@bellam
Active 3 days, 10 hours ago-
Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly competition March 2025 in the forum Monthly Competition 1 year, 1 month ago
You may not have expected it, but you should believe it, Libby. really sharp story there.
Thanks, Sandra. I enjoyed that prompt. And thanks to all the other entrants; I really enjoyed reading through them this month.
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Sandra posted an update 1 year, 1 month ago
March competition winner declared, and I urge everyone to read the half dozen entries as evidence of the strength and breadth of talent in the Den, and thank Athelstone, for providing the venue.
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Sandra replied to the topic Monthly competition March 2025 in the forum Monthly Competition 1 year, 1 month ago
And, at close of play, I confess I find myself reeling at the richness of the offerings sparked by this ptompt, and rather than daunted by the necessity of choosing a winner, feeling well rewarded by the pleasures of reading them – thank you all.
<u>Terrie</u>’s single word of denial sparked instant interest, and maintained it with phrases suc…[Read more]
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Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly competition March 2025 in the forum Monthly Competition 1 year, 1 month ago
Of course, I felt stupid when I realised. There I was standing on the landing in shorts and tee-shirt with my apron on. “World’s Best Chef” it said on the font. Katya bought it for me for Christmas—oh—must be ten years ago. Mrs. Hardcastle from number seventy was out there as well. I wonder if she thought…
‘Morning Mrs. Hardcastle. It was the gu…[Read more]
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Knicks replied to the topic Monthly competition March 2025 in the forum Monthly Competition 1 year, 1 month ago
Promise Landing
(410 words*)
The screams tear Seth like cheap paper from shallow, disturbing dreams, and he gasps awake, eyes on the living darkness that writhes, malevolent with secrets, in the corners of the room. His gut can tell it’s way beyond midmorning, though the blackout curtain over the single window could convince him it’s the wit…[Read more]
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Sandra posted an update 1 year, 1 month ago
Six days left before the monthly comp deadline, and three VERY different, exciting and surely inspirational entries already. Make my selection of a winner all the harder by posting your response.
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Athelstone replied to the topic The Wild West Railway in the forum Blogs 1 year, 2 months ago
Fabulous blog again, Richard. I’ve always been fascinated by narrow-gauge railways. I’m not quite sure what it is, but maybe it’s the feeling of being able to step into (or onto) something that doesn’t look feasible. I remember my excitement as a child on holiday visiting the Lynton & Barnstaple Railway in Devon.
Mind you, you wouldn’t get me…[Read more]
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Terrie replied to the topic Monthly competition March 2025 in the forum Monthly Competition 1 year, 2 months ago
‘you will mistake the gulls
for the screaming of a girl
and run out of your flat
to an empty landing’
No.
The landing is not empty.
You know what you see.
And the gulls, well, you should have remembered, they’re always there. Wheeling and calling, ghostly as Valkyries, looking for a better prize than picking at bleached bones of…[Read more]
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Athelstone posted an update 1 year, 2 months ago
Hi, I’ve just completed a substantial number of software maintenance updates. It all looked fine on the test site before I went ahead, but as the testing team (me) had limited time to test, I may have missed something. Any bugs or issues you spot, please let me know. Thanks. Ath.
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Athelstone replied to the topic The Enemy Within in the forum Blogs 1 year, 2 months ago
You’re quite right, and I made an over-generalisation instead of a point! What I was trying to say was that even though the superficial details of policy may change from government to government and party to party, the underlying assumptions are adopted almost intact. To borrow a cliche, the playing field remains the same. It may develop over…[Read more]
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Sandra replied to the topic Monthly Competition – February 2025 in the forum Monthly Competition 1 year, 2 months ago
Thank you Knicks – Seagreen’s prompt really did its job!
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Knicks replied to the topic Monthly Competition – February 2025 in the forum Monthly Competition 1 year, 2 months ago
Congratulations @sandradavies!! Well deserved!
I loved each dragons – real, metaphorical, and felt. This was a delicious prompt to sink teeth into. Thanks lotsly, @seagreen 🙂
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Athelstone replied to the topic The Enemy Within in the forum Blogs 1 year, 2 months ago
“The country needed someone like her” is one of those things people say when they vaguely recall the 60s and 70s through the prism of relentless rightwing media. It’s as though the fact that you could buy your own telephone with better features than a Post Office one after the GPO was broken up for sale was a sign of Liberty leaping over the…[Read more]
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Sandra started the topic Monthly competition March 2025 in the forum Monthly Competition 1 year, 2 months ago
Apologies for the delay. As is my wont, I was attempting to find a line or two of poetry to act as opening line and/or prompt which took longer than anticipated. However, in Andrew McMillan’s ‘physical’, entitled ‘TODAY’, I found
“you will mistake the gulls
for the screaming of a girl
and run out of your flat
to an empty landing”…[Read more]
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Athelstone replied to the topic The Enemy Within in the forum Blogs 1 year, 2 months ago
I remember as a young child of nine or ten learning about the coal mining industry in Britain. The teacher confidently predicted that there was enough coal to keep Britain self-sufficient for as long as the next thousand years. Most sane, or I should say morally-sane people know that exploitation of fossil fuels in a way that releases pollutants,…[Read more]
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Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly Competition – February 2025 in the forum Monthly Competition 1 year, 2 months ago
Fabulous! I loved each and every one of these. Sandra, very well done. I’ll remember this as I tuck into my light supper tonight.
Thanks for the prompt Seagreen.
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Sandra replied to the topic Monthly Competition – February 2025 in the forum Monthly Competition 1 year, 2 months ago
Wow, Sea, that is a surprise, especially as I felt completely out-classed by every other entry – but challenged too, which was a Good Thing. I’m away from home at the moment but will aim to post March’s compTuesday evening. Thank you all for the several inspirations.
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Athelstone posted an update 1 year, 2 months ago
Some of you may remember Gary Steward from the Wordcloud days. I see that he’s just published the book he was working on way back then. I *think* it was called “The Lemon Grove” back then, but you can find his book on Amazon, kindle or paperback, as the similar sounding “Where Lemons Grow”.
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Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly Competition – February 2025 in the forum Monthly Competition 1 year, 2 months ago
Katherine is typing…
JohnG91 19:44
Hi Kath. I’ve been thinking about what you said. You know, about being decisive. I’ve made a decision. You’ve bullied me into it.
JohnG91 19:57
Just read that back. The bullied thing was supposed to be a joke. Well light-hearted anyway. You’re not a bully. I know when you talked about people who don’t mak…[Read more]
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