The leg fell off the ironing board. There is no alternative purpose for a monopod ironing board incapable of defying gravity, so the rickety old contraption is now propped outside in the rain, next to the recycling bin. This happened on Sunday morning, when we were trying to leave the house for a set time. Two thick bath towels doubled over and spread across a kitchen work top proved themselves to be a serviceable stand-in to the ironing board, and we even congratulated ourselves at how smartly dressed we were as we locked the front door. Big mistake. Five minutes later, it began to rain. Ten minutes later, despite huddling under umbrellas, we were drenched from the thighs down. We managed to dry out during the forty-five minute bus journey. Most of the sand brushed off, too. Yes, sand; we live by the sea, remember. Each time a storm blows in from the west, it carries half of the beach with it. Our bus arrived in Liverpool city centre at the same time as the thunder storm which

Remember that Warholian line about everyone having fifteen minutes of fame? Well, in this age of supposed equality, this seems to have been extended to spiders - the one living in our bird house, to be exact. Yup, dear ol' Incey Wincey made page two of the Wirral Globe this week. On the TV news, there was a brief piece which announced that British fruit growers have lost up to two-thirds of their crops due to the wet weather. Apparently this has been the wettest June since records began. (This in itself doesn’t mean much, as the records only go back around 150 years which, in the life of this planet, is like a blink to you and me.) The bulk of my raspberry crop has been ruined. The fruits are rotting on the canes, which renders them absolutely useless. But that’s nothing compared to the problems other people are having right now. Read this:- http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-23402936-details/'We've+all+been+forgotten'+say+30,000+UK+flood+victims/articl

Have you encountered any faeries while wandering the ancient woods and heathery moor of Caldy Hill? While sitting by a dark and peaty pool cradled by mighty oaks and rustling rowans, were you startled by a sudden hush, when all the birds ceased singing and even the restless breezes from the yawning mouth of the Dee fell still? It is just possible that a faerie may have been passing by. I don’t mean the kind of cartoon “fairy” with a sparkly tutu and gossamer wings. They’re just make-believe. I mean the real, ancient kind of faerie; the kind who can enchant with a glance and whose beauty might steal your heart, if not your soul. Did you know that the seals which congregate on Hoyle Bank beyond Hilbre Island have a secret other-life? And do you know the real reason why the sea never returned to Parkgate harbour? Further clarification can be obtained by reading A Wirral Otherkin Trilogy , which was published this week by Amazon. This trio of Dark Fantasy stories consist of Frog

On Friday, I attended a talk by author Katie Fforde , who read aloud from her thirteenth novel, Going Dutch , before discussing her writing and freely answering questions from her audience at West Kirby Library. Katie came across as a warm and likeable lady, and told us that while she sometimes bases her fictional characters on people she knows, even family members, she’s always careful to make sure she writes nothing unpleasant about them! It’s always heartening to hear an author describe how they struggled to get published for ten years before being successful, as Katie apparently did. I’ve heard it said that, on average, an author experiences seven years’ worth of rejection slips. The topic of the practical benefits of developing a writing routine was discussed at some length during Saturday’s meeting of Wirral Writers Inc., organised by John Gorman .   Everyone seems to have their own quirks and methods. For example, I write (virtually) every morning until around 2pm. Some peop

There I was, nervously perched on the top of a step-ladder whilst painting the bathroom ceiling, when peculiar soft ripping sounds emerged from the bedroom. Was my darling puppy entertaining herself by dismantling another stolen sock? Hmm, no - the noises seemed too industrious for that. So I carefully set down my sticky paintbrush and went to investigate. The duvet had been dragged to one side. A doggy-sized hole had been torn through the sheet, and half of my puppy was buried inside the mattress while plumes of shredded stuffing flew over her happily wagging tail.

Forty-seven people attended the second meeting of Wirral Writers Inc, including six members of Riverside Writers . Once again, John Gorman ran through the list of proposed events, and then those writers interested in specific projects made arrangements to meet as smaller groups in order to start moving those projects along. Some time later this month, a permanent office will be established in the rather grand Birkenhead Park gates. Fear not, there will be no need to impale office equipment upon an iron railing. The park gates consist of a tall sandstone building with the gate itself set into its middle, rather like a portcullis. If you visit:- http://cmsen.eghn.org/etfg-birkenhead-garten and scroll to the second horizontal trio of photos, the park gates are the pseudo-Grecian building in the middle image. Apparently, this office is going to be named the Wirral Academy of Arts. I wonder if the doorbell will play the theme tune from Fame ? *evil chuckles* Anyway, it’s not too late

At Riverside Writers , we set a monthly writing challenge which encourages participants to create a new poem or short story to a set theme. This theme might be inspired by a curious photograph, (such as a recent one which depicted a woodland tree with a large collection of ladies' shoes nailed to it). Or the theme might be generated by each participant writing a random word, (such as piano, marshmallow, axe, tutu, gorilla), on a scrap of paper, and the resulting group of words all have to be used within the new piece of writing. You could do something similar by yourself, just by opening a dictionary or a child’s alphabet book at random and using the first word your finger lands on, then repeating this process several times. Another method is to present the group with a sentence which must be used to start or finish the new piece. The results of these exercises can be fun to hear, certainly. Everyone always comes up with something which is unique. Also, imagination and innovation