Alpha Bulletin 4, Season XIII.<\/p>\n
Hi Alphas,<\/p>\n
Welcome to Alphaday 4. I hope you\u2019re enjoying the richness and diversity of Alpha activities. There\u2019s a lot to keep up with and we rely on our members to make it interesting and stimulating \u2013 as they never fail to do. Our special tasks team has been busy again, preparing the agenda for this Alphaday with contributions, challenges and calls for input on various themes from all of you.<\/p>\n
You can expect the following mouth-watering treats in this day\u2019s agenda:<\/p>\n
Nothing special, as you can see; just the usual for an Alphaday. But once you start biting into it, you\u2019ll soon find yourself absorbed and eager to join in discussions of the many topics raised. Come to think of it, there may even be those who have already voiced a complaint in Sally\u2019s Log that Alphadays can be ranked with a number of other disturbances that explain why you still haven\u2019t finished or got round to writing your novel or whatever. That, of course, is unfortunate as our raison d\u2019\u00eatre <\/em>is the exact opposite; in other words Alpha is here to motivate you to write, write, write.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n * Alas! All these writers and they\u2019ve got nothing to show us! Do have a rummage around wherever you keep you writings. Suzanne needs a plentiful stock to choose from. And we\u2019d like to see your work and give you some feedback.<\/p>\n Alpha News:<\/u><\/p>\n <\/u>We\u2019ll say goodbye to Dianne after her brief visit back in the fold. We\u2019d been looking forward to renew our previous acquaintance, but we all have our faults and Dianne prefers to concentrate on her writing outside Alpha. These things happen, and although it\u2019s regrettable we wish you lots of success with your writing in the future, Dianne.<\/p>\n Members will be asked to remove Dianne\u2019s name from the address list and I\u2019ll send out a revised list of members\u2019 names and email addresses tomorrow.<\/p>\n Do you remember\u2026?<\/p>\n The next Alphaday is the last one before Christmas. We\u2019re having a 4-week break for the festivities until we start again on the 12th<\/sup> of January 2017. There\u2019s one very special Christmas tradition that we Alphas have been enjoying \u2013 and dreading \u2013 since times immemorial. I am, of course, referring to Olaf\u2019s (in-)famous Christmas quiz that only mad people and geniuses can solve, and yet Alphas have been known to spend the entire holiday groaning about the clues they\u2019ve \u201cnearly\u201d worked out!<\/p>\n I do believe there\u2019s another one of those coming your way, Alphas. You have been warned!<\/p>\n General news:<\/u><\/p>\n <\/u>Or should that be World News? Even if you\u2019re not one of those who dutifully read the papers or watch the news to keep up with it all, you can\u2019t have missed the strange and cataclysmic events that shook the world after our last Alphaday. It\u2019s not even over yet. Writers of fantasy and dystopian literature all over the world have just been handed an amazing boost to their imagination that could take them to some weird and wonderful places.<\/p>\n I\u2019m mentioning this because I\u2019m working my way through an anthology of fantasy (and other odd genres) short stories that certainly conjure up some new and unusual ways of running or mastering the world with flying monsters, folded realities and titles like Heavy Metal\u2026 <\/em>up at which I\u2019d normally turn my nose.<\/p>\n A snob? Me? I\u2019d protest (\u201cThe lady doth protest too much, methinks\u201d) and claim I prefer other forms of literature and that\u2019s my right. However, I already realised the foolishness of my aversion (sheer laziness?) when I read Philip Pullman\u2019s Dark Materials. <\/em>And it\u2019s happening again. Some of these stories are spell-binding (!) and thought-provoking. The colourful settings are fascinating and there\u2019s a great deal of humour around.<\/p>\n The point I\u2019m trying to make has nothing to do with politics. I\u2019m just encouraging you to give un-tasted literature a go. At least with books you\u2019re free to return to your favourite dish afterwards. I\u2019m pleased with my experiment.<\/p>\n Christine<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Alpha Bulletin 4, Season XIII. Hi Alphas, Welcome to Alphaday 4. I hope you\u2019re enjoying the richness and diversity of Alpha activities. 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