Yorkshire Writers' Lunch

In case you haven’t already heard, there’s a new Scrabble game around. On one side, you can play the original version, complete with lonely but aggressive determination to win at all costs. On the other, you play as a team, get helpful hints, challenges that you work through together and win as a group, even though yours may be the only group playing. My first reaction was: ‘what’s the point?’ Playing the original Scrabble game can help children to learn how to win and how to lose; improve their vocabulary and develop skills in strategy when they realise they can add S to to their opponents ‘Boxer’, thus gaining sixteen points for only one letter. My second reaction was that today’s youngsters are too afraid of losing to enjoy challenging their friends or family, too bothered about what other people think of them or too afraid that someone will post something derogatory on social media. And then I thought again. Playing as a team, you learn to work as a team, vital f...

         Probably the answer is ‘yes’, even if you don’t know it. In fact, we’ve all suffered from it, probably since the Stone Age. It was the Old English, as against the old English person who is writing this blog, who not only suffered from it, but named it. It means ‘dawn-care’; those moments when you wake up at dawn and can’t get back to sleep because you are too busy worrying about all the things that do worry us at that time in the morning, like not being able to sleep.      And what about that lovely word Golopshus? No, I hadn’t heard of it either, but if we lived near Norwich, we’d probably be using it all the time. “What a golopshus day it is today?”, “We had such a golopshus meal at that new restaurant last night”, and, provided the person doesn’t overhear or you know them very well, you could say, “cor, he (or she) is rather golopshus!” They might (possibly) thank you for it. It’s an old East Anglian word for luscious, deli...

    I deal in words , the flutter of notes High pitched, low drawl, hand-written scrawl Connection exchanged   I credit in words , the currency rich A Thank You, A Bless You! Compliments paid   I withdraw in words , sometimes miserly Few spoken, broken   Words fail   I spend in words , sometimes too much Rushing, gushing instead of shushing Listen carefully   I tip in words , a cheque to help Suggestions, recommendations, Selling belief   I save in words, precious treasure Nurture until ready, steady Go   I bank on words, to tell the truth Stand up, voice up To be heard