Byddi Lee's Blog, page 9

We're moving....

First of all, thanks for reading this blog and for your continued support.

Recently, I set up a new website for www.byddilee.com over at WordPress. They also provide an integrated blog. I have moved all my posts from this blog over to there to keep everything in the one place and for the past few months posted blogs up in both places but now I think it's time to move from Blogger fully to WordPress, which will be a challenge since I'm still learning that system.

So instead of posting the most recent post in both places - today I'm directing you to the new blog vis the following link.

 https://www.byddilee.com/2019/02/exciting-news-from-flash-fiction-armagh/

I hope you continue to follow the blog over there and while you are there feel free to explore my new website.

Thanks for following, your readership is much appreciated.

Byddi Lee

Exciting News from Flash Fiction Armagh

March 2019 sees the first birthday of Flash Fiction Armagh. It’s been quite the year for us. Flash Fiction has been a delightful project and we wanted to somehow pay our writers for the stories they read at our events. I believe that artists need to be compensated for their work, even if they are just starting out and even if it is only a small amount (to begin with!) After all they have worked hard to produce the piece of writing that is entertaining you…right?

In the beginning, Flash Fiction Armagh cost nothing and earned nothing. The first night, back in March 2018, was an experiment and the big question was, ‘Do people want to come and listen to writers read their work?’

The answer was a resounding, ‘Yes!’

We introduced a small cover charge at the door and our numbers were not affected. This was great, but we felt uncomfortable not passing on the proceeds to the people who wrote the stories and that’s when the concept of The Bramley, an Anthology of Flash Fiction Armagh set seed.

We pay our writers for each piece that appears in the publication – it’s a small fee but it says, ‘Your work is valued and your words mean something to us whether you are a new writer or an old hand at this writing lark. You deserve to get something back.’

We are so excited to announce the launch of The Bramley Volume 1 – An Anthology of Flash Fiction Armagh on the 4th March 2019. The Lord Major of Armagh, herself a daughter of the Armagh Orchards, is kindly hosting a celebratory tea in the Palace in Armagh and all the contributors have been invited. It’s going to be great!

Paperback copies of The Bramley will be on sale at the launch and at every Flash Fiction Event for £5.00. You will also be able to get a copy from Amazon worldwide!

You can pre-order your Kindle copy for £1.99 by clicking here.

If you are in the USA and want a copy you can get it here.

Kindle will deliver the book directly to your device on the 4th March 2019 in time for the launch. When I have the links for purchasing the paperback I will add them here too and on social media (of course!)

BUT that’s not all our news!

Flash Fiction Armagh is delighted to announce the line-up of readers for the next event – Flash Fiction in the Saint Patrick’s Festival – 14th March 2019, at 7pm in the award winning Mulberry Bistro.

Cathy Carson

November Sun

Réaltán Ní Leannáin

Díneasair

EddieMcClenaghan

Sham Rocks the Cradle

Cathy Cole

Heaven and Hell

Chris Wright

Count Your Breaths

Rosemary Tumilty

Journey Into Oriel

Byddi Lee

Nil ‘Watch’ Agam
Kieran McGurkLe Petite Marchal
Roisin Maguire

Sunrise

Mairead Breen

Changed Times

Rosie O Reilly

Crack a Dawn
Caroline Joy TatemMaps to the Center
Csilla Toldy

Mantra
Trish BennetInnisfree, Me Arse!

It is always a pleasure and an honour to read the submissions we get and we’re sorry that not all can be included every time. As with all things writing, don’t give up, keep sending in submissions and keep writing…

Byddi Lee

Guest Post by P.V. Wolseley

I like to keep
things physical – no Facebook, Twitter, YouTube or Instagram – so it’s strange even to me that I’m guest-blogging for Byddi
Lee. Let me tell you how this came about.

It started, as so many writerly things do, with Byddi. She stayed in Paris long enough to co-found a critiquing group and for me to get to know her a little. With her blue eyes and blond curls, Byddi is at least one part Christmas-tree fairy but with her ferocious energy, drive and loyalty, she’s two parts word-warrior queen. It was no surprise to hear that, shortly after having left Paris for Armagh, she was hustling together a flash-fiction festival that sounded like the best fun.

Two fellow Parisian writers and I decided
to crash it.

‘We’ll come and support you,’ we said.

Byddi being Byddi, she declared the
festival an international event and welcomed us herself, at the airport, late
one Belfast night.

We drove into Armagh through the sort of blackness the City of Light has long forgotten. Having fielded perfectly sensible Parisian questions such as ‘how can people see without street lamps?’ Byddi got on with the business of narrating the night, sketching out with words the towns and orchards we couldn’t see. I quickly stopped peering into the darkness and instead listened until we reached our cosy lodgings at the Charlemont Arms Hotel.

Breakfast was big, Irish and – being shared
by three writers – wordy. We somehow got onto the subject of female forebears who faced risky and multiple
pregnancies. The lady waiting tables
served up the best story, top trumping us as she cleared our plates: 22
children born to one woman.

This emerged as a pattern when we toured the city. It quickly became clear that there’s not a stone in Armagh that doesn’t have a tale to tell; people swap stories the way the English shake hands. I left the tourist information office not with leaflets but with tales of a sword too big to wield and a giant warrior. At the Hole in the Wall, greetings took the form of ‘What’s your story?’ and refreshments were served with a tale of unhappy love and a hanging. At Emain Macha, myths and legends were illustrated on a big screen and so enchantingly told that when I later stood on the mound, I was sure any archaeologist digging would find story on story on story, stratified.

I heard plenty of anecdotes where arrests
and bombings unselfconsciously shared sentences with meals, marriages and
markets days – a reminder that for many years, strife and struggle were the
daily lot of many in Armagh, but it was
hard not to feel optimistic as we explored the city. My fellow Parisians and I
were the only ones in black. Everyone else seemed ready to put on the glam and get
something going. As we walked through the Market Place Theatre & Arts Centre
before closing, the receptionist put the Christmas tree lights back on for us
and suggested a photo shoot. Every social interaction became a networking, sponsoring or social media
opportunity. When my friend tried on a jacket that fitted like it was made to measure, a picture was taken and posted
on the boutique’s Facebook page, and when the guide at Emain Macha heard our
enthusiasm for myths and legends, she got out from behind the desk to share
with us the excellent and beautifully illustrated Cúchulainn by Réamonn Ó Ciaráin. Wherever
we went we got a small-town welcome so warm it was hard to see Armagh as a
city, despite its two cathedrals and world-class museums.

It was at one of these museums – Armagh County Museum – that we enjoyed the highlight of our stay: a flash-fiction feast served up before a portrait of Seamus Heaney and his piercing eyes, painted by Colin Davidson. We feasted like gluttons on stories ranging in inspiration from the literary and celestial (A Clockwork Heart) to the local (Cás na dteifeach), and in setting from the domestic (Say’s Himself) to the parallel world of horror-erotica (Always and Forever). All pieces were read with finesse and generosity in a venue that made for a magical evening. It came to a close much too soon – which may explain why we were slow to go. I was most grateful to our kindly, informative hosts, who let us explore the museum’s treasures long after our time was up.

Next day: home to beautiful and indifferent
Paris. I took time to reflect on all I’d brought back in head and heart, based
on the writerly principle that if
protagonists come out of a journey unchanged, they’ve not been anywhere. With
such a wealth of happy memories and stories, it seemed
only right to share this story by taking an uncustomary toe-dip into cyber-sea
– to say a big thank you, Armagh, and à bientôt, j’espère. 

P.V. Wolseley

Flash Fiction Saturday Night in the Musuem

Armagh County Museum

His gaze is a little unsettling. Stern and aloof, he stares unflinchingly with glittering hungry eyes. It’s a gaze that follows me and did back when I was a child visiting the Armagh County Museum. I wonder what he makes of the proceedings about to unfold. Every Armagh child who has visited the museum knows that stare; knows that stuffed fox. For Mr Fox has looked out from his place in the exhibits and mesmerized children for more than forty years (by my count.)

Photograph courtesy of The Armagh County Museum

Tonight though, Mr Fox has met his match in a staring competition because right in front of his furry snout is a portrait of Seamus Heany by Colin Davidson. Splendid in a wash of warm and vibrant colours the great poet looks sombre and somewhat formidable. With tables arranged in front like an altar, it feels like we are the congregation in a temple, with Flash Fiction Armagh offering up a sacrifice of literature. I search the canvas for a tweak of a lip, a hint of approval – but his expression is unyielding. It feels like he’s right here with us, but I am confident… we have a fabulous lineup and I know our readers won’t disappoint the great man, nor their enthusiastic audience.

We begin with a poem by Mark Brownlee simply called Armagh. Like a verbal tour of our city, it touches all our hearts and binds us Armachians together in a collect pride for our city.

On a similar note, Karen Mooney uses the analogy of nature to show us how much we have to gain by growing in harmony together with A More Sustainable Future.

All the way from Pittsburg USA, via Paris, Nina Francus captures our hearts and minds, as she reads her story To Wander, Lost.

In a piece that proves speculative/science fiction is a form of literature is accessible and can be widely enjoyed, Jay Faulkner reads Always and Forever.

Kerry Buchannan, from Yorkshire via Ballynahinch, enthrals us with fantasy in her beautifully written and delivered story, A Clockwork Heart.

Elaine Toal reminds us all what it is to be hurt and human in a story that has a message we might all benefit from heeding – Shattered. 

All the way from Paris, P.V Wolseley bring art to life with her masterful writing in her stories, L’Origine du Monde Speaks and La Grande Odalisque.

Réamonn Ó Ciaráin captivates the audience as he reads the story of Chúchulainn’s death in Bás Chúchulainn

All the way from lovely Leitrim, via Fermanagh, Trish Bennett brings a smile to our faces and a glow to our hearts in her humorous poem Kilty Relics

Hailing from Paris, Omaya Nasser has the audience spellbound as she reads End of the Line.

Seán Farry entertains us in Gaeilge and raises a laugh even in those of us whose Irish is limited as he recounts stories of his teaching experiences in his poems Cás na dteifeach – Tá dhá thaobh ar an bhád and Feidhmiú an Ranga.

Sue Divins cracks open our hearts and our tear ducts with Says Himself.

Another crossing of the Blackwater River brings us Kieran Mc Gurkwith his story Blobby, a cautionary tale about getting too big for your (pink and yellow spotted) boots.

From the moment he stood up, Malachi Kelly had his all grinning at his witty reminiscences in Mother, Son and Ghost.

Anne Mc Master rounded up the evening with a beautifully written and presented tongue in cheek piece on gardening – Gardener’s World.

Thank you to the staff of the Armagh County Museum for their welcome and patience. Nothing was too much bother for them and everyone was very impressed with and enjoyed their evening in the Museum. 

Thanks
also to everyone who submits to Flash Fiction Armagh – you are what
drives us and we wish you every writing success…and soon! It’s a tough
old business.

To every Flash Fiction attendee: Readers – we can’t do this without you, Audience – there’d be no point without you.

Wishing everyone a multitude of blessing for 2019 and beyond.

Byddi Lee

Flash Fiction Saturday Night in the Museum

His gaze is a little unsettling. Stern and aloof, he stares unflinchingly with glittering hungry eyes. It's a gaze that follows me and did back when I was a child visiting the Armagh County Museum. I wonder what he makes of the proceedings about to unfold. Every Armagh child who has visited the museum knows that stare; knows that stuffed fox. For Mr Fox has looked out from his place in the exhibits and mesmerized children for more than forty years (by my count.)

Photograph courtesy of the Armagh County MuseumTonight, though Mr Fox has met his match in a staring competition because right in front of his furry snout is a portrait of Seamus Heany by Colin Davidson. Splendid in a wash of warm and vibrant colours the great poet looks sombre and somewhat formidable. With tables arranged in front like an altar, it feels like we are the congregation in a temple, with Flash Fiction Armagh offering up a sacrifice of literature. I search the canvas for a tweak of a lip, a hint of approval - but his expression is unyielding. It feels like he's right here with us, but I am confident... we have a fabulous lineup and I know our readers won't disappoint the great man, nor their enthusiastic audience.
 
We begin with a poem by Mark Brownlee simply called Armagh. Like a verbal tour of our city, it touches all our hearts and binds us Armachians together in a collect pride for our city.

On a similar note, Karen Mooney uses the analogy of nature to show us how much we have to gain by growing in harmony together with A More Sustainable Future.

All the way from Pittsburg USA, via Paris, Nina Francus captures our hearts and minds, as she reads her story To Wander, Lost.

In a piece that proves speculative/science fiction is a form of literature is accessible and can be widely enjoyed, Jay Faulkner reads Always and Forever.

Kerry Buchannan, from Yorkshire via Ballynahinch, enthrals us with fantasy in her beautifully written and delivered story, A Clockwork Heart.

Elaine Toal reminds us all what it is to be hurt and human in a story that has a message we might all benefit from heeding - Shattered. 

All the way from Paris, P.V Wolseley bring art to life with her masterful writing in her stories, L'Origine du Monde Speaks and La Grande Odalisque.

Réamonn Ó Ciaráin captivates the audience as he reads the story of Chúchulainn's death in Bás Chúchulainn

All the way from lovely Leitrim, via Fermanagh, Trish Bennett brings a smile to our faces and a glow to our hearts in her humorous poem Kilty Relics.

Hailing from Paris, Omaya Nasser has the audience spellbound as she reads End of the Line.

Seán Farry entertains us in Gaeilge and raises a laugh even in those of us whose Irish is limited as he recounts stories of his teaching experiences in his poems  Cás na dteifeach – Tá dhá thaobh ar an bhád and Feidhmiú an Ranga.

Sue Divins cracks open our hearts and our tear ducts with Says Himself.

Another crossing of the Blackwater River brings us Kieran Mc Gurk with his story Blobby, a cautionary tale about getting too big for your (pink and yellow spotted) boots.


From the moment he stood up, Malachi Kelly had his all grinning at his witty reminiscences in Mother, Son and Ghost.

Anne Mc Master rounded up the evening with a beautifully written and presented tongue in cheek piece on gardening - Gardener's World.


Thank you to the staff of the Armagh County Museum for their welcome and patience. Nothing was too much bother for them and everyone was very impressed with and enjoyed their evening in the Museum.

Thanks also to everyone who submits to Flash Fiction Armagh - you are what drives us and we wish you every writing success...and soon! It's a tough old business.

To every Flash Fiction attendee: Readers - we can't do this without you, Audience - there'd be no point without you.

Wishing everyone a multitude of blessing for 2019 and beyond.

Byddi Lee


 



 

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year starting with Flash Fiction Saturday Night in the Museum

Christmas greetings from Beautiful Armagh

I’m recycling this picture from last year mainly because it’s one of my favourite photos of Armagh and also because it’s probably the only snow we’re going to see in Armagh this Christmas and that’s fine with me because Christmas and New Years means many of us are on the roads travelling to visit loved ones and the snow makes all that difficult and dangerous. As much as I do love snow, I have an additional reason for wanting mild weather over the next few weeks – our next Flash Fiction event has drawn writers not just from as far away as Tyrone and Newry, but Flash Fiction Armagh goes international in 2019 with 3 brilliant writers coming all the way from Paris, France especially to read at Flash Fiction Saturday Night at the Museum!

We are excited to announce our line up for this event taking place in the Armagh County Museum on Saturday, 5th January 2019 at 7 pm. It’s a truly international crew this time with writers laying claim to a total of (at least) 6 nationalities and 2 continents! Flash Fiction Armagh presents:

Omaya Nasser  End of the Line

Mark Brownlee Armagh

Kieran McGurk Blobby

Seán Farry Cás na dteifeach – Tá dhá thaobh ar an bhád and Feidhmiú  an Ranga

Sue Divin  Says Himself

Elaine Toal Revisiting

Karen Mooney A More Sustainable Future

Malachi Kelly Mother Son and Ghost

Trish Bennet Kilty Relics

Jay Faulkner Always and Forever

P.V. Wolseley L’ Origine du Monde Speaks and La Grande Odalisque

Nina Francus To Wander, lost

Anne Mc Master Gardeners World

Réamonn Ó Ciaráin   Bás Chúchulainn

Have a peaceful Christmas and a wonderful New Year, and here’s hoping that 2019 brings us all a world with more tolerance and love, and don’t forget to join in the Revolution of Tenderness where you can. Click here to read a little Flash Fiction Trilogy I wrote a couple of years back…

Byddi Lee

A Great Night at the Flash Fiction in Georgian Armagh

I hear it all around me. There's a fizzle in the air, people calling greetings, reunion hugs, first meeting handshakes and mutual shoulder clapping for those readers expressing how nervous they are. A new to Flash Fiction Armagh person arrives in and I send her in the direction of the bunch mostly made up mostly from Women Aloud NI members who have all coalesced around one table.

"Just tell them you're here by yourself and they'll welcome you," I say, but to be fair, such is our audience that you could sit down at any table and you'd be knee deep in conversation in two seconds flat.

I see her safely absorbed into the craic before she even makes it to the table I'd pointed out. I give folk little more time to be social. The bistro staff are working flat-out to get everyone organised but luckily no-one is stamping feet and singing, "Why are we waiting?" We're in a happy place.

I breathe a sigh of relief that we've filled the room and only need a couple of extra chairs brought in - a perfect crowd for a perfect night.



Watching the room fill up before the event.
One final check that there are no late lingerers still downstairs, then I give Réamonn Ó Ciarán the thumbs up and we're off. The stories wow us - each and every one. But don't take my word for it, watch for yourselves. Each one speaks for itself...

Christopher Moore's story Solitude is superbly written and keeps us hooked right to the end.


First time Flash Fictioner, Rachel Toner takes the floor and wows the audience with Inferno.

No-one can believe this is Patricia Hanlon's first time reading her work, when she enthrals us with her extract from Kirty's  Vow, leaving us all asking, "Where/when can we buy this book." 

Terry Hickland entertains us from his beautifully written forthcoming novel, The Piano Boat.

We share in Maureen Boyle's heartache as she read her short story Box Room, and admire the sweater the story references her knitting.


From deepest darkest Tyrone, Kieran Mc Gurk reads Zaragoza and the room hanging on his every word and accents (some of which I reckon are not from Tyrone!)

I bring us into the intermission with  A Thick Foundation. 

After the break Réaltán Ní Leannáin expertly brings us through her excerpt from her novel set in Malta and written in Irish, Cití na gCártaí, cleverly bridging the language barrier so everyone can enjoy both the story and the language it is written in.

Cathy Carson makes us all sit up and take notice with her amazing performance of Wake Up Call from memory - a new and higher setting of the bar in Flash Fiction Armagh!

Mahogany is Peter Hollywood's thrilling story about a knife fight and keeps us all on the edge of our seats.

Gaynor Kane gives us a wry smile as she recounts a strange decision by the Highway Patrol in Oregan in Jonah and the Whale. 

A stunning theatrical performance by Rose Tumilty of Hunter's Moon O'er Airgialla steps us back in history and lore.


Eddie Mc Clenaghan's fresh take on a teched-up Santa brings the smiles to our faces with The Night Before Christmas Was Cool.


Christmas Disaster by Doreen Mc Bride has us all laughing, ending the evening on a high was is still being discussed "up the town" on Saturday when I bump into audience members at the Georgian Festival. 

It's fair to say that the Flash Fiction events are going from strength to strength and that's due to the fabulous teamwork of the writers who submit such excellent work, the audience who support them and the wonderful venues we've been lucky enough to have host us.

If watching these videos has given you some inspiration, submission's are open until 5th December 2018 for the Flash Fiction Saturday Night in the Museum taking place on 5th January 2019 in Armagh County Museum. So get those stories in asap!

Byddi Lee

Armagh Literary Scene Presents…

I seriously cannot believe my good fortune – there’s just so much going on in the literary scene in Armagh that I find myself swinging from one event to the next!

Last Friday night, I was proud to be included in a contingent from Women Aloud NI who were invited as special guests to the always wonderful Open Mic Night in the Abbey Lane Theatre. I’m a huge fan of this establishment and always have a grand old evening there but it was with a double pride that I presented it to my sistas from Women Aloud NI and vice versa. Each group wowed the other and rightly so. The readings were deep, rich, lewd and entertaining in equal measure and doubled down by the musical acts and poetry from regulars, it added up to a brilliant night. It filled me up with that “ah, my wee Armagh” glow that warms my heart so often these days.

The John O Connor Festival begins on the 1st November and I’m excited about volunteering, attending and reading at the festival.

To see what’s on, have a look at the programme.

And last but certainly by no means least, Flash Fiction in Georgian Armagh is pleased to announce it’s line up for the event taking place on 22nd November 2018 at 7pm upstairs in Mulberry Bistro during Armagh’s amazing Georgian Festival. And what a lineup!

In no particular order, congratulations to,

Kerry Buchanan
Only a Clockwok Heart


Réaltán Ní Leannáin
Excerpt from Cití na gCártaí to be published in 2019 with Cois Life Press


Christopher Moore
Solitude


Maureen Boyle
Box Room


Eddie McClenaghan
The Night Before Christmas Was Cool


Rosemary Tumilty
Hunter’s Moon O’er Airgialla


Peter Hollywood
Mahogany


Doreen Mc Bride
Christmas Disaster


Kieran McGurk
Zaragoza


Terry Hickland
extract from the forthcoming novel The Piano Boat


Gaynor Kane
Jonah and the Whale


Cathy Carson
Wake Up Call


Patricia Hanlon
Extract from Kirsty’s Vow


Rachel Toner
Inferno


Byddi Lee
A Thick Foundation

For more information on events during the Georgian Festival please check out their website.

Byddi Lee

Armagh Literary Scene Presents...

I seriously cannot believe my good fortune - there's just so much going on in the literary scene in Armagh that I find myself swinging from one event to the next!

Last Friday night, I was proud to be included in a contingent from Women Aloud NI who were invited as special guests to the always wonderful Open Mic Night in the Abbey Lane Theatre. I'm a huge fan of this establishment and always have a grand old evening there but it was with a double pride that I presented it to my sistas from Women Aloud NI and vice versa. Each group wowed the other and rightly so. The readings were deep, rich, lewd and entertaining in equal measure and doubled down by the musical acts and poetry from regulars, it added up to a brilliant night. It filled me up with that "ah, my wee Armagh" glow that warms my heart so often these days.


The John O Connor Festival begins on the 1st November and I'm excited about volunteering, attending and reading at the festival.

To see what's on, have a look at the programme.


And last but certainly by no means least, Flash Fiction in Georgian Armagh is pleased to announce it's line up for the event taking place on 22nd November 2018 at 7pm upstairs in Mulberry Bistro during Armagh's amazing Georgian Festival. And what a lineup!

In no particular order, congratulations to,


Kerry Buchanan Only a Clockwork Heart Wilma Kenny I Go Out in My Pyjamas  & When No One is Watching Réaltán Ní Leannáin Excerpt from Cití na gCártaí to be published in 2019 with Cois Life Press Christopher Moore Solitude Maureen Boyle Box Room Eddie McClenaghan The Night Before Christmas Was Cool Rosemary Tumilty Hunter’s Moon O’er Airgialla Peter Hollywood Knife Fight Doreen Mc Bride Christmas Disaster Kieran McGurk Zaragoza Terry Hickland extract from the forthcoming novel The Piano Boat Gaynor Kane Jonah and the Whale Cathy Carson Wake Up Call Patricia Hanlon Extract from Kirsty's Vow Rachel Toner Inferno Byddi Lee A Thick Foundation


For more information on events during the Georgian Festival please check out their website.

Byddi Lee

The Magic of Flash Fiction In The Orchard

Alternative title - Rain on a Cold Tin Roof and The Silence of the Lamb
The Armagh Cider Company proved to be excellent hosts as we kicked off the Armagh Food and Cider Festival 2018 with our flash fiction event.


People seemed to arrive more on time than usual, possibly the lure of warm mulled cider on a wet evening, or more likely - as was our case- afraid of getting lost in the wilderness of the Armagh Orchards.


The Barn was welcoming with its rustic decor and its aroma of cider and spices filling the air. Before too long the place filled up. I was heartened to see people who had been before greeting other regulars. Setting out on this project back at the beginning of the year, our goal had been to create community amongst writers and readers and I could see that unfolding effortlessly before me.

We started with Elaine Toal and her heartwarming story called Hurricane Glamping.


The title drew a wry chuckle from the audience considering Storm Ali had battered us all the previous day. We didn't need to stretch our imaginations too far back to feel the gusts of wind that Elaine described so eloquently. A minor technical hitch with the sound about a third of the way through Elaine's reading meant that parts of it were difficult to hear. She battled on professionally to the end, trying to ignore it when the misbehaving mics crackled and fizzed. (The joys of new venues and new equipment!) We got the tech sorted and were able to continue, but I was happy when at the break a member of the audience suggested we ask her to read again. They had liked what they had heard and wanted the full story, others agreed and I was struck by the generosity of our audience. It was also a huge compliment to Elaine who, unencumbered by mics throwing hissy-fits, rocked the story the second time around.



Next up was Jay Faulkner, bringing the audience to the brink of tears with his emotive story And Then She Danced. 


Jay always delivers and the crowd was dead silent as he read.



Somewhere outside a baby lamb bleated. I'm not sure yet if the sound came out on the recording but it was surreal - I wondered if I was imagining it, or if it was someone's ringtone, but later others confirmed they too had heard a lamb. It all added to being in a barn, in an Orchard, in Armagh, telling stories. I had one of those moments? How did I get to be here doing this? And grateful for every second of it, for every person in that barn, readers (listeners) and writers, for one was nothing without the other. My biology head kicked in and labelled it - Symbiosis.

Sue Divin lightened the mood with her lovely and lively rendition of Twist or Pull, a story aptly set in an orchard in Armagh about two young boys stealing apples.


The percussion of rain on the tin roof above us added to our sense of being right there in the orchard with them. The twist, as promised in the title was beautifully executed by this excellent wordsmith.



Jude Alexander had us all enthralled with her story Realization.


Her observation skills and attention to detail reminded me that that is what makes good writing, great.



If one can be a better writer by osmosis (or listening to good writing) then I was in the right place!

Réamonn Ó Ciaráin's story Glacadh arm agus an chéad mharú magically transported us, not only to the era of Cúchulainn but in the lyrical Irish language to a story about our Ulster Hero in an anger frenzy being calmed down by way of distraction by the women of Armagh stripping naked - I just hoped they weren't having the weather we'd been having. 


Yet again, it was great to hear people's positive reactions to hearing the reading in Irish.


I continue to be inspired to learn more Irish.

During the intermission Philip and Helen Troughton, acclaimed artisan cider makers treated us to a taste of their apple juices and ciders. Delish! But don't take my word for it - keep an eye out for their  cider range in Tescos, Marks & Spencers and Kellys in Armagh. Go on, treat yourself.



Thank you to Mervyn Steenson of Groucho's in Richhill for providing tasty platters of locally produced snacks.



Our first reader scheduled after the break created a spellbinding atmosphere with her reading that even silenced the lamb.


A true literary genius, Cathy Carson held our hearts in her hands as she read Ready, leaving hardly a dry eye in the house.


Hot on her heels, Paul Anthony pulled us into the world of a person obsessed with counting with his clever use of language in The Dead Counter.


The twist at the end collected a unified gasp from the audience and the lamb resumed operations!


The rain continued to 'fall like pebbles' on the roof - to paraphrase John O Connor's words - as Eddie McClenaghan took to the apple-barrel-podium.


He expertly wove a tale in his story, A Smile that carried the audience all the way through a fantastical twist that left us reeling. A new talent we hope to see more of.


Kieran Mc Gurk evoked emotion and wry smiles with his story Lonely Hearts.



He deftly captured our emotions and served them up to us with added spice and a twist of humour.



To round up the evening fellow Women Aloud NI member, Doreen Mc Bride read My Dolls Funeral, leaving us all with a good laugh.


When I complimented her on her humour, she looked me straight in the eye and declared that it wasn't funny at all. She had buried her doll! I've heard Doreen read at Women Aloud NI events, and the lady always leaves me smiling.


Our next Flash Fiction event takes place during the Georgian Festival in Armagh. Submissions are open for Flash Fiction in Georgian Armagh until 22nd October. Please do not submit if you are not available to read at the event. For dates of our other Flash Fiction events until March 2019 click here.


We'd like to thank the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon (ABC) Borough Council for their support and for including us in their festivals. I've seen the work and commitment that goes into making these festivals so sucessful. They should be really proud of what they have achieved here.


Byddi Lee