@bellam
Active 1 week, 5 days ago-
Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly comp – April 2020 in the forum Monthly Competition 6 years, 1 month ago
Loved the entries this time round. Very well done Libby. Raine, great topic. Came so close to telling you about my green rug, but it wasn’t to be.
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Giselle replied to the topic Monthly comp – April 2020 in the forum Monthly Competition 6 years, 1 month ago
Thank you @Raine for the lovely feedback and for a comp idea that allowed us to think beyond our times, much needed at this point!
Congratulations to @Libby, yours is beautifully written and a well-deserved win.
Hapy May Day everyone! -
John S Alty replied to the topic Monthly comp – April 2020 in the forum Monthly Competition 6 years, 1 month ago
Well done, Libby, thoroughly deserved.
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Squidge replied to the topic Monthly comp – April 2020 in the forum Monthly Competition 6 years, 1 month ago
Well done, Libby! Loved your piece. Interesting to read the stories behind the objects from everyone.
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Sandra replied to the topic Monthly comp – April 2020 in the forum Monthly Competition 6 years, 1 month ago
Thank you Raine – both for setting such an interesting, informative and though-provoking challenge, and for picking my favourite as winner. Well done Libby.
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Sandra posted an update 6 years, 1 month ago
@libby, I loved, loved, loved your comp entry – the agonising over the purchase and then the description – sounds a wonderful piece of inspiration to have in sight.
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@sandradavies Thank you!
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@libby I agree with Sandra, your descriptions are stunning. I’m not quite certain where to post my comment, as I didn’t want to put it on the comp thread. I’m still working my way around… š
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Athelstone replied to the topic Chasing the Dream in the forum Blogs 6 years, 1 month ago
I don’t remember this blog in detail, but I do remember thinking what a lucky individual you were to find such a wonderful spot.
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Giselle posted an update 6 years, 1 month ago
@katemachon, Thank you! It’s great to see you. It was an exciting moment. I belong to a pre-history association, and am tempted to ask them if they can date it. What’s amazing is that all those tools are buried in the sand, then uncovered, as the dunes shift with the wind. What are the chances that that particular scraper would be temporarily…[Read more]
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Skara Brae, also uncovered having been buried in the sand (though a very different climate!) has similar tools, which one used to be allowed to handle – Your vivid description brought that 1980s pleasure back to me – thank you.
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Thank you for your mention of Skara Brae, Sandra. A new prehistoric site for me to add to the ever-growing bucket list. There’s something about these ancient dwellings that stikes a primordial nerve. š
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Giselle, be warned – Orkney is dangerously addictive! We first went there in 1981 and this is the first year we’ve missed (not as it happened because of Covid19) There are SO MANY sites there, and heavily influenced the printmaking I was doing at the time .
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Great to ‘see’ you too @giselle. I love that feeling of time and serendipity. Mind boggling indeed. I’ve been quite interested in flint knapping since reading the Clan of the Cave Bear series. The author goes into the method in quite some detail. I have a flint blade on my mantle piece. Not old but from a knapping demo. Incredibly sharp and I use…[Read more]
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Giselle replied to the topic Monthly comp – April 2020 in the forum Monthly Competition 6 years, 1 month ago
A perfect fit
When my yoga teacher organized a desert trek, I signed up immediately. Something in me wanted ā needed ā a week away from my life. Time off to think, read and write. I bought a new notebook and fountain pen, packed a few books and before I knew it a plane brought our group of 9 yogis to the Sahara.
Between the full moon I cou…[Read more]
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Athelstone posted an update 6 years, 1 month ago
So, the Festival of Writing will move from York to the Internet this year.
It also seems that what for many is a big attraction, the meeting with…[Read more]
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For me it works, big time. The up-front cost is way less (especially for members) so paying extra for a one to one session is not an issue as far as I am concerned. And it (presumably) keeps the headline price down for those who may not have anything to present to a one to one but simply want to learn.
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That’s a good point. To be honest, I don’t imagine they had much choice and the reduced price is welcome. Plus they promise a session with Neil Gaiman. But never mind that: PHILIPPA EAST in June and AMANDA BERRIMAN in August!!!
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I saw this too – wondered whether to sign up this time.
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I’m not going to rush into it, but it might have some interesting bits – along with those I mentioned earlier š
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Iām thinking about it too although our broadband connection may not be upto it. Iāve told my SE course group about our internet troubles several times recently. Iām becoming a broadband bore. Anyway, a stand-alone 121 therefore might suit me well if I choose to go for one.
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Hello everyone! I’m venturing back into the online writing world, having spent most of my time on Twitter. I see some of you there but not everyone, so this is a means to reconnect. @libby, internect connexions are such a pain. Instead of locking down in our country house where we have oodles of space and nature all around, we stayed in Paris…[Read more]
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Hello @giselle. Lockdown has certainly shown up with extra emphasis the significance of tech in our lives, and especially how its failings can disrupt us. I don’t do social media and live a fairly low-tech life, but making online connections has become vital and so frustrating when they don’t work š
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Sandra replied to the topic Monthly comp – April 2020 in the forum Monthly Competition 6 years, 1 month ago
Bringing a little light
I suspected, on reading the rules, if I did submit anything it would be something of a cheat, because thereās not a lot thatās actually old in itself in this room. Not much in the way of āthingsā really, anywhere in the house (although I do have, in the loft, my great-grandfatherās two writing boxes such as Jill describes…[Read more]
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JaneShuff posted an update 6 years, 1 month ago
Is anyone else watching Mark Kermodeās Secrets of Cinema on BBC 4 and on IPlayer? I am really enjoying it and finding it quite interesting on structure and genre. Well worth a watch IMO. Of course it may have been on for ages and I am very behind the times!
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Ah – thank you! I completely forgot that was on. I shall head there forthwith.
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Only a very small proportion of my payments are in cash these days and I think the last cheque I wrote was about 3 years ago. I have two pound coins in my pocket and I think that’s all the cash I’ve had for about a month. These are unusual times in that we are trying to minimise the shopping we do in person, i.e. I’m unlikely to nip out to the…[Read more]
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I had to hunt out our cheque book when confinement started as we’re having to do a lot of payments by cheque. I couldn’t even remember what colour it was.
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I’ve not written a cheque since October 2019. The one before that was written in April 2019. I haven’t handled cash since 31st March when the pharmacist called round with a prescription I had to pay for. Credit card points are building up nicely. Silver linings and all that.
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Amanda Berriman (Skylark) posted an update in the group
CoronaMo 6 years, 2 months agoHello *waves* How is everyone doing? So much for my intention to spend more time in the Den – it’s been two months!! Things went a bit hectic in Feb/March with a lot of time and energy going into researching/organising stuff for Peter’s ongoing recovery/physical health. Of course many of those plans have now been cancelled! But subsitute dates are…[Read more]
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Great to hear from you, @skylark! I’ve been wondering how you were managing with Peter with all appointments cancelled. Hope you have a good cycle out – I can imagine that big smile of his right now.
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It was a GREAT cycle (see FB post). We’re getting on fine – just muddling through as everyone else is. I’m not sure we’re that brilliant at the physio side of things but doing something is better than nothing. It’s great to have another exercise that he can do now though. Burn up some more energy!
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Lovely to hear your news @skylark. And so glad your bike ride was a success. Enjoy your family time!
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I saw the little clip on FB, and it looks utterly splendid! Especially wonderful to have right now I imagine!
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@raine It is! It’s been a bit of a worry the last month that his only exercise has been doing Wii sports in his standing frame and our unqualified attempts to mimick his physio sessions. I feel better knowing we can go out biking two or three times a week – a good cardio workout for him with the hills we have around here!
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@janeshuff Thanks! We are making the most of what we can of this strange time. Hope you are keeping well xx
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Amanda Berriman (Skylark) replied to the topic Dipping my toe back in in the forum Blogs 6 years, 2 months ago
Hi @johnalty it’s good to be back, though it would help if I came back and then didn’t disappear again for months! Sigh. I have good intentions and then life happens…
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Squidge posted an update in the group
CoronaMo 6 years, 2 months agoHi all. Been having problems logging in again, but Jules has worked her magic and got me into the Den.
How are you all doing? I’m a bit like Kaz – head space not into writing much, so editing Tilda 3 is very slow going. I mean, how hard can it be to describe an underground (ie in a cavern) market? We’ve taken to cooking and baking with the kids…[Read more]
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Hi Squidge. Much the same as you, my head space is not into writing. I’m doing what I can and have forgiven myself for the fact it’s so slow. Apart from that we’re pottering on, enjoying the glorious weather from the safety of our own garden and surrounding countryside during the permitted hour a day we’re allowed out.Nature is slowly expanding to…[Read more]
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Hello, Squidge and Jane. I was interested to read how present circumstances are affecting your writing. Like you two, I am keeping busy (and maybe distracted) with the simple things of life and enjoying the slower pace, actually. Not to say there isn’t the general underlying anxiety, but trying to keep hopeful and positive despite all the…[Read more]
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Squidge replied to the topic Monthly comp – April 2020 in the forum Monthly Competition 6 years, 2 months ago
Not the best poetry, but hey ho…
It has no chain, though once it might,
It’s on a shelf, mainly out of sight.
I wound it up and heard it tick
Then set the hands with a firmer click.
Triangles mark the quarter hours
and rectangles? The intervals and other hours.
It’s made by Smiths, a British firm
Not Timex, Rolex or another well known.
It’s…[Read more] - Load More
Can’t imagine you with green hair, Ath.
Never been green – although it suffered a great deal of henna back in the 70s. These days I’m approaching the age where hair-loss is expected, if Paul McCartney is to be believed, so maybe a rug is on the cards. Or my head.