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    Memories, Poems & Fairy Ribbons ( Day 28 )

    The Challenge Today, I’m meant to be writing my own Eulogy. Thanks, but no thanks, Jeff! All I’d want on a gravestone is ” I tried, I really did.” Tried to be loving, honest and open-minded. That’s about it, really. Still, he got me thinking about my past and some early childhood memories, lovely memories, came back to me. And that’s when I started writing ” Fairy Ribbons”. Maybe you could call it a Eulogy to my inner child, the innocent me? Guess that keeps us all happy then, Jeff. I’ve written three verses so far this morning.  Little pen pictures of me before I was six, before life got complicated, …

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    Tulips, Baskets & Bosses ( Day 27 )

    The Challenge for Day 27 “Today, use your 500 words to tell us about your work experiences.” Although I’ve spent most of my life involved in Education, I thought I’d write about the time I worked in a flower bulb factory in Holland…Ah, fond memories of tulips, baskets and bosses. Tulips, Baskets & Bosses. There are endless piles of bulbs laid out in front of us. Flower bulbs, though they might as well be onions for all we care. Any romantic notions about dancing through fields of tulips are long gone. We don’t have any time to waste, we know we have to get started straight away and accelerate fast…

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    Kyllini ( Day 25 )

    The Challenge for Day 25 Today’s challenge is to write about the topic of travel. “Think of a time you went somewhere, anywhere and share it with us.” I love travelling and it was hard to settle on one destination. In the end, I decided to write about the last stop of an Interail holiday I took in my twenties…Kyllini.   Kyllini My friend Sinead and I are having one of those heart-to-heart chats, you know the type you have after a few wines. The shared bottle of Ouzo is adding to the experience and the words are tripping over themselves. Complex stories of relationships meander through the fog, twenty odd…

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    Dentophobia ( Day 24 )

    The challenge for Day 24 Today’s challenge is to ” Cut out the Fluff. Write 500 words without using the word “that” or “very.” Try to use absolutely no adverbs (hint: “absolutely” is an adverb).” So here it is, my piece on Dentophobia…Fear of the Dentist. I won’t promise fluff-free,  but I’ll do my best to deliver on the adverbs. The word “that” might be more difficult but I’ll give it my best shot. Here goes…   Dentophobia Here I am on Day 24 of the challenge, can you believe it? Still writing, still posting, still battling on. Little princess warrior is turning into Queen Maeve, taking on Fear and whacking…

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    Bookends ( Day 23 )

    The Challenge for Day 23 Today’s Challenge is to write the end of a piece of work, whether it’s fiction, non-fiction or memoir. This is not going to be easy, but that’s why it’s called a challenge, I guess. Since I wrote the preface to my memoir yesterday, I thought I may as well go with the ending today. I’m calling it “Bookends” because that’s what I’m going to end up with…A start, an ending and a whole lot of work to do to fill in the missing pages. But, do you know what, I’m grateful for these prompts because they’re teaching me how to focus on outcomes and not just…

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    Memoir Preface ( Day 22 )

    The Challenge for Day 22 Today’s challenge is to write about “Fear”. Will you give in or fight it? What will you do with it? The funny thing is that I’ve just started a course on Memoir Writing with Pauline Clooney. My assignment for this weekend was to write the preface for my memoir, even though I haven’t even started the book yet! Anyway, out of laziness or practicality, I decided I’d combine the two prompts into this post for Day 22. It’s just an outline, a work in progress, but at least it’s a start.   Memoir Preface   The blank page can be a scary thing. I’ve just…