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Berni Albrighton

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The Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupMy love, tread softly - written and read by Berni AlbrightonWhen a moment of doubt comes into a relationship.You feel and see the difference in your partner but you don't want to acknowledge it.  How many of us have been in this situation, fooling ourselves that everything is fine.  2025-07-2901 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupMillennium - a short story written and read by Charles RobertsJudy, a beautiful young girl, disappears on the night of the millennium party in the city centre.  Despite intensive searches by police and family and friends, Judy is never found. Where could she have gone?2025-07-2807 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupThe Wife- a short story written and read by Charles RobertsA man's wife is reported missing by his neighbors and a police inspector arrives at his house to question him about it. The answers given to the police by the husband are surprisingly detailed and  forthcoming. 2025-07-2807 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupThe Walk - a short story written and read by Charles RobertsLet's go for a quiet walk in the country on a sunny warm morning after rainy night and see nature in its element. A beautifully descriptive journey of walking through nature.2025-07-2803 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupThe car. A short story written and read by Charles Roberts.After inheriting a plot of overgrown woodland, he begins to clear out  dilapidated wooden garages that haven't been opened for many years.  In one of the garages he discovers an old Bentley in need of a lot of tender loving care.  He risks his marriage as he spends the next six years renovating the car before he enters it into the Concore's de Elegance at a major classic car show.  Has all his hard work been worth it?  Will it all end in a divorce?  2025-07-1609 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupThe new car. A short story written and read by Charles Roberts.An accountant has been embarrassing his daughter as he takes her to school in his battered old Cortina for long enough.  One day he is driving to his office after dropping her off at school when the engine blows up.  Now he is forced to buy a 'new' car and the only one he can find is a nineteen thirties Rolls Royce.  What will his daughters reaction be?2025-07-1609 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupThe last voyage. A short story written and read by Charles Roberts.A chap finds an abandoned, once beautiful, yacht in a backwater. He buys it and sets about renovating it back to its original glory.  After ten years of work he has to sell it in order to have enough money to get married.  He sets out to deliver the yacht to its new owner in the Bahamas and carrying a precious cargo, but as he is crossing the Atlantic he gets caught up in a storm.  Will his pride and joy weather the storm or will all be lost and his fiancé be a widow befo...2025-07-1607 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupThe White Dog- a short story written and read by Charles RobertsAfter a relentless storm, a young couple make a decision that  they will regret, and decide to look at the dangerous rapids that had been created as a result of torrential rains. They take their baby in it's push chair, but slip and the pushchair and baby fall into the rapids.  Is there anyway that the baby can survive the rock filled flooded gorge?2025-06-2907 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupThe Phantom Train-written and read by Charles RobertsAfter eating too much over the Christmas period, haven't we've all done it, a couple decide to buy bicycles and join a club to get fit and lose weight.  But, towards the end of a ride out into the country, things take a strange turn.2025-06-2907 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupSurvival - a short story written and read by Vic DaveyA harrowing story of survival.Eventually, the beatings, the starvation, the inhumane conditions, makes a person indifferent to what is happening around them.Survival is what matters, and doing anything to ensure you are on the right side of the furnace. 2025-06-2903 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupThe ice-cream man- a short story written and read by Charles RobertsAfter having a good day at the town's Gala, Eddie, the ice cream man, drives home. It had been a long, tiring day but he knew the roads.As lights from oncoming traffic blind him, he misjudges the S bend and the oncoming bridge. The large drainage ditches make it even more difficult to control his van.2025-06-2905 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupBest served cold - a short story written by Felicity Randle.Bishop had finally served his time and could carry out the one thing that had been a long term plan of his.But first, there were things to put in place. Somewhere to live, a job, perhaps a change of appearance. And then there was Gareth. That was the end goal.The Written Word Group acknowledges the third party contributors and producers of this recording.  2025-06-2904 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupThe Flamenco- a short story written and read by Vic DaveyThe dances told stories of families, of lives, oppression and misery. In the next beat came victory, and the welcoming of a new age.The images and power of the flamenco, told in this emotional and descriptive short story.2025-06-2602 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupThe Dream- a short story written and read by Charles RobertsIn 1951 a five year old boy hears of a British victory in the Le Mans 24 hour race. He begins to imagine what it would be like to  design and build a racing car to race in that Le Mans event. This becomes his dream. In 1966 he makes his dream come true.2025-06-2412 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupIt's just a trick, isn't it? - A short story written and read by Vic DaveyA husband and wife mind reading act have created a brilliant illusion, one where they convince the audience that they really can read a person's thoughts. That while blindfolded, it is possible to identify an object and describe the person who owns it. Audiences loved it and their act grew in popularity. Everything was going well, until one performance, when something highly unusual and unsettling occurred.2025-06-1907 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupWhat a performance - a short story written and read by Charles RobertsThe theatrical performance had been perfect and after a standing ovation the curtains close.The Director looks for his leading lady, but she is nowhere to be found in the theatre.  No one has seen her since she walked off the stage.Where could she be?  And what is the twist at the end.2025-06-1607 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupThe Bystander - a short story written and read by Charles RobertsJake stood with the small crowd which had gathered on the river bank. They were watching the police and fire brigade work hard  to retrieve a car which had crashed through the thick ice. But all was not as it seemed.2025-06-1610 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupThe Lady in White- a short story written and read by Charles RobertsA young man had a dream about a lady dressed in white.One day, on his way home,  he sees her, the lady who he had dreamt about. She is walking ahead of him and has a white dog with her.The young man hurries to catch up with her.The outcome is not what he expected.2025-06-1607 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupThe First Time - a short story written and read by Charles RobertsOn his way to his date with Marianne, Steve  drives past the wreckage of a car crash. He was more irritated than anything else because the hold up and detour were going to make him late. He needn't have worried. The evening turned out to be very special and neither of them expected to feel the way they did about eachother.However, everything  was shattered the following day when Steve wakes up to an empty bed and to breaking news that the woman killed in a horrific car accident was named as Marianne Wisdom.H...2025-06-0905 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupA flash of light- a short story written and read by Charles RobertsIts Christmas Eve and an elderly man is at home putting the lights on the Christmas tree while his wife does last minute shopping.The open fire is comforting and casts light throughout the room, reflecting in the window pane. A storm is brewing, or is it?A delightful story that lets us have a peek inside the thoughts of a man, left with a simple task, but overshadowed by an active imagination.2025-06-0907 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupThe old shack on the hill- a short story written and read by Maria Elena.This story is based on fond memories of my Grandmother when I was about 7 years of age. I would stay a weekend with her in her old shack. I will always remember my Grandmother with great respect. 2025-06-0703 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupAll's well - a short story written and read by Charles Roberts.A young girl goes to her parents for a two week visit, but things take a very unexpected turn and a horrific incident means her visit lasts longer than planned.A terrible scenario, captured sensitively in this piece. 2025-06-0509 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupIce-cream wars- a short story written and read by Berni AlbrightonWho would think, that in the process of buying an ice-cream from your favorite Mr. Softy van, you could be contributing to the kidnap and torture of the nice man who  asks if you would like sprinkles on that? As you are about to hear, trading on someone's else's patch can have devastating repercussions.    2025-06-0503 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupA birds eye view of an ordinary life. A short story written and read by Berni AlbrightonIn towns and city's everywhere, sit nosey pigeons. They watch the comings and goings of the regulars and often are the first to know what's going on in the neighborhood.A different piece of writing for me, something light hearted and easy to digest:}2025-06-0503 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupNot just anyone's anything - a short story written and read by Berni AlbrightonOn a run of the mill, mundane shopping trip with husband Derek, Jenny has an encounter with a stranger.This one hour, talking with a stranger who is interested in what she is saying, who is treating her as an individual with a point of view, someone who really does have something to say, is life changing for her. She feels ready to face up to the fact that her relationship with her husband is unfulfilling.She feels a nobody, ignored, taken for granted. Not anymore, she decides to take action on...2025-06-0403 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupYear of the gun- a short story written and read by Frank SonderborgFrank Sonderborg recounts a true story of spending a year in a Forest Kindergarten in Copenhagen, Denmark. The events sparked an arms race.  2025-06-0407 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupThe Silence - a short story written and read by Charles Roberts.Walking at four in the morning and walking out in nature, brings some unexpected surprises.For me, in this moment, the surprise was the total silence of the night. 2025-06-0402 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupIn Search of 53 German Student Girls - a short story written and read by Frank SonderborgFrank Sonderborg recalls a weekend trip to Kinsale from Dublin, with his C.I.E coachbuilder apprentice pals. The weekend was spent chasing a rumour concerning German student girls, 53 of them.The perennial metaphysical question is asked:  Where all the events of that trip, already woven into the great Nordic tapestry of life?A wonderful true story of being a teenager and trying to establish an identity, a story which many of us can identify with. 2025-05-2911 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupThe Bishop - a short story written and read by Berni AlbrightonWithin our writing group we occasionally suggest a word or phrase to include in a piece of writing. This particular piece was challenging as there were 5 words:BishopAbyssDisappointmentDeath Guilt.I hit a brick wall almost immediately, not having a clue where to go with this. I started with the word Bishop. The word represented a person that I could build a story around. Subconsciously I thought about a brilliant book, a comforting book, 'Looking in the Distance: The human search for meaning' by...2025-05-2802 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupAre you sure you're alright - a short story written and read by Charles RobertsThe reality of war for two airmen in the RAF.They were known as Brillcream boys and their bravery in these cold, wet, miserable conditions, didn't stop them from getting the job done in hazardous conditions. A brush with death is brought vividly alive in this true story of incredible bravery.  2025-05-2613 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupUntil Later - a short story written and read by Charles RobertsA thought-provoking story in which a woman is admitted to a hospital and the detailed confusion about what happened to her. As she waits for transport to arrive, the ticking clock gives her comfort, assuring her that she is still at home. However, it would seem that the circumstances of her accident are anything but assuring. Confusion, doubt, fear, a situation that we wouldn't wish to happen to anyone we knew or loved.  2025-05-2607 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupLike I've never been gone- a short story written and read by Charles RobertsIn 1964 two brothers went to see Billy Fury in concert. The event was meant to be an exciting treat for young Jimmy, but what happened was beyond his greatest dreams. This was an evening that would change his life. 2025-05-2608 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupThe Old Man - a short story written and read by Charles RobertsA story of friendship that has lasted into old age.The meaningful act of creating something from a piece of wood, and then gifting that to a dear friend, resulted in so much joy and pleasure.Proof that money alone definitely does not define the man. 2025-05-2205 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupThe Manifesto of the Dawn - a short story written and read by Charles RobertsTaking the word 'Manifesto' and weaving  it into a short story, resulted in this beautiful observational piece.Sometimes we don't notice the natural beauty around us. This piece reminds us that true beauty doesn't cost anything. Its in what nature gives us. 2025-05-2200 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupBack in the saddle again - a short story written and read by Charles Roberts.A young mans story of joining the war.An all too real and frequent tragedy told with compassion.Written and spoken by Charles Roberts.2025-05-1603 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupThe Hostage - a short story written and read by Charles Roberts.During a bank robbery Jamie is  taken hostage and bundled into the back of a car. Things turn even more serious and terrifying as a full shoot out entails. 2025-05-1603 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupMani Sharma Festo - a short story written and read by Berni AlbrightonThe name Mani has several meanings in Urdu, Islam, India. In this story I use the Sanskrit meaning which is Jewel.Mani was indeed his Mothers Jewel and her only son and carer. In this short story we have an insight into the world of abject poverty and a daily struggle to survive, living in the slums of India. When I was writing this I remembered a brilliant book by Katherine Boo called Behind the Beautiful Forever. I highly recommend this as an honest insight into life in the Mumbai slums. 2025-05-0803 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupBlood: Dracula- a short story written and read by Berni AlbrightonThe Written Word Group suggested  that the word 'Blood' should appear somewhere in a piece of work, not exceeding 500 words. I immediately thought of Dracula and how, when I was younger and watching the old black and white horror movies, I developed a mild fascination with him.In this piece, I daydream a little, expand on what might happen if he were to visit me. 2025-05-0203 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupHeartbreak Pie - a short story written and read by Berni AlbrightonThe inspiration for Heartbreak Pie was a the topic of young love, heartbreak. I immediately thought of the disgusting pies I used to make and deliver to unfortunate boys in our neighborhood. I was only about  9/10 yrs old.Living in a council house in a very nice area of Leamington Spa, surrounded by privately owned houses, wasn't great. My parents were working class, Irish catholic, and I was one of five children. Not the best profile.We formed our allegiance with other council house kids and the division between 'us' and 'them' was hu...2025-05-0104 minThe Written Word GroupThe Written Word GroupTwo Irish Guys in a Bar- a short story written and read by Berni AlbrightonWhenever I visit a new city or a large town, I make a bee line for my nearest Irish Bar. Not only do I enjoy a couple of pints of Guinness, but I immediately feel at home when I hear the soft, lilting tones of Dublin and Cork.This story was inspired by an evening spent in an Irish bar in Barcelona.  The two guys were absolutely fascinating in so many ways. Their friendship went  back years and once upon a time, they had everything. 2025-05-0104 min