Driveway blasted clean.
An instruction lost in translation
Left my bin on the doorstep.
Let’s Write group,
Lunch with friends …
Can you sum up your week in 25 words or less? I’d love to hear from you in the comments section below.
Sum up Sunday
Month: March 2026
Flaunt it Friday
It’s been a busy week for me, one of new challenges as I prepare for the publication of my children’s book, The Clocker. As writers, we spend hours plotting stories, bringing characters to life, writing, revising and editing until we’re happy with the result.
Even with the backup of a publisher, there’s still more to do, as an author, and this involves heading into an unknown land. Pushing myself out there, getting help from others, speaking to strangers doesn’t come easily to me. I might be writing Flaunt it Friday but it all feels a bit alien and uncomfortable.
It has been wonderful to receive positive and helpful support not only from friends and family but my writing community at The Writer’s Bureau Let’s Write group.
https://www.writersbureaucourse.com/courses/let-us-write
There’s lots more to do but I’ve made a start. If you’ve achieved something this week, however big or small, let me know in the comments section below.
Find The Clocker at:
https://troubador.co.uk/bookshop/middle-grade/the-clocker
https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-clocker/liz-mackenzie/9781806341719
Wordy Wednesday
It’s Wordy Wednesday and I have a great word for you today.
According to Collins English Dictionary, Gubbins refers to an object of little value; a small gadget; odds and ends, or a silly person. It goes back as far as the 16th century and is derived from the obsolete word, gobbon – likely related to gobbet, meaning a small piece of food.
It’s an excellent word for describing all manner of bits and pieces there’s no other suitable word for. An example might be, “All the computer gubbins is in the drawer”.
I invite you to share your favourite, obsolete, funny or otherwise entertaining words with me.
Please share your own words in comments
Sum up Sunday
Pudding Pantry Mother’s Day
Afternoon tea with dainty teacups.
Sun shines while I write.
Daffodils at Felley Priory,
Birmingham’s Notorious choir.
Thank you to The Pudding Pantry, Beeston for an amazing afternoon tea. https://www.thepuddingpantry.co.uk
Notorious Choir Birmingham https://notoriouschoir.org/
Please share a sum-up of your week in 25 words or less.
Flaunt it Friday
With my first children’s book due for publication on 28th April 2026, my first Flaunt it Friday is about The Clocker. I have wanted to write a book for children since the age of 11. As I’m now 67, it’s taken a while!
The Clocker tells the story of Nev and his favourite hen, The Clocker. Blurb:
Nev’s life stinks. His mother left, and he lives with his Dad, who is a bit weird. The school bully, Kez, is making his life a misery.
The best things in Nev’s life are his five hens, especially his favourite, The Clocker. He can talk to her, and she understands.
After struggling to find something to write for a poetry competition, Nev decides on a poem about The Clocker. He is chosen to represent his school and read his poem at the Regional Schools’ Poetry Festival.
On the downside, the poem ramps up the bullying. Will Nev ever gain the confidence to stand up to Kez?
The book is for ‘middle grade’ readers (age 8-12) and can be pre-ordered at:
https://troubador.co.uk/author/liz-mackenzie
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Clocker-Liz-Mackenzie/dp/1806341719
https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-clocker/liz-mackenzie/9781806341719
https://www.tgjonesonline.co.uk/Product/Liz-Mackenzie/The-Clocker/15907156
Wordy Wednesday
Last Wordy Wednesday, I recalled my Dad using the word ‘bunkum’. This got me thinking about other words from my childhood and I remembered using the word ‘ninny’. “You ninny,” “What a ninny” – it seems such a tame word now. There’s an innocence to it, somehow, which is interesting because it means silly or foolish and probably originated from ‘an innocent’. It has been in use since the 16th century.
Do you have a word you remember from childhood? Please share it.
Sum up Sunday
Finally I meet you –
Northumberlandia.
Humbled by your calm presence
I rest body and mind by your side,
Drive home lighter.
If you’d like to sum up your week in 25 words or less, I’d love to hear from you.
Wordy Wednesday
The week has whizzed by and it’s Wednesday again. What is your word of the day today? I’d love to hear from you.
As I was thinking about my word for this week, I recalled a word I often heard my dad say. Bunkum – what a great word that can be said with feeling. It’s a 19th century word and its origin is Buncombe, a county in North Carolina USA. Apparently Felix Walker, Buncombe’s Congressional Representative, made a particularly inane speech around 1820 and so bunkum was born. When said, it means you think something is untrue or very stupid/ inane.
I wonder, as I write this, where my dad first heard the word and why he liked it so much.
Sum up Sunday
How has your week been and can you sum it up in 25 words or less? I’d love to hear from you.
This has been my week:
Tête-a-tête burst with yellow joy
A host of donations at the charity shop
Amid meets, greets and appointments
I hold onto Spring
Wordy Wednesday
It’s Wordy Wednesday again and today’s word might give you the jitters.
Collywobbles can mean an upset stomach, or an intense sense of unease/ nervousness as in, “it gives me the collywobbles”.
In terms of British English usage, the word is thought to date back to the 19th century. Its origin is likely from the disease cholera.
I’d love to know if you have any favourite, intriguing or unusual words. Please post them in comments below.
mywordshare 