Tag Archives: memories
The Progress at Kentwell #atozchallenge
Have you seen the progress at Kentwell Hall? This was the marketing ploy used by the new owners of Kentwell Hall, a Tudor property in Suffolk that had fallen into disrepair by the 1970s. The family who bought it have spent thirty years working on the restoration project in much the same way most […]
A musical interlude – Dartington Hall #atozchallenge
When I was about nine (or possibly ten), my family and I went on holiday to Devon. We camped, hiked and played on the beach. At some point during the fortnight, my parents took us to a concert in the evening and I had my one and only experience of listening live to James Galway […]
Woken in the night
This week’s flash fiction isn’t fiction. Just a 100 words to describe a memory. Picture prompt hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields The blue flashing lights bounced off the canvas, waking me up. “Mum, what’s happening?” I shouted in the darkness. “Nothing, go to sleep.” The morning brought a stillness, empty pitches, abandoned vacations. By lunchtime, there […]
The hoarder
This week’s Friday Fictioneer’s prompt – hosted by Rochelle Wisoff-Fields. My gran was a hoarder. A gifted one. She believed everything had a purpose. To her family, what she stored in those shoeboxes and bags was somewhat abstract and generally the flotsam of life. However, Granny believed she kept objects of value. Ma fretted […]
Twisted perceptions – Chepstow Castle and Tintern Abbey
I had it the wrong way round. I had a memory of Chepstow Castle being gigantic and lots of walls to climb. Perhaps it was huge for a small child, but visiting it again, it seemed less than what I recalled. On the other hand, Tintern Abbey, which I remember as lacking much turned out […]
Red and green – adventures in a forest
I’m on holiday with my family in the Wye Valley, which spans the border of south Wales and England. The last time I visited the area was when I was a child, probably ten or eleven. My memories are vague and I think I visited places, but maybe I hadn’t. One of those is Clearwell […]
Messages
I’ve always wanted to find one, but never have… “Where did you get those, Grandpa?” He started to count them. “Washed up on the beach.” Grandpa sighed deeply, his craggy face sagging with memories. “Why keep them?” He’d reached thirty-two. “These were the ones with messages.” Paul’s widening eyes reflected in the curvature of the […]
Where will Zed take me?
It came in a bright yellow wrapper and smelt divine; the lettering carved on one side and my challenge had been to lather it up so much, the lettering would smooth out and disappear, untraceable by my fingertips. The Zest soap bar would begin life in my childhood bathtub hard and finish up creamy and […]
The Quiet Library
My first library was situated at one end of a hut. The scout hut doubled up as the village library, providing a few bookcases, which were sealed off when the library was shut. I remember the floors echoed with footsteps, but little else. My next library was based in a medieval house with black timber […]
Lost in my Daydreams
My husband claims he can’t remember his dreams. I know he dreams by the way he fidgets and mutters in his sleep. He’s never once mentioned anything when he wakes up: no comments about weird images or nightmares, neither does he suddenly in the middle of the day realise the thing he’s thinking about isn’t […]
The Quiet Writer 