June 14th, 2008

The next Post Of The Week will be announced on Sunday evening.

Please note that nominations for next week cannot be accepted until then.

If YOU would like to vote on this week’s shortlist and be part of the decision making for the Post of the Week this week, please pick your 5 favourite posts from the list and award them 5 points for the favourite, down to 1 for the 5th favourite and mail your votes to peacharse@yahoo.com no later than 6pm on Sunday night.

This week’s shortlist is:

1: Cry Beloved Country from Wordtryst

This used to be a beautiful valley. I still go outside in the middle of the night and look up at the stars, gaze at the moon, savour the touch of cool night breeze on my skin. But now I am watchful and wary. My reveries are tainted by the expectation of gunshots shattering the night.

Nominated by Zinnia Cyclamen

2: Bidart: The Beach at Sunset from Travelling but not in Love

July happened to be a lean month for me. And I walked down to the beach with Stephane, the boy who worked in the local campsite shop during the day and occasionally in a bar in town in the evenings. I’d had a crush on him since I arrived at the end of March - for which the girls never tired of taking the piss out of me.

Nominated by Ben Leto

3: Of Cats and Men from Bete de Jour

I don’t think the procuring of a new kitten is an attempt to replace that cat so much as finding another avenue for that love that you still have inside you but which suddenly has no place to go. I suppose in that sense it’s a little like relationship rebound. But hopefully not as temporary.

Nominated by Barb

4: How it all Began from Boob Pencil

Joyce, the community midwife, had been to visit that afternoon, and provided the sought-after validation. Yes, it was a show. No, I might not go into labour for ages yet. Ally was sceptical about me being in labour. The contractions were mild and not very regular. This was one of those false alarms we were always hearing about. Still, I made him empty, clean and refill the birth pool while I drilled a hole through the wall and farted about with a socket for the new freezer.

Nominated by Zinnia Cyclamen

5: Deep Rollers from A Bald Blog (Bald John)

After a day of increasing dark, I needed something to occupy the evening. Something safe. Two crates of borrowable choice in the lockup (including this, of course - how daft is that!), but it was closed for the day, so Tesco was my rescuer.

Nominated by Ben Leto

and Finally

6: An Open Letter to my First-Born from Debi Alper

We gave you the option of postponing. But you knew that would mean you wouldn’t be able to do the portion you had struggled so hard to learn, as it only comes round once a year. ‘It was meant to be that I would have that portion,’ you rasped. ‘If you believe that, then you must also believe that it’s meant to be that you’ve become ill,’ I told you.

Nominated by Zinnia Cyclamen

While i’ve got your attention, don’t forget to take a quick gander over to Lulu and pick up your very own copy of You’re not the Only One. Proceeds all go to Warchild, so it’s for a good cause (and it’s a cracking read).