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RichardB posted an update 6 years, 12 months ago
Some people will tell you that mice will never come into a house where there’s a cat. They obviously don’t know our cat. I have just seen her sitting and watching with mild interest while, less than a foot from her nose, a mouse nipped out of the woodwork and nicked a piece of food from her bowl. I ask you…
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Squidge posted an update 6 years, 12 months ago
@janeshuff – I’ll try to find you. And yes, it all looks very different on NaNo from my first ever visit in June.
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Squidge posted an update 7 years ago
Heads up for anyone who fancies a one-day writing conference? Writing East Mids run a day, (28th March 2020), this year at Lincoln Uni. Costs £60 if you book an early bird ticket before end Nov, £70 otherwise. Concessions available, lunch and tea/coffee provided.
I’m booked on…anyone else fancy it?
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John S Alty replied to the topic Bumbling Round the Citadel in the forum Blogs 7 years ago
Fascinating tale, Philippa, well done for sticking it out to a triumphant end. Looking forward to reading the book.
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John S Alty replied to the topic Story idea in the forum Coffee Shop 7 years ago
I couldn’t do this idea justice. The right person could really build the tension and explore the changing relationships of the three characters as the story builds. Interesting project for someone, but not me.
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John S Alty started the topic Story idea in the forum Coffee Shop 7 years ago
I woke this morning with an idea for a short story/novella. It’s not something I’d tackle so I thought I’d put it out there for anyone looking for a new project:
Two women have taken on the challenge of rowing across the Atlantic for a charity – say, breast cancer awareness – and have acquired the necessary sponsorship, had a boat built and have…[Read more]
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RichardB replied to the topic Chaos and Catastrophe: Radstock, 1876 in the forum Blogs 7 years ago
There was, of course, no such thing as corporate manslaughter back then. But I did hear that after one Victorian accident (not this one) where the driver was charged with manslaughter, Punch published a cartoon showing a policeman collaring the driver and a director walking away, with the caption ‘Yes, you’ve got one. But you ought to have got…[Read more]
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RichardB started the topic Chaos and Catastrophe: Radstock, 1876 in the forum Blogs 7 years ago
Railway accidents have many causes. Sometimes the fault is with the hardware: the signalling, the track, the trains themselves. More often one or more people make mistakes, through pressure of work, a moment’s lapse of concentration, or sheer negligence. But the Radstock collision of 1876 on the Somerset and Dorset Joint Railway was, fortunately,…[Read more]
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Squidge replied to the topic Bumbling Round the Citadel in the forum Blogs 7 years ago
Kudos for sticking with it all, Philippa – it sounds like it has really taken a toll over this year.
Looking forward very much to reading it – I am sure that it will be worth every bead of sweat, nibbled fingernail and tear shed.
And if it makes you feel better – Tilda’s just been published and even though we went through all the pages,…[Read more]
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RichardB replied to the topic The truth about – back then in the forum Blogs 7 years ago
Thanks for this. I remember your ‘The Truth About…’ blogs on the Cloud, and used to enjoy them immensely: perceptive (Isn’t hindsight wonderful?), moving, and uncompromisingly honest. This one is no exception.
And yes, there has been a sad dearth of blogs lately. Maybe it’s time for another tale of the rails…
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Barny replied to the topic Monthly comp – October 2019 in the forum Monthly Competition 7 years ago
Memories, memories
Through a mane of blonde hair, through streaks of bleached and of darker dyed strands, her eyes flickered upwards. “Can I help you, sir?”
Behind me the door hissed shut expensively, hinges well greased by wills and probates. “Do yer know where Bryant Street is?”
“I umm… don’t know.” She bent her head back down to the screen…[Read more]
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Squidge posted an update 7 years ago
OK – sorry to ask again, but…
You know the captcha thing at login, where we say we’re not robots? I’ve logged in on 3 separate occasions today and when that page comes up, it’s counting down the number of attempts I can have, even though I’ve logged on successfully. Does this mean that we either have to stay logged in permanently to avoid the…[Read more]-
I don’t know the answer, Squidge, but I had the same thing yesterday.
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Glad it’s not just me – thought I must be doing something wrong!
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I’ve had this, Squidge, including being locked out for 20 minutes. Chrome and other Google-based browsers will try to keep you logged in and synced across sessions and devices, but it doesn’t always work well – or in some cases at all.
The Captcha plugin isn’t playing nicely with our setup and Jules is looking at it. Unfortunately, the alternative…[Read more]
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John S Alty replied to the topic Monthly comp – October 2019 in the forum Monthly Competition 7 years ago
Lost and Found and Lost
Arthur was rooting through a drawer in the garage, the one reserved for plumbing parts, searching for a tap washer. His gnarled hands scrabbled through off-cuts of plastic water pipe, white nylon fittings, a flushing mechanism still in its packaging, old tobacco tins holding copper olives, bolts, nuts and split pins. No…[Read more]
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Squidge replied to the topic September 2019 in the forum Monthly Competition 7 years ago
Ath – really?!
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Squidge replied to the topic September 2019 in the forum Monthly Competition 7 years ago
Apologies for the delay in posting – life got in the way!
Well these shades of beige definitely weren’t boring. Thanks to everyone who entered – thin on the ground perhaps (well it is York month) but not thin on quality.
Some really poignant pieces in this mix (Dreamweaver, Je m’appelle Missy, and Hil’s Tortoiseshell Specs) secrets in Battle…[Read more]
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RichardB replied to the topic replying to agent rejections in the forum Coffee Shop 7 years ago
It’s never even occurred to me to reply to form rejections. What’s the point? Who’d bother to read it? I can’t speak for any other circumstances, because I’ve never been there (sob).
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Squidge posted an update 7 years ago
I know we’ve had an issue with bots at the mo – I’m getting the ‘I’m not a robot’ thing every time I log in, but I thought once we’d done it once, it meant you should be OK to log in without after that?
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I’m getting that too Squidge. Can never sign in on the main page. Always get diverted and have to do the bot thing.
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And me!
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Although it’s not too much of a problem now I know.
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Do you guys use whatever your browser equivalent of ‘keychain’ is? Usually if you have your password stored in that, it will only periodically check that you’re not a robot. Apologies for needing to add recaptcha but the bot situation was getting a bit dire!
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Um…keychain? I’ve tried clicking the ‘remember me’ but it doesn’t.
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Squidge posted an update in the group
Andrew Wille’s DIY MA course 7 years, 1 month agoWow, WB – that’s really comprehensive! Thank you. Also makes me realise I need to print out Andrew’s course outline and read it through properly…
I’d be glad of an October start, cos I’m trying to set new routines around an empty nest, and it’ll be good to focus on something other than the lack of guitar playing and a deserted bedroom… ;)…[Read more]
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Squidge posted an update 7 years, 1 month ago
Just a reminder that there’s a week to go for September’s monthly competition…and for you to prove to me that ‘beige ain’t boring!’
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I’m sorry I’m having to pass on this one Squidge. Combination of holiday and having work done at home. I did like your paint chart idea for prompts.
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No worries – I know September’s busy for most folk, especially after York. Mean I won’t have such a difficult decision judging 😉
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Squidge posted an update in the group
Andrew Wille’s DIY MA course 7 years, 1 month agoBeen checking out the required texts… I’m getting a bit bogged down in Sin and Syntax, (for saying the author’s currently talking about brevity, she’s going the long way round to say a lot of it!) but Writing Fiction looks easier to read. Bird by Bird’s one of my most accessible reads (was given it as a gift some years ago), and I’d add How Not…[Read more]
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Cats are marvellous and varied. My son’s two cats will hunt down every fly and spider with a total absence of mercy. Others take a far more philosophical approach and yours sounds wonderful.
Many years ago I rented a house which came with a resident cat named Mittens. Mittens was mainly a lethargic house-cat, mooching around from sunny spot to…[Read more]
Yes, our pussy is a gentle, affectionate creature with an almost total lack of the predatory instinct, which makes her a useless mouser but a lovely companion. Our friends who stayed with us weekend before last fell so in love with her they threatened to take her home with them.
One of our cats is a complete softie too. He recently spent a whole weekend lying with/on a very poorly wee girl who, whilst cuddling him, laughed for the first time in months.
Love my cat – until he decides he’s hungry at 4.30am. Or climbs into my lap while I’m knitting/writing/reading. Or brings in a bird. He’s very tolerant, too – Mr Squidge often plays Cataroo! (like Buckaroo but with a cat, not a donkey. And it’s me who gets the catty evils, as though it’s all my fault when cat moves and everything falls off.))