Delighted to have a story accepted for the @flashficfestuk.bsky.social 2025 anthology. Many thanks to @judehwriter2.bsky.social & all involved at Flash Fiction Festival this year. #flashfiction
I hope you're a #pixie in the next life, my lovely friend whose angel wings took her out of this world on Monday. I hope you sparkle like you did on Earth. I hope you find someone to do your hair just the way you want, & I hope you're smiling, dancing with waiting family. #vss365
A kiss under the tall #elm, & back then she didn't even know the name of the tree, just that it was the one she had her back pressed against when she received her first kiss, & now and ever since whenever she sees a tall elm she smiles & remembers the innocence of it all. #vss365
Purple's quite a scary colour isn't it. I don't know why but it's always been that way for me. Yet, as I get older & older I quite like the idea of a #violet outfit, something outrageously head-turning. Clearly, this thought is related to age. I make no apology for that. #vss365
🙃
I wouldn't like to be learning English as a foreign language when we have a car that can #tear down a road at full speed, a tear that falls down a face, a tear in a shirt, a friend that can tear into you for a perceived betrayal. I mean...where to start differentiating! #vss365
Cole, thank you! So good to see your lovely face in person and to get a brief chat at raffle time. 💚
I #promise myself I will get back to writing my daily #vss365 contributions! These last few days I haven't managed to do it. Travel, attendance at the amazing @flashficfestuk.bsky.social
& a head bursting with words afterwards somehow took over my ability to write a simple tweet each day.
Rachael, it was wonderful to see you in person. What a blast the annual @flashficfestuk.bsky.social is! So much talent in one place! I had an amazing time & I was only sorry I didn't get to chat with EVERYONE! ✍️⚡💚⚡✍️⚡
I am here! And I received the most wonderful welcome from @judehwriter2.bsky.social and @sarahillswrites.bsky.social yesterday. You are both sooooooo organised. It's so great to be back. Can't wait for everything to start later today. ✍️✍️✍️
I was 17. My dress was pink. It had a #taffeta lining. I felt like a princess. I wore a flower in my hair. It was my debs dance. My date was a perfect gentleman all evening & we had a fantastic time. 47 years have passed & I still remember every detail of that evening. #vss365
So many #skirmishes we had as kids. They were very important at the time, with hurt egos, claims of favouritism, even injuries sometimes! But with nine people living in the house, it was family life as it was meant to be. We look back with fondness as we remember. #vss365
Don't click on it. It's a #rook.
But it's genuine. It's come from someone I know.
Believe me, it's not. It's a scam. Delete it.
But, but...
Listen. Don't come to me when your money is gone.
It's ok. All good.
That evening...
HELP! I've been scammed.
Hello! Hello!
#vss365
Looking back on old photos & I see a picture of my Dad at a wedding, in formal black with tails & a #cummerbund & I think how handsome & happy he looked next to my lovely Mum, & how sad it was that he didn't get to wear that outfit more, that he didn't live long enough. #vss365
It's a #prism of sorts, this thing that separates light from its different shades to darkness. Each has its purpose, its value. There is no one prettier than another. They are all interdependent, relying on each other for their display. Then they are all one. Yet not. #vss365
Within the mad rush of everything, make a #space for yourself; for your brain to slow down, for your heart to beat slower, for your legs to take a break, for your emotions to breathe. That space may be small, but it's mighty in the bigger picture. It's called Me Space. #vss365
Some minds & lives are a #starscape. Full of shiny things, yet surrounded by darkness & black holes. We look into the night sky & we see the beauty of the stars. We don't see the darkness. We need to appreciate that some people only see the darkness. Reach out. Help. #vss365
I don't think there's much wrong with being an #enigma. Everybody doesn't have to know everything about you, how you tick, how you feel, how you react to things. There's nothing wrong with a touch of mystery now & then, an air of question. Answers are not everything. #vss365
There's a #guru for everything these days. Experts everywhere; spilling out of cracks, screens, daily life. Catch yourself on! You're the expert on your own life. You know deep down what makes you happy, calm, peaceful. Find those things, those people. Be your own expert. #vss365
You know, when you find yourself in that #liminal space, the place in between everything, don't be in a hurry to leave it behind. Staying in transition for a bit is not such a bad thing. You don't always need to be in a particular place. Enjoy the limbo feeling. Rest up. #vss365
I'm walking in the woods & I see a path #parallel to mine & I wonder if I crossed the copse would that path take me to a place I haven't explored before. Or would both paths converge & end in the same place? I stay on my path & glance across now & then. A bit like life. #vss365
When you feel like you're stuck in a #vortex & there's no way out, there's always a way out. It just may not be in the direction you think. That swirling mass of thoughts, debris can be cleared, to pave a way to a calmer place, a place of peace. The path may be small. #vss365
In this gigantic #realm of all things known & unknown, it all comes down to caring for others & ourselves. To making the best life we can within the limited time we have. Not knowing when our time will end is the greatest incentive to make the most of every living day. #vss365
The #susurrus of the tide, the trees, slowly seeps into my consciousness, forcing me to listen, slow down, to breathe, to expel the noise of daily life. A calm descends, surrounds me, & I want this moment to last longer than it does. The noise returns but I am able now. #vss365
More than anything else my #primordial need is that of peace. Peace of mind, of soul. That inner feeling of calm that no matter what happens I will at least be reacting from a level position & hopefully I will make better decisions, better choices, for myself & others. #vss365
Perhaps the most important thing I've learned about myself as life goes on is to have a sense of #self. Not about being selfish or selfless, but having a sense of one's self through the passage of days, weeks, months. Understanding one's self is vital for peace of mind. #vss365
My mother found a tiny hole in the corner of a window in the garden #shed. She didn't do anything about it. Then one day she went in to collect her gardening gear & spotted the smallest bird she'd ever seen come through the hole & into an old hat. A nest! Priceless! #vss365
No-one knows the #shape of things to come. It may be straight as a rod, crooked as a country road, flat as a pancake, undulating as a mountain path. Whatever shape your future takes, I hope it is filled with more happiness than sadness, & that you feel loved, always. #vss365
Absolutely this! 💚
Thank you! 💚
