832 - AZURE

As thE sun came out fRom behind a cloud, Sebastian cast his rod out once more to see what he could catch. Before long there was a tug and he reeled in his prey. He knelt down to reach out for what turned out to be a bream. "Not a useful catch", he said and went to put it back when part of the bank gave way. He could never be sure how he didn't fall into the water. "That was a close shave", he couldn't help calling out. Then he spotted the shape of a fish he recognised. "What is that doing here? It's the wrong habitat and won't live long". Then he spotted an otter giving chase. He quickly put his catching net out and rescued the lost fish. He hurried home and transferred it to his salt-water aquarium. "I hope it survives - an azure damselfish will make a lovely addition to my existing fish", he said.

azure damselfish

831 - COACH

GAvin made a chance comment to his friend that one day would spawn a business idea. Through a chain of circumstances the business started to flourish and soon there were dozens signed up to run franchises. Seeing as there were so many Gavin found that most of his time was now taken up having to coach the franchise managers.

Coaching Franchisees

830 - SMILE

The buiLding was a drEadful mess. The farmer decided to shell out on a swell piece of fancy equipment to quell the influx of vermin. He covered his nose against the awful smell and set to clearing the mess. At the end he was able to take off his face covering and could smile at his pristine building.

Eliminate pests

829 - LOYAL

It was a LAzy sunny afternoon and the Reverend Jim was enjoying  his time off watching the loads of loach swimming in the water channel through the logan. "Oh this reminds me of one of the logia about the 253 fishes", he mused. His time for meditating came to an end and it was time to head to the football ground where he was a loyal fan of the local team.

Loach

828 - ROCKY

He hated it when theRe was a crowd round him. He was very proud and considered most other people beneath him. But a rival had grown up in his sphere of influence and before long the proud man's business was on rocky ground. He retreated to the country and became a recluse.

Proud man

827 - RIGHT

The newspapeR headline read "Bottom of the League Team Routs Top of the League Team". The next day the newspaper had to print a retraction together with a selection of the many letters it had received pointing out that the headline was not right - "1-0 was hardly a rout", they pointed out.

Surprise Win

826 - CAROL

At the LARge car rally one of the organisers had arranged for a choir to sing a joyous carol to send the drivers off in style. The only trouble was that the sound of revving engines drowned out the music so the committee decided not to do that next year!

Cars at Rally

825 - BRUSH

Rupert got caught in a noisy crush of people at a bar where a key football game was in progress. After 5 long minutes he got out. But he never revealed how scared he'd been but instead would brush it off as if it were normal.

Crowded Bar

824 - STONE

ThE school bully had mercilessly picked on Colin and hadn't stopped when school was complete. He would say that Colin could never do anything daring. Colin knew his bully was full of spite but tried not to rise to it. He well knew the verse from Romans which says: 

"Never seek revenge, my friends; instead, leave that to God's anger; for in the Tanakh it is written, "ADONAI says, 'Vengeance is my responsibility; I will repay.'"" 

To get away from the taunts Colin decided to do a long trail in the huge National Park. Each night he would make a fire, placing some boulders around it. He would stoke it up well so that the stones could provide some warmth during the cold nights. As he was completing the trail, some three weeks later, he selected a beautiful stone to take home with him as a memento. Once the bully heard what Colin had done, he eased off with his spiteful taunts.

Camp fire with boulders

823 - SNARE

Andy and ERic parked in the woods and turned off the lights. They crept through the trees trying not to disturb anything. But a crane took off just in front of them giving them a shock. "We don't normally see these here", whispered Andy. They had a craze for poaching which the crave for the illicit game had brought on. They had to be a bit brave to risk getting caught, either by the gamekeeper or by the various traps that were there. They caught a partridge, but it was a young one which they decided to spare. Upon its release it didn't seem to know what to do, so they had to scare it away. A bit further on they caught some perfect pheasants and set off back. They were discussing how to share out the spoil when Eric's foot got caught in a snare. Andy had to prize it open to let Eric free and they headed as quickly as possible back to the car, Eric limping all the way. Eric's wounds weren't too bad but any more poaching was curtailed for several weeks.

Sandhill cranes

822 - CLOSE

A group of girLs in thE school were best friends. Of the group one was clearly the belle. However this never went to her head and she remained an equal among her peers. On her way to school one morning she didn't notice the black ice on the part of the path where there was a slope. She had a nasty fall and her face was bruised and cut. When she turned up late for school her close friends gathered round and comforted her.

Slipping on black ice

821 - FRANK

Phil And Reggie were two best mates. One day Phil played a prank on Reggie. He gave him a contaminated drink, thinking it was harmless. But when Reggie drank it, it affected him badly and he needed a spell in hospital. Phil came to visit, but Reggie was still seething and said "you're a crank - I don't want to talk to you". (Whilst in hospital he'd been thinking of horrible ways to pay him back, even imagining locking his head in a brank) But Phil held their friendship in too high a regard and placated Reggie with apologies and gifts. After that they had a frank discussion about how to rebuild their friendship.

A 16th-century Scottish brank

820 - MUSIC

The advert said "GIve US your money and we will give you the tastiest sushi ever". The voice was accompanied by pictures of sushi being enjoyed and dramatic music.

Eating Sushi Advert (you have to imagine the music!)

819 - ANGEL

"Time for a Latte and cAkE", she thought, "but which cake should I have; there are so many to choose from?" Tick-tock, tick-tock, ... "Come along luv", said a bloke in the queue. "Ooh, sorry. Ah, it's got to be the angel cake", she exclaimed, and there was a collective sigh of relief in the queue. She savoured every mouthful.

Angel Cake

818 - EXERT

ThE observant young boy had noticed what the parenTal controls PIN was on the TV and knew how to listen to the sound through headphones. Early one morning he watched something scary. He was terrified and ran into his parent's bedroom. He described the eerie horror short he'd seen. His Mother was very understanding and talked to the boy about what he'd seen, explaining that it was all make-believe and that aliens didn't show up and do nasty things. His groggy Dad (who had not long finished his night shift) said "You'll have to exert more self-control in future", and turned over and pulled the covers up. The Mum and the young boy went to the lad's room and snuggled up in bed until breakfast time.

Youngster watching horror movie

817 - RAYON

SeAn had been loaned a geigeR counter. It registered very little in the house and garden but in his garage it went up a fair bit. He thought it might be Radon and called the Council in great agitation. But they didn't do anything. This happened again so Sean started to harry the Council, phoning them twice a day every day - they knew there was nothing they could do about it since the granite deep down had uranium in it which produces the Radon. Eventually someone from the Council persuaded Sean that all he had to do was to wear a coverall made of rayon when he went in the garage.

Geiger counter

816 - CLEAR

LieutAnant BakER had been separated from his men and was hiding from the cruel enemy. He was uncomfortable and thirsty. And then he was spotted by the enemy and felt sure this wouldn't end well. "Was this all a nightmare" , he wondered. He had to stand with his hands in the air with many guns pointed at him. When he saw the captain of the enemy's cruel, sinister look it all became clear that this was no nightmare and he felt sure his time had come. At that point there was the sound of gunfire as his men opened fire - the enemy had been too distracted hunting for the Lieutanant it had missed the soldiers surrounding them. In seconds the enemy was dead, wounded or captured and Lieutanant Baker was rescued.

Soldier surrenders

815 - WHISK

You don't often hear it said "These modern kitchen aids are so noisy. I prefer to hear the swish of a hand-held whisk".

Hand operated rotary whisk

814 - OLDER

OLivER was a plier of cheap brandy which he had diluted with whatever chemical he could find at the time he made it. Mostly his customers were satisfied, but one batch made them iller than they imagined they could get. Once they recovered, a lot of them set out to get Oliver and rough him up to repay the compliments. Oliver got wind of the plan and escaped to a distant town where he somehow managed to get an apprenticeship in a garage. The garage serviced and repaired whatever was brought in. He was learning by watching at first. One day his mentor was lying on the floor reassembling some machinery. "Pass me that idler gear - no, not that one, the larger one", he said to Oliver. As Oliver got older he too could be found lying on the floor repairing machinery and requesting things from the new apprentice.

Gears in a machine. The middle, medium-sized gear is an idler gear

813 - QUOTE

ThE enemy soldiers were all around the isolated soldier. "These grasslands don't give me any cover - I'm done for", he thought to himself. As he lay there the words of his morning Psalm came to him. He could quote to himself "You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance." and he had a great sense of peace wash over him. Gradually the soldier's voices faded and he started thinking about what to do next.

Isolated soldier amongst the grass

812 - LUCKY

LUcy-Camilla lived in a grand house. One day she happened to spot a car she recognised and which meant she wished she wasn't there - her overpowering, pompous and boring Aunt was visiting. She crept out to the garage and huddled down in her car. She waited until the Aunt entered the house, then she pounced - still crouching low she drove out of the garage and down the driveway as fast as she could to the road. "Phew, that was a lucky escape", she cried out. She headed to a nondescript eating establishment and tried to prolong her meal as long as possible. A bland meal in questionable surroundings was better than having to endure her Aunt.

Lucy-Camilla in disguise hurrying away

811 - ROUSE

It wEre a daRk and eerie night and the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal came out of the sea and drove all the villagers away from the shore in panic. Although the Ravenous Bugblatter Beast was very fearsome he did have an allergy to bracken spore. Pretty soon he was swelling up and he keeled over, gasping for air. The villagers were greatly relieved, though they didn't fancy the chore of dealing with a dead RBBoT, especially as the meat tasted awful. Instead, their medicine man applied the antidote (administered on the end of a very long pole) to rouse it. The RBBoT was very grateful and slid into the sea, never to come back again.

Ravenous Bugblatter Beast of Traal

810 - DWELL

In ApriL 1978 thE Reverend Donald had lost his income with the shutting down of the glebe system of income from land so he had to take stock of his situation. Firstly there was the question of his belle of a daughter who was being courted by a swell of visitors. He said to her "I can't shell out for any more clothes with my drop in income." She was crest-fallen and decided to leave home and get an education and a job. This helped Donald to quell his diminishing resources, though it made him quite morose with his daughter not being around. He went to the church and sounded a mournful knell on one church bell to release his grief. The next morning he decided he could not dwell on his loss but instead attend to the week's sermon.

Plan of a typical medieval manor with open field systems, demesnes and glebes

809 - GNASH

RAymond tried to use his cycle whenever he could. But somehow he hadn't mastered the art of mounting it smoothly and he frequently clouted the shank of his leg. He was starting to amass loads of bruises. One day he wrapped his leg in protective padding and set to practicing, aiming to quash his propensity once and for all. At first it wasn't going too well and several times he would gnash his teeth in frustration. But eventually he got it right in a consistent fashion and he could look forward to riding his cycle without fear of being injured on his shank.

Mounting a cycle

808 - BIRCH

GabRiel was a crony of the local gangster, Klaus. Klaus had a prominent gold crown on most of his teeth and wore a permanent frown. Gabriel and Klaus sat down in the Indian Restaurant to enjoy a curry. As they were eating, a customer came in who owed Klaus some money. Quick as a flash, Klaus was confronting him and when no money was forthcoming, Klaus took out his birch and set to to give him a beating. Because of Klaus's reputation, everyone else in the restaurant averted their eyes and got on with their food.

Klaus showing his gold teeth

807 - GIDDY

With one bound the dippy Alice was at the hunky man's side all giddy with anticipation. But he didn't notice Alice and turned to the sophisticated Sophia to carry on their conversation.

Emma Chambers as Alice Tinker

806 - AWAIT

The would-be diAmond Thief (see 804 - SPACE) thought he had got away with his latest, albeit unsuccessful, attempt. But then there was a knock at the door and the police arrested him. He had left a stack of clues behind him. It didn't help that when arresting him the police spotted his stash of stolen goods from previous thefts and detailed plans for the diamond robbery. The place was uncared for and stank of uncleaned tinned fish cans. Everywhere they looked there was a stain from something or other. He seemed more interested in thieving than in making his home pleasant. Although he pleaded 'not guilty', the jury took only 30 minutes to decide his guilt. Much to the jury's relief, his previous sentences were read out after they'd made their decision. He sat in the court cell to await his sentence.

Awaiting his sentence

805 - ONION

Alfredo decided on an alternative approach to finding customers. As an Ice-cream cOnfectioner he made up a batch of vegan ice-cream with lots of jack fruit, ginger, chilli and toasted onion in it. It wasn't a huge success, though he did find a few vegan devotees.

Jack fruit, Ginger, Chilli and toasted Onion Vegan Ice-cream?

804 - SPACE

The thief crept pAssEd the security guard unnoticed and headed to the door to the diamonds. But unfortunately for the thief, he didn't notice the pothole and the noise he made falling over alerted several guards who gave chase. But the thief was fast and sprinted across the open space of the security compound and out into the maze of alleyways and narrow streets and got clean away.

Creeping thief

803 - BRIDE

ClEo had been swept off heR feet by George. A lot of Cleo's friends thought George was rather, well, eerie, but that was the front that he put on - goodness knows why! The price he'd paid for the engagement ring for Cleo was more than many people earned in six months. Before the year was out, they, their family and friends (and a few press photographers) were heading towards the church with the spire up on top of the ridge. It was a spectacular sight as George emerged from the church with his bride on his arm. George's expression had altered and he no longer had the eerie look! They lived happily ever after (of course)!

Emerging from Church