Birmingham Writers' Group

to my left Isabelle Self is chairing the meeting

21 September 2005	Hand out anonymous manuscripts. Open manuscripts.
5 October 2005	Closing date for Autumn Competition. Constructive criticism of anonymous manuscripts.
19 October 2005	A short story with the opening sentence ‘Tell me again why you killed them’. 1000 words max.
2 November 2005	Open manuscripts.
16 November 2005	Review a recently read book. 1,000 words max. Open manuscripts.
7 December 2005	Adjudication Of Autumn Competition
21 December 2005	‘60-words’ stories with a seasonal theme. ‘Let’s have a competition’ and Christmas social.

to my right Mary Hill
who read from her spy novel

Meet 6.00 to 8.00 pm

4th Floor Conference Room
Birmingham Central Library
Chamberlain Square
Birmingham B3 3HQ

The 1st and 3rd Wednesdays of each month (excluding August)

Website

If you require further information please telephone 0121 711 2166 before 7.30pm or e-mail us by clicking here

and afterwards

the pub has gone posh no scratchings or crisps





not really so dark just my phone camera










our honorary treasurer

BBC - Get Writing - migrate to Writing Buddies

BBC - Get Writing - A Forum Conversation: "The thing to remember is that this sort of forum is fine if you want to swap ideas or look for a few suggestions, however, they can be very distracting and some people tend to fall into the trap of allowing themselves to be sucked in to the machine and lose sight of the reasons why they started to write in the first place!

If you want guaranteed crits though, come and join us at Writing Buddies! - You will be made very welcome and there are lots of people who will give you valuable advise and support."

Writing Buddies

BBC - All About Get Writing

BBC - Get Writing - - A3826109 - All About Get Writing: "The Get Writing community has now closed. If you were previously a member you can still access your personal space using the link in the site navigation. From there you will be able to access all your old conversations and personal messages. You can no longer add or edit work in your portfolio, however if you'd rather not have it available on Get Writing then you have the option to delete. "

BBC - h2g2 - The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy


Write an entry for our online Encyclopedia - and read what others have written...

Welcome to h2g2 - the unconventional Guide to Life, the Universe and Everything. It's like an encyclopedia, only better because all the entries are written by people like you! If you'd like to join in, simply create a free h2g2 account to get started.

AND THIS BOG HAS BEEN HIJACKED - BY ME

SeaBritain 2005 Home

New Trafalgar Dispatch, Trafalgar Festival 200, Neslon and Napoleon

Trafalgar 200 - Home

Trafalgar 200 - Home: "The Royal Navy - inspired for the past 200 years by the remarkable life of Admiral Lord Nelson and the dramatic victory at Trafalgar - is proud to organise Trafalgar 200 and to take a leading role within the wider Trafalgar Festival and SeaBritain 2005.

Following on from the splendour, spectacle and ceremony of the Trafalgar 200 summer events, a further series of remarkable events will take place this Autumn.

On Friday 21 October - 200 years to the day since Trafalgar - there will be televised coverage of private wreath laying ceremonies in HMS VICTORY and St Paul's Cathedral, followed by a number of receptions and dinners in and around Nelson's final flagship, HMS VICTORY.

On Sunday 23 October the focus moves to London and Trafalgar Square; in the morning there will be an enhanced Sea Cadet Parade and at 3:00pm a specially invited congregation (all places now fully booked) will attend the Trafalgar Service in St Paul's Cathedral accompanied by Royal Navy and Royal Marine personnel. That evening, from 6:30pm to 8:00pm, Nelson's inspiration will fill Trafalgar Square in a moving event involving young people, sailors, marines and professional entertainers that will bring to life the past, present and future of our maritime culture

(You can now register for your tickets for the evening Trafalgar Square event on the 23rd, if the number of people register exceeds the ticket allocation, names will be placed in a prize draw)

News and Events

News and Events: "The Royal Navy continues its Trafalgar bicentennial year celebrations with a series of events to be held this autumn. This programme is part of SeaBritain 2005 and full details are on www.trafalgar200.com
Tickets are still available free of charge for T'200 - 'Spirit of Nelson' an exciting public event in Trafalgar Square on Sunday 23 October.

Viewing The Flotilla
Timetable (Please note the following times may be subject to minor change)


10.45 Flotilla arrives off Queen's Stairs, Greenwich and forms up in two groups, the leading group on the north side of the river and the remainder down river from the Queen's Stairs.


11.20 Leading group of motor vessels starts off up river, having assembled down river of the Flotilla. The Churchill Flotilla of motor vessels leads, followed by the Golden Jubilee Committee boat, then the Emirates Thames Nelson Flotilla


11.45 Flotilla passes Canary Wharf Pier


12.10 Flotilla passes under Tower Bridge


12.15 Salute from HMS Belfast


12.20 Flotilla passes Shakespeare's Globe


12.30 Flotilla arrives in King's Reach.


13.15-13.30 Flotilla arrives at Westminster Boating Base.



Participating Craft
There are 41 rowed boats in the main Flotilla re-enactment with vanguard of over 28 motor craft including Port Wey Steam Tug, HMS Tracker RN Patrol Boat, Havengore (Sir Winston Churchill's funeral barge), Sailing Barge May and Dunkirk Little Ships under the control of John Tough. Passenger boat 'Millennium of Dawn' will carry 120 school children.


Other boats include:

The Jubilant (acting as the funeral barge)


HMS Victory's Cutter (acting as the chief mourners' bar"

Lord Nelson\'s State Funeral ::.:.

.:.:: EmiratesThamesNelsonFlotilla.org - Lord Nelson\'s State Funeral ::.:.: "Nelson's coffin was brought out of the Painted Hall at 12.30 and began a slow march down to the Queen's Stairs between lines of Deptford Volunteers who presented arms as the coffin passed by. River Fencibles fired minute guns. The coffin was placed in Charles II's royal barge. It was draped in black with black plumes on the canopy. It joined the 16 other principal barges and a huge number of smaller craft and gunboats that flanked and followed the procession up river. Hundreds of flags were worn at half mast. The order of the procession was as follows:
Ist Mourning Barge

2nd Mourning Barge

Nelson's Body

4th Mourning Barge

His Majesty's Barge

Admiralty Barge

City State Barge

Corporation of London Committee Barge

Thames Navigation Committee Barge

Drapers' Company

Fishmongers' Company

Goldsmiths' Company

Skinners' Company

Merchant Taylors' Company

Ironmongers' Company

Stationers' Company

Apothecaries' Company


It took about three hours for the cort�ge of barges to arrive at Whitehall Stairs because of the stiff wind and choppy conditions. The rowers were exhausted and found it difficult to keep station. As Nelson was brought ashore a heavy squall of rain lashed the party."

lilies and brandy

Top News Article | Reuters.co.uk: "A re-enactment of the elaborate waterborne procession that carried Britain's greatest naval hero Admiral Horatio Nelson to his funeral sails up the River Thames on Friday.

The flotilla of up to 40 rowing boats, many manned by crews in 18 century costume will mark the procession of two centuries ago when the dead admiral was transported along a river crowded with thousands of mourners.
The place of Nelson's funeral barge will be taken on Friday by the Royal Barge Jubliant.
The ceremony is part of a series of celebrations to mark the 200th anniversary of the epoch-making Battle of Trafalgar.
Nelson was given a state funeral on January 8-9, 1806 after being shot dead by a French sniper on the deck of his flagship HMS Victory at the Battle of Trafalgar on October 21, 1805.

Regarded as one of Britain's most important naval engagements the destruction of the French and Spanish fleets off Spain's Cape Trafalgar paved the way for the Royal Navy's dominance of the world's oceans for 100 years.
The celebrations in Britain which greeted the news of the victory were tempered by grief that Nelson, one of the country's most popular men, had died.

His body was shipped home in a cask of brandy to preserve it, and 30,000 people came to pay their respects as he lay in state at Greenwich from January 4-7, 1806.
just imagine the smell of lilies and brandy
He was then taken up the Thames with great pomp to the Admiralty in Whitehall where he lay overnight before being transferred to a ship-shaped funeral carriage and escorted by an equally impressive cortege to St Paul's Cathedral for burial.
On Friday the flotilla, which will include the Lord Mayor's ceremonial barge, a cutter (small rowing boat) from HMS Victory and barges from the city livery companies will start from"

.:.:: Welcome to the website of the Emirates Thames Nelson Flotilla! ::.:.: "London commemorates the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar and the death of Admiral Lord Nelson with a symbolic re-creation of his extraordinary waterborne funeral procession from Greenwich to Whitehall Stairs, which took place on 8 January 1806. The event also commemorates the 40th anniversary of Sir Winston Churchill's funeral, which imitated Nelson's by including a similar river journey.


Associated events include:
Thursday 15 September:
The Canary Wharf Festival. Assembly of the Flotilla in Docklands and an evening fund raising event for the Lord Mayor's Appeal.

Saturday 17 September:
The Trafalgar Great River Race. The 22-mile Thames 'marathon' for 280 traditional rowing boats from Ham House, Richmond to Island Gardens, Isle of Dogs. Starts at 14.30."