A 1,000-word short story — “I’ve been thinking about our sixtieth anniversary, love,” Judie said. “Me too. I want to make it really special, make up for the times things haven’t always gone to plan.” She squeezed Will’s hand. “You don’t need to do that. Actually, I thought it would be nice just to have…

A 1000 word Short Story You, my no longer dear, my no longer loved, my no longer husband, you made me angry. Every time you used the phrase, ‘at some point in time’ my anger increased. I felt it growing like a physical presence, eating my heart. If something needed…

A 1,200 word short story — Christy checked her son’s trousers before throwing them into the wash. Four coins, two sweet wrappers and a letter from the school addressed to her asking her to bake cakes for sports day. The sports day which was cancelled due to rain. Surely she’d washed his trousers since then? It…

A 1,200-word short story — I hurried into the tea room looking forward to a chocolate cake. One of those would go nicely with the mug of hot tea I so badly needed. Showing people around Solent Castle is a rewarding job, but at this time of year, it’s also bitterly cold. You need a…

A 3,000 word story — I was worried about Ginny and Robert when I got their wedding invitation. It wasn’t the relationship which concerned me, but the way they were making it official. Perhaps worried is putting it too strongly. …

A 3,000 word story — Every day, regardless of the weather, I walk along the canal path. It’s an ideal walk in many ways. Not too far; twenty minutes from my front door to the High Street. Just enough to make me feel I’ve done some exercise. The path is nice and straight and level…

A 1,100-word story — I negotiated my way across the pub, back to my sister. The jukebox was playing, ‘These boots were made for walking’, which did nothing to improve my filthy mood. I tried, in equal measure, to ignore the boys’ laughter and not to spill my drink — unsuccessfully on both counts…

A 2,200 word story — Erin and Jude thanked the vicar and left the church hand in hand. Walking through the graveyard on a winter’s evening might have seemed a little creepy under different circumstances but Erin’s mind was full of happy thoughts. …

A 4,000-word story — As Ali trudged back to her battered old van, she noticed Simon’s sleek vehicle pull up next to it. Why now? If he’d turned up to deal with the farmer’s insurance claim an hour earlier, she would at least have been mud-free. She wouldn’t have been exhausted after wrestling sheep…