White Pebbles Haiku Group

The Gosford/Edogawa Japanese Gardens on the Central Coast was the venue for the inaugural meeting of this group on September 23rd. Members travelled from Sydney, Newcastle and various parts of the Coast to attend. We began with a relaxed orientation session on the terrace overlooking the garden while we determined our group name, frequency of meetings and general procedures.

It was unanimously decided that we would meet four times a year, once in each season, and would bring several haiku in response to prompts sent in advance of the meetings. However the main activity would be a ginko to observe and record the changes the seasons brought to this authentically designed garden, with many of its features gifted from Japan.

Delegates to the international 4^th Haiku Pacific Rim Conference 2009 will recall that this garden was the location of one of three ginko, the others over the four-day event being the Australian Reptile Park and the Pearl Beach Arboretum.

As is usually the case, the interaction of ducks and koi triggered a number of lively haiku. Wisteria and azaleas were in bloom and the effect of little rain was evidenced by trailing green tendrils on the rocks beneath the waterfall.

On this occasion the haiku and jottings inspired by the ginko were shared in the tea hut and every foundation member present expressed their wish to continue with the group. Three other interested people unable to attend on this occasion for unavoidable reasons have each reaffirmed their wish to join us. Membership will be limited to ten but we will invite special guests on occasion too.