The very first short story I ever wrote I sent to Woman’s Weekly. Not long after I received a lovely rejection letter from the Fiction Editor, Gaynor Davies saying that I hadn’t quite made it with this one but encouraging me to send more stories. One of her comments was ‘Not a very happy ending’. […]
Family
Wedding Anniversaries – some are better than others
It’s our anniversary today, not that we ever make a note of it. We never exchange cards, flowers, or go out. I’ve always been of the mind that we should treat each other kindly every day and not just one. Well, in theory anyway, and mostly it works. We’ve been together a long time […]
How to unshrink a jumper
Many moons ago, when I first found out that my daughter had an eating disorder I momentarily lost my judgement – among other things. It was Christmas and not only did I overcook the turkey (doesn’t everyone?) I undercooked the ham – and then shrank her favourite cardigan. So what. It’s not the end of […]
Moving House – Moving Memories
I’ve just finished reading Venetia Road by Patricia Putt Nicoll. Pat lives in Colehill, Dorset and contributed some of her stories and articles to the local Community Library project Life on the Hill, which was published last year. Pat writes of her first impressions of the house her parents bought during the war, no. 9 […]
How to make your dreams come true
When my little sister was littler still she liked coming home from school for her lunch. I say lunch because I’m an adopted southerner but ‘oop north we call it dinner – and we call dinner, tea. Yes, confusing I know. Story of my life. This was in the days when you could do such […]
Look closely. What do you see?
Are you looking closely? So, what do you see? All old lady? A smiling woman? A vibrant girl? A woman full of hopes and dreams? I’ll put money on it that the first thing you saw was an old lady. Am I right? That’s the trouble when you take people at face value, when you […]