It was a lively meeting at Gosford/ Edogawa Gardens and Regional Gallery and one which has sparked warm responses from those who attended. Present were Samantha Hyde, Marilyn Humbert, Kent Robinson, Gail Hennessy, Wendy Stringer, Maire Glacken, Verna Rieschild, Colleen Keating, Beverley George and our newest member, Gwen Bitti. Anne Birt and Rozanne Collins were unable to attend and were missed. We hope to see them in September. Membership is capped at twelve people but of course we will welcome visitors from time to time.
The venue for our meetings proved flexible as we had envisaged it might when establishing the group. While the Japanese-designed garden was closed for maintenance this month, we switched our attention to the Galleries, and after our first informal catch-up half-hour, walked through three of them, silently jotting our haiku, or ideas for them. Pottery as well as paintings sparked our interest as we looked not to describe an entire work but an element within it which spoke to us of winter, or wintry thoughts.
By pre-arrangement, we conducted our sharing of haiku jottings and feedback, not in the open air garden tea hut as is usual but in a cosy kitchen area with a round table, around which we fitted perfectly.
Beverley George
Convenor
Australian Haiku Society 