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Friday, 24th April 2009
“What a wonderful
day!”
“An inspiring event.”
“Even better than last year.”
“More, please – and soon!”
These were just a few of the
compliments we received at the conclusion of our third FLAIR
Pow-Wow. Over 50 people from all over the UK – and one
from France – joined us at the Hermitage Hotel in Bournemouth
to celebrate our 21st Birthday. Our only regret is that it
wasn’t possible for us to speak with everyone. What
a great time we had!
Yet on the previous day we were in the depths of despair,
thinking all was lost. Early on the Thursday morning, we had
a telephone call from our advertised speaker to say she was
ill and unable to attend. Did we panic? You
bet! But only for a few minutes. After that, we started
making phone calls in a desperate attempt to find a stand-in.
Sure – we tried to stay positive, but finding a speaker
at less than 24 hours notice was a challenge and a half.
Had we been practising what we preach, of course, we’d
have been confident that the Universe would provide a solution.
In fact, salvation came in the form of famous crime-writer,
Peter Lovesey – he of
a myriad “daggers” and awards.
“No problem, Janie,” he said, calmly. “I’ll
be there.”
And he was – immaculate, unruffled and all set to give
a superb speech which reduced his audience to howls of laughter,
whilst still offering valuable lessons in the art of writing.
We were blessed with a beautiful sunny day for this –
the FLAIR event of the Year – and the Hermitage Hotel
did us proud (as usual.) The staff was efficient and helpful,
the food was out of this world, and the surroundings delightful.
We (Cass and Janie) opened the proceedings with “a few
words” – and we kept them as brief as possible,
but we couldn’t omit the announcement of the winning
entry for our Open Competition, which came from Elizabeth
Candlish of Fife. Then Brian
Lux, one of our longest standing members, took over
to propose the toast to FLAIR FOR WORDS – and his accolade
covered us in confusion.
After that, we all settled down to the serious business of
eating – and talking, of course. The happy noise was
indescribable, as always when writers get together. Then came
Peter’s talk – and after that, alas, it was time
to conclude the proceedings. We noticed that people seemed
reluctant to leave and a lot of us ended up in the bar!
If you weren’t with us on this occasion, resolve to
come next year – when we’ll try to do even better.
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