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	<title>Den of Writers | Barny | Friends Activity</title>
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				<title>John T posted an update: Hello all. I hope you&#039;ve all survived the summer heat. Sorry [&#133;]</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/activity/p/26006/</link>
				<pubDate>Wed, 09 Sep 2026 13:40:57 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hello all. I hope you&#8217;ve all survived the summer heat. Sorry for the prolongued absence. While battling the heatwaves, I&#8217;ve been deep in editing. Some of you might remember a short story of mine called One Kiss, back in WordCloud days. Well, it became a novel called A Policy on Kissing that was longlisted for the Bath Novel Award in 2016, but&hellip;<span class="activity-read-more" id="activity-read-more-26006"><a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/activity/p/26006/" rel="nofollow ugc">[Read more]</a></span></p>
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				<title>Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly Competition August 2026 in the forum Monthly Competition</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-august-2026/#post-17943</link>
				<pubDate>Wed, 02 Sep 2026 06:58:46 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The original idea came from Harry Bingham on the WordCloud, who presented a bottle of something similar to Champagne as a prize each month. When it began to fall apart it was taken up by Wrathnar the Unreasonable (sans Champagne) and then by the winner of the competition each month.</p>
<p>It was adopted by the Den when the Cloud finally closed</p>
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				<title>Athelstone started the topic The 2027 Margery Allingham Short Mystery Competition in the forum Competitions, Open calls and Writing Opportunities</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/the-2027-margery-allingham-short-mystery-competition/</link>
				<pubDate>Wed, 02 Sep 2026 06:53:14 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><span>The 2027 Margery Allingham Short Mystery Competition is Now Open!</span></p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><a href="https://australis.eocampaign1.com/web-version?ep=2&#038;lc=f8781b16-01c8-11f1-82c9-6dbe39b3a791&#038;p=73063d3a-a20b-11f1-8471-0d8778dd4b7d&#038;pt=campaign&#038;t=1788260504&#038;s=2e7939182f1b0d843e4b788f91b732e3d93a4739fffcb3526c7f265bf8507035" rel="nofollow ugc">https://australis.eocampaign1.com/web-version?ep=2&#038;lc=f8781b16-01c8-11f1-82c9-6dbe39b3a791&#038;p=73063d3a-a20b-11f1-8471-0d8778dd4b7d&#038;pt=campaign&#038;t=1788260504&#038;s=2e7939182f1b0d843e4b788f91b732e3d93a4739fffcb3526c7f265bf8507035</a></p>
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				<title>Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly Competition August 2026 in the forum Monthly Competition</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-august-2026/#post-17940</link>
				<pubDate>Tue, 01 Sep 2026 17:38:41 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Great monthly comp, Libby. And a well-deserved win for Seagreen.</p>
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				<title>Seagreen started the topic Monthly Comp - September 2026 in the forum Monthly Competition</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-comp-september-2026/</link>
				<pubDate>Tue, 01 Sep 2026 17:26:19 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I don&#8217;t know if anyone remembers one of FergC&#8217;s challenges on the Cloud when he asked us to get in touch with our darker writing selves and be the villain? I hated it. Sobbed as I wrote, in fact, but my goodness I was stretched by it and just a tiny bit shocked at how wicked I could be.</p>
<p>I hope to stretch you now&#8230;</p>
<p>There&#8217;s a body.</p>
<p>Whether&hellip;<span class="activity-read-more" id="activity-read-more-25987"><a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-comp-september-2026/" rel="nofollow ugc">[Read more]</a></span></p>
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				<title>Seagreen replied to the topic Monthly Competition August 2026 in the forum Monthly Competition</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-august-2026/#post-17936</link>
				<pubDate>Tue, 01 Sep 2026 17:01:42 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Thanks for the prompt Libby. It seems to have been an age since I  tested the writerly muscles&#8230;</p>
<p>And I second Jill&#8217;s call for virtual medals all round! 🙂</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
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				<title>Libby replied to the topic Monthly Competition August 2026 in the forum Monthly Competition</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-august-2026/#post-17932</link>
				<pubDate>Tue, 01 Sep 2026 12:44:25 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><a href='https://www.denofwriters.com/members/athelstone/' rel="nofollow ugc">@athelstone</a></p>
<p>I realised after I pressed send that the POVs of your three characters  responded to the three possible POVs I&#8217;d put in my comp task. Neat!</p>
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				<title>Libby replied to the topic Monthly Competition August 2026 in the forum Monthly Competition</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-august-2026/#post-17931</link>
				<pubDate>Tue, 01 Sep 2026 12:02:29 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>As befits pieces about holidays and sea, all this month’s entries evoked a sense of place and, in their different ways, the rituals of leaving home for time away.</p>
<p><a href='https://www.denofwriters.com/members/jillsted/' rel="nofollow ugc">@jillsted</a></p>
<p>A lovely interweaving of different memories focused on the annual seaside holiday. Your depictions are very atmospheric, such as, &#8220;We would stand in the corridor and e&hellip;<span class="activity-read-more" id="activity-read-more-25979"><a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-august-2026/#post-17931" rel="nofollow ugc">[Read more]</a></span></p>
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				<title>Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly Competition August 2026 in the forum Monthly Competition</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-august-2026/#post-17930</link>
				<pubDate>Mon, 31 Aug 2026 15:39:05 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>John on holiday</strong></p>
<p>John.</p>
<p>This is the strangest holiday ever. Chris should have been here. She even did all the bookings for us, and now I have to explain to everybody why it’s only me. The weather is perfect. Not too hot, not too cold. She’d have loved it—walking along the coast, looking down on the seabird colonies. Salt, warm seaweed on the narro&hellip;<span class="activity-read-more" id="activity-read-more-25978"><a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-august-2026/#post-17930" rel="nofollow ugc">[Read more]</a></span></p>
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				<title>Seagreen replied to the topic Monthly Competition August 2026 in the forum Monthly Competition</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-august-2026/#post-17929</link>
				<pubDate>Thu, 27 Aug 2026 20:42:48 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Space Between the Notes (334 words inc title)</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>It was more than a holiday; it was a ritual, starting with the drive north. The choice of music; what the kids called my soppy stuff &#8211; Savage Garden, Beautiful South and sshhh, don’t say it out loud, Barry Manilow – and the way I always packed the car with a hundred and one things I wou&hellip;<span class="activity-read-more" id="activity-read-more-25977"><a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-august-2026/#post-17929" rel="nofollow ugc">[Read more]</a></span></p>
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				<title>Libby replied to the topic Monthly Competition August 2026 in the forum Monthly Competition</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-august-2026/#post-17925</link>
				<pubDate>Wed, 26 Aug 2026 14:50:28 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A quick reminder that the end of the month is growing near for anyone who&#8217;d like to enter the monthly competition.</p>
<p>August, peak holiday season. For the August comp please combine the themes of holiday and sea. It could be from the point of view of a holidaymaker or a person who works in the tourist industry or someone who simply observes.</p>
<p>500&hellip;<span class="activity-read-more" id="activity-read-more-25973"><a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-august-2026/#post-17925" rel="nofollow ugc">[Read more]</a></span></p>
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				<title>RichardB replied to the topic Vaulting Ambition: the BRM V16 in the forum Blogs</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/vaulting-ambition-the-brm-v16/#post-17924</link>
				<pubDate>Tue, 25 Aug 2026 16:58:44 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Your thought about the V16 engine and the 1966 formula is indeed intriguing, but if anyone at BRM did seriously consider it then I think it would have come unstuck on the fuel question if nothing else. It is my understanding that one reason for the Alfetta&#8217;s inordinate thirst (1.5 miles to the gallon in its final form!) was that it relied on&hellip;<span class="activity-read-more" id="activity-read-more-25972"><a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/vaulting-ambition-the-brm-v16/#post-17924" rel="nofollow ugc">[Read more]</a></span></p>
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				<title>Daedalus replied to the topic Vaulting Ambition: the BRM V16 in the forum Blogs</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/vaulting-ambition-the-brm-v16/#post-17922</link>
				<pubDate>Sun, 23 Aug 2026 12:22:11 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Great blog as usual Richard. It’s a fascinating story. One of those that has so much promise of what might have been, yet also so typical of the often shambolic British way of going about things that one feels it could only ever have ended up this way. Look at the contemporary British aviation industry &#8211; much brilliance and yet so much avoidable c&hellip;<span class="activity-read-more" id="activity-read-more-25970"><a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/vaulting-ambition-the-brm-v16/#post-17922" rel="nofollow ugc">[Read more]</a></span></p>
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				<title>RichardB started the topic Vaulting Ambition: the BRM V16 in the forum Blogs</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/vaulting-ambition-the-brm-v16/</link>
				<pubDate>Thu, 20 Aug 2026 08:57:40 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Vaulting Ambition: the BRM V16</strong></p>
<p><em>&#8216;Vaulting ambition, which o&#8217;erleaps itself&#8230;&#8217;</em><br />
<em>Shakespeare,</em> Macbeth</p>
<p>British technology has been so dominant in motor sport for so long now that it is hard for many to imagine the time before World War II when British motor racing was an insular, gentlemanly affair (&#8216;The right crowd and no crowding&#8217; was the slogan&hellip;<span class="activity-read-more" id="activity-read-more-25968"><a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/vaulting-ambition-the-brm-v16/" rel="nofollow ugc">[Read more]</a></span></p>
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				<title>Libby replied to the topic Monthly Competition August 2026 in the forum Monthly Competition</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-august-2026/#post-17907</link>
				<pubDate>Sat, 15 Aug 2026 10:30:55 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>We&#8217;re half way through August. The heat isn&#8217;t a great supporter of creativity. On the other hand it could be a prompt. Here&#8217;s a reminder of this month&#8217;s competition.</p>
<p>August, peak holiday season. For the August comp please combine the themes of holiday and sea. It could be from the point of view of a holidaymaker or a person who works in the&hellip;<span class="activity-read-more" id="activity-read-more-25953"><a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-august-2026/#post-17907" rel="nofollow ugc">[Read more]</a></span></p>
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				<title>Athelstone replied to the topic A bit &#034;poorly&#034; in the forum Blogs</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/a-bit-poorly/#post-17905</link>
				<pubDate>Thu, 13 Aug 2026 08:45:13 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Jill, the Den&#8217;s Activity Page posts extracts changes (replies, new topics etc) from the public sections of the Den. You replied directly to the Activity Page version of this thread &#8211; you can check by selecting &#8220;Activity&#8221; from the menu at the top of all the Den&#8217;s pages. It&#8217;s all still there, although you&#8217;ll need to scroll a *long* way as my&hellip;<span class="activity-read-more" id="activity-read-more-25951"><a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/a-bit-poorly/#post-17905" rel="nofollow ugc">[Read more]</a></span></p>
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				<title>Athelstone posted a new activity comment</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/activity/p/25730/#acomment-25949</link>
				<pubDate>Wed, 12 Aug 2026 15:18:05 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Improving slowly. Not steadily, but mainly in the right direction.  I finally had a chat with my GP where he was a little less vague. He told me that it isn&#8217;t something GPs see every day, but in his experience the recovery period after discharge is between 6 months and a year. With some older patients, and depending on the severity of the septic&hellip;<span class="activity-read-more" id="activity-read-more-25949"><a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/activity/p/25730/#acomment-25949" rel="nofollow ugc">[Read more]</a></span></p>
				<strong>In reply to</strong> -
				<a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/members/athelstone/" rel="nofollow ugc">Athelstone</a> replied to the topic <a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/a-bit-poorly/" rel="nofollow ugc">A bit &quot;poorly&quot;</a> in the forum <a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/forum/den-of-writers/blogs/" rel="nofollow ugc">Blogs</a> Thanks for all the kind wishes. Please don&#8217;t think me rude that I haven&#8217;t responded individually. I still find messaging quite an effort. Your words [&hellip;]			]]></content:encoded>
				
				
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				<title>Libby posted an update: For anyone interested I&#039;ve updated my &#039;books read&#039; list in [&#133;]</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/activity/p/25940/</link>
				<pubDate>Sun, 09 Aug 2026 09:12:32 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>For anyone interested I&#8217;ve updated my &#8216;books read&#8217; list in my Profile</p>
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				<title>Libby&#039;s profile was updated</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/activity/p/25939/</link>
				<pubDate>Sun, 09 Aug 2026 08:36:50 +0000</pubDate>

				
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				<title>Libby replied to the topic Monthly Competition August 2026 in the forum Monthly Competition</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-august-2026/#post-17888</link>
				<pubDate>Sun, 02 Aug 2026 12:32:52 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>That was quick, Jill 🙂</p>
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				<title>Libby started the topic Monthly Competition August 2026 in the forum Monthly Competition</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-august-2026/</link>
				<pubDate>Sun, 02 Aug 2026 07:57:16 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>August, peak holiday season. For the August comp please combine the themes of holiday and sea. It could be from the point of view of a holidaymaker or a person who works in the tourist industry or someone who simply observes.</p>
<p>500 words max, deadline midnight 31st August.</p>
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				<title>Libby replied to the topic Monthly competition July 2026 in the forum Monthly Competition</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-july-2026/#post-17885</link>
				<pubDate>Sun, 02 Aug 2026 07:44:46 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Thank you, Ath! Thanks also for your comments and careful reading of my story &#8211; always helpful for an author. And thanks to Jill, Sandra and Terrie for such evocative, enjoyable pieces.</p>
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				<title>Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly competition July 2026 in the forum Monthly Competition</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-july-2026/#post-17882</link>
				<pubDate>Sat, 01 Aug 2026 19:57:40 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Jill&#8217;s entry grabbed my attention straight away, because although my own childhood was a few years later, so much was the same. And yes, all the shops shut. In fact, almost everything shut on a Sunday apart from Church and Sunday School. &#8220;Hear the pennies dropping&#8221; for those who remember it. So much centered on the home back then. A wonderful&hellip;<span class="activity-read-more" id="activity-read-more-25924"><a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-july-2026/#post-17882" rel="nofollow ugc">[Read more]</a></span></p>
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				<title>Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly competition July 2026 in the forum Monthly Competition</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-july-2026/#post-17879</link>
				<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2026 22:20:00 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>A brace of fabulous entries this month. Real life has struck at an awkward moment with silly demands on time. I hope you won&#8217;t mind too much If I pinch a day from the next comp. and post the results tomorrow evening. So sorry about that.</p>
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				<title>Libby replied to the topic Flash fiction published in the forum Podium</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/flash-fiction-published/#post-17878</link>
				<pubDate>Fri, 31 Jul 2026 07:39:42 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Thanks, Janette!</p>
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				<title>Janette replied to the topic Flash fiction published in the forum Podium</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/flash-fiction-published/#post-17877</link>
				<pubDate>Wed, 29 Jul 2026 21:53:27 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Many congratulations, Libby x</p>
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				<title>Libby replied to the topic Monthly competition July 2026 in the forum Monthly Competition</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-july-2026/#post-17872</link>
				<pubDate>Mon, 27 Jul 2026 09:35:35 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Fuel</p>
<p>(385 words)</p>
<p>At dawn she was in the kitchen, a follow-on to hours of restlessness, the turning over under heavy blankets, a heart driven to pump quicker than usual, a fluttery stomach. She was sixteen. It was a relief to get up and do something.</p>
<p>The first person downstairs each morning had to check the Aga. The temperature gauge on its&hellip;<span class="activity-read-more" id="activity-read-more-25915"><a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-july-2026/#post-17872" rel="nofollow ugc">[Read more]</a></span></p>
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				<title>Libby posted a new activity comment</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/activity/p/25910/#acomment-25914</link>
				<pubDate>Thu, 23 Jul 2026 13:41:25 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I&#8217;m in that can&#8217;t-tell-the-difference category. I&#8217;m trying to get my act together to produced something by the end of the month. My excuse is that I&#8217;ve been on holiday, have been socialising, and have watched some football. The time has evaporated, probably inside a tardis.</p>
				<strong>In reply to</strong> -
				<a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/members/athelstone/" rel="nofollow ugc">Athelstone</a> posted an update Perilously close to the end of July for anybody wanting to enter the monthly competition. The prize this month is the unending adulation of your sister/fellow competitors. Just 400 words [&hellip;]			]]></content:encoded>
				
				
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				<title>Athelstone posted a new activity comment</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/activity/p/25900/#acomment-25912</link>
				<pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2026 08:56:54 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Writing is extremely enabling, as you say. And that&#8217;s especially so these days when there&#8217;s far more truth in a work of fiction than in the news we read or listen to.</p>
				<strong>In reply to</strong> -
				<a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/members/jillsted/" rel="nofollow ugc">Jill</a> posted an update What is new is that it has been a reflective week in which writing has played an important role in working through various issues &#8211; not least two recent hospitalisations in the family!  Also, [&hellip;]			]]></content:encoded>
				
				
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				<title>Athelstone posted an update: Perilously close to the end of July for anybody wanting to [&#133;]</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/activity/p/25910/</link>
				<pubDate>Wed, 22 Jul 2026 08:50:03 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Perilously close to the end of July for anybody wanting to enter the monthly competition. The prize this month is the unending adulation of your sister/fellow competitors. Just 400 words could see you enjoying all that. Do you remember the bell ringing on a platform to signal an approaching train, discussing whether careless words could cost&hellip;<span class="activity-read-more" id="activity-read-more-25910"><a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/activity/p/25910/" rel="nofollow ugc">[Read more]</a></span></p>
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				<title>Terrie replied to the topic Monthly competition July 2026 in the forum Monthly Competition</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-july-2026/#post-17861</link>
				<pubDate>Wed, 15 Jul 2026 00:17:12 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Echoes of a life twinkling in time.</p>
<p>As years roll away from me I look back at reflections caught in memories rainbow.</p>
<p>I know I was lucky. My childhood was idyllic, because woven among the colours of my life and simplicity of youth, the feelings of each moment are held, perfect and bright, like small lights of sheltering warmth against the&hellip;<span class="activity-read-more" id="activity-read-more-25899"><a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-july-2026/#post-17861" rel="nofollow ugc">[Read more]</a></span></p>
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				<title>Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly competition July 2026 in the forum Monthly Competition</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-july-2026/#post-17860</link>
				<pubDate>Tue, 14 Jul 2026 15:43:52 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Dear All,</p>
<p>Please note that this doesn&#8217;t have to be about an object. From the theme up there (points up) &#8220;<strong>an object, or an event, or a saying, or anything at all really that you remember as commonplace when you were young&#8221;</strong></p>
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				<title>Kate posted a new activity comment</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/activity/p/25893/#acomment-25897</link>
				<pubDate>Tue, 14 Jul 2026 10:56:53 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Congratulations, Libby.</p>
				<strong>In reply to</strong> -
				<a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/members/libby/" rel="nofollow ugc">Libby</a> started the topic <a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/flash-fiction-published/" rel="nofollow ugc">Flash fiction published</a> in the forum <a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/forum/den-of-writers/podium/" rel="nofollow ugc">Podium</a> It&#8217;s been a good month for publications by Denizens: Janette&#8217;s lovely, satisfyng novel The Indiculous Grace Dunn; Kate&#8217;s latest in her delightful [&hellip;]			]]></content:encoded>
				
				
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				<title>Libby started the topic Flash fiction published in the forum Podium</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/flash-fiction-published/</link>
				<pubDate>Tue, 14 Jul 2026 09:28:35 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>It&#8217;s been a good month for publications by Denizens: Janette&#8217;s lovely, satisfyng novel The Indiculous Grace Dunn; Kate&#8217;s latest in her delightful Pix and Gabe adventure series; and now, much smaller, there&#8217;s a flash fiction of mine in the new CafeLit anthology. It&#8217;s a story first written for one of the Den Monthly Competitions. The anthology is&hellip;<span class="activity-read-more" id="activity-read-more-25893"><a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/flash-fiction-published/" rel="nofollow ugc">[Read more]</a></span></p>
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				<title>Terrie replied to the topic Monthly competition July 2026 in the forum Monthly Competition</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-july-2026/#post-17855</link>
				<pubDate>Mon, 13 Jul 2026 07:49:23 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Me too, Sandra,  mine&#8217;s a  green one . I also have  my  grandparents  twisted  metal  meat  skewers  too.  🙂</p>
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				<title>Kate posted an update: Woohoo. Today is release day for book 3 in my Pix and Gabe [&#133;]</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/activity/p/25887/</link>
				<pubDate>Tue, 07 Jul 2026 14:10:47 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Woohoo. Today is release day for book 3 in my Pix and Gabe Adventure series &#8211; The Book Trap. The characters would never have seen the light of day without Athelstone&#8217;s winter writing challenge, where they emerged in a short story. Some of you have been kind enough to support earlier books, so if anyone is interested, here&#8217;s a link. &#x1f600;&hellip;<span class="activity-read-more" id="activity-read-more-25887"><a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/activity/p/25887/" rel="nofollow ugc">[Read more]</a></span></p>
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				<title>Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly competition July 2026 in the forum Monthly Competition</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-july-2026/#post-17834</link>
				<pubDate>Thu, 02 Jul 2026 09:46:16 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Thank you, Jill. I forgot to set a word limit, so I take your entry as &#8220;the bar&#8221; and set it now at 400 words.</p>
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				<title>Athelstone started the topic Monthly competition July 2026 in the forum Monthly Competition</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-july-2026/</link>
				<pubDate>Wed, 01 Jul 2026 09:25:36 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>When televisions had rooftop aerials shaped like an &#8220;H&#8221;, showed black and white, had only two channels, and one more turn of the knob found The Home Service and maybe The Light Programme, they often came with a slim metal rod perhaps 8 or 9 inches long. This could be slotted into holes on the back of the set labelled Horizontal Hold and Vertical&hellip;<span class="activity-read-more" id="activity-read-more-25869"><a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-july-2026/" rel="nofollow ugc">[Read more]</a></span></p>
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				<title>Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly competition June 2026 in the forum Monthly Competition</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-june-2026/#post-17830</link>
				<pubDate>Wed, 01 Jul 2026 08:28:22 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Incidentally, I wanted to call the girl Aelfwin but I had trouble getting the A and e to combine into a proper &#8220;ash&#8221; at the start of the name. Then it occurred to me that a drunk Teabreak would be unlikely to remember that anyway, hence &#8220;Alwin, or something like that.&#8221; I think Alwin is still sometimes used as a female name, but I could probably&hellip;<span class="activity-read-more" id="activity-read-more-25867"><a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-june-2026/#post-17830" rel="nofollow ugc">[Read more]</a></span></p>
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				<title>Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly competition June 2026 in the forum Monthly Competition</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-june-2026/#post-17826</link>
				<pubDate>Wed, 01 Jul 2026 06:54:56 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I confess I feel slightly guilty. I read Sandra&#8217;s entry and thought it was splendid. Then I sneak in at the end and&#8230;</p>
<p>Anyway, thank you for the prompt, Jill. The solstice was my 70th and I went from not thinking I&#8217;d make it, to writing a little story about it so that&#8217;s something.</p>
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				<title>Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly competition June 2026 in the forum Monthly Competition</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-june-2026/#post-17822</link>
				<pubDate>Tue, 30 Jun 2026 17:31:31 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p><strong>Stonehenge</strong></p>
<p>The moon has departed leaving an impenetrable night with a cold mist gently rising across the still fields around Amesbury. In the hedgerows around one expanse of grass, sparrows packed close are beginning to shift in their sleep. To the east of this field a steady gaze would be rewarded with the slightest bloom of purple in a world&hellip;<span class="activity-read-more" id="activity-read-more-25859"><a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-june-2026/#post-17822" rel="nofollow ugc">[Read more]</a></span></p>
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				<title>Libby posted an update: I&#039;ve updated my profile to include some books I read in [&#133;]</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/activity/p/25838/</link>
				<pubDate>Sat, 13 Jun 2026 09:34:30 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>I&#8217;ve updated my profile to include some books I read in March, April and May</p>
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				<title>Kate posted a new activity comment</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/activity/p/25801/#acomment-25820</link>
				<pubDate>Tue, 02 Jun 2026 12:27:53 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Congratulations. Fabulous news.</p>
				<strong>In reply to</strong> -
				<a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/members/janette/" rel="nofollow ugc">Janette</a> posted an update I have news!
After much waiting, then swearing quite a lot at screens,  The Indiculous Grace Dunn is now available in paperback format from The Great British Bookshop (online) priced [&hellip;]			]]></content:encoded>
				
				
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				<title>Thea posted a new activity comment</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/activity/p/25801/#acomment-25817</link>
				<pubDate>Mon, 01 Jun 2026 21:30:43 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Congratulations, Janette! Good luck with the launch 🙂</p>
				<strong>In reply to</strong> -
				<a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/members/janette/" rel="nofollow ugc">Janette</a> posted an update I have news!
After much waiting, then swearing quite a lot at screens,  The Indiculous Grace Dunn is now available in paperback format from The Great British Bookshop (online) priced [&hellip;]			]]></content:encoded>
				
				
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				<title>Libby replied to the topic Monthly competition May 2026 in the forum Monthly Competition</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-may-2026/#post-17780</link>
				<pubDate>Mon, 01 Jun 2026 07:21:22 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Congratulations, Jill. A lovely story &#8211; and the song which inspired it is lovely too. I&#8217;ll be singing it all day 🙂</p>
<p>Thanks for setting the comp, Sandra. Congratulations also to Ath and Terrie.</p>
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				<title>Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly competition May 2026 in the forum Monthly Competition</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-may-2026/#post-17779</link>
				<pubDate>Sun, 31 May 2026 12:05:12 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Well done Jill. A bittersweet story, beautifully told. And well done the rest of us!</p>
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				<title>Terrie replied to the topic Monthly competition May 2026 in the forum Monthly Competition</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-may-2026/#post-17777</link>
				<pubDate>Sun, 31 May 2026 09:42:46 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Congrats, Jill.</p>
<p>Looking forward  to  seeing the prompt  for June .</p>
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				<title>Terrie replied to the topic Monthly competition May 2026 in the forum Monthly Competition</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-may-2026/#post-17774</link>
				<pubDate>Sat, 30 May 2026 16:35:59 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p><em>  Songs from the charts  31st  October   1998  &#8211; </em></p>
<p><em>Aerosmith   ‘I don’t want to miss a thing’</em></p>
<p><em>Bachman Turner Overdrive &#8211; ‘You aint seen nothing yet.’</em></p>
<p><em>Contains one, bleeped, swear word.</em></p>
<p>True   story</p>
<p>&nbsp;</p>
<p>This story involves my youngest daughter, who’s the sassy, won’t give an inch if she thinks she is in the right, type, and the anniversar&hellip;<span class="activity-read-more" id="activity-read-more-25809"><a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/monthly-competition-may-2026/#post-17774" rel="nofollow ugc">[Read more]</a></span></p>
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				<title>Athelstone replied to the topic A bit &#034;poorly&#034; in the forum Blogs</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/forums/topic/a-bit-poorly/#post-17771</link>
				<pubDate>Wed, 27 May 2026 19:11:31 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Thanks, Kate. I&#8217;m trying hard to get better.</p>
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				<title>Janette posted a new activity comment</title>
				<link>https://www.denofwriters.com/activity/p/25801/#acomment-25806</link>
				<pubDate>Wed, 27 May 2026 18:07:19 +0000</pubDate>

									<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Thank you so much, Libby. Hope you enjoy.</p>
				<strong>In reply to</strong> -
				<a href="https://www.denofwriters.com/members/janette/" rel="nofollow ugc">Janette</a> posted an update I have news!
After much waiting, then swearing quite a lot at screens,  The Indiculous Grace Dunn is now available in paperback format from The Great British Bookshop (online) priced [&hellip;]			]]></content:encoded>
				
				
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