@elle
Active 6 years, 2 months ago-
Squidge replied to the topic Monthly comp – May 2020 in the forum Monthly Competition 6 years, 3 months ago
A circuitous route – the same-old, same-old – but not so taken for granted as once it was.
Hot grey asphalt, its dull top layer peeled back by sun and tyres, glistening wet and black under, suggestive of a just-laid stickiness.
Pavements littered with the faded shadows of chalked rainbow messages to un-caped crusaders or old-fashioned hopscotch…[Read more]
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Raine posted an update 6 years, 3 months ago
7 weeks of homeschooling (9 of lockdown) done. 5 & 1/2 weeks of homeschooling left. The end is just beginning to appear over the horizon!
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Hurray! And well done on the home schooling. Have you managed to get any writing done as well?
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Mixed feelings about the whole school thing here – some are going back, some not, some parents agree, some don’t… Having seen reports where teh libraries are being taped off with hazard tape to stop the kids handling books, I don’t think I’ll be putting my volunteer librarian hat back on for some time…
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Yes, much as I and the mini are missing school (!), I am so glad we aren’t in England & facing going back to schools when it isn’t safe and when the measures schools are forced to use seem to be stripping all joy and light out of the school environment. Those photos of taped off bookshelves, and of chalked squares in the playground make me feel sick.
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Bits, yes. I am struggling health-wise, and my capacity to structure and concentrate is shot to pieces. But I am doing lots of ‘research’ reading (about hedge magic, herbal remedies, victorian women botanists and the British Raj!), and pantsing a couple of novels that are almost certainly destined for the bin but are providing some escape for now.…[Read more]
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Glad to hear you are managing to write ‘bits’ but very sorry about the ill-health. It’s a bugger, especially when you know that you’re not firing on all cylinders – so frustrating on top of everything else. However just reading about your research makes me want to read the novel that will result! It’s an enticing concoction. There’s every chance…[Read more]
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Athelstone replied to the topic Richard's Literary Byways: Arthur Machen and the Angels of Mons in the forum Blogs 6 years, 3 months ago
Excellent blog, Richard. I fear my “to be read” list has acquired some new items.
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Squidge posted an update in the group
CoronaMo 6 years, 3 months agoWell, still trying to edit Tilda 3. Have made some major changes to plot to keep the reader guessing a bit longer, but seem incapable of getting it all to ‘flow’. Feels like I’m making it worse instead of better! But keeping on keeping on, regardless…
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Sandra replied to the topic Monthly comp – May 2020 in the forum Monthly Competition 6 years, 3 months ago
Between 2011 and 2013, for some eighteen months, I participated in a ‘Small stones’ project; a daily moment of intense observation. Many were made during the twelve minute walk (six there, six back) to buy a morning paper. This is a 396 word selection.
Autumn
Stepping stones of yellow sycamore
stuck to the rain-damp roadAnd the sky this mor…[Read more]
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Athelstone replied to the topic Monthly comp – April 2020 in the forum Monthly Competition 6 years, 3 months 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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Can’t imagine you with green hair, Ath.
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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.
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Giselle replied to the topic Monthly comp – April 2020 in the forum Monthly Competition 6 years, 4 months 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, 4 months 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, 4 months 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, 4 months 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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Raine replied to the topic Monthly comp – April 2020 in the forum Monthly Competition 6 years, 4 months ago
Thank-you all. I just realised as I logged on to write this that we talked about making these comps run over two months rather than one? I’ll stick to one month being as that was how I set it. So. These were all a delight to read. So many memories and things that resonated with me very powerfully. Anyway, on to my thoughts.
@jllsted I am very…[Read more]
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Sandra posted an update 6 years, 4 months 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… 🙂
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Raine posted an update 6 years, 4 months ago
24hrs ish left to enter this month’s comp… Give me something to do tomorrow other than supervise maths. Please. 😀
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Anything to dilute the maths 🙂
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Athelstone replied to the topic Chasing the Dream in the forum Blogs 6 years, 4 months 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, 4 months 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. 🙂
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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, 4 months ago
A perfect fit
When my yoga teacher organized a desert trek, I signed up immediately. Something in me wanted – needed – 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, 4 months 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 🙂
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I’m thinking about it too although our broadband connection may not be upto it. I’ve told my SE course group about our internet troubles several times recently. I’m 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 🙂
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Sandra replied to the topic Monthly comp – April 2020 in the forum Monthly Competition 6 years, 4 months ago
Bringing a little light
I suspected, on reading the rules, if I did submit anything it would be something of a cheat, because there’s not a lot that’s actually old in itself in this room. Not much in the way of ‘things’ really, anywhere in the house (although I do have, in the loft, my great-grandfather’s two writing boxes such as Jill describes…[Read more]
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