Bilal arrived on time but he's still suffering the effects of bronchitis, so when he left before the end, we understood (and appreciated the effort).  Steve arrived half way through Clare's piece, but that's ok, that's life.  Alistair never made it at all, but we understood.  What we don't understand however, is strawberry pencils.  WTF is that all about?  Should you spot a can of strawberry pencils for sale in a pub, do yourself a favour and avoid them at all costs. True, they are somehow strangely moreish, but as Steve found to his cost, they are not the perfect accompaniment to red wine ( who knew? ) In fact they don't complement wine at all, not even the wine in The Rising Sun.

The writing - what of the writing I hear you ask.  Well, Clare read us the climax of her children's story and that school is violently erupting in quite unexpected ways, it's definitely not one for anyone with arachnophobia.  Steve gave us some more conversations between various characters including, Ada, Nora and Tony ( he's a one and no mistake ) and I'm looking forward to finding out what happens next and whether it's a play or a short story... Then SJ read us the third of her trilogy of short stories, and do you know what, in my humble opinion, it was even better than the first two - I know!  How is that even possible?