Penny Legg's Writing Buddies

At the last Writing Buddies meeting in Borders in Southampton, I was surprised to hear that the coffee and chat sessions have become a motivating force for the production of words. Writers are now being motivated to write because they know that a Writing Buddies meeting is coming up and they want to be able to tell the rest of the group about the writing they are currently working on. Writing Buddies are also getting fresh ideas from each other. I had not foreseen this when I started the group.

Readers of this blog will know that I set up the group in response to a need I had perceived for writers to get together and talk about what matters to them in the world of writing. It gave them a forum for discussing problems with plotting, characterisation and such like, to talk about markets and book selling, trends, successes, even the demise of the semi-colon! Anything in fact that affected them as writers. Over time we have tried to advise one writer on the problems he has had with time lines in his novel and commiserated with him when he recently announced that, after 120,000 words, he had abandoned the project. We have talked about writing courses and pooled knowledge of the good and the bad. We have always talked about the ongoing projects that we are working on. As we have a goodly sprinkle of novelists, poets, non-fiction writers, short story writers, diarists and children's writers it is good to hear of the multitude of work that we undertake. That we are now sparking ideas and motivating each other to produce work, is great to hear.

The next meeting of Writing Buddies is on Friday 28th August at 2pm. If you fancy dropping in for a cuppa and a chat, you will be very welcome.

Woolworths...

Further to my blog on 19th September, in which I was lamenting the loss of the Woolworths store in Southampton city centre, it was announced today that the company has gone into administration with debts reported by the BBC to be over £285 million.  With businesses falling at a rate of knots as the credit crunch becomes ever darker, it remains to be seen if the jobs of over 30,000 Woolworths' staff will be saved.  

Eling Tide Mill

The Tide Mill at Eling has been absorbing my attention recently.  I popped over to see it and have a chat with the Mill Assistants, John Hurst (pictured beside the giant waterwheel) and Andrew Turpin.  This proved to be a very informative afternoon and I was soon absorbed in the history of this unique place.

There has been a mill standing on the site for centuries.  It is mentioned in the Domesday Book and it was owned by Winchester College for over 600 years.  The current building was rebuilt about 230 years ago and is of a mellow red brick with low ceilings, narrow staircases and the pleasant odour of salt water, old wood and flour dust.  

The millpond, on the opposite side of the toll bridge outside, is a huge dam.  It is a haven for waterfowl and wildlife.  The tide comes in, opens the sea gates, fills the millpond and the sea gates close on the change in the tide.  On milling days the sluice gates are opened and the trapped water cascades over the waterwheel, sending the grinding stones around.  A simple idea using ancient, environmentally friendly and fully sustainable energy!

For those interested in visiting the last working Tide Mill in the UK, it is signposted off the A326 when you leave Southampton, Hampshire, going towards the New Forest.  It is open from 10 a.m.  to 4 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday.  Flour milled there is for sale in the shop on site.