Net Work Book Club discussion
A Drabble Advent Calendar
Awe, that's sweet. I love the Christmas plays the little ones do and always end up with a tear in my eye.
I worked in a primary school Suze. All those things happened!
I can believe it, and I can only imagine how much work is involved with rehearsals etc and making sure the kids are in the right place at the right time.
Oh, they NEVER are! Somehow though, it doesn't matter. A primary Nativity where it all goes right is slightly lifeless. It's the children and their creative mistakes who make it sparkle.
We are going through it at the moment. Next Thursday and Friday all the parents will be in tears at the sight of their little ones. : )
It's an annual ritual. Lovely though. It makes Christmas.
Behind door number seven is a drabble by Jonathan AND the chance to win a prize!In addition to today’s drabble, there is a £5 Amazon voucher up for grabs! To be in with a chance of winning, simply email your name and the word ‘SANTA’ to drabbleduo@yahoo.co.uk by 10pm tonight. A winner will be chosen at random and announced tomorrow. Email addresses will be deleted after the winner has been contacted. Good luck!
Late for the Service
Robert tore off the shiny paper as fast as he could. The living room carpet was no longer visible; wrapping, ribbons and opened gifts everywhere. Robert at that moment was the proverbial kid in a sweet shop. “Oh gee, a Playstation! Thanks, Mum. Thanks, Dad.” Robert wasted no time plugging in his new console and soon he was pummelling the controller, causing onscreen villains to drop dead. His parents left him to it.
A couple of hours later, Robert’s mum burst in. “Robert, what are you doing here still?!” She tossed his dog collar to him. “They’ll all be waiting!”
Tee hee - I have a confession to make. When I first read the story, I thought you had done a Family Guy twist in the story and Robert was from a family of talking dogs.
Haha!I hope people go in for the competition. It's going to be chosen randomly. Got a special random number generating program to do it! :)
I like that one, thanks Kath :-)) For some daft reason I've never thought of the clergy receiving Christmas presents like we do.
I think that's why this one works - we aren't expecting it. :)
Congratulations to Claire, a member of the Goodreads UK Amazon Kindle Forum, whose name was randomly chosen for the £5 voucher. Thanks to all who took part - and watch out for more prizes.Behind the 8th door is another offering from Kath.
The Optimist
Emma was an incurable optimist. Eventually her friends found it irritating that she was so happy and upbeat all the time. At Christmas, they decided to put her optimism to the test. They gave each other wonderful gifts; one got a fabulous watch, another a computer game, the third some earrings she’d been drooling over all year. They arranged for a huge pile of manure to be dropped outside Emma’s house.
When they went to see her on Christmas morning she was dancing up and down on it with glee, shouting, “There’s got to be a pony in here somewhere!”
Jonathan present our Day 9 story.In a Scrape
It’s a time of year I detest! Those frosty winter mornings when all vehicles parked outdoors have a layer of seemingly impenetrable ice covering their windows. It’s too much hassle messing with de-icer and waiting an eternity. I usually set off with the windows only partially cleared. I’ve not had any problems so far, touch wood!
Today is no different. Vision is poor but there’s a nice patch of window clearing. I can look through that if I crane my neck just a little. Satisfied, I push the button and start speaking. “Ladies and gentleman, this is your captain speaking....”
Makes me glad I'm not flying to warmer places for Christmas Flo!
Don't you think Christmas is a bit scary though Suze? I used to hate the thought of a strange old man in my bedroom. (Quite like it now though! haha!)
Well now you mention it, I suppose it is. Some strange bloke in your bedroom and his reindeers parked on the roof. It just isn't normal is it.Even though, they don't come any stranger than my husband some times :-))
Day 10 and I hope your Christmas isn't too much like this! One from me.Twelve Christmas Dinners
On Christmas Day we ate roast turkey with all the trimmings.
On Boxing Day, cold turkey and salad
On the third day of Christmas we had turkey sandwiches.
Day four brought a hearty turkey stew.
Fifth day? Turkey and ham pie. Yum
Day six was turkey fricassee. Not bad.
Seventh day, turkey burgers.
Eighth was turkey risotto.
Day nine, turkey au gratin. Not as exciting as it sounds.
On the tenth day, turkey curry was inevitable!
Day eleven, we managed turkey rissoles.
As I made soup from the carcass on day twelve, I vowed it would be beef next year!
This is very true, and the reason I rarely do turkey at Christmas.
We always have turkey stew. yum. Although I must say I could eat turkey every day.
December 11th: A drabble by Jonathan and a Christmas present for everyone!The Snowman by Jonathan Hill
The figure, named Simon, was standing in the centre of the garden facing the house. A grin was etched into his pale face. Everything around was coated in a beautiful crisp white. It was dazzling to behold. Simon was completely naked but for a bowler hat and a long tweed scarf. His dark eyes were set wide apart above a carrot-like nose. In his mouth was a pipe aslant.
Inside the house, Robbie watched, his chin resting on his hands. He turned his head and shouted, "Mum? Mu-um! Granddad's in the back garden again and he's not wearing any clothes.”
In addition to today’s drabble, Jonathan is pleased to offer everyone a free copy of his new Christmas short story, ‘Maureen Gets Crafty’. To download your complimentary copy, please click the link to be taken to your Amazon store. http://authl.it/B00H7Z12U8?d
Thank you Jonathan - downloaded. I Promise I won't open it til Christmas Day though!!
Thank you. I have downloaded it. Loved the Story : )
Spread the word ladies. It's nice to get a freebie for Christmas and it's only free for 5 days. :)
I have put it on the freebies list on two sites : )
Love the drabble, they seem to get better every day. Also, thank you for the book link, I love Maureen, especially when she went to Venice.
My turn again today. :)The Night Before Christmas by Kath Middleton
'Twas the night before Christmas and throughout the house,
No hardware's plugged in there, not even a mouse.
The kindle's charged up now, the tablet as well,
When onto the scene comes a tinkling bell.
The Fairy of Christmas looks down from the tree
With wishes and drabbles for you and for me.
One hundred wishes she has to bestow.
"You're one of the lucky ones," she lets me know.
"I wish for unlimited eBooks to read
For all indie authors' good books to succeed
Contracts with publishers, profits aglow!"
And that’s when I woke up - but you never know!
Have you had chance to catch up on our Story Competition yet Frenchie...... we need as many votes as we can get.
Goody - Hope you enjoy the Stories!!
Frenchie wrote: "Ignite wrote: "It's kept us off street corners for a while Michael :)"You could always sing Christmas Carols in the street corners though :-) :-)
Sorry for late answer, I was away for two weeks. ..."
Anyone can add a drabble if they wish, Frenchie.
Thanks Kath. I know it's a bit late but didn't come online yesterday much so only just read it.
Day 13 and it's a lovely little story from Jonathan.A Christmas Miracle
It was Christmas morn when Toby's dad approached his son to break the news about Santa. Toby's mum had died after a lengthy illness and it was now just them both rattling about the place. Scraping by. He was about to let his son down when Toby ran to him and shouted, “Look, Daddy, Santa's been!" Toby's dad looked, and sure enough there was a stocking bulging with presents. He couldn't understand it. He peered inside and, as he did, caught the scent of his wife's favourite perfume. Santa hadn't been, but his wife had. "Merry Christmas, Angela," he whispered.
I like this one too. I look forward to reading these daily dribbles :-))
Day 14 and Kath provides the story while Jonathan offers a free ebook.Twelve Days by Kath Middleton
What a lot of stupid presents my true love sent to me!
Day thirteen arrived and thank heaven the Lords a Leaping and the Ladies Dancing whirled away to the skirl of the Pipers and the rapping of the Drummers. I took off my ear protectors.
The Maids a Milking made goose egg omelettes and the French hens squawked away to dig up the garden. The swans swanned off. The pear tree blew down and the partridge flew away with those bloody noisy calling birds. I took the rings to 'Cash for Gold' and bought a big box of chocolates.
In addition to today’s drabble, there is a Kindle copy of 100 One Hundred Word Tales up for grabs! The winner will be emailed an Amazon UK/US gift certificate for the value of the book. To be in with a chance of winning, simply email your name and the word ‘SNOWMAN’ to drabbleduo@yahoo.co.uk by 10pm tonight. A winner will be chosen at random and announced tomorrow. Email addresses will be deleted after the winner has been contacted. Good luck!
I love all the Drabbles and I understand that both you and Jonathan are quite busy - but it would be really appreciated if you could both spare the time to read the 3 entries in our Christmas story competition and cast your vote.The link for the entries is:-
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
and the link for the poll to cast your vote is:-
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/1...
Ouch, Flo has her whip out and cracking! I made sure I voted first before answering L@L.Xmaas not my cup of tea though. Maybe next time we have a competition with Romance and Love as a theme, yes?
We will see what can be arranged....... Thanks for the vote!I had a message from one of our members - unfortunately the links I put up don't work for some reason. I C&P'd the URL, so don't know why they don't work. However, having sent one "broadcast to all members" message today - I can't send a correction until tomorrow. Would any other Mods like to C&P my message and correct the links and use up their "Broadcast" message of the day for me?? Please, Please me!!
I've tried this link out for the poll and it seems to work ok:-
https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/1...
and this one for the entries:-
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
The Christmas Concert
Is there anything else so touching, funny or chaotic as a school Christmas concert? Shepherds wore sheets and towels, kings wore curtains and paper crowns and angels wore netting and tinsel. Joseph knocked on an imaginary door and a forgetful innkeeper rolled up his robe and took his ‘script’ from his pocket. "No room!" he read slowly.
In the stable, Joseph gently shook his wife, "Wake up, Mary. You've had a baby!" An awestruck tiny angel fell off the stage.
After ‘Away in a Manger’ very few eyes weren't moist. On stage, one or two pairs of pants were too.