Hello everyone! Cheers for the coffee Larry and so glad all went well at the hospital. As lovely Elizabeth says, only you could stay chipper under the pandemic circumstances.

Thanks for the cookies, Sara!

And Anna, that is a conundrum about your mum's house. I do hope it all works out and can get sorted somehow.

Good to catch up with everyone's news! Welcome, lovely Tonya and lovely Linda! Good to see you here. And lovely to have you popping in, Helen.

Sara, your latest Scamp story is on my reading list!!

I'm in the UK, like Helen, so it's lockdown here. I've been self-isolating for the past few days anyway so the only change is that I won't get out for my daily walk. I'll continue to dance around the living room though!

I'm very lucky that N. Ireland is a very kind and friendly place and I've been overwhelmed with offers from neighbours and friends for shopping etc, which is heartwarming.

Take good care all!

I'll grab a coffee here to wake me up!

Thanks for the St Patrick's Day treats, Sara! Feels very odd with no celebrations here.

Things are gradually closing down here too and I'll just do one more grocery shop before self-isolation. At least we can still walk by the sea, for the time being.

Stay safe and well, all! And a very happy birthday, Bill. Hope you get to see your wife in hospital soon.

Hi everyone!

Just popping on to catch up with all your news and glad that despite the stresses and strains of this virus, everyone is just about keeping okay. *hugs*

I help myself to a lemon and ginger tea and one of Sara's delicious cookies.

Morning all! I'm at a dancing weekend here and have made it through two evening parties and a full day of workshops. Just one more day of workshops to go before I stagger home this evening and collapse in a heap!

I'll get the coffee going and snag one of Sara's biccies while I'm at it! :)

Thanks for the delicious cookies, Sara! I'll make a pot of coffee to go with them!

The wind has (temporarily) dropped from 40 mph to 20-odd today, so I might even get put for a walk today before we get another battering of 50 mph winds tomorrow!

Great to catch up with everyone's news! Gill, I hope you have a great weekend away by the sea and just relax! (hugs)

I'll grab a coffee here and one of Sara's delicious cookies. You look after us is well!

I thoroughly enjoyed your latest story, as well as Elizabeth's too!

After the hoovering, I'll be trying to get a bit of writing done while being distracted by the rugby on the telly! Have a lovely Saturday, everyone!

Happy Monday, everyone!

Storm Dennis is still blowing away outside, but should calm down later - so we only have 40 mph winds due for the rest of the week!

However, there's no complaining since we've been very lucky. Those poor people flooded out in Wales, Yorkshire and other areas have really had it tough! :(

I'll grab a coffee here. :)

My word, that's a range and a half of cookies, Sara!

Bill, GG sounds like a sweetheart!

And I'm sure Victor isn't very keen on the snow, Larry!

I'll gave a ginger and lemon tea before bedtime here, and I might snag a cookie with it. :)

Great to catch up with everyone's news! Hello Larry and Elizabeth! *hugs*

Thanks for the recipe, Sara and hope the new story goes well, Scott!

Anna, fingers crossed your story will find a proper publication home and thanks for the nudge about Gypsy's new writing challenge, Bill!

Know what you mean about getting in a rut cooking wise, Gill. I made a sweet potato gratin with peanut butter and lime that went down very well with guests last week. Always a good sign when people ask for the recipe!

At our local swimming pool, you can clearly perceive the pattern of the school year, especially during the holidays. It gets markedly busier at half terms and the Easter break and even at Christmas (if parents really don’t know what to do with their children on a bad day weather-wise, having steadily worked through all the seasonal movies in the nearby multiplex)! These are brief flurries...

Added 21 Sep 2019 | Category Musings | Votes 11 | Avg Score 5 | Views 275 | 12 Comments

“You’re planning on doing WHAT ?” Isabella exclaimed, her voice emerging higher and louder than she expected, but her startled outburst had little or no effect on her group of friends. The men of the party, Luke and Marius, who were normally so protective of their female companions, just grinned at Aelia and Zenobia, who looked pleased with themselves and quietly excited. “But one of...

Added 30 Dec 2018 | Category Young Adult | Votes 11 | Avg Score 5 | Views 456 | 9 Comments

John strode across the bustle of Piccadilly, the wide road alive with people even at this late hour. He was glad to turn his steps towards home and to disappear into the huddle of dark streets that was Soho. He felt more at ease here in the shadows than he did in the melee of the West End. There, flaming torches lit the way, gilding the streets with an orange glow leading towards the...

Added 20 Oct 2018 | Category Supernatural | Votes 9 | Avg Score 5 | Views 460 | 9 Comments

London, Spring 1816 He clearly remembered when he first became aware of a hint of unease; a sense of otherworldly darkness. Before then in his life, of course, he had moments of disquiet in terms of worry and fretting, but they were normal daylight concerns. He remembered as if from a great distance his medical training in the cool grey light of Edinburgh, his careful studies on...

Added 27 Sep 2018 | Category Supernatural | Votes 11 | Avg Score 5 | Views 414 | 10 Comments

Kate stumbled down the neatly raked path, her glasses steamed up with the heat of raw emotion and half-blinded by tears. She trusted she would find her way to her favourite spot in the Walled Garden if she were blindfolded, or even in the pitch dark. That was if the entrance hadn’t been barred by solid metal doors at nighttime. It was as though she was led by a homing device to her place...

Added 09 May 2018 | Category Romance | Votes 7 | Avg Score 5 | Views 409 | 9 Comments

Perched on a craggy outcrop, staring out to sea, the priest opened his mind and his heart to God. In such wild and lonely places, he felt closest to his Maker and His divine word. He was not a young man, and knew his role as a travelling preacher, bringing God’s message to those isolated enough to be those starved of it, would not last forever. Previously, he could put in a day’s march in...

Added 21 Feb 2018 | Category Young Adult | Votes 5 | Avg Score 5 | Views 473 | 5 Comments

Dancin’ the blues Is a complicated business; First, you focus on the rhythm, Then you try to feel How your partner moves, Fumbling to sway with his groove: Most of all, you strain to blend with All the glory of That music, In three or four pressurised minutes, When you concentrate intensely On all these elements.   If you can surrender To the beat, your partner, That music, ...

Added 05 Dec 2017 | Category Poetry | Votes 11 | Avg Score 5 | Views 527 | 10 Comments

...