SHORT STORY SUCCESS!

I’m delighted to say my middle grade children’s short story, ‘The Green Party Parrots’ about a bunch of cheeky keas has been published by NorthernGravy.com in the third edition of the literary magazine.

I’ve encountered keas on both trips I’ve made to New Zealand’s South Island. The first time was on the way to Milford Sound where they were scoping out a car park – no doubt, intent on raiding picnic baskets or attacking the odd windscreen wiper.

The second time, was in Aoraki Mount Cook National Park. There were lots of keas around and I happened to be in the right place at the right time to take this action photograph. The idea for this tale came to me when a local remarked on how clever keas are and how ‘in 100 years, they’ll have invented the computer’. Why not start using them now, I thought?

You can read the story here: https://northerngravy.com/the-green-party-parrots-by-louise-jones/

Traveller’s Log: A Grand Day Out

6.15 am. I wake in Sedona, Arizona, USA, a small town 4,500 feet above sea-level and 120 miles north of the state capital, Phoenix. With snow forecast for tomorrow, it has to be today. Read More →

Poetry in Motion

Dominic Berry

‘de DE de DE de DE de DE.’ Dominic Berry, performance poet and writer of poetry books, was in fine form stressing syllables at our first Manchester Scribes ad hoc workshop of 2018. His mission was to inspire group members to write two poems Read More →

Stirring the Plot in the Soup Kitchen

The festive meeting of writing group, Manchester Scribes, was marked with a lively and fun interactive workshop on script writing delivered by group member, Helen Sea. Manchester Scribes is a closed critiquing group meeting one Saturday every month in the city centre but from time to time we have a workshop. This one followed on from Read More →

Traveller’s Log: Can Nature Heal?

Whilst performing my morning exercise routine, I noticed in the growing light that the usually beige kitchen blind had turned pink. I flung a fleece on over my nightshirt, grabbed the camera and hobbled out of my cabin in my as-psychedelic-as-the-pink-sky slippers. I gawped as crimsons, yellows, scarlets and reds radiated behind the Southern Alps Read More →

Traveller’s Log: What Price Alaska?

Over one hundred and fifty years ago, in 1867, Russia sold Alaska to the USA for $7.2 million. That’s approximately $125 million in today’s money. Or £100 million; the cost of not many mediocre footballers. So what price Alaska now? I pondered this whilst enjoying pancakes, bacon Read More →