The lowdown on Skeealleyderyn

It's taken a while, but here we are - Skeealleyderyn has finally joined the big bad world of Blog.

First, a bit about us. We were formed in January 2006 from the remnants of a group that had met a few years earlier at what was then Ottakar's bookstore (now Waterstones) in Douglas. It started as a small group of about 12, and while we have added a few names since, and lost a few too, we're still a fairly small gathering of like-minded souls who love to write, read and talk about writing and reading.

We meet once a month, on the third Tuesday, at Noble's Library in Douglas. Meetings kick-off at 7.00pm, and we're always on the lookout for new folk to join our little conclave. Our email address is in the short profile bio to the right of this page, should you wish to drop us a line, or just turn up to one of our meetings. There's tea and biscuits and everything.

What do we write? Pretty much everything. A few of us dabble in poetry, others in short stories, sometimes both. Most of us have novels on the go, some turn their hand to a spot of freelance journalism, and one or two indulge in some scriptwriting for good measure.

Why this blog? There are a few reasons - we're looking to raise our profile, and attract new members. But mainly we realised that we need an online venue to allow us to share ideas, articles, reviews, problems and just about anything else related to writing and reading.

So here we are. We've a few things lined up over the next few weeks. Our next meeting, on March 16, will tie in with the Anne Frank exhibition, which is coming to the Island next month. The plan is to open the meeting to the public, and to use the two hours as a workshop to explore ideas based on, and generated by, the exhibition and the experiences of Anne Frank.

We're also looking to arrange a full-day workshop at Douglas Library, to be held on a yet-to-be confirmed Saturday. We'll post details here when it's finalised.

While this blog is primarily for use by Skeealleyderyn members, we would welcome any and all feedback from visitors, regardless of whether or not you are interested in joining. Ideas, tips, links - if you have them, we want them, so don't be shy.

Many thanks for stopping by; we'll try and keep you entertained during the months and years ahead.

Cheers
John Quirk