KazG

Thank you, Jill. I forgot to set a word limit, so I take your entry as “the bar” and set it now at 400 words.

Incidentally, I wanted to call the girl Aelfwin but I had trouble getting the A and e to combine into a proper “ash” at the start of the name. Then it occurred to me that a drunk Teabreak would be unlikely to remember that anyway, hence “Alwin, or something like that.” I think Alwin is still sometimes used as a female name, but I could probably…[Read more]

Hooray!! Well done Ath for your last minute, colourful Teabreak entry thus rescuing me from having to devise July’s competition  and thank you Jill. for your kind words re ‘Snap is not a Children’s Game’, adding impetus to my getting on with it.

I confess I feel slightly guilty. I read Sandra’s entry and thought it was splendid. Then I sneak in at the end and…

Anyway, thank you for the prompt, Jill. The solstice was my 70th and I went from not thinking I’d make it, to writing a little story about it so that’s something.

Stonehenge

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…[Read more]

<h3>Prior to the magic going black</h3>
<h3>June 23rd, Caithness</h3>
 

Pre-dawn on a midsummer morning, Tait Duncan, drove  south-east along an A1 empty of all but Highlands-bound supermarket wagons, conscience similarly uncluttered by the lie he’d last night told his wife as to the reason for his early morning departure. (In what had become th…[Read more]

Well done Jill. A bittersweet story, beautifully told. And well done the rest of us!

A fascinating quartet of music-generated memories resulting in stories that couldn’t help but provide  their own soundtracks.  Ath’s tale fully matched  the discordant challenging streetwise vibes  of the music chosen. Libby’s rich  musical pot-pourri connected brilliantly with the warmth of disparate family interactions. Terrie’s combining ne…[Read more]

MONTHLY COMP ALERT – I was hoping for earworms, from songs I remember but despite two excellent entries,  I feel a little disappointed so more Top Ten memories by Sunday night would be much appreciated.

Thanks, Kate. I’m trying hard to get better.

I’m not a huge fan of cosy crime, and I think that the television series of TTMC is rather better than the books, although only because the acting is good. However, there are many variations within that genre and I wouldn’t dismiss everything. The same goes for anthropomorphised animal stories. For instance, Charlotte’s Web and Animal Farm spring…[Read more]

I’m glad to hear that you have treats lined up. The trip to Pompeii sounds especially fabulous! It should be a little quieter and cooler in the autumn so may be pleasanter to wait until then.

The iron tablets should make a big difference, and they tend to take effect within a few days. I do hope all goes well with your referral. Do please keep u…[Read more]

On a small scale, my daughter gave me a voucher for a foraging/cooking day for 2, for my birthday last year, and I’d just booked a day in March when I got ill. When the company heard I was in hospital, they gave me a six month extension on the voucher for free, so that I could book when I was completely recovered. I thought that was really…[Read more]

<p class=”western”>So glad to hear this, Ath, and let me add my hopes to those already expressed about the resolution of your remaining issues.</p>
<p class=”western”>I have been on blood thinners for several years as I have atrial fibrillation, which is an irregular pulse, or as my GP put it with her customary no-nonsense bluntness, ‘a hoppitty…[Read more]

Hi Libby, a very big relief. And thank you. I had another read through my discharge notes. I don’t think they’d seen somebody so ill with such a mixed bag of symptoms before (who hadn’t been in an accident). They took advice from the teams at Guildford, Reading, and Kings. There was a consensus to deal with the immediate emergency which was the…[Read more]

Thanks Jill. Yes, it is a big relief.

I’ve been on blood thinners (apixaban) since I was admitted to hospital. My problem is that the hospital doctors didn’t share any plan for dealing with the existing clots which have blocked two major veins to the liver. I strongly suspect that they were anticipating a worse outcome from the endoscopy and…[Read more]