22nd January 2025 – Launch meeting
Our inaugural meeting took place at 7pm on Wednesday 22nd of January 2025 You can only launch a ship once so that memory will remain uniquely in my mind, the good, the not so good, the questions.
I remember when I started what was and remains London’s largest social organization for people new to London. I convened a meeting in West Norwood Library, of all place, in south London. I remember circulating the neighborhood with leaflets. About 30 people came. I gave what was probably the most awkward and clumsy talk I’ve ever given but in spite of that, one person joined.
We ended up with four and a half thousand members from all over London and it reminds me of the phrase, ‘there is nothing so powerful as an idea that has reached its time’. Unknown to me at the time, that phrase turned out to be true.
We achieved success because of possibly in spite of my amateur actions. First of all we called the organisation ‘Phonatact‘, obviously from the words telephone and contact but then I realized that this name did not mean much. As I was trying to make London more like a village so we rechristened it fairly soon after the event, calling it London Village.
The point is that you cannot start perfectly and you need to learn fast and respond to the reactions and suggestions of the participants. God will not punish you if you make faltering steps and mistakes.
Move on a few decades, and we have the Somer Valley Writers. It started off as Midsomer writers but it was felt that this might exclude those who were outside the area and yet within reach of it. Somer Valley is a district but very ‘Somerset’.
As for the meeting itself, I laid out my store, I showed the eight people who turned up the numerous amounts of material that I had had published, we filled up one and a half hours with a certain amount of banter, sharing experiences, some laughter and jokes, and I felt that the job had been done, that the ship had been launched no matter what happened afterwards.
We all agreed to meet in a couple of weeks meeting but then something unusual happened. In day days afterwards, thre of the attendees decided that this was not for them. From my point of view, I wondered why they jumped ship so early and then I realized as in a previous note that they may have just come along casually, or that in spite of their averred claims to be interested in writing this was just superficial, or perhaps they did not like the chemistry of the meeting, or perhaps some other personal reason such as health which would prevent regular attendance.
For some strange reason I did not take this personally. I remember that turbulence of starting London Village which for me was from a starting point of zero experience, more an instinct. Back in the day, someone tried to take the idea over in the first months and registered an organization called London Village Limited and I had to take them to court to get them to remove the name.
This was in the era when courts were about justice and people were April to get a fair trial. Someone else tried to start another organization and take members with him but after a time all this settled down and I can say the same with this venture.
I’m not worried about numbers it’s more about getting things right, ignoring The deafening silence of apathy, and maintaining my vision of what could be.
Midsomer, as we call it locally, is remarkably lacking in cultural groups or should we say groups that nurture the spirit. There are five or six reasonably active churches but they are attended by people of retiring age in the main. There are historical groups talking about the history of the area that having various speakers along. We have the U3A group meeting in the Somer Centre but I found them not very welcoming though I admit this was a few years ago and things might have changed.
Our fledgling group is about encouraging and supporting those who would like to try writing and are possibly afraid or lacking in confidence since they feel they would not do well enough.
A few days after the formation I’m getting the feeling that it is just as important to give one-to-one advice and assistance as well as discussion in a group situation to discuss writing in general.