100 words for grown ups

This week the challenge was a picture:
All the details can be found over on Julia's blog at http://jfb57.wordpress.com/2012/11/05/100-word-challenge-for-grown-ups-week65/

At first I thought I might do something to do with the Ash dieback disease, but I couldn't possibly make light of what is such a potentially serious situation.
So instead I have used the picture to inspire some serious "Girl Power."

I have parent evenings coming up over the next three weeks so will be pretty busy with those and not sure how much time I will have to do the next couple of prompts. I recently sent the synopsis and first part of my nanowrimo to have some feedback from a publisher who were running a charity event .
(Further details here http://www.justgiving.com/MeetandCritiqueVintageBooks ) so am looking forward to hearing back from them with some pointers for improvement.

Other than that, my Grandfather has pretty much got up to the present day with recording his memoirs and I am busy typing up and getting into order. After parent evenings I am going to print out a draft for him to go through, then to get some copies bound. (I have never had anything made into a book - well only my dissertation a long time ago and I don't think that counts! Will be picking people's brains about how to go about getting A4 pages put into book size for binding...

Enough prevarication.
Here is my piece for the challenge.
You can read the rest at http://www.linkytools.com/wordpress_list.aspx?id=170427&type=basic


Comments/critiques welcomed.

Orange Spot

Muriel scrubbed her hands. “That’ll show them, bloomin 

beaurocrats !”  

The letter had  clattered through the letterbox  the previous morning.

“sustainable forestry... carefully selected.... replanting programme...”

 “Yaddayaddayadda.” She  tossed it into the stove. “I won’t let them, I’ll show’em!”

All her life she’d lived there, surrounded by  the trees she’d come to regard as friends.  They’d grown old together.

 Family gone, schoolmates  forgotten: each  tree held a secret from her past. Stolen kisses, sips of beer, engraved letters, the first time... she hugged her knees closer and laughed out loud.

 The truck rolled into view and she sat back to watch...

100 words ...returning...

I haven't done one of these for ages. Have been exceptionally busy since term started. (Goodness, how I hate that excuse! But I really have!) 

I have been working with my (92 year old) Grandfather to help him write his memoirs. Each week I visit him (he's in a nursing home) and download the next lot from the dictaphone. I then type it up before visiting him the following week and sorting out parts which I couldn't quite make out.

So far we have covered his war years and his working life as well as what he could remember from his childhood. It has been absolutely fascinating.

As we draw near present time I will have to embark on the editing process; so far I have been pretty much typing up verbatim. The aim is to eventually make it into an e-book for all the family to read and maybe to get a copy professionally bound for him (Thanks to the lovely SJ for that suggestion)

I am going to go through his photos and scan those in to be inserted at appropriate places and have also been adding links to elaborate on various things that he has mentioned.

Oh yes, been teaching my (enormous) mixed age class of 35 year 4 and 5's too!

And been starting to look through my nanowrimo I did in June to edit that.

Parents evenings are looming and I STILL haven't got the decorating done. 

But I am NOT bored which is always a good thing (in fact I don't think I can remember the last time i was bored to be honest. Sometime before becoming a parent perhaps?)

Anyway enough of that. I will endeavour to do some more of these as it is a great way to practise my writing. Still no luck with any competitions...

Here is this week's piece.

Link to Julia's place is http://jfb57.wordpress.com/tag/100wcgu/

Find the others at http://www.linkytools.com/wordpress_list.aspx?id=168507&type=basic

Mists of time

As the steam rose from her mug, June stared through the once clean windows . The pain would pass, they told her, we’ll keep in touch.

That had been in Spring.

Words spoken after her darling Doug had finally lost his battle.

Summer had been and gone, the pain remained sharp as ever.  Promised visits not made. “Call soon. Must dash. X ” the text had read.

 Autumn brought its muted hues, lace cobwebs jewelled with crane flies. A golden anniversary remembered alone.

A buzz from a drawer: “Plane booked. All 2gether 4 Christmas x”

And winter will bring them home.  

Thank you for reading. I will be on half term next week so will visit the rest then. I am hoping to put some sections of my nanowrimo on here; comments, as always, welcomed.

100 word challenge week 51

I haven't had much time these last few weeks with the end of term craziness that all teachers will be familiar with. 

And now summer has finally arrived and I am sitting in the garden, shaded by the parasol with the hum of bees in the fuchsia beside me, two contented cats sprawled out on the patio, a cloudless blue sky, a gentle breeze and a glass of Pimms  water (it's only just after four in the afternoon; far too early for that just yet!) by my side. 

I have just about managed to resist rereading my campnanowrimo piece just yet- leaving it for a while longer before some major editing and maybe then I will share some here as I would love some feedback.

I am very lucky to be heading off to the Dordogne at the end of the week- surrounded by vineyards and no wifi to be found. I have a notebook ready for writing in while I am away in between the pile of books I plan to read...

This week's prompt from Julia was …. the line was drawn …. 

all details at http://jfb57.wordpress.com/2012/07/23/100-word-challenge-for-grown-ups-week51/

Here is my contribution. Thanks for reading. Comments, as always, welcomed :)

You said what?

He stopped as though someone had pressed pause. His fork hovered between plate and mouth, spaghetti strands unwinding in slow motion before rejoining the others.

“You’re what?” he spluttered.

“You heard. I’m leaving.”

“You can’t. You’re nothing without me.” he placed his fork on the table adjusting it until it was at precisely 90 degrees to the table’s edge.

“It’s over.” she pushed the piece of paper across the table. He picked it up to see the line was drawn through their surname.

As she walked towards the door she ran her hand along the
 row of perfectly aligned pictures leaving each one askew.




Read the others at http://www.linkytools.com/wordpress_list.aspx?id=155445&type=basic

100 words for grown ups week 46

 This week the lovely Julia has set the challenge to include the words

...in the dark recess of my mind...

Read the full details over at http://jfb57.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/100-word-challenge-for-grown-ups-week46/#comment-11391

This week's effort is a little darker than my usual offerings.

I am still trying with the 50 000 words! Up to 27K. Am in a bit of a hole (rather a large one at the moment) so am going to the gym for my mile swim to see if that will get my mind whirring again. In the meantime, hope you enjoy.

Read the others at http://www.linkytools.com/wordpress_list.aspx?id=150162&type=basic

Turmoil.

It’s early morning and I can’t sleep.

 Again.

When I turn to look at him, I see the man I loved.  Those thick dark lashes  ( wasted on a man),  hair  falling carelessly across his eyes, ears with their crumpled edges from one too many rugby games.

I still love him in these moments.

Safe.

 But I know that today, in the dark recess of my mind, I will plan when to kill him. He has driven me to this. I know exactly what I need to do, but will I have the strength to go through with it?

Will I have the strength to walk away? 

100 words for grown ups week 43

This week the challenge set by Julia at  http://jfb57.wordpress.com/2012/05/21/100-word-challenge-for-grown-ups-week43/#comment-10744 is

….The flame flickered before….

I was thinking along the lines of the Olympic flame as I was amongst the crowds today cheering ! However, sitting enjoying the sunshine this afternoon a different idea started to flow so, here it is:

The right time

As Leanne reached for the bottle and her dress slipped ever-so-slightly, Grant knew it was the right time... “Are your parents home?”

“Not ‘til late.”

“Wanna...?”

She gently kissed him. Their picnic lay forgotten as they set off.

 The mid-afternoon sun found the empty bottle, its rays igniting the carelessly abandoned.  The flame flickered before stretching out its orange fingers. The discarded bottle’s label curled futilely away, edges turning golden. Wisps of grass and long shed remnants from overhead trees quickly consumed.  Fingers gained strength, spreading ceaselessly.

As the lovers lay entwined they were unaware of what was heading their way...

Read the rest at http://www.linkytools.com/wordpress_list.aspx?id=145885&type=basic

Thanks for reading. Comments and critiques welcomed. 

100 words week 38

Well, I am always up for a challenge and my goodness me Julia has pulled out all the stops this week. 
 (  http://jfb57.wordpress.com/2012/04/16/100-word-challenge-for-grown-ups-week38/ )

A sonnet!? After some reading up on the internet and dusting off the Shakespeare I really thought I wouldn’t be able to manage this. But, I haven’t got too tied up with trying to be fancy with the language, just tried to get the right number of lines and rhyme. I am not sure that the rhythm is  right, but it’s my first go at a sonnet so I’m  pleased that I gave it a go.

I am now going to have a look at the others- find them at http://www.linkytools.com/wordpress_list.aspx?id=139784&type=basic

I hope next week’s isn’t a poem!!

St George and the dragon- an attempt at a sonnet.

With you I’d like to share this tale of old:

When Fair England was in deepest despair.

A fearful dragon- water did withold

From the people whom he ate with out care.

(He soon had grown tired of feasting on sheep.)

Lots were drawn deciding who’d be the bait

Chosen ones tore out their hair and did weep
For the gruesome end that would be their fate.
When the King’s daughter was next for the chop,

Returned from the crusades a valiant knight .

George drew his sword , prayed to God, and cried “STOP!”

 The dragon could not overcome his might.

At last the fearful dragon had been slayed

And   that’s how our patron Saint George was made.

100 words for grown ups- another for the holidays

I enjoyed this week’s challenge so much that I thought I would try another one. There were so many that I enjoyed reading, but firefly Phil’s stood out . Maybe it was all those rabbits! 

http://fireflyphil.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/i-wonder-what/

Anyway, I have carried it on. As always, love to know what you think.

 I have been doing some writing this Easter for the 1000 flash fiction site http://1000words.org.uk/ I thought I would see if anything I submitted would be chosen for the blog... I thought it would be a useful exercise to see if anyone outside the 100WCGU group would be at all interested in my writing. If not, then I know I still have a VERY long way to go, and if so then I know I have even further to go if I want to stretch my writing beyond these 100word challenges!

In the meantime, here is my continuation of I Wonder What…

Alice has a surprise!

She headed towards the hole, stopping to think if it would be bad manners to arrive at a wedding, if of course it was a wedding, with neither invitation NOR gift. As she thought, the edge of the hole gave way and she fell, landing with a bump at the paws of a VERY cross looking white rabbit. "We're late!"

 Hand in paw she was taken to the quaintest church imaginable, with  a colony of rabbits filling the pews. “How splendid!”

To her dismay, the rabbit kept pulling her towards the altar.

 "All rise!"

 Alice’s legs turned to jelly as she realised this was HER wedding...

But, to whom?

100 words for grown ups week 37

This week’s prompt was to use one of last week’s pieces !

All the information can be found at Julia’s page http://jfb57.wordpress.com/2012/04/02/100-word-challenge-for-grown-ups-week-37/

I had been wondering how to choose which to do (in a moment of madness thought I might try them all, but life takes over!) but Julia took that dilemma away by asking each person to do the one after theirs. So that meant I was to finish off Lisa’s  (find it at http://lisawieldswords.wordpress.com/2012/03/27/the-continuing-adventures-of-alice-100wcgu/)

To be honest I felt pretty nervous about continuing hers- if you haven’t visited her blog do so as it is great.

But nothing ventured, nothing gained. Here is this week’s piece. Lisa, hope you like where I took it.

 Alice and the King

“Now, there just must be a way.” thought Alice.

 Alice crossed her fingers before taking a tentative hold of the purple moss. “How doth the shining crocodile...” she murmured, not looking down.

She scrambled up to find herself face to face with both the King of Hearts and the white rabbit!

“Oh my dear, dear girl, how marvellous to see you. You’re just in time.”

“In time for what, your majesty?” Alice curtseyed politely.

“Let’s begin from the end shall we?” replied the King, patting a plump patch of moss into shape. “The Queen has indeed lost her head this time...”

100 words for grown ups week 36

This week's challenge from the talented Julia (http://jfb57.wordpress.com/2012/03/26/100-word-challenge-for-grown-ups-week-36/ )

 has a real twist to it-

"Now for this week’s prompt. As you know I like to be topical so I’m thinking Easter. However, I’m thinking a little outside the box! The prompt is quite simple but the trick this week is to prepare for NEXT week!

I want you to write a piece with

….‘What was the rabbit late for,’ wondered Alice…..

in it. You have 100 words making a total of 108. However, the last 10 words are going to be used to start a piece by someone else next week!! Good eh! The idea isn’t mine – it came from Winchester House School"

I LOVE Lewis Carroll's works- they are so deliciously crazy and use language in a way I could only dream about. I used Jabberwocky to inspire a previous post ( http://mrshalford.blogspot.co.uk/2011/08/100-word-challenge-for-grown-ups-week-7.html ) 

I have tried to write in a similar style for this challenge. Check out the others at: http://www.linkytools.com/wordpress_list.aspx?id=137743&type=basic

Alice returns...

The sun was shining magnificently. You may think this unsurprising, but as it was the middle of the night , Alice knew something tremendous was afoot. It had been so long since last she went.  Her mind filled with memories of grinning cats, pipe-smoking caterpillars,  babies which turned to pigs. Or had it been the other way around? And what about that dear dormouse? And what was  the rabbit late for? wondered Alice. Taking a deep breath she stepped through the looking glass back into a world she knew so well. However, things did not seem to be quite the same...

100 words for grown ups

This week's prompt is at http://jfb57.wordpress.com/2012/03/05/100-word-challenge-for-grown-ups-week-33/ and returns to a picture prompt.
Tricky one this week that I wasn't sure how to approach.
After a few failed efforts this is what I have come up with



Sea horse

Casually, she picked up the discarded pieces, her collection ever changing, not long treasured. Never-ceasing undulations smoothed away the roughness leaving muted hues of cream and grey.

Expelled-some in a whisper, others with a roar. Exposed to the elements, stripped bare ,picked clean, desiccated. To a casual observer, no more than flotsam and jetsam, but to the artist- building blocks for his craft.

Painstakingly collected, assembled, twisted, layered, woven. Complex forms created from nature's throw aways.

What was lost, overlooked, cast away ...is now looked upon, admired, celebrated.
The artist's task is done....




Find the rest at http://www.linkytools.com/wordpress_list.aspx?id=134366&type=basic

100 words for grown ups

This week the prompt is, "Take a leap of faith." http://jfb57.wordpress.com/2012/02/27/100-word-challenge-for-grown-ups-week32/

 Here's mine: 

“It’s no good, I can’t go through with it. “

“Yes you can, love, this time it’ll be different, it will work out.”

“But I’m so scared, what if it doesn’t? What if it turns out like before? I just can’t go through that all again.”

“No one knows what the future holds darling, but he’s not the same. He’s one of the good guys- he adores you, you light up when you’re together; I’ve never known you so happy. “

“Really?”

“Of course. Believe me, this is the right thing to do. Come on, it’s time.”

I know that lady...

Find the rest at http://www.linkytools.com/wordpress_list.aspx?id=132006&type=basic

100 word challenge week 30

This week, Julia has opened the challenge up both to adults and children. Yippee- I have done one for the class blog and am very much hoping this will inspire lots more of the children to take part. I don't believe in MAKING the children do it  and wont have time to do it in class time . Rewarding and encouraging those who take part and giving them time in school to go on the blog is the approach I am taking.
 Working part time, it is certainly more difficult to keep the blog high profile, but there has been a steady growth in children's and parent's interest. To be honest, even if just one child benefited from it I would do it. Many more than that use the blog so I will keep plodding away!
Anyway, I was a bit nervous about sharing this blog with my class - as a teacher I am always careful about what I write, but after talking to several people whose opinion I value, I decided to do a separate one on the class blog.
It's such a fab prompt though that I'm doing one here too :D

 The shared prompt is …it wasn’t my fault… All the details are on Julia's page at http://jfb57.wordpress.com/2012/02/06/100-word-challenge-for-grown-ups-week-30/

If you're interested in having a look at my class blog it is www.classash.primaryblogger.co.uk My entry can be found at http://classash.primaryblogger.co.uk/2012/02/07/100-word-challenge-5/

All the ones the class do will be linked to the children's 100WC page.

Anyway, enough digression.
Here is my post for the challenge:

"Mama, it hurts!" wailed Charles.

“Let me see my dear."

Gingerly, he opened his hand revealing an angry blister.  Trembling slightly, she kissed away his tears marvelling at his impossibly long eyelashes. “MARTHA!”

“Yes Ma'am, how...” Martha  stopped. “I was watching him, he was quick as an eel, slipped into the fireplace, it wasn't my fault.”

“Enough!” scolded Mama, “Take him to nurse and have her bandage his hand. We shall talk anon.”

As she swept out of the room, Charles looked triumphantly at Martha. In his other hand was what he’d plucked from the fire. Her face blanched when she saw it.

100 words for grown ups week 26

This week the challenge was 5 words- Aghast  Aquamarine  Aeroplane  Acted  After    to be used within a creative piece.

My first idea was to do a ten 0'clock news report but I couldn't get it quite right, so have gone for a news report instead.

All the details can be found on Julia's blog at 

http://jfb57.wordpress.com/2012/01/09/100-word-challenge-for-grown-ups-week-26/

These are such fun to do and have made me realise just how hard it can be to come up with ideas! I often talk to my class about doing these and have shared many of them with the children when we have been writing on similar themes. It has certainly made me much more understanding of the child who sits in class and says, "But I just don't know what to write!" It doesn't happen too often, but when it does I make sure that I have provided plenty of prompts and quality examples of writing. I love all the Pie Corbett resources and try to incorporate lots of the "Talk for writing" strategies into my teaching to empower the children.

Anyway, I digress.

Here is my effort at this week's prompt. 

I'm going to read the others at http://www.linkytools.com/wordpress_list.aspx?id=124425&type=basic

Dangerous  creature on the loose

Residents of Kensington were aghast to find their well tended gardens in disarray after an uninvited creature visited and acted inappropriately towards their prized pets. Witnesses have described a lizard-like creature, the size of a large family dog.

At the time of writing there are no photographs. Here is our artistic interpretation:

This creature should be easy to spot with its bright aquamarine skin. However, for safety, residents have been advised not to approach it , but to call the police. How it came to be here remains a mystery; perhaps concealed amongst baggage on an aeroplane or freight ship.