Stories and competitions

I'm delighted to announce that my latest foray into the world of writing is now available from Amazon in both Kindle format and paperback - Poisoned By Yew. This is a collection of short stories written over the years, light-hearted, tongue-in-cheek and ideal for that holiday moment or for picking up on the plane or train.

Now that those wonderful Olympics are over for a couple of weeks (until the paralympics arrives in full flow), my thoughts turn to other types of competition, namely writing competitions. I've unearthed a few free-to-enter competitions for you, which leaves you with no excuses for failing to put pen to paper. Go on, give it a try. You've nothing to lose.

Healthy Living magazine is looking for bedtime stories to encourage sleep - so no monsters under the bed, then. Your story needs to be between 1500 and 3000 words in length, any genre except children's stories and erotica. Click here for details. Competition closes on 31st October, so you've [plenty of time to get thinking and writing.

If you can write a complete, interesting and exciting story in six words, then this competition is for you. Closes on 30th September, and first prize is an astonishing £100 or a stay in the Algonquin Hotel in Manhattan.

This next one is for fresh, original stories on any subject, up to 2000 words. Closes on August 25th, but you still have time. Prize is mainly publication and promotion of your work. Click here for details.

And finally, this competition is for stories of no more than 1200 words, and you have to use one of the organisers openign dialogues. You get to choose from three possibilities. This one closes on 30th August. Click here for details.

Needless to say, all your entries must be original. Why not get writing? It could be fun.

Trinity College Choir

Wow! What a scoop by Dickleburgh Church. They have the Trinity College Choir - ranked the 5th best choir in the world - giving a concert on Saturday evening, July 1st, on the eve of their tour to America and Canada. Trinity College Cambridge are patrons of the church, and very generous in many ways. If there are any tickets left, I think I shall have to go. Anyone want to come with me?

Talking about singing and choirs, I've just invested in an online singing course, which you can find at The Singing Zone. It's expensive, but if lesson 1 is anything to go by, well worth the money. It's done by videos, so that it feels just like a one-to-one lesson with the teacher, Per Bristow. I'm already excited by it and looking forward to the future lessons.

Of course, singing is nothing much to do with writing, but as I've just finished an assignment for Redemptorist Publications, I felt justified in a little reward! Hence the singing lessons.

And it's only money, so onwards and upwards, hopefully in good voice!

Diamond Jubilee

It's been an amazing weekend so far. For me it started on Thursday afternoon, when along with a couple of friends, I enjoyed a Jubilee afternoon tea produced by the catering department students at Norwich City College. Tiny sandwiches, scones piled with jam and cream, and delicious shortbread biscuits, together with as much tea as I could drink. Excellent! While there, I took advantage of the table decorations to snaffle a cardboard union jack, which I pinned to my red blouse on the Saturday afternoon.

That occasion was a Jubilee party in Brundall Rectory garden, complete with fun and games, cream teas, and three local choirs. Our choir was on first, and most of us were dressed patriotically in red, white and blue. The weather was kind to us, and all went well.

Yesterday afternoon Ian and I watched the river pageant on the Thames. Well, watched it on television. It was a great spectacle. The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh stood the whole time - goodness knows how, at 86 and 90 respectively - and looked to be thoroughly enjoying every minute, even though the Queen looked really cold. It reminded me of the coronation sixty years ago, when I received a book - Elizabeth Our Queen - at primary school, and our family trooped next door to watch the coronation on Aunty Esme's brand new, tiny, black-and-white television, bought especially for the occasion (and the first television in the whole street. It was another ten years or so before we had a television.)

In the evening I sang with the Brundall church choir at Brundall's lovely Jubilee service, giving thanks for sixty wonderful years on the throne, and this afternoon Ian and I strolled around the village, admiring the bunting

and cheering on the families engaged in a local Jubilee treasure hunt. Tonight we shall watch the concert from Buckingham Palace - again on television!

It has certainly been a terrific weekend, one to remember, and a fitting tribute to our indefatigable Queen. None of us alive today will ever see a sixty year reign again, and we thank God for our Royal Family and all the (often hidden) work they do for our nation.

Three thoroughly British cheers for Her Majesty and long live the Queen!

Here today...

Here today and gone tomorrow! How things change.

One day last week I filled the car at our local petrol station. It's a Total, so the petrol is relatively cheap (if you can say such a thing about petrol) roughly the same price as Tesco. Of course, you don't get Tesco clubcard points there, but the fact that you don't have to wait for hours in a huge queue, more than compensates.

Imagine my distress when, as I was driving past the very next day, I noticed that the petrol station was closed. Barriers across all the entrances, and heavy machinery already uprooting the pumps. I suppose it was always on the cards, as the accompanying Little Chef closed months ago, but I hadn't expected it, not a word was said the previous day and I hadn't even heard about it on the jungle telegraph.

However, it seems the petrol station will re-open, when it has somehow mysteriously metamorphosed into Shell (more expensive, no clubcard points, not even Nectar points.) Rumour has it that the Little Chef will also re-open, with a botox facelift magically identifying it as MacDonalds, although how that will encourage more customers is anybody's guess. Just outside Norwich, and only half an hour or so from Yarmouth, it just doesn't seem to be in the right place to catch casual custom making for the beach.

Is it my age that gives me a pang when I regret these changes, or is it the probable hit on my wallet? OK, I don't care what sort of petrol I buy, but I do like to find the cheapest possible, I do like it to be local, and I don't like queuing.

I think that says it all.

How strange!

How strange! Yesterday we awoke to bright sunshine and birds singing, today we're back to the dreary downpour which depressed us all (apart from gardeners, farmers, all horticulturists, and those who realise we need rain because we like to eat from time to time) throughout April.

Actually, yesterday's bright sunshine was the second time we awoke. The first time - just before 5.00am - was to hear the rain indoors. We had a flood in the kitchen which seemed to be coming from the washing machine (and no, we hadn't left it on at night, nor any other appliances) in the most awkward spot imaginable.

The washing machine has been in its slot for so long that it seemed to be stuck to the floor, it was that difficult to shift. We managed eventually, only to discover that the flood was nothing to do with the washing machine but coming from some invisible place, and impossible to reach because hidden behind an inaccessible cupboard.

After a brief panic when neither of us could remember where the relevant tap was, Ian located it in the bathroom and turned off the water. I got busy with a mop and bucket and cleared the floor.

Then we went back to bed.

The second time we awoke to bright sunshine and singing birds, called the plumber who advertised in the church magazine, discovered he lived about five minutes away and would be with us directly.

He was.

He found the problem (something had broken on the in-pipe - or something like that), replaced the faulty piece, soldered something onto something else for good measure, and was done and dusted within the hour. Magic!

It left us free to enjoy the rest of the day, so we went visiting. There's nothing better than visiting old friends you haven't seen for a year or so. We had a lovely afternoon drinking tea and chatting over old times with one friend, then dropped in on another who was living in the vicinity and was surprised (but I hope, pleased) to see us.

Today, since the rain has stopped while I've been writing, we're off to Norwich on the bus and are going to treat ourselves to lunch at Prezzo. And as we're retired with nothing better to do, we may take in a film as well.

It's not bad, this life of ours.

Thank you, Tim.

My thanks to my publisher, Tim Runk of CSS Publications, (who also produces and manages my website) for the publication of Volume Two of Children's Stories From The Village Shepherd. I hope you will be as impressed as I am by the cover picture, which clearly links to Volume One but is easily differentiated.

You can read the first few stories online by clicking here and following the links in the left hand column.

As in Volume One, each story is based on a particular gospel reading but is set in modern life or in the fantasy world of talking animals, fairies and pixies.

Originally written with All-Age Worship and Family Services in mind, the stories can be enjoyed by adults as well as children. This volume relates to year C - Luke's gospel - of the Revised Common Lectionary used by mainstream churches.

I do hope you enjoy the stories as much as I enjoyed writing them - and do keep looking out for Volume Three (year A, Matthew's gospel) - to be published in due course.

How things change

As a child, I can remember being astonished when we returned from a holiday and my parents sighed, saying, "Isn't it lovely to be home again!" I thought it was anything but lovely. I would have much preferred to be still playing in the sand, or swimming in the sea, or walking in the country.

That was then. This is now. And now I'm sighing with relief and saying, "Isn't it lovely to be home again!"

We had a great time in Lanzarote with our good friends, G&T, covering most of the island during our time there. The Grand Tour was a brilliant day out, taking us to the geo-thermal fire mountains in the National Park, the stunningly beautiful Jamios Del Agua cave area, the valley of palms, and the camel safari. And no, I did not ride a camel, merely took pictures of others.

We managed a lot of walking during the fortnight, so it really has been a kind of final rehabilitation for Ian, who has now signed up to play golf later this month.

Our youngest daughter (the one who lives in Belgium) was in residence upon our return home, so the homecoming was doubly welcome, and we had a fairly big family party last Saturday, which was exhausting but good.

Now the preparations are well in hand for Easter. I took a service on Sunday morning, have a service on Maundy Thursday evening (but playing golf in the morning) and have two services on Easter Day. Oh, and another family get-together on Saturday.

All in all, a great time, terrific to be home, but kind of looking forward to a return to normality.

P.S. A bit of good news - I should receive copies of my second volume of Children's Stories any day now - thank you, Tim.