Whisks

  • Yesterday I was in the kitchen around midday when I heard a mysterious and quite loud noise. It sounded a bit like a half-speed football rattle, and it seemed to be coming from the window above the sink. On closer inspection it was coming from behind the food recycling bin we keep on the windowsill, handy for scraping the plates into before…[Read more]

  • I was going to edit this to add some links but apparently I’m too late. Anyway, in case there are any non-SE grads out there, some details on psychic distance here

  • That sounds fantastic (in both senses of the word). My tbr pile is probably already longer than I will get through in my lifetime but I will add it anyway.

    Fantasy definitely did seem to go through an obligatory magic ring/sword phase, not to mention the ominpresent dark lord – the overlong series’ of Terry Brooks, Terry Goodkind and, to a lesser…[Read more]

  • This is going to be a super quick and probably slightly rambling blog but it’s been in my mind for a little while and I find the subject interesting so I’m just going to throw it down and see if anyone can relate.

    I’ve been thinking a lot about films lately – very specifically, the way shots are composed, and what this might tell us about…[Read more]

  • Thanks Ath, and everyone who’s kept this place going. I admit I haven’t done as much as I would have liked to help the process, and like everyone else who has commented I would miss the Den if it were not here. I’ve been in a bit of a low spot for (fiction) writing for a while but I have recently been meaning to wander back in the hope of a chat…[Read more]

  • ‘…Every book back I read seemed to involve a magic sword or a ring and sorting the good from the bad became impossible…’ Yes, Kate, that was exactly my experience.

    By contrast, to take a selection of the Ballantine books I read in my youth, The Well at the World’s End (William Morris), The Worm Ouroboros (E R Edison), The Night Land (William…[Read more]

  • Well, you’ve convinced me. I may have to add  have added the book to my ever-growing kindle list. Another great blog by the way.

    “A bit harsh maybe” you say, of Ursula K. Le Guin’s remarks. My feelings about this are mixed. I can see her point, but I am not convinced. I would have thought that the way we approach the old stories is what matters.…[Read more]

  • I think our reading tastes have developed in a similar way, Richard. I read fantasy as a teen (though never a LOTR fan) but as I got older and every book back I read seemed to involve a magic sword or a ring and sorting the good from the bad became impossible, I moved away from the genre.

    I do enjoy (and often write) our reality with a…[Read more]

  • I can’t in all conscience call this a literary byway, since the subject of this blog isn’t some dusty, half-forgotten relic but a book that’s very much alive and kicking, having been published only three years ago and even been nominated for awards. But I’ve enjoyed it so much that I’d like to share that enjoyment with you, so here goes.

    Looking…[Read more]

  • Do write another blog, Richard!

    Yes, the Cloud had the benefit of the Writers’ Workshop behind it. Not only did people find it from WW Courses, but from other services. I found the Cloud when I bought an editorial review. Then, it had things like the ‘Getting Published’ day in London and the ‘Festival of Writing’ in York.

    Goes some way to…[Read more]

  • I’m in the same position as I was in last year: the Den is normally the only place I interact with anybody on-line, so I would be very sad to see it go. I’m a bit more up-beat about it, though, because since the ‘members’ side-bar on the home page has been changed from ‘most recent’ to ‘most active’ (good idea) it shows that quite a few people do…[Read more]

  • I really enjoy the annual short story challenge, and I try to participate in the odd monthly competition. My SE group has also used the Den as a lifeboat. So I’d hate to see it go and lose contact with some talented people.

    I think one of the differences from the more active Word Cloud, is there was a constant flow of fresh blood funnelled via…[Read more]

  • Den of Writers is a FREE forum. That means that nobody pays for membership and if you join you are absolutely entitled to use and enjoy the place as much as anybody – in fact, you are encouraged to.

    However, there is a cost to running the site and people have asked about contributing to help keep it going.

    This year, we’ve made some major cha…[Read more]

  • I had a look at our profile options a while back but I couldn’t see how it’s supposed to work. You can add information about yourself, but it doesn’t show up when your profile is viewed (which is a bit pointless). I’ll take another look at it.

  • Gorgeous prompt is gorgeous. Chomping at the bit for this one 🥰✨

  • Ath, it’s okay! And you can still have a go, lols. The thread not going nowhere 😊

    Alright. Down to the stuff and business. With only two entries, both of which are incredibly well-penned and definitely get to the heart of their most singular matters, this was not an easy choice.

    However, I’m going to give this win to @sandradavies, for leaving…[Read more]

  • I agree that, as a place where we can meet to chat (ever so sporadically) and have monthly (great for writing practice) and especially annual competitions, it would be absolutely sad to see The Den dissolve due to the lack of activity. I don’t think the work anyone has put in should go to waste.

     

    The implemented suggestions have been fun,…[Read more]

  • Well, here we are again.

    Many, if not most of the suggestions from my last blog on the topic, have been implemented. We appear to have settled into a low to medium run of activity. For instance, over the last couple of months we have had around 100 posts of various sorts and 16 members have logged in.

    Do we continue?

    The short answer is ‘yes’,…[Read more]

  • Darn it! Sorry Knicks. It’s a great theme and I meant to have a go, but things just got away from me this month 🙁

  • Athelstone posted an update 4 years ago

    Den people, writers, denizens, does anybody know how much it cost in subs to be a scout (in the UK) in the early 1990s?

    • Bella replied 4 years ago

      I know somebody who might know if you are still trying to find an answer. Would you like me to ask?

      • I wouldn’t want you to go to any trouble, but if it’s easy to ask then I’d be grateful. My MC is recounting a time when his foster-mother gave him subs to go to scout meetings, but he stole the money. This would be around 1991. I’d like to be able to say what he used it for.

        • I did ask MrsB, who used to be a Beaver Scout Leader, and she said there was no set amount handed down from above (that is, the Scouting Association) but that each group decided how much to charge, so you’ve got some latitude. Unfortunately, she couldn’t remember how much her own group used to charge thirty years ago.

          • Thanks Richard. Yes, thinking back to my brief spell as a scout, a couple of years in the mid-60s, I vaguely recall differing amounts depending on what activities were planned. I did suspect that it might vary from troup to troup, particularly as some are linked to schools and other organisations.

        • Bella replied 4 years ago

          My friend was a scout leader at the time but not involved with the finances. He reckons he knows someone who will know and is asking. Will pass on any further info I get.

    • Only just seen this. My family was involved in the scouts from the mid 80s to date, and my dad was group scout leader of the 4th Dovercourt during the 90s. I’ll ask him if you like, though I can’t say if he’ll remember or not

      • Thanks, daeds. As with Bella, I wouldn’t want you to put yourself out for this. I can always “write around” the point.

    • Fwiw I just spoke to my mum, who was also a leader, who thinks that by that time subs were collected annually rather than per meeting, and that it would have been about £50. I get the impression that before that it would be a case of a parent or guardian handing over 50p or a quid when they dropped off the child at the beginning of the meeting,…[Read more]

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