Hilary

Oh my goodness, Ath, what a time you’ve had! I am so glad to hear that you were well looked after in the hospital and are now home. Thank goodness for Mrs Ath’s quick thinking!

I hope you are taking things easy and making good progress. It’s great to see you back at the Den. Sending very best wishes for a speedy recovery 🙂

Honestly, nobody wants to get ill and go to hospital, but I don’t regret having met the staff. From the cleaner who I talked to a lot, to the nurses who tirelessly carried horrible pots away without a single complaint, to the consultant who (I now see) was joking/hinting about discharge when she said, ‘We must get this catheter out, unless you use…[Read more]

Crikey Moses, William, I’m heart-heartedly glad to hear you are home and hopefully on your way to some sort of recovery – what a torrid time you and your family must have gone through, and thank you for updating us so vividly.

Sendng love and the most healingest of good wishes

Sandra

Hell, Ath, this is too much for one person to put up with, and must have been (and continues to be) very frightening. I really do hope that the ‘frightening bit’ is treatable, and that you get an upturn in health very soon. Thinking of you loads and sending positive vibes your way.

Untitled

‘Gobsmacked’ the inelegant word that came to mind when I read the letter. What else would you expect , being told your three year-old daughter’s poem had been awarded first prize ?  A prize  which earned her up to three sittings with well-renowned portrait artist Bernard Broom. Especially when I’d not an inkling she’d  written any…[Read more]

METAMORPHOSIS

Vulnerable, estranged from her family, unexpectedly out of work and living in poverty in Aberdeen, the Granite City, it was easy for her to understand now why she had been taken in by him.  He was extremely charming and persuasive.  She’d moved into his luxury apartment soon after their first chance meeting.

The first time he hi…[Read more]

Thank you Janette – you did us proud with thoughtful comments, and well done for every other entry, all of which fitted the remit  much more closely than my hastily-grabbed from a long-ago hidden in the drawer novel.

Thank you, Janette for stepping in and for your kind comments. (Only bit of reality in mine is that we did get married on The Ides of March a very long time ago and are still here to tell the tale!)

All the other entries were so imaginative, well written and enjoyable to read.

Congratulations, Terrie – yours was very clever and truly mad!…[Read more]

Simple, I thought – judge a few stories for the March competition while Ath is out of action (Ath, if you’re reading this, sending BIG healing vibes and willing a speedy recovery). But – what a dilemma to be handed. These are all excellent and worthy to be winners in their own right.

But judge I must, as promised, so here are my thoughts:

Jill -…[Read more]

Janette has kindly volunteered !!

Best wishes, Athelstone.

Good idea, Libby.  Hope someone might take it on.

Having heard Athelstone indisposed again, it’s unlikely he’ll be be judging  this any time soon

Damn! It messed with my formatting 🙁

The madness is all mine for thinking I could do this!

All words taken from Rod Judkins’ The Art of Creative Thinking.

DRIBBLES AND SPATTERS

Inner demons

chisel

creative confidence

Ideas so strange

wither.

Radiate defiance

Salvage mistakes with freedom

and

transform the message

Come alive!

Not yet mad enough …

Wine-heavy eyes and naked, she was cleaning her teeth in front of the bathroom mirror when he came in through the door behind her.   He stood behind her, serious-faced, saying nothing, but unignorably attentive.   She finished brushing. Spat, rinsed and spat a couple more times then put the toothbrush back in the glass on…[Read more]

Madness on the Ides of March

493 words excluding title

All those years ago she had been teased relentlessly by friends about her wedding date, the Ides of March.   ‘Beware!’ they had warned her.  ‘You must be mad,’ they said, laughing.

But here the happy couple of that March day were, celebrating a Big O anniversary and enjoying a holiday in t…[Read more]

Congratulations, Athelstone –  well deserved.  Peeked at your March challenge and looking forward to meeting it.   Sandra, I loved your intriguing extract from what I presume is a finished novel or one in progress?  Thank you Libby for the February competition which I enjoyed entering and for your kind comments.  Very interested in your inte…[Read more]