-
Memoir: Windows
The window I looked up to the sky through had a cracked pane, the result of my dad flailing a cardigan at an irritating bluebottle. The cardigan had a penny in the pocket – one of those big old heavy pre-decimalisation pennies, blackened and worn smooth through countless transactions in tills and endless jostling against…
-
Carol Carman’s Writing Club Prompt: W is for Window
Despite Louise Hulland suggesting that after last week’s foreshadowing of car trouble, this week’s prompt should be ‘Winning the lottery’, it is, in fact, W for window. There’s plenty of scope for stories involving a window. Are you on the outside looking in, or inside looking out? Either way, what’s going on on the other…
-
Poem: Something Amiss in My Engine
There was something amiss in my engine: a new water pump needed, I thought; I booked my car into the garage – for a service, a see-to and sort. The message came back from the garage: your water pump’s fine – working well – And your motor now waits on our forecourt, it’s running as…
-
Carol Carman’s Writing Club Prompt: V is for Vehicle
Happy New Year, one and all. Writing Club across BBC in the East of England is off and running again, and this time your prompt is ‘vehicle’. According to the dictionary, vehicle is a general term for anything by means of which people or goods may be conveyed, although always more commonly used as a…
-
Short Fiction: Digging The Allotment
‘COPS HUNT MISSING ARISTO’ read one of the more down-market headlines. Ella didn’t need a newspaper to let her know what the police were doing. They were on her allotment, trashing a year’s worth of growing and tending as they searched for a body. She watched, raging but helpless, as they ripped up sweetcorn, climbing…
-
Carol Carman’s Writing Club Prompt: U is for Uniform
Lots of different people wear uniforms – not just the military services, but nurses, emergency services, police, commercial pilots, cabin crew, ground staff, some shop workers, posties, schoolchildren, restaurant staff, hotel workers, some construction workers, athletes… I’m sure you can think of more. You might say that standard business suits for both men and women…
-
Poem: Not An Inch Of Space
My daughter’s bedroom’s full of toys – There’s not an inch of space. And so I thought I’d clear some out And give them to a place Of charity, where others might Then take them home for play And raise a bit of money for A good cause on the way.
-
Carol Carman’s Writing Club Prompt: T is for Toy
We’ve all played with them, watched others play with them, seen them given or thrown away or bought them them in charity shops as well as toy stores. Sometimes we can’t bear to get rid of them, because they represent so much of our growing up and the fun of our younger, carefree selves. And…
-
Poem: Have A Look In The Chemist’s
We don’t just do prescriptions – we’ve many other things – We’ve pick-me-ups and calm-me-downs, we’ve bandages and slings. There’s ointment for your skin, hay fever tablets by the score; Warming creams and cooling gels for muscles feeling sore. We’ve syrups and we’ve powders to help with ’flu and cough; Body-building pills if you can…
-
Carol Carman’s Writing Club Prompt: S is for shop or shopping
S is for Shop. Anything to do with a shop, or shopping, or a shopkeeper – so there’s plenty to go at. It could be a character shopping for something special – how easy is it for them to get the perfect present? What could go wrong? Maybe your character hates shopping… does online shopping……