Think you have what it takes?

Want to get some practice?

Just need an excuse to put pen to paper?

Then enter the Secret Attic Short Story Competition!

Each month you can submit an entry that will be passed onto our judges who will pick the best and award a winner. During some months the subject matter will be a 'free for all', where you can write anything you like, other months will have a specific theme.

Previous Competition Winners

February 2005 David Willshaw

April 2005 Christine Sutton

May 2005 George L Darley

July 2005 Robyn O'Hara

August 2005 Richard Adamski

September 2005 Hannah Southgate

October 2005 Heather Parker

December 2005 Feathers by Bob Lakin

January 2006 RD Larson

February 2006 Debra Spiller

March 2006 Nethi Sette

April 2006 Joe Louis

Daisy, Daisy by Kim Montgomery, Glenrothes, UK

"There's something wrong with the brakes!" Tim shouted.
Claire screamed. Would this just ruin their weekend away or would it ruin the prospects of them spending their whole life together? Things hadn’t been too good between them for some time now. The spark had gone. The spontaneity, which had led to so many adventures, had become humdrum. Tim’s solution was a weekend away.
“ It’ll give us some time for just you and me,” he told Claire. “I’ll organise everything. Pick you up one o’clock Friday.”
The weekend was off to a bad start when she opened the front door, dressed in her new frock.
“ You can’t wear that,” Tim told her. “Warm trousers would be better, and waterproofs too.”
Then he saw her suitcase.
“ Can’t take that either. Pack what you need in this,” he said, handing her a small rucksack. “And hurry up, I want to get there before dark.”
Before dark? It would be light for another eight or nine hours. They could drive to Scotland in that time. She should have guessed. They weren’t going in the car. Tim had another form of transport, which he had strategically hidden behind the hedge. She stared in disbelief at the bright red tandem.
“ I’m not going on that. I haven’t ridden a bike in years, and I’ve never been on a tandem.”
“ What’s happened to your sense of adventure? You were always up for trying something new. That’s where we’ve being going wrong. We haven’t done anything like this for ages.”
Tim was right. Claire remembered all the crazy things they had done in the past, bungee jumping, skydiving, white water rafting, scuba diving. Anything with an element of danger and they had been ready to give it a go. They had become boring. The pub had been somewhere to have a well-earned pint and discuss the latest activity, not the centre of their social life it was now.
“ Come on, hop on,” said Tim. “I’ll go in front to start with.”
He was astride the bike, holding it upright. Claire took her place behind him.
“ I’ll start pedalling,” he told her. “Then you join in when you feel comfortable. All set?”
“ Yeah.”
“ Okay, Bognor here we come.”
“ Whoa, wait a minute. Bognor? What the hell’s in Bognor?”
“ Blowed if I know. Never been there. That’s why we’re going. First place I found on the South Coast I’ve never been to.”
They set off, a little wobbly at first, but they soon got the hang of it.
“ Hey, this is like riding a bike,” said Claire. “Once you’ve learnt you never forget.”
“ That’s my girl,” laughed Tim. “See, it’s working already.”
Tim had planned a route avoiding the main roads as much as possible. Unfortunately, this meant they had to negotiate steeper hills, but it was not too bad, and they were very proud of themselves when they reached the top of the North Downs without having to dismount once.
“ Should be nice and easy for a few miles now,” said Tim. “Then we’ve only got the South Downs to go. There’s a small village coming up soon. With a bit of luck it’ll have a shop, and we can get a drink.”
They set off once more. The road dropped steeply at first, and Tim had to concentrate on steering and slowing the bike. Then the slope became shallower, and they were able to relax and freewheel as they admired the countryside around them. The village was just ahead, but they failed to notice the final steep drop until they were already on it. That’s when the brakes failed. Tim pulled frantically on the handles.
“ I can’t get any grip,” he shouted. “We’ll have to hope we can coast to a stop when we get to the bottom.”
They would have been fine had it not been for the school bus. There was no way round, the kids were spilling out all over the road. There was only one option. Claire screamed in horror as they headed for the village pond.
As soon as the front wheel hit the water Tim and Claire were thrown off the tandem, and dumped unceremoniously onto their faces amongst the mud and pondweed. They surfaced spluttering and gagging to the delighted laughter of their young audience. Claire stared at Tim. He looked mortified. His plan to save their relationship had all gone wrong. She felt the laugh rise to her throat, and then she let it out, joining in with the kids. Tim looked bemused at first, before realising all was not lost.
“ Buggar Bognor. There’s a bed and breakfast over there. Let’s see if they have a room for the weekend.”