We welcome Jean Fullerton with this month's Focus on RNA Chapters
It's a great pleasure to introduce the new Scottish Chapter of the RNA and I'm very grateful to Rae Cowie for taking the time to tell us about their inaugural meeting
CHAMPAGNE, CAKE AND KILTS …
And what a showstopper of a tea it was! Champagne was quaffed and as well as
sandwiches and scones (no self-respecting Scottish get-together would be
without scones) we were treated to crispy haggis bonbons, miniature ginger
muffins, decadent chocolate tartlets and a strawberry mousse profiterole delicious
enough to make any romantic novelist swoon!
Members travelled from as far afield as Aberdeen in the
North-East and Dumfries in the South-West of the country. Special thanks go to
Jean Fullerton, Chapter Liaison, who went beyond the call of duty, travelling
from London to share in our happy day. All train journeys were particularly memorable
as Scotland were playing rugby at Murrayfield and although this made travelling
busy, members were in agreement that swarms of men in kilts simply added a
certain frisson to the day.
As a harpist created a relaxing atmosphere, published
novelists, short story writers and New Writers’ Scheme members spent time
getting to know one another better.
Consensus was reached that given the travelling distances
required, the group will meet twice yearly, perhaps alternating between Edinburgh
and Glasgow, with two smaller meetings - one in the East, the other in the West
of Scotland – arranged on a more regular basis. Plans are already progressing
for our next joint meeting, when it is hoped a Literature Officer from Creative
Scotland will give a talk on the funding schemes available to writers, to
enable them to progress their practice. New members are very much welcome, with
further information available on our RNA Scottish Chapter Facebook page.
After polishing off afternoon tea, most members were keen
to nab a seat on their train home, before men in kilts beat them to it! However,
a small intrepid gang burnt off several hundred calories by climbing the steps to the
Royal Mile, where they enjoyed a visit to the Writers’ Museum, which celebrates
the lives of Robert Burns, Sir Walter Scott and Robert
Louis Stevenson. An appropriate end to the day for the Scottish Chapter.
Special thanks go to Rosemary Gemmell, organiser
extraordinaire, whose inspired suggestion of champagne afternoon tea was the
perfect way to celebrate our first get-together, to Susan Bergen for arranging
the tour of the Writers’ Museum and, finally, to our Chairman, Eileen Ramsay,
for her elegant presence on such an exciting
occasion.
Our first meeting created many wonderful memories but the
most special for me was when one of the young waitresses took time to share
that, being an avid reader, she was thrilled to be serving a gathering of
writers – a first for her, as far as she knew. She went on to say she thought writers
were very special people. I’ll raise a toast to that.
Here’s to our next meeting… haste ye back!
Rae Cowie
NWS
(For more details on how to join the Scottish Chapter please
contact either Rosemary Gemmell on ros_gemmell@hotmail.com
or Rae Cowie on raecowie1@gmail.com )
*
Thank you so much, Rae, for your report on the Scottish Chapter's first meeting. It was a wonderful day!
About Jean:
Jean was born in East End of London and spent all her career as a district nurse in East London but is now a full-time writer. Wedding Bells for Nurse Connie, is her current release. Her next novel Pocketful of Dreams, set in the turbulent years of WW2, is due for release in June 2017 and is the first in next East London series.
Her first series with Orion Fiction was set in the Victorian period after which she jumped forward to post-war East London.
She is a proud graduate from the NWS and passionate about the local chapters, which is why she has taken on the role of Chapters Liaison.
This blog was prepared by blog team member, Helena Fairfax
3 comments:
Well done for writing that up, Rae. Although I missed the start, it was lovely to drop in and find such a happy, chatty bunch of people! It was good to meet new members as well - hope we do manage to keep this going. Special thanks to Jean for trekking north, and to Rosemary for organising the whole thing.
Lovely report, Rae. It brought the whole fabulous day back.
What a lovely report, Rae, thank you for sharing x
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