Carol Reynolds – Page 2 – Australian Haiku Society

Illawong Haiku Group winter ginko

Como Pleasure Grounds, Tuesday 3rd June 2024

Carol Reynolds, Ros Pitt, Alison Miller

And then the sun…
With one eye on the BOM site and a venue inspection conducted the day before to make sure it hadn’t turned into a lake, our decision to go ahead rested firmly in the hands of Mother Nature. Fortunately she decided in our favour.

Margaret Mahony, Ros Pitt, Alison Miller, Rita Potente, Carol Reynolds and visitor Kath Kuziak attended suitably attired for the weather. Unfortunately Patricia Meredith was unable to join us.

The colder weather was in our favour as the location is usually much busier. We quickly commandeered a table sheltered from the prevailing westerly wind by the natural landform located in the heart of the grounds and where some sun was peeping through the shade. As always we started out with a hot cuppa and to warm our spirits we read in turn the haiku voted most popular from The Haiku Foundation’s Haiku Dialogue for May on the theme ‘yellow’.

Then it was down to business. After hearing about members recent achievements, Carol provided an update on the multitude of haiku happenings and opportunities currently available for submission. This included how to get further information on the Haiku Down Under 2024 virtual conference being held August 16-18, and encouraging registration which is free and available until 11th August. More information available here.

Our first exercise was hearing some of the recent haiku written by members and the inspiration and transition of their haiku. The second exercise was set to encourage members to open their eyes to the scale of participation in haiku throughout the world – to delve deeper into the many opportunities available on the internet to see, read and learn about haiku and the Japanese poetry genre in general.

One of these ways was to explore The Haiku Foundation’s HaikuLife Film Festival. The exercise was to make a list of five haiku that resonated. It was interesting to hear the variety of haiku choices and the responses to some of the vision.

It was a jam-packed meeting and we almost forgot to have our ginko walk. The sun had moved by then so we upped stakes and had a short walk to gather inspiration. We relocated to the sun-drenched benches on the water’s edge to enjoy our prepacked picnic lunches and discuss the findings from our walk. By then the winter chill was starting to seep into our bones so home fires beckoned.

It was agreed by all who attended that Como Pleasure Grounds is an ideal place offering a lot of inspiration for a ginko and we will come again.

Kath Tuziak, Rita Potente, Margaret Mahony

Carol Reynolds
Group Co-ordinator

Illawong Haiku Group Autumn Meeting

5th March 2024

Three of our group gathered on a pleasant early Autumn day at Prince Edward Park on the banks of the Woronora River – Margaret Mahony, Rita Potente and Carol Reynolds. Naturally we were disappointed that our other regular members couldn’t attend for various reasons. However, we were delighted to welcome Camille Mock for the first time. Camille’s interest in haiku was ignited by a workshop that Margaret Mahony and I presented last year at the Discovery Writers Group in Hurstville. We hope she will become a permanent member.

Illawong Haiku Group Spring Meeting 2023

Tuesday 5th September

First there was the ‘good’ news that the weather was favourable for our planned ginko walk at a local park – the first since December last year. Then there was the ‘bad’ news that two of our members, Ros Pitt and Patricia Meredith would be unable to attend. They are both dealing with health issues at present so we wish them well and hope they will be able to join us again soon. Rita was obligated to stay close to home, so invited us to relocate and have a ginko in her garden. Naturally her invitation was accepted, which allowed the rest of us to meet – Margaret Mahony, Rita Potente, Alison Miller and Carol Reynolds.

Illawong Haiku Group Winter Meeting

6th June 2023

It was indeed a wintry day outside with grey skies and the occasional light shower of rain as five of us gathered for our group’s 6^th birthday celebration. Apologies were received from Alison Miller and Joy Bye. While a few folk have come and gone since we began a valued core of enthusiasts remain.

Illawong Haiku Group Autumn Meeting

7th March 2023

It wasn’t drought or flooding rain that prevented our planned ginko at Oatley Park today, just extreme heat, so we decided to meet in air conditioned comfort at my home.

Illawong Haiku Group Spring Meeting 2022

Tuesday 20th September

Mindful of the ever changing weather we met once again at Carol’s home. It was a delight to welcome Patricia back following a period of ill health. We were also looking forward to welcoming new recruit Joy. However, an unintended double booking meant we will have to wait until our next meeting.

Australian selections for THF ‘Haiku of the Day’ during September

The Illawong Haiku Group has the pleasure of hosting ‘Haiku of the Day’ at The Haiku Foundation each day during September. We invite all our fellow Australian haiku writers to visit The Haiku Foundation website on the first day of September to read our chosen theme and the first of 30 haiku we have selected by writers from Australia and other countries. We hope you enjoy them.

ILLAWONG WINTER MEETING

Tuesday 21st June 2022

The saying, ‘timing is everything’, fitted our meeting schedule perfectly as we gathered on Tuesday, 21^st June, the date of the Winter Equinox, with five members present. Patricia was unable to join us for health reasons but has assured us she will be back.

We assembled at Carol’s home where we enjoyed morning tea, then drove together to Albert Delardes Reserve just 10 minutes away; a lesser-known spot offering the perfect aspect for our Winter meeting. Warmed by the sun yet protected from any wind, we were able to sit peacefully surrounded by bushland and look out over the sparkling water of the Georges River. Perfect haiku conditions.

After a short ‘recce’ we sat on the wooden bench seats and took turns to read our responses to the set exercises of writing a Winter haiku and a haiku for a plant or flower that evoked a memory. Information on Hanakotoba had been circulated prior to provide inspiration.