White Pebbles Haiku Group

White Pebbles Haiku Group –Spring 2026

Spring arrived at East Gosford’s beautiful Edogawa Japanese Gardens, and on the 12th September 2026 our White Pebbles group, Beverley George (Convenor), Pip Griffin, Maire Glacken, Marilyn Humbert, Colleen Keating had the pleasure of experiencing it firsthand. (Apologies from Michael Thorley, Kent Robinson, Gwen Bitti and Samantha Sirimanne Hyde).

Pip Griffin, Maire Glacken, Beverley George ( conveyor), Colleen Keating, Marilyn Humbert

After a catch-up over a morning coffee we set out quietly, each with pen and paper to contemplate the essence of spring through the lens of kigo finding inspiration in the lazy swirl of the koi fish in symbiosis with the ducks, the raked white pebble garden, the tranquil pavilion, bridge and winding paths and the cascading sound of water. Here the azaleas were in full bloom, in reds and whites and marvellous variegated pinks. Sitting under the wisteria pergola is a special spring experience for me aware of its change from season to season.

After our time enjoying this sanctuary we gathered back at our meeting space to share. Firstly we expressed our congratulations, pride and happiness to Beverley on the wonderful news that the NSW Society of Women Writers had nominated her for the National Alice Award. We presented her with a card wishing her best wishes in the National gathering of SWWs in Tasmania later this month. Next, Marilyn had prepared what she called a mini workshop titled ‘What, Where, When’, (adapted from Lev Hart Triveni blog, Jan 2023).

It was invaluable to read our already written haiku through the filter of this framework and we appreciated the new insight and the suggestion to try the template to help our future haiku writing. Marilyn also led us in an observation of the judges’ choices and comments on the British Haiku Society Awards 2025. A very interesting activity.

Our White Pebbles meeting concluded at 12.30 pm with the option to enjoy lunch at the gallery cafe.

We look forward to our next meeting 12th December to celebrate summer.

Colleen Keating

White Pebbles Haiku Group, 12 September 2026

White Pebbles Autumn 2026 Meeting

On Saturday 14th March, members Beverley George (convenor), Maire Glacken, Pip Griffin, Marilyn Humbert, Colleen Keating, and Kent Robinson met at our usual venue, the Gosford Regional Gallery, for morning tea before beginning our ginko in the ever-beautiful Edogawa Japanese Garden. The garden commemorates the sister city relationship between Tokyo’s Edogawa city and the New South Wales Central Coast city of Gosford.

In autumn sunshine, it was a delight to wander in the gardens, to watch koi and ducks in the stream and groups of children, accompanied by parents, running about excitedly near the pavilion, enjoying the unusual wild life and beautiful surroundings. As usual, there was plenty to inspire our haiku: pink-flowering rhododendron bushes, sparkling raked white pebbles, glimpses of the blue, shining bay through the palisade fence, the little Japanese bridge and the gently falling waterfall. We sat at different spots, jotting down haiku ideas, before going back to our meeting room to talk about our published haiku and/or book launches we are preparing, to share a haiku from a poet that had impressed us, and read aloud the haiku we’d brought, triggered by Beverley’s prompt, ‘unpredictable summer weather’.

Marilyn shared highlights of her very recent trip to Malaysia and commented on our haiku, sharing her expertise. I shared a haiku recently published in Echidna Tracks. Colleen told us she has been invited to read from her just-launched poetry book Ring the Bells at Words on the Waves Writers’ Festival on the Central Coast. Beverley showed us a lovely handmade haiku book, Winged Ones –birds of four seasons, by Satoru Kanematsu. She and Kent are planning a book launch of their delightful new haiku collection, Interwoven. The book will be stocked by Books Plus in Bathurst.

Photograph by Deb Robinson
Left to right: Colleen Keating, Pip Griffin, Maire Glacken, Beverley George, Kent Robinson,
Marilyn Humbert

After a very satisfying morning of reading and sharing ideas, our meeting finished at 12:30pm. Our next meeting will celebrate Winter on Saturday 13th June, followed by Saturday 12th September, celebrating Spring.

Pip Griffin

White Pebbles Summer Meeting

13th December 2025

On the last meeting for the year, the White Pebbles Haiku Group gathered as usual at the Gosford/Edogawa Commemorative Garden on a vibrant summer morning. In its eighth year, Beverley George (founder and convener) was joined by all the group’s members: Colleen Keating, Gwen Bitti, Kent Robinson, Maire Glacken, Marilyn Humbert, Michael Thorley, Pip Griffin and Samantha Sirimanne Hyde.

White Pebbles Haiku Group Spring meeting

On Saturday 13th September, White Pebbles members Beverley George (convenor), Colleen Keating, Kent Robinson, Pip Griffin and Marilyn Humbert gathered for the Spring meeting at the beautiful Gosford/Edogawa Gardens on the Central Coast, NSW.

Winter Ginko and Meeting June 2025

After a relaxing chat over coffee in the cafe at the Gosford/Edogawa Commemorative Gardens we broke off and wandered into the main area of the gardens for individual meditation. The day was perfectly still with not a movement in the bushes near me, only a lonely butterfly making its wobbly way through the crisp morning.

White Pebbles Ginko Autumn 2025

On Saturday March 15, together with esteemed founder and convener, Beverley George, White Pebbles members, Marilyn Humbert, Kent Robinson, Colleen Keating, Michael Thorley and Gwen Bitti gathered at the Edogawa Commemorative Gardens in East Gosford for their autumn meeting. Apologies were received from Pip Griffin, Maire Glacken and Samantha Sirimanne Hyde. Following coffee and a chat at the café, we agreed to continue with Kent Robinson’s suggested theme from summer — Waterfall. Members then headed out on their ginko.

White Pebbles Haiku Group

Summer meeting report

The White Pebbles Haiku Group has been meeting once every season for the past seven years at the splendid Gosford/Edogawa Commemorative Garden. For our summer ginko on Saturday 14th December, Beverley George (founder and convener), Michael Thorley, Kent Robinson, Maire Glacken and Samantha Sirimanne Hyde caught up first at the Art Centre’s café. We missed members Marilyn Humbert, Gwen Bitti, Colleen Keating and Pip Griffin who had sent in their apologies.

White Pebbles Haiku Group Spring Meeting

The White Pebbles Haiku group meets four times a year at the start of each season to celebrate the movement of the seasons and the writing of haiku in English in response. The Spring meeting was held on Saturday 14th September at the Pebbles’ regular meeting place – the beautiful Gosford/Edogawa Commemorative Japanese Gardens on the Central Coast of NSW.