NEW HOPE INTERNATIONAL REVIEW

This book was published in celebration of the history of Ayr and the foreword gives the details:

In 2005, the town of Ayr celebrated its 800th anniversary and to mark this, there was a year-long series of events put together by a wide range of clubs and groups throughout the town. For our part, members from Ayr Writers' Club decided to organise a national Short Story and Poetry Competition and also a one-day Creative Writing event. In this book, you will find the winning entries from both competitions along with some of the Highly Commended poetry. In addition, we have included a selection of prize-winning and published work from club members and also submissions from some of the established writers who have been involved with the club during this venture.

	Tufted like waxwings,
	inner-cit sparras
	wi' tackety bits

	an' corrugatit socks
	aroon their ankles,
	Bert Hardy bairns

The subject range in this publication is wide. The poem called CUPID COMPLAINING TO VENUS (c1530) is by Douglas Gray and it is about a bee sting:

	Hey ma, I've been stung by a bee!
	the boy begins to wail, honeycomb in hand,
	a theft he holds as if it was a heart.
	He delegates with brat-like appeal,
	staring at her flashy orange hat,
	whose satellites of pompom form a halo.

Below the Auld Brig, the sea rules the river. It's low tide, the river water surges over exposed rocks, making its way under the new bridge to the harbour, to the bay, to Arran in the distance. Granny always talked of taking us to Arran. She never did. She was always working, or one of us would be causing trouble at school, or the weather would be too rough to travel.

This book is a pleasant read and as a commemorative item for Ayr it gives a worthwhile insight into the work of the Ayr Writers' Club.