 It's finally here! The last day of the 31 January Challenges. First of all, I would like to thank everyone involved in the event- I've had a blast! The organisation was superb and the challenges were interesting and varied. I would also like to say thank to all the participants who joined in especially those who took the time to comment on my challenges. I appreciated it. I hope that you all enjoyed this event as much as I did! Today's challenge was to pass on/to forward the idea of being creative to help people to beat the lockdown blues, so here are a few of my ideas to do just that! I have designed a poster which I will tie to a gateway, which I pass, on one of my daily walks with suggestions of what people could do on their walk. I am going to ask my local take-away café if I can display a poster on their notice board suggesting activities that could be done at home to beat the lockdown blues. I will continue to advertise my website, on Facebook which contains lots of different ideas for children as well as adults to encourage them to start writing. It also contains suitable home-schooling activities. I have asked my daughter and a couple of friends to try out one of my ideas as well. As for me I'm changing tactics and concentrating on FUN FIT FEBRUARY where I am challenging myself to do a 30minute workout everyday during the month. Wish me luck!
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Well, today's challenge had me thinking but as soon as an idea popped into my head another one quickly followed. Today, I had to hide a piece of writing so that another person could find it! My first idea was to hide a children's story inside a tree where a tiny fairy grove had been established by some local children. My husband and I have added to the grove in the past by placing fairy doors and dwarf figures to create a tiny village. So I hid a children's story in a hole half way up the tree trunk. Here's the story: Swinging on a Tyre. I sneezed! The dust from the old photograph album tickled my nose. I peered inside. Carefully I turned the delicate pages full of black and white photographs still glossy after all those years. I stopped at one page near the middle. There were four photographs and one empty space. I laughed. The funny looking boy dressed in old-fashioned clothes must have been my Dad when he was my age. He was standing near an old tree on top of a hill. Next to him, hanging by a rope, was a tyre. "A rope swing!" I thought with glee. "My Dad had a rope swing!" The photograph was over bright in the corner so the sun must have been shining brightly. I glanced over to the next photograph. Dad was sitting on the tyre, holding the rope tightly. It was a lovely picture. He had a huge grin on his face. I felt as if I could feel the wind on my face. He must have had a brilliant time on that swing. My eyes followed the small, dotted arrows, which were printed in the album down to the next picture. "Oh. No!" I thought. The rope was snapping. Tiny loose threads could be clearly seen as the edges of the rope frayed. Dad hadn't noticed. I wondered if the person, who had taken this picture, probably Grandad, had shouted a warning to him. I could imagine the worry on my Grandad's face as he saw the rope snap! Photograph number four showed Dad flying yet still standing on the tyre. His facial expression had changed. "He's frightened!" I whispered to myself in the quiet of the attic. My six-foot Dad who no one could knock down. My Dad who had protected me all my life was scared. Somehow this photograph made me love him even more. The space next to this photograph was empty. Tiny specks of dried glue were visible. I wondered what had happened next. Dad's voice broke into my thoughts. "Tom," he shouted. "It's time for tea." I closed the book and rushed downstairs thinking, "I can't wait to find out!" Sue Westcott (C.) 2021 My second thought was to hide my writing inside a book. My local café (takeaway only) The Malaga Drift has a borrow, lend and swap bookshelf so I decided to return some of the books that I had borrowed and in each of them place a short humorous piece of writing so that when someone borrowed the book they would find the writing.  Here's the writing:
A little bit of fun! Annie Says! My friend Annie was telling me all about a book that she was reading on Charles 1. It was a terrible time; what with all the trouble between the Catholics and the Prostitutes! Annie was telling me about her neighbour’s bad legs. Luckily, he’s got a nobility badge for his car! Annie told me about her granddaughter’s prom. She was lucky; she was picked up in an American limon-squeeze! Sue Westcott (C.) 2021  Today's challenge was to write a recipe for happiness in the form of a poem. Now, sometimes I like to think outside the box, so although writing a poem is usually something that I would enjoy doing, I decided to think of something else. I discussed this with my husband and he said, "Why don't you think of things that make you happy." I wrote a list, and going on holiday came near the top! So, I decided to pack a bag!   I liked the idea of this challenge and looking at some of the ones already posted others did too!
I had to write a mundane conversation between two people and then, add the subtext of what really was going on in their minds, as they talked to each other. So here is the mundane conversation: Boy: Hi! Girl: Hi! Boy: I was just …erm… Girl: Yes? Boy: I was just wondering if… Girl: Yes? Boy: I was just wondering if you’d… Girl: Yes! Boy: I was just wondering if you’d finished your history homework? Girl: Oh! Yes, I have! And here it is with the sub-text: Boy: Hi! She’s so pretty! Girl: Hi! OMG! He’s actually going to speak to me! Boy: I was just …erm… I should just ask her. She’ll most probably say no! Girl: Yes? Come on please. I’ve been waiting for my whole life for this- just ask me! Boy: I was just wondering if… No! I can’t. I’m such a dork! She’s way out of my league! Girl: Yes? Come on- you are so cute, so just ask me and I promise I’ll say yes. Boy: I was just wondering if you’d… Take a deep breath! Go out with me sometime! Oh no, someone ‘s coming! Abort! Abort! Girl: Yes! Oh, here it comes, keep calm, be cool! Whatever you do, don’t overreact! Boy: Erm… Too late! Girl: I’m sorry what did you say? Who’s that? Go away! Oh, just go away! Boy: I was just wondering if you’d finished your history homework? DORK! Girl: Oh! Yes, I have! ARRGH!  Today's challenge was to write a letter. There were so many people to choose from that I dithered! Then I read a little bit further into the challenge and it was suggested that the letter might be to oneself. So that is the one I decided to tackle. You might find it little sentimental but hey- ho I went with the flow!
Dear Sue, I can’t remember the last time that I wrote to you, but I just wanted to check in on you and tell you how I think you’ve been doing over the years. Firstly, you were lucky to grow up in a loving family, with parents and a sister who over the years have always been there for you when you have needed them. You managed, after hard work, to obtain the O levels and A levels you needed to acquire you a place at teacher training college. Here you found your true vocation and I can remember how delighted you were when you graduated and then found yourself a teaching job! For the next 39 years you were a successful teacher, loving the time spent working with such incredible human beings. Children are often misrepresented, and you know that they have so much to offer, so much potential and that they are a joy to work with. You thoroughly enjoyed you time in the teaching profession. Sure, there were rough times as it is a highly stressful and difficult job, and the workload was hard, but you stuck too it and made good friends in the process as well encouraging pupils to succeed. As a young woman, you were again truly fortunate to have met and married your lovely husband who has been your rock over the years and has been, as a lot of people have observed, ‘the love of the life!’ 46 years and still counting! Looking back, you will feel justifiably proud of your daughter who has exceeded any expectations that you may have had of her. With magnificent GCSE and A level results she attended university, where she earned her master’s degree in a field predominantly filled by men. You must surely be happy that she now has a stable life, owns a car, a house and two delightful cats! She has a good set of friends and hobbies and she is happy which is what you always wanted for her. She is and always will be the best thing that ever happened to you and your lovely husband. When you sit and read this letter I hope that you remember the good times you and your loved ones have had and how you were able to have some incredible holidays and visit so many different countries and interesting places. You should be thankful also for a close -knit band of friends. The meals, the evenings out and the time spent together which I am sure you have enjoyed tremendously. I know that you are passionate about reading and it is one of your major past- times and writing is another of your loves. I hope that you continue with both and maybe just maybe you might want to think about adding more exercise into your hobby list. (Just joking!) I know that in life there are many tribulations, trials, and difficult times but I thought that you might like to reflect on the good aspects of the life that you have lived and realise that all in all, you have had a fantastic time so far on this earth and I just wanted you to know that you should be feeling blessed and grateful for all the goodness that has come your way over the past 66 years! I hope that my letter reaches you and that you are keeping well, and I hope that you will continue to look after yourself in the coming years. I wish you all the best for a long and healthy life! Love always, Sue I've had a busy day today, shopping, cleaning, baking and starting to sort out one of my over stuffed cupboards, that, I haven't had time to work on today's challenge. So, I've kind of cheated. The challenge was called, 'A Patch In Time' and I had to think of a badge or patch which showed a period of my life. Early this morning, I had ideas buzzing around my head but as the day progressed, no time to create a fun new piece. However, fortunately for me in my endeavours to bring some order to basket upon basket of papers, I found a certificate awarded to me by Year 6 children from my school. I was a teacher for nearly 40 years and 34 of them were spent at the same school. I loved being a teacher and loved working with children so being awarded a certificate, which was presented to me during a whole school assembly was very much appreciated. The words on the the award touched me deeply as I had always tried to bring a little bit of fun into the classroom. My class motto had always been, 'Laugh a little-Learn a lot!'  As I have already stated on my last challenge, I am not an artist and my creative artistry is limited, so I struggled with this challenge. Thankfully, my talented husband came to the rescue and created for me 'sock dog!'  I chose a short and sweet option today for my challenge called freestyle. I had to set a time for between 5 and 10 minutes and then do anything creative I felt like doing in that time. I decided to get a piece of paper and some felt tips and voila! A piece of doodle art!   For this challenge I decided to reverse the roles of the prince and the princess and re tell the story from one of the other main character’ s point of view.
To say that I was disgruntled is an understatement! There I was developing nicely in the nursery garden, my lovely green sweetness ripening, when I was plucked, nay tweaked, twisted, tugged, and pulled out of my cosy bed just to be swept away into the dark gloomy room of the palace kitchen. I left behind the light bright sunshine and my fellow bed-mates. Once inside I was washed, swirled, twirled nay whirled around under a stream, gush, nay torrent, of icy cold water. “Would this torture never end?” I agonised, as my round plumpness began to swell. I was placed onto a cloth and laid out in all my nakedness for all to see. There were quite of few of us I must say, drying off in the confines of the steamy kitchen. I had given up all hope and was just about ready to expire when suddenly, there she was! The most brilliant light in the world. A mess of golden curls, blue piercing eyes like dewdrops from lavender bluebells. She glided over the roughhewn cobblestones bringing magic and breathlessness with her. She paused and elegantly bent over the dazzling array of green and then quite unexpectedly, she clapped her delicate porcelain hands together and squealed with joy. “Oh, this is the one I must have!” she said, her voice tinkling with moonbeams across the crowded kitchen. Suddenly, there was hustle and a bustle as favoured underlings hurried, nay scurried, to do her bidding. I had been given the honour of being selected to accompany this vision of ethereal beauty out of the dismal, dingy abode. I was placed reverently into a golden bowl and raised, lifted, nay elevated up and carried with all pomp and ceremony out of the kitchen towards my destiny. I shivered, quivered, nay vibrated with joy and excitement as I was transferred to my lovely’s apartments. They were sumptuous, luxurious, and here I was to remain. My princess spoke again and as she tenderly caressed me, her gentle hands stroked, and her sweet breath hovered over me. She lay me down inside a soft hollow of warmth. “Night, night, my saviour!” she whispered. “Please do your job well.” And as I relaxed and basked in her afterglow, I felt the first sense of fear, as a heavy cloud descended over me, locking out the light. I was stilled, subdued nay banished into a grey world which deepened as heavier and heavier clouds were loaded nay heaved upon my fragile spherical body until all the doom and gloom in the world shrouded my existence. It was quiet and I could hear muffled sounds from up above. Time passed slowly but every now and then I could hear her charming voice and my spirits were raised but then to my utter dismay, there came the first night of pounding. I could hardly breath, as above me, the clouds, turned, twisted, nay rumbled making my body swell and roll as I tried desperately to dislodge the heavy weight which had trapped me and held me down. I was uncomfortable so I spun, somersaulted, jiggled, and wriggled until the weight lifted and I could breather again. Time after time this happened until I had been flattened, crumpled nay squashed, and crushed. My soft green skin was bruised and battered. I ached with the nightly strain. Fortunately, a glimmer of hope occurred. My love had once more visited the bedroom and had sat on top of the topmost cloud. Her voice was still pretty and sweet and she laughed. However, she left quickly, and I prepared myself for another night of terror. But lo and behold fairy godmothers do exist in this world of ours, and mine had finally woken up. The lightest of touches hit the clouds, and this continued all night long. Not once was there a time when I felt the weight bear down on me. A stillness so pure and righteous filled my sleep and in the morning, lo and behold once more the tinkling laughter of my beloved could be heard. I waited and waited in aching anticipation and then finally, the clouds lifted, from me revealing a blinding light as sunshine filtered through the windows of the bed chamber. There was my vison! My loveliness! My princess! Standing tall, aglow in the rainbow light. All my frustration, my aches, my pains simply vanished in her saintly presence. “Take it away!” she commanded, and I was rewarded by the sight of the heavy clouds being disassembled and carried out of the bedchamber. A deep yet melodious baritone reminded me that there was another person accompanying my beloved. Laugher filled the room. I was happy, nay elated when I was picked up and held close to by beauty’s lips. And then with a wave of her delicate hand, she tossed, threw, nay, flung me into the arms of a waiting servant. I was taken from her forever, creased, crinkled nay wrinkled. My lustrous green shine had disappeared, and an over ripe, crusty craggy brownness had taken its place. I was discarded later that day and fell, tumbled, plunged nay, plummeted into the pig slop bucket forever to be forgotten, until one day I would be immortalized by Hans Christian Andersen in one of his classic fairy stories but that is something you will have to wait for!  I tackled this challenge in two ways. First, I took the title, ‘Poem of Love’ and added a poem about my daughter Alison when she was first born. Dear Daughter Mine. She smiles and… a polar ice cap melts. She laughs and… a thousand people are uplifted. She cries and… a nation is saddened. She is the sun, the moon and… as my love orbits around her I am overwhelmed by the pulsating glow of motherhood. Sue Westcott (C.)2021  Then, I read the brief which was to write a poem about the things that I love about myself! Well, that was indeed a challenge! So here is my acrostic effort:
Supportive (often) Understanding (generally) Enthusiastic (frequently) Wife (46 years) Easy going (normally) Story writer/teller (daily) Trustworthy (reliably) Caring (always) Observant (usually) Trusting (mostly) Teacher (retired) Sue Westcott(C.) 2021 |
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