Riddles 05

 Riddles 05 

By the Riddler

 

The Riddler has two puzzles for us today:

 

No 1.  A Plane crashes off the coast of Bermuda.  Every single person died, yet there were two survivors.  How could that happen?

 

No 2.   What 5-letter word becomes shorter when two letters are added? What is that word?

 

Keep em coming Riddler

Halloween Fantasy

 Halloween Fantasy

By Jane Goodhew

Was it really that time again, it was so hard to believe that it was a year ago that it all happened, it seemed like only yesterday.  Everyone was getting ready to go to the Halloween Ball and had worked hard to make sure it would be perfect.  The rose petals had been stored since summer but still looked as fresh as the day they had been picked.  So many colours, some pastel others more vivid and vibrant for those who wanted to be noticed and there would be plenty that did as this ball was special as the prince himself would be there.  The future king of Fantasy Land, a land full of fairies, pixies, elves and of course witches both the good and the bad.  They all inhabited the gardens of those who still believed in dreams and love and forever after.  If you go out into your garden and are very, very quiet, look carefully, you will see them, busy trying to get the hall ready, sweeping leaves away to be re-scattered later to cover the floor in a thick, luxurious carpet of warm rustic brown and burnt orange which will crackle underfoot as the guests enter the hall and later as they dance around the floor.  The pixies are putting the tables out made of twigs and bark from the silver birch with small mushrooms for stools so that everyone can be seated for the banquet which will take place at 9pm before the dancing which goes on until Midnight.  The large mushrooms provide shelter should it rain, and the spider’s webs keep the draught out and catch any mischief makers who might try to spoil the evening.  As it is Halloween there are often many who would rather create chaos and mayhem than just have fun and enjoy the night and so the spiders keep a watch and throw out the troublesome ones or keep them stuck fast to their web until the night is over.                            

Annabella had looked forward to the evening all her life, she dreamt of growing up and meeting her Prince and then as in the story books living happy and content for the rest of her life with the man she loved and the children they had together.  Life was going to be bliss.  She had been to the dressmaker that very afternoon to pick up her ball-gown made of the most delicate rose petals that he had to offer in soft shades of pink and lavender that would glisten in the moonlight as if they were covered in a thousand diamonds that sparkled and lit up the room but were the dew that had remained upon them and would until the dress was packed away to be made into potpourri as a memento of the evening.  She was so excited she could hardly wait, and she was determined to look her best and not be outshone by any of the other fairies especially as she knew they had come from far and wide in the hope that the prince would notice them.   Annabella had been told from an early age that she was the prettiest girl for miles around and although she was not vain she knew this to be true because her Mother had a mirror just as in the old folk tales that would say who was the most beautiful fairy in the area and it always said ‘Annabella is the most lovely and exquisite in the whole of fairyland, there is no one more attractive than she’. 

Annabella thought of the previous year and a dark sadness overcame her as in her mind she went back there and recalled every hideous moment which she had been watching through her globe and wished she could find a way to make up for all the hurt that had been caused that night even though she was not to blame but her evil twin Pandora.  Pandora had always been jealous of her sister and had teased her ever since she was able to talk and would play unpleasant jokes on her or blame her for things that she herself had done.  She was popular amongst the locals because they feared her and preferred to remain on her good side if there was one.  Just like today, everybody had been working hard to make the evening a great success and it would have been if Pandora could have just left her black magic at home.

 

The hall was full to bursting and everyone was so happy, laughter filled the air and smiles lit up the room as did the light from the full moon.     The pixies had just finished clearing away the last of the dinner plates and the goblets were being filled with pink champagne so they could all raise their glasses and give thanks to another successful year.  That was the last time that anyone who had been there that night knew what it was to smile or to be happy or to give thanks because since then all their lives had been plunged into blackness and an overwhelming sadness that they could not find a way out from.  A wind had come out of nowhere and started to get stronger and stronger until the guests were being lifted off the ground and thrown into the air then as suddenly as it had come, it ended and they came down to earth with a bump.  Stunned into silence they looked at one another as the thunder crashed and the lightening zapped through the hall setting light to the leaves that were tinder dry, the fire quickly spread and panic overcame each and every one of them as the smoke became so thick that they could not see the exit.  They cried out to each other, they tried to fly but something kept their wings from working so they huddled together that was the end, the last anyone remembers because the next day there was nothing to show of the disaster that had just occurred.  When I say nothing that is not quite true because the difference was that everyone who had been there that night had changed, they were no longer young and beautiful and fit and healthy but old, craggy, bent over and their memory was failing, some days they could not even remember their own names.  Annabella and all her friends had been spared because they were too young to attend, this year would be their first ball and they were hoping that a miracle could be performed and that the spell that had been cast a year ago could be lifted, that love would succeed and hate would fail, that Pandora would see the error of her ways and find forgiveness in her heart.   It had not been meant that she would not receive an invite to the ball, it was a genuine mistake, the elf who had neatly hand-written out every letter had not known that Pandora had been born at 11.59pm and Annabella 12.09am so Pandora had been old enough to attend and had felt slighted at being missed out.  She had worked herself up into such a state she could not think straight and instead of going to the Mayor and explaining the error which would have been easy to rectify she instead reeked misery on all those who did go which also meant that all their relatives suffered too when they saw how their children had become.  Since that night no-one had heard or seen Pandora, she had vanished into thin air which is why the curse could not be lifted because only the fairy who placed it could remove it, that or a new love that would last a lifetime and it was that love that Annabella dreamed of.

Copyright Jane Goodhew

                 

 

                                    

             

 

 

                                                                                                             

 

 

Coming events...

 Coming Future Events:

We are planning to sell copies of our anthology at the events listed below.

We have events booked for 2024 as follows:

1. Mill Hall ~ Trinity Fair Sunday 9th June 2024 11am to 4pm.  Volunteers will be required as it's an 'all day' event.  You need only turn up for an hour to allow others to take a hospitality break.

2. INGATESTONE SUMMER SHOW ~ Saturday, 20th July 2024. 12.30 to 5pm.  Venue: the Seymour Field, Ingatestone.

Peter Woodgate & Rob Kingston sold 72 books; well done guys, an excellent effort!

3. 

Timings, directions to venues, and if volunteers will be required ~ (to be added when available)...

4.  

About us

 

ABOUT RAYLEIGH WRITERS

The idea to start a writers’ group in Rayleigh came about as a result of a questionnaire circulated to residents asking for ideas to improve their local library. Our first meeting was held in 2001, and we have continued to meet at the Library ever since. From the start, it became clear that our writers were a lively, friendly bunch who enjoyed each other’s company, so much so that our regular gatherings were soon augmented by additional activities that have recently included a writing workshop and summer social.

         An early initiative was the decision in 2003 to publish an anthology of short stories and poems under the title ‘Writers Reign’. The following year, hot off the press, it won a First Prize Certificate in a national competition organised by the David St John Thomas Trust and Writing Magazine.  Astonished rather than surprised we sold the book in support of a local hospital charity, and having done so promptly began a second book. The publication and sale of anthologies has since been a core activity of the Group.

         We not only write and produce our anthologies but sell them at craft fairs and other events throughout the county. In 2010 the Writers took to the stage for an evening of readings and recitations as part of the Essex Book Festival, an activity that later featured in some of our launch evenings for published books.

         Three years later, we were awarded a ‘Special Certificate of Recognition for Services in Rayleigh’ by Rayleigh Town Council and, at the request of the Council, adjudicated a children’s illustrated poem competition, funding one of the prizes.

         During the first Covid lockdown, the Group banished social isolation among its membership by setting up a blog on which members were able to communicate with each other and showcase their work. In the three years it has been running hundreds of stories and poems have been posted and viewed by many people in the UK and abroad:

http://RLWG2020.blogspot.com

               Recently, in June 2023, the Group presented the Air Ambulance with a cheque for £1,200 bringing its charitable giving to £9,700. And we’re not through yet! Another anthology, our seventh, has recently been published and is presently on sale at various events and venues, including Rayleigh Museum. Now bearing the title ‘Essex Tales’ it will, yet again, be sold in support of the Air Ambulance.

         Apart from its charitable endeavours the Group exists to encourage a regular writing habit among its members, a number of whom have pushed ahead with their own projects that have resulted in the publication of novels, the winning of prizes in literary competitions and the publication of poems and prose in national magazines.

         New members, whether they be established or aspiring writers, are welcome to attend our monthly meetings at Rayleigh Library beginning at 2.30pm on the second Thursday of each month. Membership costs the exorbitant sum of £1 per meeting attended. We look forward to seeing you.

November 2023

*  FURTHER INFORMATION ON THE GROUP IS TO BE FOUND ON THE GROUP’S NOTICE BOARD AT THE LIBRARY. 

Four from Rob

 A monoku

mood swings the light on my dark side

A tanka

at mother’s home

first smelling the irises

then hydrangeas

I’m left searching

for her own scent

A split sequence haibun

Break point

Waking in the outback is somewhat stilling for some

            tempest weather

be it a tundra, a mountain, a desert or a deep forest

          a storm in a teacup

the first thought generally is to look to the stars and ask why me

            lips out

A haiga

• 
  

 Riddles 04

 

Two more from the Riddler

 

No1

A bus driver goes the wrong way down a one way street.

he passes 2 cops but they don't stop him why?

 

No2

 Turn me on my side I am everything, cut me in half I am nothing

What am I?

 

You aint seen nothing yet!  The Riddler

 

 Northern Reaches ~ 02  Wizomi’s Quest

BY Len Morgan 

They touched down 30 yards from a rocky outcrop.  Wings were efficiently collapsed and ported towards the bare rock face where he recognised the, now familiar, hand print incised at shoulder height.  They, each in turn, pressed a hand into the print and walked into the darkness.  He was pushed forward by Ariel and entered the void.  The wings were laid on racks at either side of the entranceway.  Further in there was a locker room where they removed their flight suits and donned soft synthetic clothing. 

“You can stow your gear in 111,” he was told, “Use your palm print to open it.”  The clothing provided was a warm figure hugging light material as were the shoes.  They headed down a 1 in 2 gradient ramp into a bunker lit by the now familiar ceiling tiles.  The bottom of the ramp opened into a high roofed area two hundred feet long half that wide, and to either hand there were rows of doors.

“So Ariel, this is your lair?”

“No this is our main storage facility, the top floor, there are other floors below.  The sector committee wishes to meet with you first, so follow me.”  She led him to a wall space without a door, indicating that he should activate the palm panel on the wall.  He found himself in a lounge area, in the presence of five others, Ariel did not follow him. A tall slender grey-haired woman greeted him and ushered him to a seating area. 

 

“Greetings Mr Wizomi, My name is Cherrie these are Petter, Fred, Shane & Jeenie.  We brought you here by a circuitous route for security reasons.  We do have, on occasion, uninvited guests.  They tend to follow our fliers but, as 'Standards', are unable to enter our sector lodge they eventually give up and leave.”

“Do you maintain contact with them?” 

“No, but they are human and curious.  There have been a few sensitive minds, capable of gaining access.  We tend to plant doubt in their minds…” 

“Could you not let them in, and educate them?  We are going to need as many as possible to repel the Blutlander’s and later when the Karaxen return.”

“I’m afraid you’re getting ahead of yourself,” said Cherrie.  “We haven’t even agreed to help you, and to put it indelicately, we need to know what is in it for us?”

“The Bluttlander’s intend to dominate and take over our world of Abbalar.  They may not be your immediate concern but if we do not stop them and change their philosophy they will eventually reach you.  It would be better for us to combat them now, together.  Because, In roughly 500 years the Karaxen will be released to reclaim the world they consider to be theirs…” 

“Wizomi, we do not live that long, so that is a problem for the future.  We know of the Karaxen, we have met them before…” 

“You have?  You know what they look like?  You know they will exterminate we Abbalons like vermine…” 

“Look,” a picture of an alien-scaled creature filled a wall of the room. “this is our enemy, we can defeat it.”

“What a monstrosity…” 

“They would be a problem, but we have improved our technology, and our numbers are increasing rapidly.  There were pockets of the Karaxen that did not die out or go underground.  We now know their weaknesses and could combat the others on an equal footing.  We are prepared for them.” Cherrie said. 

“So, you would abandon the ‘standards’ of Abbalar?” 

“Why should we be concerned with them, they’ve persecuted us for years, they are no better than the Bluttlander’s, they deserve each other!” said Petter. 

“We were briefed by the Oracle. We were given all this information.  The Oracle was left behind when the others left to bring us back together again,” said Jeenie.

“We need to discuss this!” said Shane. 

‘Ariel, collect Mr Wizomi and take him to the canteen…”  

“Please go out the way you came in.  Ariel will be your guide while you are here. We will call you back when we’ve discussed your request and reached a decision.”

“Wiz, you’ve had a long journey.  You need to eat and unwind,  Follow me,” Ariel said.

“Where are we going?”

“First we shower, change into fresh clothing, then eat and drink with friends.  Do you have a talent; Musician, Dancer, Conjurer?”

“I’m known as Wizomi the Story Teller, If the opportunity presents, I will ply my trade for your enjoyment.” 

“Good!  We, not of the council, are starved of news from the outside world.  Will you tell us about it?”

Wizomi ate a sumptuous meal with the rest of the flight.  During the meal, he told them of his time with the various peoples inhabiting the Southern regions of Abbalar.  They ate, drank, sang, and danced until even Wiz became tired. 

'Follow,' said Ariel, 'tonight you sleep with me …'

.-...-.

They were breaking-fast in the canteen the following morning when they were accosted by four stern-faced men in uniform.

"Visitor Wizomi, the Committee has reached a decision with regard to your plight. please come with us."

"Who are you?" Wiz demanded.

'They are Inquisitors, and they have weapons,' Ariel explained. 'You'd better go with them...'

Ariel rose to accompany him.

"Not you!" the leader said pushing her unceremoniously into her seat.

'This does not bode well,' Wiz thought as They led him away. 

(To be continued)

Copyright Len Morgan