MFTS – Hedge Attack!
Here is my contribution to Mondays Finish the Story, hosted by Barbara Beacham. This week it is using my opening line!
We get around 150 words to finish the story based on an opening sentence (in bold in my story) and a photo.
To read the other stories, click on the blue froggy.
Copyright BW Beacham
The barista shook his head. That hedge couldn’t have moved closer overnight. Could it?
The next day it was half-way to the door. The barista rubbed his eyes but said nothing, fearing that the madness that had inflicted his late grandfather was taking hold.
Two days later, they were in the shop! Now everybody noticed. The barista’s relief that his sanity was intact was short-lived, however, as the hedge slithered towards him.
“Wha… what do you want?” he screeched, trembling.
“How rude!” said one of the hedge-people.
“Whatever happened to ‘Good morning, may I take your order’?” muttered another.
“Cappuccinos all round!” said a third. The barista breathed a sigh of relief. “And one more thing…” (the barista’s heart thumped in his chest) “… a plate of blueberry muffins!” The barista smiled and filled their order. All that worry and panic over nothing.
At their table, the hedge-people were talking.
“Lovely coffee, that!”
“Lovely. Delicious muffins!”
“Delicious! Right, everyone finished? Good. Okay, let’s kill these hedge-trimming human bastards. Who’s got the Huge Ball of Destruction?”
Lydford Gorge
Last week I went on a trip to Lydford Gorge, in Devon. Yes, I summoned up my courage and crossed the border! I took over 160 photos so I’ve chosen a few and put most of them into a slideshow, otherwise this would be a huge post.
It has a “spectacular” waterfall. Niagara Falls, eat your heart out.
One more, then we’ll slideshow the rest.
Sharing My World 2015 Week 26
It’s time once again to Share My World, courtesy of Cee over at her photography blog.
In a car would you rather drive or be a passenger?
Generally I’d rather drive. Possibly it’s a control thing. Though I don’t like driving to new places, especially big/busy places. It is nice once in a while to be a passenger so I can take in the scenery, but if it’s a long journey I’d definitely want to drive. I quite enjoy driving which I guess is why I spend so much each month on a fun car to drive.
If you were handed free opera tickets, would you go or sell them? Why?
I guess I’d go just to see what it was like. I went to see “Carmen” as a child at an open air theatre in Cornwall, but I don’t remember much. To be honest opera singing generally sounds like screeching to me and winds me up, but this sort of thing is often better when experienced live.
Describe your own outlook on life in seven words or less. (NOTE: does not necessarily have to be a sentence.)
Battle through it. You’ll be dead soon.
Hmm. That came out darker than I expected. How about:
Live life and be happy. Party on!
Which would you prefer: a wild, turbulent life filled with joy, sorrow, passion, and adventure–intoxicating successes and stunning setbacks; or a contented bordering on happy, secure, predictable life surrounded by friends and family without such wide swings of fortune and mood?
Content, predictable, routine. No surprises, please!
5 Day Challenge – First Draft
This is the final post of the Five Day Challenge, which Gill over at In Touch with Emma nominated me for. The rules are:
“Post a photo each day for five consecutive days and attach a story to the photo. It can be fiction or non-fiction, a poem or a short paragraph (and each day nominate another blogger for the challenge – I’m not doing that bit).”
This is very exciting – an early draft of the “rose by any other name” speech from Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet has been discovered. As you can see, it’s very rough, and shows that even the great bard didn’t always get it right the first time.
No roses here (my front garden last week)
That which we call a rose
By any other name may not be a rose
As with ‘nother name
‘Tis reasonable to assume
May not be a rose at all
But some pretender flower
And may or may not smell as sweet
Depending ‘pon its genus. Forsooth.
A note in the margin shows the bard’s disgust at what he has just written:
Gadzooks! ‘Tis a paltry verse I hath writ. Needs work methinks, lest mine agent leteth me go, yea verily!
That’s it for the challenge! Normal service will now be resumed. And I don’t think you can libel someone who’s dead but just in case, this is all made up!
5 Day Challenge – Odd Jobs
Odd Jobs. No, not this guy.
Picture from 007james.com
This is Day Four of the Five Day Challenge, which Gill over at In Touch with Emma nominated me for. The rules are:
“Post a photo each day for five consecutive days and attach a story to the photo. It can be fiction or non-fiction, a poem or a short paragraph (and each day nominate another blogger for the challenge – I’m not doing that bit).”
I have two photos for you today.
Ever since I moved in, the grill in my cooker has been a bit iffy and finally it broke. Then a couple of weeks ago the oven broke as well, leaving only the hob functional. But you can’t cook a pizza on the hob :-(. So here is my new cooker. I’ve helpfully labelled the different sections.
(a) – Chilli heating section
(b) – Cheese grilling apparatus
(c) – Pizza cooking compartment
I also needed to fix one of the steps leading to my house. So armed with some quick-drying mortar and tools borrowed for here and there, I gave it a go. My first ever attempt at such a job! It’s not very neat, but my main aim was to make sure it was solid so I smeared the mortar everywhere.
Job done :-).
5 Day Challenge – Serenity
It’s Day Three of the five photos and stories in five days challenge, which Gill over at In Touch with Emma nominated me for. The rules are:
“Post a photo each day for five consecutive days and attach a story to the photo. It can be fiction or non-fiction, a poem or a short paragraph (and each day nominate another blogger for the challenge – I’m not doing that bit).”
A little Haiku (or Haiku-like poem) for today. This is another photo taken at Lydford Gorge.
From source to destination
Flow with serenity
Follow your calm
Kidz in Luv
Here is my story for Friday Fictioneers, hosted by Rochelle. This week’s photo was contributed by Jean L. Hays.
I have attempted to recreate the language of the “youff of today”. Unfortunately I’m (ahem ahem) years too old, and when I was a kid, kids didn’t talk like this. Maybe they still don’t!
(I’ve made a reference in my story – it is said that when the apes leave the Rock of Gibraltar, so will the British, so it implies the end of something.)
To read this week’s other contributions, click on the blue froggy.
Copyright Jean L. Hays
“Yo, bitches, get gone, I need ta talk ta ma girl!”
All but one of the girls gave her a surly look and moved away.
“So, girl, wuzzup? What dis ‘bout yo man Jazz?”
“Me ‘n Jazz still good, yo. Why, what ya heard?”
“Seen, girl. Seen. I seen Jazz wiv his old squeeze, and dey look happy.”
“No way! Me ‘n Jazz is solid! Solid like da Rock o’ Gibraltar, ya dig me?”
“Da monkeys is leavin’ da Rock. You got ya head in da sand, girl.” She walked away, shaking her head. “Head in da sand.”
5 Day Challenge – DraliTips for Your Bathroom
Here I am with Day 2 of the Five Day challenge. Gill at In Touch With Emma nominated me, and the rules are:
“Post a photo each day for five consecutive days and attach a story to the photo. It can be fiction or non-fiction, a poem or a short paragraph (and each day nominate another blogger for the challenge – I’m not doing that bit).”
I’m also posting this in response to Marilyn’s challenge over at Serendipity, which is weekly and is also to post a story, or some words, accompanying a photo.
Today, DraliTips is proud to present some help on cleaning your bathroom. I have managed to take a fairly neutral picture of my bathroom, and it has just been cleaned after all!
- First, and most important, don’t leave it for months between cleans. It’s amazing how long it takes if you do that! Clean that sucker even when you don’t have your parents visiting.
- Once your shower curtain has achieved more than 50% mould cover, replace it. See my lovely new shower curtain? Nice.
- That hard-to-reach black mould above the shower? Leave it alone. You’ll only hurt yourself trying to reach it, and it’s perfectly harmless(a)!
- Before you start, be sure to don the appropriate protective gear. Gloves, goggles and an apron are a must. Some form of breathing apparatus is also recommended.
- Though it is tempting, do not use your toothbrush to clean the grouting between the tiles. It will make it taste funny! Use someone else’s instead.
- Above all, have fun! Remember, look after your bathroom and it will look after you.
(a) May not be perfectly harmless.
5 Day Challenge – Stairway To Heaven
Gill over at In Touch With Emma challenged me a few days ago to post a photo for five consecutive days and to write something to go along with it. Here is the blurb:
“Post a photo each day for five consecutive days and attach a story to the photo. It can be fiction or non-fiction, a poem or a short paragraph and each day nominate another blogger for the challenge.”
I’m not going to nominate anyone (feel free to join in) but I will attempt the challenge. Five consecutive days? We shall see…
This picture was taken today at Lydford Gorge, in Devon. For Day 1 I’ll write a little story.
Stairway To Heaven
Paul Jeffries (recently deceased) looked at the glowing figure. The glowing figure looked back.
Paul Jeffries (recently deceased) looked down at his bullet-riddled recently deceased body. His bullet-riddled recently deceased body looked back sightlessly through milky eyes.
“So I’m dead then,” said Paul.
“Yup,” replied the glowing figure. “Looks that way.” He regarded Paul’s body. “Looks like it was painful.”
“Hurt like a bitch,” said Paul, shuddering his insubstantial shoulders at the memory. “Hey, are you smirking?”
“Um…” said the glowing figure, quickly covering its mouth with its hand.
“So, you’re an angel?” asked Paul. He couldn’t help noticing that the glowing figure’s eyes had a somewhat red glow to them.
“Um…” said the glowing figure, and quickly changed the subject. “Say, look at this!” He gesticulated and a stairway appeared. “It’s your Stairway to Heaven. Off you go!”
Paul regarded the Stairway suspiciously. “So, and I acknowledge that I may not wish to know the full answer to this question, if that’s a Stairway to Heaven, why is it going DOWN?”
“Um…” said the glowing figure.
MFTS – Cruel and Unusual
Here is my story for Barbara Beacham’s Mondays Finish the Story. The supplied opening sentence is in bold in my story, and to read this week’s other contributions, click on the blue froggy.
Copyright B. W. Beacham
The Mayor and the town manager waved as their next victim approached.
But Agent Simon Wilkins had come prepared. He’d seen what had happened to the others who’d received an invitation. They wandered around town with dead eyes, occasionally clutching their heads screaming, “No more, please, no more!” before slipping once more into a listless half-dead state.
Simon adjusted his body armour. At the small of his back was a handgun. He had antidotes to every mind and mood-altering chemical known. He’d get to the bottom of this.
“Come in, dear boy, come in!” said the mayor jovially. Simon followed the mayor into his study where the town manager was waiting.
“Please, sit down,” said the mayor. Simon steeled himself, ready for action as the manager dimmed the lights.
As night fell, Simon lurched out of the house. Tears trickled from dead eyes as he joined the other townspeople in living death. Not even his Special Forces training had prepared him for five hours of the mayor’s holiday snap slide-show, with running commentary.
Click for a random post!
Woohoo!
I totally didn't win!
Share Your World
Friday Fictioneers
draliman on life 