…one of my favourite movies of all time was The Dirty Dozen… it boasted an assorted ‘Who’s Who’ of the movie WURLD mega-stars when it was launched… the defining thread of the movie was not the considerable ‘whizz-bang’ special effects that blew up various parts of an old castle, half of the Wehrmacht German High Command, and most of Telly Savalas’s vocabulary… nor was it the compression of a gazillion war movie cliches into 2 and 1/2 hours running time… no, Mabel, the main thrust was the camaraderie and bond that developed among the diverse characters… this week, I‘ve been privileged to watch at close hand the same style of unity and immediate friendship across a sprinkling of special people… the authors and scribblers who turned up at The Betjeman Arms in St Pancras Station on Tuesday… an unlikely venue, yeez might think to clatter together folks who had never met before other than through Auntie Internet… but let me tell yeez, it was a kinda special convention… lots of laughs, tons of sharing the woes, wobbles and WUNDERS of being ein writerkinds … a distinct and highly noticeable lack of airs or graces or bullsh*t…
…from the depths of darkest Somerset, the incredibly LUVLY Barbara Spencer battled through the fog to be there… the distance from the jungles of the English Midlands didn’t prevent the intrepid Bindi Workman from attending, and her delightful daughter, Josie also managed a cameo call-in… first to greet Master Gallacher when he turned up (one minute early!) was my great supportive pal, Olga Nunez Miret, who travelled all over the globe at least twice to be with us… Margaret Whittock and husband, Andy breezed through the portals as ‘kickers-off’ of the gathering, followed closely by Clodagh Phelan… the buzz, banter, ballyhoo and bubble began…
m’Ladyship, Carol Hedges, she of the Vintage Victorian Vignettes of Various Voyeurism (read: ‘her great novels’), graced the joint in her usual understated manner …a-hem… shortly thereafter, enter stage left, the elegantly coruscating creature, Her Bookclub-Cafe-Group-Founder-ness, Yasmin Selena Butt honoured the Station with her station… more male balance arrived in the don’t-he-half-stand-up-tall James O’Shea, and a pal of the aforementioned marvellous Ms Clodagh, Ian, another quill-scraper of sorts popped in, too … Interpol has asked for a copy of the group photograph, whatever for, one WUNDERS?… I thank everyone who was able to contribute their time toward a fabulous day for this ol’ Jurassic… yeez’ve made a happy man very old!…see yeez later… LUV YEEZ!
ALL MY BLOG POSTS ARE FREE TO SHARE OR RE-BLOG SHOULD YOU SO WISH—BE MY GUEST!
Looks and sounds like everyone was having a great time, Seumas. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
..tremendous fun and vitality… LUVVED IT!.. every minute of it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
You and friends are having a wonderfyl time!!!! Cheers to you all!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
…thank you, m’Lady, Rosa 🙂
LikeLike
It was fabulous to meet in person. I would fly around the world a few more times if necessary. I hope Scotland is treating you well and hope we’ll meet again soon… Don’t know where, don’t know when…
LikeLiked by 1 person
…and I know we’ll meet again some sunny day :):)…
LikeLike
What a wonderful meeting. I’m very happy for you.
LikeLiked by 1 person
…I couldn’t have scripted it, m’Lady, Barbara… marvellous day 🙂
LikeLike
So good to see you surrounded by your fans, Seumas. Makes me jealous.
LikeLiked by 1 person
..really smashing folk, Tony… 🙂
LikeLike
You are a wonderment, sir.
LikeLiked by 1 person
…well, I often look at myself in the mirror and shake my head and wonder…:):)
LikeLiked by 1 person
I enjoyed every second sitting there vicariously with you and your fans/writers/readers at The Betjeman Arms. A great accounting you gave, illustrated by wonderful photos. Soooo, when are you going to fly over the great Atlantic Ocean and visit us all in Boston? See what a Yankee café (no “Arms” here) looks like. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
..one of those days, m’Lady, Pamela..one of those days 🙂
LikeLike
I just wish I could’ve been there, lad. I’d a loved it Maybe next year or whenever. Keep walkin’.
LikeLiked by 1 person
..would be grand, that man 🙂
LikeLike
Hahaha ……. look at me…look at you…look at us!
LikeLiked by 1 person
…I think we make a splendid advertisement for the scribbling world myself…cheers, m’Lady:)
LikeLike
Lovely to see this! And your description of me is very kind. Have tweeted 🙂 Safe flight home xx
LikeLiked by 1 person
…mwaaaaah 🙂
LikeLike