Today would have been Max’s nineteenth birthday. Two years ago today he and I walked up the garden together. He leapt up onto the raised beds, followed me around and ran back down the garden with his tail straight up in sheer joy. He hasn’t made it to nineteen. I left a lantern burning overContinue reading “For Max”
Tag Archives: Writing
Coming Up Blank
Can my close friends look away now, please. I don’t want to bore them. But this was an absolute high point of the year, and we’re just eleven weeks in. I entered five competitions at the Scottish Association of Writers, some more as an exercise in hope than with any real hope of getting somewhere.Continue reading “Coming Up Blank”
Still Playing
28 Plays rolls on. Two weeks in and still keeping up – the fourteenth brief arrives at 8pm tonight, so by this time tomorrow I could well be halfway through. Which is no comfort, as they save the toughest assignments for the second half of the ordeal. Challenge, I should have said. Last week’s joysContinue reading “Still Playing”
Yes, sort of – and No, sort of
I submitted a few short pieces recently, and I’ve had a verdict back on three of them. Nothing to crack a bottle of fizz over, and nothing to send me weeping to a lonely spot to reflect on how baaad my life is. First up was an entry to the Jane Austen Literacy Foundation’s ‘InspiredContinue reading “Yes, sort of – and No, sort of”
Breaking the silence
I haven’t posted for a long time. I haven’t had the heart for it. We had a three-week pause in April to stay away from crowded museums and beaches during the school holidays, and just as we were plotting a return to days out, our youngest cat was killed on the road. Just like herContinue reading “Breaking the silence”
Life in a Bagatelle
We saw Storm Dudley approaching, due to hit Scotland and the north of England. We were worried for the friends we have in the north, and were worried again when Storm Eunice followed on behind Dudley and was due to hit Scotland and the north again. We were under a yellow warning for high winds,Continue reading “Life in a Bagatelle”
Tigerrrs all the way
I’d forgotten what it was like to be head-down in a Literal Challenge challenge, but I have been Reminded. This is how it goes. Sign up for it. Some time beforehand, so forget about it, apart from telling your writing mates and letting them laugh and be puzzled. Get the email two days before theContinue reading “Tigerrrs all the way”
Cambridge Botanic Gardens
We’ve had a series of miserable weather days recently – cloudy, grey, frosty mornings, drizzle. We’ve been lethargic, not moved to do anything – having finished the decorating has left us in the middle of a lot of small odd jobs. We’ve snapped ourselves out of it by going out for the day. Cambridge BotanicContinue reading “Cambridge Botanic Gardens”
Happy Start to a New Year
Between wishing a Happy New Year to our lovely neighbours, enjoying the fireworks and staying up to finish our glasses of fizz, we got to bed – very early this morning. And woke late. But we did get outside, on a sunny and warm day that has outclassed every day since October 2021 began. MaxContinue reading “Happy Start to a New Year”
A few days in Lynmouth
We’ve just had a few days’ holiday in Lynmouth, north Devon, to celebrate His Lordship’s 70th birthday. We’ve never been to Lynmouth before, though we did spend a week at Croyde Bay in the late 70’s. Camping. We aren’t that tough these days, especially in December. Don’t be fooled by the photo above, we’ve hadContinue reading “A few days in Lynmouth”
Julia Chalkley 