More Words With Jam Competitions...

Bigger Short Story Competitions are open for entries-details and entry form here.

Words with Jam have an annual short story competition, but this year it's not just one competition but three.

There's the up to 2500 word one, and another for up to 1000 words, and finally a category for stories up to 250 words- so if you've been honing your flash/micro fiction skills, here's an opportunity.

There's no theme.

The closing date is 31st October this year.

Short Story Judge (up to 2500) Jane Fallon
Shorter Story Judge (up to 1,000) Benjamin Myers
Shortest Story Judge (up to 250) Zoe Fairbairns

1st prize in each category - £300
2nd prize in each category - £100
3rd prize in each category - £50

"5 runners up in each category will be published in the first volume of our Short Story Anthology (of which they will receive a copy), and awarded £10.
All winners and runners up will receive a printed copy of our first Short Story Anthology (inclusion optional*)."

As this is a pay to enter competition you need to make sure you read the rules and follow them.
But entry is online (so there's no queueing up in the Post Office to pay horrendous postage costs) as is the payment system- details on the page link above.

The main niggle I have is that regardless of category the first entry is £6 and further entries are £4. So if you just want to enter the shortest story of 250 words you're paying the same as a 1,000 or 2,500 word entry...

We all have to make individual judgements when considering pay to enter competitions- is the entry fee too much? Is the cash prize good enough? And, the anthology itself- with this one you do get a free copy (not always given in some competitions I've seen and heard of).

So if you do enter, good luck. :-)

History and the Opening Ceremony of the Olympics

Now I'm not the type of person glued to the tv when this four yearly sport event is taking place. But I do like to watch the opening and closing ceremonies.

Well the opening ceremony last night (Friday) was brilliant- considering there was 90 minutes to encapsulate UK history, culture and society in both an entertaining and thoughtful way, but still spectacular enough for a world-wide tv audience (27 million in the UK alone) and the thousands watching in the stadium.

Starting with a green 18th century pastoral scene- including a group of young ladies in Jane Austen style dresses with bonnets and shawls strolling around the base of the Glastonbury Tor- a big mound of green with paths and a big tree at the top (later used for placing all the national flags of competing nations).

Then moving to the emerging chimneys and dirt of industrial Victorian England with the 'forming' of the giant rings.

Films, books and music played a big part.

My favourite bits were, first, James Bond (actor Daniel Craig) turning up to escort her majesty Queen Elizabeth to a helicopter for the ceremony- yes the actual Queen.
Of course we know it was then actors jumping out of the helicopter and deploying their union jack parachutes, but it was fun...

And then when the orchestra under the control of Simon Rattle began to play the opening chords of Chariots of Fire, that was when the audience saw Mr Bean (actor Rowan Atkinson) was involved and the audience waited to see what chaos he might create.

The fantastic beach running scene from the film had Mr Bean included as his daydream while he is bored playing the same note on the keyboard...

There were the serious moments too- silence for those lost in wars, and the victims of the explosions on the day after it was announced London had won the games seven years previously.

The UK can do spectacle, pageantry and humour.

There was so much included covering so many aspects of life in the UK past and present; the NHS, and Great Ormond Street Hospital.

Congratulations to everyone, be they volunteers, or paid staff, it was a fantastic evening.

And good luck to all the athletes taking part.