Wednesday 6 May 2015

Out on a Limb


It's 876 AD and, with a battle cry, hundreds of Viking warriors run up the hillside towards Corfe Castle and the waiting Saxons.


Well OK, it's actually 2015 and my husband and I are having a weekend away (yes another!) to celebrate his 50th birthday. What we didn't know was that the bank holiday weekend was the annual re-enactment of the Siege of Wareham. When we arrived, and saw the village swarming with Vikings, we nearly turned back, but do you know, it actually made it a great experience.

For a start, where else are you likely to share a pub table with a couple of Saxons in full regalia and a guy who looks like he's come out of an Asterix comic? 

On Saturday, we visited the castle itself. I haven't been to this part of Dorset for a long while and Corfe Castle really is quite spectacular, sitting on top of its hill, looking down upon the Purbeck village that shares its name. Because of the re-enactment, the castle grounds were strewn with siege tents and on the ridge below the castle, Saxon villagers were displaying their traditional crafts, cooking on camp fires and drinking from cow horns.

The mist hung above the encampment like a shroud and the whole scene was mystical and full of atmosphere.

The main event though was the 'big' birthday and we had packed the car with all my husband's birthday presents and brought them with us. The one that kept us entertained for the longest was the brilliant cryptic crossword puzzle that fellow womag writer Viv Brown had created for us as a prize in a competition on her blog. We're not particularly good at crosswords but we managed about three quarters of them without resorting to sneaking a look at the solutions. All the clues were linked to items, places and events that were special and meaningful to us and I'd like to thank Viv once again for a wonderful present.

While I was away, I was guest on 'A Woman's Wisdom' blog, talking about the ten things I have learnt since becoming a writer. Do pop over and have a look - you might be amused! You can read it here.

One of the things I wrote was that, rather than trying to fit in with a magazine's style, it can sometimes pay off to write something a little different in order to stand out from the crowd.  'Out on a Limb' is one such story. I confess I was surprised when I sold it to The People's Friend as it was very different to the usual stories they publish. It was bought a long time ago and I was wondering whether they had changed their minds about publishing it due to its quirkiness. But no... it is in this weeks magazine. Hurrah!


17 comments:

  1. Glad you had a fun trip. Corfe castle is lovely.

    Congratulations on your latest publication.

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    1. I loved it. My great aunt used to live there and I have a vague memory of visiting when I was very young.

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  2. I look forward to reading your story, Wendy. I'm in PF this week too!

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  3. After hearing all about this in the tearooms it's lovely to see the photos, Wendy. You must write that story! And I must read 'Out on a limb' ...

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  4. What a great weekend it sounds and all the more so for having all those unexpected extras.
    Your Out on a Limb is lovely Wendy as is Helen's The Open Road - two super stories. x

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    1. Thank you, Sue - that's kind (my story is based on a true story, something that recently happened to my friends' parents. Had the same happy ending too, I'm pleased to say!)

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  5. These re-enactment bods are a strange crew. The English Heritage Festival of History is often held down the road from us and it's very entertaining to see them break character and use a mobile phone while wearing a toga! Glad you had a good weekend - and congrats on your story.

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    1. Thanks, Julia. We were rather bewildered when Captain Jack Sparrow walked into the pub!

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  6. Sounds like it was a wonderful weekend away, and a birthday treat your husband will remember. I bet you
    picked up one or two story ideas too.

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    1. I did, Maria. Working on them now :)

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    2. Good news on the story, Wendy and great pictures. Will get p.f tomorrow.

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    3. Hope you enjoy reading it, Susan.

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  7. Just read Out On A Limb and loved the twist at the end. I have three stories outstanding with PF but I expect they'll be published in due course. You seem to have at least one in every week just lately. Congratulations.

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    1. It was a bit different wasn't it, Keith. They'd had that one for over a year :) but as they pay when they buy, I never mind.

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