This week’s writing prompt is:

Animals

Many of us are animals lovers, with pets that we lavish with affection. But there are so many other beautiful animals – in the jungle, forest, in fields, on farms and so on. What animals come to mind for you? Cute cats? Cheeky monkeys? Little lambs?

You don’t have to share your work, but I’d love to see what you come up with if the prompt gives you inspiration. Last week’s prompt was HOLIDAYS. A few of you sent in your wonderful pieces:

Kim Smyth:

Holidaze

I guess it means different things now, but when I was a kid, holidays meant going to Mississippi to see my grandmother, grandad, all my cousins, and their parents for Thanksgiving/family reunion. I don’t remember if we were there for a week or two, but to us kids, it seemed like forever. As kids, we would pick up pecans from my grandparents’ pecan orchard; my grandmother would give us a dime a bucket. We used to fight over it all the time. As we picked, we horsed around with each other, and I would dream of the delicious pie that grandmother would make with all of our pecans. Surely, she didn’t need all of them for the pie, but we didn’t know better. She probably just wanted us out of sight so the adults could carry on a proper conversation! There were five of us picking, but my younger brother wasn’t included, at the time I’m speaking of, he was too small.

Besides, my grandmother and mother wanted him with them because they were probably afraid he’d get trampled as we made a mad dash for the pecans!

Ladyleemanila:

Sand, sun and the sea

Everything with glee

I’m going on holiday

Visiting my mum

Drinking coco rum

All bags are packed by the way

Reunion with friends

Firenze or Ardennes

Reminiscing of the past

Of loves and heartaches

With some wine and cakes

Friends for life no need to ask

And with Him Indoors

We’re cycling outdoors

Having ice-cream in the park

Hike in the mountains

Walk beside fountains

Hand in hand we make our mark*

*Alouette

–

The Philippines is the best place

To travel and to be

Where I come from and my space

Always sun and the sea

Happiest people on the earth

And you will have your money’s worth

Happiest people

Happiest people

Will always return since from birth

The Philippines is the best place

To snorkel and to swim

To relax such an easy pace

Do whatever at whim

Watch the sunset at the same hour

With spring rolls and sweet and sour

Watch the sunset

Watch the sunset

And the beach for all to scour

The Philippines is the best place

To travel any time

I wouldn’t trade it any place

Have friends there for long time

It is the shore that I call home

It may not be Paris or Rome

It is the shore

It is the shore

And I’ll always be there to roam**

**Trijan Refrain

Christine Mallaband-Brown:

Holidays, more memories of adventures long gone by. Camping in a tent at Easter thirty years ago.

We’d cycled up to Clitheroe in Lancashire and used our cycle trailer to carry our camping gear. The holiday started out sunny, but the wind picked up and by the time we had the tent up the snow was blowing sideways at it. I even wrote C 4 R on the snow on the side of the tent.

We went off for a cycle into town and stopped off at a tiny cinema. It was very posh, there were photos of the Queen in the ladies loo! I remember we got a bit of warmth while watching the cat from outer space.

We had dinner at the local pub and cycled back to the tent afterwards. Luckily it was downhill but we were slipping around on the falling snow. We ended up putting on extra clothes, three jumpers and an extra pair of trousers each.

We found out in the morning it had been minus 11°C. The rest of the week was almost as cold and we cycled back in deep snow!