Conway Poem

The Years James Conway Poem

Life with a Spark Anne Murray Poem/Song

A Selection of Poems Mary Hodson Poems

Turning Point Deirdre Anne Gialamas Story

A Selection of Short Stories Mary Hodson Stories

Come Take my Hand Bill Geoghegan Song