A meeting on Bold Street: Flash fiction

"Who knows what the future holds, eh?" "I beg your pardon?" She'd been about to hurry past him. Her head down against the rain, she'd barely noticed the man in the trilby hat walking towards her until he spoke. She looked at him suspiciously. "None of us really know. Want a smoke?" He tucked his …

Open Letter from Let Our Kids Be Kids – the voice of tens of thousands of parents

Last year I saw for myself the pressure children in Year 6 were put under with the end of primary school SATS. My daughter was taught to jump through hoops and ended up with top marks, but was bitterly unhappy, and a year later actually can't remember any of it. It's horrible to think that …

We did it!

If you've been reading my last couple of blog posts, here and here, you'll know that I had signed myself and 11YO up for a 5km 'Bubble Rush' in aid of our local hospice.  You'll also be aware that I'm a bit of couch potato, and that the training was NOT going well.  The big day …

Is this the worst race preparation ever?

Once, many years ago when I was an events fundraiser, I was tasked with putting together a training guide for runners taking part in the Great North Run. Thankfully, Google and various running friends and magazines were available, because if I'd had to produce a guide based on my own experience, I think it would  …

Six Word Story Challenge: Despicable

Delighted to have won last week's Six Word Story Challenge with my thoughts on the theme "impulsive" - thank you everyone who voted, and well done to everyone else who contributes too - there's always such a huge variety of interpretations of the prompt, I love reading them all. This week's prompt is "Despicable" - …

Weekly Limerick Challenge: Dark

Here's my contribution for the Weekly Limerick Challenge set by MindandLifeMatters - this week's is on the theme "dark": You can't sleep when the moon doesn't shine, Your fear of the dark just like mine. But some shadows are best for a peaceful night's rest - because stars don't just twinkle online.   (this Limerick …

To the woman and child who sat at table 9

This is just beautiful so I’m sharing it:

Kindness Blog

I did not introduce myself to you. My name is Tony Posnanski. I have been a restaurant manager for fifteen years now.

My day consists of making sure my restaurant runs well. That could mean washing dishes, cooking and sometimes even serving tables. I have also dealt with every guest complaint you can imagine.

A few weeks back you came into my restaurant. I was very busy that night. I was running around helping the kitchen cook food. I was asked to talk to a table close to yours. I did and they said your child was being very loud. I heard some yelling while I was talking to that table. I heard a very loud beep from a young girl.

I started to walk to your table. You knew what I was going to ask. You saw the table I just spoke to pointing at you. I got to…

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It’s my 100th Blog Post – go me!

I just happened to notice after I hit 'publish' on my last post, that my next one would be the 100th on this site.  So I decided to make this post a special, slightly self-indulgent, anniversary blog! I didn't have any clear idea where I was going when I started this blog on February 9th …

Six Word Story Challenge: Impulsive

Impulsive: A story in six words

From blogging to jogging…

Today I did a crazy thing. I've signed up me and 11YO to take part in a 5km 'Bubble Rush' fun run later on this month - 17 days from now to be exact. I'm 43, drive to work and sit at a desk all day and I have never been fit in my life. …