Open Writing
Openwriting Web magazine features a feast of words from regular columnists, U3A writers and other authors. Every day there is something new to read in Openwriting.
Archives
The Talents That Bloom To Blush Unseen
A Present For Mary
Revolutionary Lists
Baby Marrow Soup
Yesterday
Chapter 28
Chapter 15
61 - The Riot Continues
Chapter 14
Don’t Bother About Being Modern
Celebrating Motherhood
Flashes Of Light
The Bald Truth
Song Of The Wheelies
Christingle
53 – An Energetic Cockerel
If I Ruled The World
Villagers
Dogwood Falls Distillery
Chapter 51 - The Trauma Of Being Robbed
Carl Neilsen's Symphony N.4 - "The Inextinguishable''
A Medley Of Memories
The Eggnog Express
The Bloody Battle Of Bullecourt
Delirium's Tower
Looking Back, Further Back, And Forward
Bees Given Cocaine
A Winter Evening
Sad Tale o' John the Baptist
It’s Bargain Time Again
Unruly Calendar
Dear John, I'm Confused
A Merry Appeal
Chapter 13
30 - Moon Landing
Chance Child - Part One: 18 – A Flight Of Fancy
The Sorcerer’s Apprentice
Take A Letter Miss Smith - Please!
The Gift
Revolutionary Lists
Adolf Over-The-Road
Happiness
How Old Are You?
Chapter 27
Chapter 14
The Perils Of Catachresis
60 - Rioting Tribes
Of Mice And Then
Old Folks Home
Radical Thoughts
Plastic Bag Blues
Millennium
52 – Hitting The Coconut
115 – Still A Shields Lad
Thoughts On Fame – From Vietnam
A Three-Foot Column Of Flame
Something To Say
The Garland
50 - Travelling Home
Guilmant's Symphony No.1 For Organ And Symphony
Portrait Of A Prince
Under Cover Of Darkness
Home For Christmas
Letting Go
Under Columbus's Statue
Pets And Pests And Scary Owls
T Babby Born In A Mistal
Impersonators At Large
Hey Lettie, What’s This On My Plate?
A Proper Boxin' Day Affair
An Empty Place At The Table
Echoes Of Christmas
Do They Know It's Christmas?
The Holy Night
On The Run
The Salvos At Christmas
Remembering
Deja Vu
Chapter 26
Chapter 13
The Best Vanity Publisher Ever
59 – Brothers In The Eyes Of Allah
The Thermogene Protocol
Period Of Adjustment
Christmas Rush
Bees Do It
A Price Too High (Carers’ Rap?)
51 - A Bit Of Land
600 Kilometers Of Near-Death
114 – Economic Effects
The Argument
Keighworth Culture
Chapter 49 - Mealie-Meal
Saint-Saëns’ Organ Symphony
Enduring War
Supercentenarians Share Same Birthday
Christmas Alone
Layers Of Wrapping
Just A Peek Inside
Introduction And Glossary
Nativity
Memories Of Interface
Dear Diary
A Brand New Doctor
Christmas Nostalgia
The Twelve Days Of Christmas
Nan's Dayglo Cake
Chapter 12
29 - Paying My Taxes
Chance Child - Part One: 17 – Harry Clemence To The Rescue
Beniamino Gigli
A Woman's Health And A Man's Concerns
A Flute Player’s Fantasies
The Porcelain Bowls
Chapter 25
Donations
Chapter 12
The Power Of A Name
58 – Extracting The Basics
Willie
Gypsies, Tramps And Thieves
Kellett's Christmas
Killjoys
Without Closure
50 – Reg’s News
In Vietnam
113 – A Suspect
Compulsive
Some Thoughts For Advent
Chapter 48 - Satisfying Swings
Bliss's A Colour Symphony
Get Over There – And At The Double
Talking Of Home
Our Grandmothers Helped Us
Broken Compasses
As Fresh And As Near As Now
The "Perks''
Me, Me, Me
On Receiving And Giving
A Reassuring Message?
Die We All Must
Calm Your Mind And Improve Your Health
Sleeping Dogs, Sleeping Child
Chapter 11
28 - Finding The Cat
Chance Child - Part One: 16 - The Embarrassing Kingham-Jones
Mary Garden
There's A Lot To Be Said For A Little Repression
There’s An Orchestra In My Cupboard
The Queen And I
The Beira Bucket
Chapter 24
The Red Gum Tree
Chapter 11
In Praise Of The LOA
57 – A Visit To The Bedou
My First Ship
Blake Lea
The World's Best Toy
Of Daughters: Past; Present And Future Perfect
49 – Hitler’s First Mistake
Illustrated Man
112 – Her Harold Wilson Coat
Novel Types
Leonard Cullen
Tableaux de Provence
47 - African Politics
Excuse Me There's A Tooth On Your Shoe
Fires Down Below
Waste Nothing At Christmas
Life is Sweet
Trams
Meditations From The Valley Of The Manic Muse
The Facts About A Gentleman's Gentleman
An Unwelcomed Musical Medley
£17,000 A Day
What A Pantomime
An Autumn Retreat
Lethargy: An Ode to Squalor
Building, Building
Chapter 10
27 - Dealing With Disabilities
Chance Child - Part One: 15 – Sir Abe Is Angry
Manuel Del Populo
The Expectations Of Aging
Initiation
Handle With Care
The Teapots
Chapter 23
Jinny
Chapter 10
Paragoge
56 – The Bedouin
Tableau In Red
Peeking Places
Quantum Of Frolics
Journey In The Pizza Palace
48 – An Effective Air Raid Warning
111 – No Regrets
Mirror Man
The Two Dons
November
Farm Yarn
“An Opera Gala”
46 - Three Hours Of Purgatory
Adjusting The Volume
The Coveted Blood Line
82 - That Special Letter
Loss Of Continuity
Caught In The Middle
Autumn
Buy Nothing Day
No Giggling On The Green
A HorseWith One Eye
Eytin 'umble pah
A Busman's Holiday
26 – Taking Pictures
Chapter 9
Chance Child - Part One: 14 - Acid Dripping on Metal
Marya Freund
If You Can't Stand The Heat, Turn Off The TV
Mice, Men And Secretary Birds: Part Two
The Laingsburg Disaster
Sarah Jane
A Monologue, (and How to Write It)
Chapter 22
"I Want To Kiss You!''
Distinguished By Writing
Chapter 9
55 – A Productive Desert Walk
Back Streets
November
The Foggitt Files
Littleton Colliery Epitaph
47 - Hidden Pregnancy
Every Event In My Life
110 – A Major Turning Point
The Teachers - Part 4 - Revolution
On The Platform
Mind Music
Rachmaninov's Second Piano Concerto
45 - Deportations
Spare A Thought For The Pigeons
Better Hair On Bacon
Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow
Sucker!
The Blitz
85 – Living Memories
Cane Makers Plight
Economic Fact And Fiction
What Some Of Us Need
School Trip Metamorphosis
Global Warming - Boring, Boring
Mixaphores
Drinking
Samui Virtual
Symphony Concert
25 - The Luger
Chapter 8
Chance Child - Part One: 13 – Delight and Resentment
Olive Fremstad
It's The Little Things In Life
Mice, Men And Secretary Birds: Part One
The Lottery
Christmas In June
Chapter 21
Time And Tide
The Best Laid Plans . . .
Chapter 8
Bad Ideas
54 – Meeting The Pipeline Gang
Cat Women I Have Known
Lesser Ways
Russian oligarchs - a glossary of terms
Trentham Colliery Epitaph
46 – In the Fresh Country Air
109 - To The South On Itchy Feet
Twanging Nerves
The Tastiest Meal Of My Life
Sight, Sound, Smell, Taste And Touch
Trinity Church Organ
Interview
44 – First-hand Experiences
The House Of Living Stones
“Ballet in the Blood”
Where's My Ship?
The Army Newspaper That Scooped The World
The Yorkshire Range
The Exploits And Adventures Of A Travelling Musician
Broken Keys
84 – A Desire Fulfilled
Not Quite Pterodactyls
Down And Out
Meadowhell
The Luxury Of A Slow Oven
Bingled Nodules
Payin' fer Forbidden Fruit
Animism Rules Okay!
24 - The People
Chapter 7
Chance Child - Part One: 12 – Welcoming His Chance
Kirsten Flagstad
A Furry Face-Lift
Big Boys And Their Toys
Johannesburg Spring
Anzac Biscuits
Chapter 20
74 – Emergency Renovations
I Flaked The Sails Years Ago
Chapter 7
Johannesburg Spring
Make Your Own Rug
Reading Pictures
53 – One-eared Salukis
Been there—done that!
Do The Pie Thing
Chapter 45
Ocean Roadkill
Holly Bank
45 – Domestic And War Requirements
108 - Stigma On Tyneside
Earth Bound
Street Of The Burning Englishman
Three Of Us
Teddy Walker And The Dead Donkey
43 – Finding a Gem
“A Simple Matter of Style”
Careless Talk
Truth Revisited
Souvenir - A True Story
Old Soldiers Never Die
83 – Remaining In Touch
Paying Homage
I Did Not Become Briny
How Much Is A Life Worth?
Attitudes Before Arteries
How Hot Should Chili Be?
Bargainin' over Yar Ethel
Grrrraaawoooww!
Bad Pussy Broke My Pot!
Dry Cleaners
Chapter 6
23 – Diamond Smugglers
Chance Child - Part One: 11 – A True Illingworth
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
"Manners Maketh Man''
Time Of The Jacarandas
Yes, Yes, To Insects
Australia Bound
The Disabled Toilet
Chapter 19
Something Of Nothing
Chapter 6
Cury
52 – Impressive Constructions
Wayne
Chapter 44
Silverdale
Talking Yorkshire
Broken Bones
44 – White After Christmas
107 - To Europe By Lambretta
The Gambler And The Talking Dog
A Meeting With The Mafia
Something
Job, A Masque for Dancing
42 – On Rocky Roads
Wordy Henry
82 – A Medal From The King
Barbed Wire Babies
The Morning Train
Sunday School
Evil Lies Behind Kittens, Cuckoo Clocks And Teddy Bears
When The Leaves Fall
A Tall Disorder
Porcine Concerns
Ethel's Movin' Idea
Eat, Drink, Rat, Dog
Henery The Eighth
22 - The Eavesdropper
Chapter 5
Chance Child - Part One: 10 – The Obliging Toad
Kathleen Ferrier
The Language Of Love
Modern Miracles
73 – Teenage Ups and Downs
Australia Bound
Feathered Friends
Chapter 18
A Tribute To Joyce Hinchliffe
New York Ghosts
Chapter 5
Peonies, Spiders And Urinators
51 – Desert Journey
Bush Telegraph
Lurid Tales
Chapter 43
Tickety Boo
Ariel Hierarchy
43 – Precious Months
106 - The Turning Point
From Mansions To Mobile Homes
Quinine - Or The Alternative
What Shall We Do About Algy?
All Souls Day
“Imitations of Iberia”
41 – The Olympic And Commonwealth Games Committee
The Queen WAS amused!
A 5 Shilling Bet That Helped To Win The War
After The Phoney War
81 – Down On The Farm
Charcoal Memories
Preparations For Sea
It Must Be True
Back to Winter Food
A Health Warning On Credit Cards
A Sentimental Loss
Legless Panto
21 - The Seal Tooth
Please Switch Off
In Touch With My Feminine Side
Chapter Four
Chance Child - Part One: 9 – Wasted Brass
Geraldine Farrar
The Tabloid Presidency
Turning The Pages
Not for Posting
Don’t Tell The Boys
Just Human
Chapter 17
Lyth Hill Walk
Digging
Chapter 4
Euphemisms
Those Darned Cats
50 – Tripoli Style
The Old Wooden Footbridge
Chapter 42
The Pirates Of Camp Pete
National Poetry DaY, 2008
Trapeze Star
42 – Here Comes The Bride
105 - Starting Out With A Lot In Common
A Celebration
Rocket Park
Just A Hunch
40 – Engrossed In Work
Michael Torke's "Javelin''
A Broken Thread
Taxi To Oshabeni
80 – Nearing The End Of The Road
Airborne
Beetle Bombs
Broken Spear Points
Echoes Of The Ancestors
A Tale Of The Unexpected
Holiday Blackmail
Old Joe Woodhead
A Hole In Nothing
Yar Day Aat
Chapter 3
20 – The Baboon And Other Creatures
The Relativity Of Remoteness
An Ancient Order
Chance Child - Part One: 8 – The Very Long Walk Home
Carlo Farinelli
Pinehurst
A Composer Extraordinaire
72 – A Shy New Family Member
Hold Out Your Hand
The Interior Designer
Anything to Declare
Chapter 16
Chapter 3
A Festival For The Printed Word
Tarantula
49 – Invited To Lunch
Dreams
Thank-You Alfie
Chapter 41
Nothing Like A Good Clear Out
Midsummer: Garden Sunset
41 – Rescue Of The Innocents
104 - Serious Thinking
The Rose Of Australia
A Staring Shark
Gran's House
Eye For An Eye
Two Mothers
39 – My Ambition Achieved
Film Music – Servant of the Silver Screen
How An Over 50s Writers’ Group Became A Publisher
Human Wonders Of The World
Take Cover
The Mausoleum
79 – Back To Square One
Subterranean Lolita
A Rented House
Music Of Love And Death
Making DIY Music
The Time Of The Turnip
On the Transcendent Seductions Of Cheese
Message From Above
Never Eat At A Place Called Mom’s
Present Tense... Future Perfect!
Chapter Two
19 – Hazardous Photography
Chance Child - Part One: 7 – Dreaming Of Freedom
Geraint Evans
America's Troubled Children
Life, Death And A Wedding
Beloveds
The Raven
Into the Light
Chapter 15
Chapter 2
Let's Meetup
48 – In The Old Lebanon
Gruntle
The Best Toffee Ever Tasted
Adelaide Ironside
Chapter 40
Cuil - The New Kid On The Block
40 – Beginning To Make Plans
103 – A Time of Personal Development
Where The Torture Never Stops
Living Longer
Decision Time
38 - An Eye-catching Advertisement
“The French Connection”
Autumn
The Perfect Day For A Red MG
The Plague Of Mice
Keep Your Windows Closed
Coatbridge’s Daughter - Eight
78 – A Reason To Celebrate
Wheelchair Bound
Keeping My Wheels Turning
The Idealistic Flap Of Patriot Banners
Dynastic Dilema
Did You Like The Music?
Sore Lips And Hot Cheeks
Born To Be Greedy
No End Of Speed
T' Fate Of An Autumn Giant
Canada Creek
Chapter One
18 - Having A Swim
Strategies For Staying Mentally Alert
A Noodle In A Rice Sack
6 – A Dashing Man
Willi Domgraf
The Constancy Of Change
Waiting
Henpecked
To Loch Ness And Beyond
Chapter 14
Second Chance
Chapter 1
Close Encounters Of The Winged Kind
Time To Consider
47 – The Painful Birth Of Israel
Nont Sarah’s
Peace
The Rising Brook
Chapter 39
Cruiser Bruiser
Cold Wet Nose Sniffs Trouble
39 – New Additions
102 – Indebted To Lt McCann
The Anguish Continues
Opera On The Net
Philosophical
The Meteora Monasteries
A Repaid Debt
Symphonic Metamorphoses on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber
37 – Mother Knew Best
Self-powered Electric Car Is A World First
My War - The Conclusion
Seeds
Loving Billy Mays
What To Do When You Are Bored – Part 4
77 – Concert In The Garden of Eden
Fallible Man
A Small Rebellion
Where Do My Eggs Come From?
What Time Is It In Melbourne?
Handkerchiefs And Applause
So You Think You’re Lonely?
Little Lad wi’ One Big Worry
17 - The Gemsbok
A Lifeline For Ben And Yut
Chance Child - Part One: 5 – Piercing Grey Eyes
Mattiwilda Dobbs
The Coming Of Autumn
My Parents
Weathering The Weather
Spectacular
To An Autumn Tree
Chapter 13
Four Haiku
Being A Tourist In My Own New York
46 – The Battle Is On
Cursive And Curses
Ada Jemima Crossley
The Park Ranger
World Getting Rounder
Chapter 38
101 – The Hound in Icelandic Waters
38 – Tandem Adventures
Humiliation
French Onion Soup, Escalope Milanese and Milles Feuilles
Two A Penny
Gerald Levin
Beethoven's Fifth Symphony
36 – A Difficult Decision
Home Again, Home Again, Jiggety-Jig
My War - Part IV
Crystal Clear
76 – What Would We Do?
What To Do When You Are Bored – Part 3
Return To Me The Old Ways
The Human Spirit
Pinewood Shopping Centre - 3
Talking To Strangers
Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac And Me
A Quenching Powder?
Behand A Smahle
A Shared Heritage
16 - The Tusks
Chance Child - Part One: 4 – A Chance To Get On
Emmy Destinn
Wedding Memories
Watching The Birds
The Dog Next Door
The Hole By The Road
Strangers On A Train
Lady On A Bicycle
The China Hen
Chapter 12
Practicing My Way To “Poo at the Zoo”
Collections And Corrections
45 – Sad Goodbye To The Haifa Arabs
Part II - Paul and Pam’s Excellent Adventure: 19. - The Gods Enter Valhalla!
Gabriella’s Milk Bar
Sorry
Birdseye Meals