Couchsurfing in Berkshire

We've just come back from Couchsurfing in Berkshire. In case you don't know what Couchsurfing is, I'll explain. It is a website that many people around the world have joined. You may be wondering why I said that, but the funny thing is that if all the people on Couchsurfing are all from the same city, then there will be no point in the website existing because the aim is to be able to stay at someone's house in another part of the world and to learn something from them and maybe teach them something or cook with them. Everyone has a profile saying things about themselves and the rules in their house. They can type in where they want to go or if they want to stay with a family and the website will come up with  a page so that you can click on different people's profiles to see who you want to stay with. You can then write to someone to ask if you can stay with them. After you've stayed with someone, you write them a reference about your stay.

Most of the time we host, but recently I went Couchsurfing with my family in Berkshire, we stayed with a woman called Anne and a man called Pete. They had a yurt in their garden, an apple tree that I picked apples with, and a grape vine with tiny grapes to make grape jelly with. I also pricked sloes for sloe gin which I didn't drink of course :D Anne taught us circle dancing and they have a very nice dog called Taffy. We took him for a walk and went for a few ourselves. The place we stayed in  in  Berkshire was called Binfield. That is such a weird name. We only stayed in Binfield for two nights but I still had a fun time there. I got to climb trees. My sister and I also had a pumpkin to carve together. I've got a lot of math to catch up with though.

What I've learned from our family's experiences with Couchsurfing:
1) People have strange surnames and names, eg Bum;
2) Some people just want to get free accommodation and don't really want to meet and spend time with other people;
3) Couchsurfing doesnt mean going into the sea and floating around on a sofa;
4) It has the word 'couch' in it because if you don't have a spare bed, your guests sleep on the couch; and it has the word 'surfing' in it because 'Couchsurfing' is a website and people talk about surfing when they're looking for something using a computer;
5) For some people, washing dishes mean distributing dirt and grease from one plate to another by putting them all in mucky suapy water and then taking the plates out again without rinsing them;
6) Some people think that in Britain people have no phones, TVs or know what football is;
7) Some people don't make an effort to talk to their hosts and instead go on their computer while they are in your living room;
8) There are delicious chocolates from around the world that I didn't know about;
9) It's not uncommon for people to eat seal meat;
10) Some countries have disgusting cheese that taste like condensed milk.

I have also learned how I be a good guest when I visit or surf by giving people good gifts in return for their hospitality and how to be considerate: don't consume too much of other people's resources whether time, energy, food, water or electricity. It is always good to replace what you use and show thanks by cooking or doing something for them and with them.

Short Story

It was the sort of evening when the stars danced across the sky and the moon shone a beautiful white light with more grace than ever.  It was also the sort of evening when crickets and owls remained silent and the great black cloak of night seemed more sinister than ever before.

The trees, no longer whispering with the wind, cast long shadows over the Palace of West Hårtordar; as a prisoner, barely visible in the dark autumn evening, was led out of it. The man leading him was dressed in a dark hooded cloak, his features invisible to any passing animal. The two men were silent as they walked into the woods. More men followed behind them. One of the people following was holding an axe. He handed it to the one in front. It was now night and the sky had blackened to the colour of burnt ebony. The men stood still.
"Alas, 'tis a shame I must die on this day," lamented the prisoner.
The man in front remained silent.
"I always thought I would die of old age. I was wrong," the prisoner exclaimed.
The man with the axe showed no pity or remorse; neither did the other men.
"I must tell you this now" said the prisoner. "I know you will not believe me, but I must say what I feel I must say."
The man with the axe spoke for the first time:
"Very well, then, but make it quick," he said.
The prisoner spoke again.
"I shall begin: it was not me who killed her, nor was it was the butler. I woke when I heard a rustling downstairs. When I looked it was not Marigold, as I had thought. When I reached the stairs, the door slammed. Every part of my mind shrunk back in terror. I walked down the stairs and saw that the urn and the money box were gone. I then saw her body on the ground. You know I loved her. I wouldn't kill her. I don't know who did, I swear."

At the end of his speech, the prisoner looked into each and every of the other men's eyes. They had been trained for most of their lives not to listen to these stories. All of their eyes remained hard and cold. All except for one: the one with the axe. No emotion could be detected in his face. He put down his axe.
"Go then," he said.
And the man who was no longer prisoner disappeared into the night.

I won't get out of bed (Short story)

I woke to the sound of church bells ringing. "Funny," I thought to myself, seeing that there were no church bells nearby.Then I remembered the new alarm setting: church bells. I sat up and switched the iPod off. Then I slunk back under the covers, willing myself to go back to sleep.

My thoughts would not obey me. "There is washing up to do, come on, before you're even more tired," they told me.
"Washing up," I thought. "I won't bother getting up for that."

My thoughts tugged me into a sitting positing and tried to pull me, like a magnet, out of bed. Almost immediately my stronger thoughts pulled me in the other direction though: towards bed. Those thoughts were my friends. I slunk back under the soft covers into the warm and inviting bed. I closed my eyes, ready to fall into the arms of sleep.

My other thoughts tugged at me again.