Below are the entries in the Primrose Hill Lockdown Short Story Competition that we ran in June and July 2020.
There is also a piece about the short stories by one of the judges here.
The Stories…
- Lucky Me – by Catriona Brokenshire
Winning entry in the 23 years or older category. It’s my birthday today. I can’t remember how old I am, and there is no-one here I can ask. I look in the mirror, and see two quizzical blue eyes looking […] - A Volatile World – by Anna TriesmanWinning entry in the 11 to 18 years category. My parents always said the world was a volatile, unpredictable place, but until today I never understood what they meant. I mean, I looked it up in the dictionary and all […]
- Untitled – Zahir AliWinning entry in the 6 to 10 years category. It was early in the morning on a school day, when suddenly my mum turned on the tv and said ‘watch the news, it is very important’’. My brother and I […]
- My Doorstep Bubble – Anonymous
As C-19 mumblings gathered momentum – and credence, so did thecollective voice of the nation’s stomachs. In our millions we flooded& stripped the food (e-)aisles – the all important stomach-related itemof loo roll inc. Who knew if our farmers & […] - The Mushroom Picker – by Judy RichHer old faded skirt bunched over expanding hips and swayed lightly in the breeze as she put one booted foot in front of the other on the well-trodden woodland path. God, it felt good to be out in nature after […]
- Lockdown Horror – by Alexander Bunting (aged 9)It all started when I was on the phone to my friend Isaac one evening at about 6 o’clock. We were talking about how boring lockdown is and when it will end. He said he thought life would get back […]
- Morning on the Canal – by Ana BarreauAlice leans her shoulder into the door up to the deck, careful not to spill her steaming mug of tea as she stoops out of the Wild Iris and into the cool morning. Last year about this time you would […]
- What Could be More Deadly – by Clare RouthRosie had not gone any further than as far as the Portuguese Deli, at the furthest end of the street, for many years. In the expanse of her Victorian terraced house, all those stairs had been enough to keep her […]
- Covid-19 the Unexpected Effect it is Having on Me – by Ali SmithWho am I? Having for the first time I can remember, so much freedom, not setting an alarm, taking a step off the treadmill, from my day to day life! And yes is does feel like freedom, this horrid, unprecedented, […]
- Surviving Covid-19: Jigsaws, TV, Sewing and Gardening – by Alice GrayYou can’t live all day, every day, in fear – you have to occupy your mind with something else or you’d go mad. When lockdown started, it was like a long Christmas holiday – stuck at home arguing with the […]
- Lockdown Story – AnonymousIt was your birthday today, Mum. Fifty-nine I think. And thanks to this rather nasty virus that’s reeking total havoc on the entire world, which you are wholly and perfectly unaware of, I am not able to see you. I […]
- Lockdown – by Janet BreretonLockdown, What does it even mean? It conjures up scenes in San Francisco when a hurricane is due. The locals apparently have these little cellar type rooms attached to their houses where they can descend in a hurry., batten down […]
- Omega Woman – by Clare HannanI am Robert Neville, the only human left on earth travelling around a deserted city, the setting sun casting its golden light across the still streets and buildings on a warm summer’s evening. There are no cars on the road, […]
- Living in Lockdown – by Melody Flumendorf“I’m stuck!” I could not believe it. Looking across the rather muddy shore I could make out my 10 year old, one foot firmly set in the mud, the other dangling in mid air. Her shoe had already sunk into […]
- Quarantining in London – AnonymousLondon, to me, has always been a lifelong dream. One that has driven my internal compass; the “why” in my life. I grew up in a difficult family, with a weak sense of self and a personality which was easily […]
- Toxic – by Marie MaurerCan you catch it from a stare? There’s a challenge in her eyes: you turn away (of course you do). You can’t see it but a smile creeps across her face, dimpling her cheeks deceptively. Tara is one of those […]
- Lockdown Learning – AnonymousI’ve never considered myself smart. Not academically smart at least. No degrees or letters after my name to brag about. Smart in the school of life, maybe. Leaving home at fifteen because of troubling circumstances, my focus was survival. I […]
- The Story of an Isolated Man – by Alastair SharpI am in isolation and I think I’m so contentAs I am old and vulnerable up to the North I’m sentBy loving and well meaning folkI am transported at a strokeTo Alba’s highest mountains trueWhich I am told are good […]
- My Lockdown Story – by Alika PoltavskyWhenever there is a big or significant change, it is always difficult foreveryone to adjust and get used to the new normal in life. For example, when you’re moving houses, instead of feeling at home and slumping on the soft […]
- Life in Lockdown – by Emily DownieLockdown has been a bizarre period for everyone. Being separated from loved ones so suddenly, without the knowledge of when we will reunite. I can confidently say that this is something I never imagined I would experience in my lifetime, […]
- Love in the Time of Lockdown – by Nadia CrandallRosie noticed it on that Sunday evening, a couple of weeks into the Great Lockdown. Where was Alice in Chains? Where was Terrorizer? Seb over the road at 102 played his music so loud she had picked it up on […]
- Murder in a Mask – by Poppy GrayThere were five people living in the house. Polly was on the top floor, self-isolating. She had inherited £100,000 the week before and had been to see her solicitor, who’d then got Covid and called her. No-one had heard from […]
- The Walk – by Albina KovalyovaThe early hours are soaked in stillness. We greet each other warmly and set off. The mood is pensive. Our footsteps – heavy as we start to climb the hill towards our green recourse. This new ritual – our daily […]
- Living in Lockdown – by Carolina ParodiI consider myself one of the lucky ones. I have a job that I haven’t been furloughed from, I live in a flat with a teeny tiny garden, and I’ve been able to hang out with Effie – an invaluable […]
- Kali & Covid: Invoking the Goddess – by Rebecca BuyersOn a cold December day on the cusp of 2020, my fiancé and I entered a warm yoga studio to look inward and forward. We rolled out our mats with the intention of stretching our bodies, minds, and spirits, curious […]
- The Silver Retriever – by Edith Tucker“Ella!” Mum shouted from the kitchen. “Yeah?” I replied.“I need you to sort through your stuff.”“Oh ok,” Recently schools had closed and I had to work from home online due to Coronavirus, a virus which is now considered a pandemic […]
- lt’s Almost Like Nothing has Changed – by Hanna CloughIf I sit in the park and close my eyes, it’s almost like nothing has changed. Sunlight kisses my eyelashes, my nose, the curve of my neck, each freckle. It holds me, each ray an arm, in it’s warm embrace. […]
- The Photographer – by Carolyn WallaceI’ve searched for three weeks but haven’t caught a glimpse of them yet, though not entirely sure what I am looking for as it could be a woman but maybe it’s a man? Stealth, that’s what they have mastered, unseen […]
- Wedding – by Marion BaraitserAged three, Vee first encountered lockdown when she crawled into an abandoned lengthy concrete pipe and emerged out of the other end, smiling. After thirty-two years of unmarried bliss and two kids, she decides to ‘do a Dodd’ and go […]
- Living in Lockdown – by Nikki HaydonAfter forty-five obsessively structured years in secondary education I approached retirement three years ago with trepidation. Determined to keep active, I became a Beanstalk reading volunteer, helped at the Oldfield lunch club, packed crates at the Chalk Farm Food bank, […]
- Living in Lockdown – by Miaia DaviesLockdown. That word which has honestly just been the bane of my life – of most of our lives – for the last few months. In my family, that essentially means sit at home, attempt (at least in my case, […]
- Confirming Humanity? – by Doro MardenA photo slipped out of the envelope, a pattern of triple pointed leaves, copper, yellow and bronze against a blue sky. She knew immediately where it was, the maple tree outside the kitchen window of the rented house in Southern […]
- Night in the Shopping Mall – by Lev ChapovskiyWhat if I told you about a time in our history when all of us were isolated? Yes, completely isolated from the outside world. You might see this as a fun experience, but no it is a miserable and gloomy […]
- Untitled – by Abtin TaftiOnce upon a time there was a world with lots to do and lots of places to go and ohh…yes lots of people to see, but one day it all changed. Somehow the life on the outside stopped and the […]
- Adventure Awaits – by Grace WessonChapter 1: “It Wasn’t Me!” “I’m so bored,” said Carrie to Kye. It was one of those rainy days when everyone and everything felt gloomy. The trees moaned, the clouds wept, the wind whined and the parents were upping their […]
- Coronavirus Times – by Susan SciamaSpring PandemicTrapped in this global lockdownI rememberhow poems could fermentmost freelyfrom the shock and joyof being somewhere new.Senses excited in a foreign lightIndia, Morocco, Spain –burned colour into thought.Now, while hospitals seetheand thousands die each nightwe must stay At Homewith […]
- The Coronavirus Hero – by Logan MargaraveEveryone was on lockdown because of the coronavirus and we had just moved into Grandmas and Grandad new house. I decided to explore the new garden and noticed an old man in his garden next door. I looked over the […]
- Untitled – by Rahim AliThis is a story about 5 kids who are trying to save the world, there names are Kiddy briant, Sam eggshels, James, Robert and Criptson. They all have the same hobbies, saving the world, it really is they love doing […]
- We Will be Working at Home – by Leanna Ly“We will be working at home from now on, called online school. We will post all your assignments on google classroom. Any questions?” Jemma said.“Are we allowed to call each other to help us out?” I smirked because I knew […]
- Untitled – by Fahd El-AlamiThere is a very large corgi that lives in Tokyo tower. He is around 100 ft tall and his name is congress. He is around 25 years old in dog years. This is a story about congress’s life. Congress wakes […]
- Andrew and the Television – AnonymousAndrew woke up on a Saturday morning thinking about getting to watch TV before his smelly brother,Peter.Andrew liked to watch scary cartoons and Peter liked to watch cartoons that teach you something.Andrew went downstairs and before he even opened the […]
- Lockdown – AnonymousAt the beginning of lockdown I thought it was going to be so easy. I thought I would just get to relax all day. But after like a day I got bored. I went in my garden because maybe I […]
- Lockdown Homeschooling – AnonymousDo you know the many hilarious memes of singles in lock down who are getting so bored they bake their own sourdough from scratch, invent the new google or start a charity -all whilst wearing a gala dinner dress including […]
- Lockdown – by Valerie, age 5The lockdown is annoying.I would like to go on the playground again.I miss my friends.I don’t like home-schooling and would like to go back to school.
- The Ceiling Fan and Mosquito Swarm – AnonymousStatic from the television, like an intoxicated mass of mosquitoes rocks me to sleep, my eyelids barely open, like eggy half-moons, staring at the ceaseless circling of a ceiling fan. Its dull blades swim through the mosquito swarm in my […]
- Ava’s Story – by Rachel OsbornEveryday is normal right? Everyday you wake up dreading to go to school for a whole week. My life is everything but normal! It all started at school… Josie and me were walking to Spanish class talking about the homework. […]
- The Forrest Gump of Primrose Hill – by Garry ManciniThe adjustment to life in Lockdown took longer than anticipated. It seemed like the whole nation was becoming addicted to carbs, 7.00pm cocktail hours and binge watching of movies and box sets. 7.00pm became 6.30pm, 6.30pm became 6.00pm until the […]
- It was the Parrot’s Fault – by Kevin BucknallIf I am going to be honest, it was the parrot’s fault. I admit that maybe I am a bit to blame, and certainly I am the one that might, just might, be punished. But then again how can one […]
- Stuck in London: When something bad, becomes something good somehow – by Adrielly CalilA pandemic is bad, very bad. But somehow, for some people, it may have brought some good things. Some people started studying, others started playing a new instrument. Some realized that going to the office is something that does not […]
- A Covid-19 Chronicle – by Judith PearsonWho’d believe it? I just read this witticism on the internet:“Jewish Irony: Passover cancelled because of a plague.”Made me laugh and wondered if I should mark my door – even though I’m an atheist! But it’s not funny, living alone, […]
- Block 5 – by Jamie MaddisonIf you’ve come by this account, then one of only two things could’ve happened to me. Either I’m there, standing right besides you – most likely with a mad grin on my face on account of the fresh air. Or […]
- Living in Lockdown 2020 by Mrs Freda Brown, Primrose Hill, NW1 – by Maureen BettsWell this new way of life for the residents of Primrose Hill has not really affected me because I live in my family fox hole at the back of Primrose Hill and I can come and go as I please. […]
- One Touch of Nature – by Eleanor SturdyI arrived in Primrose Hill a long time ago and thought there was nothing I hadn’t seen.But what on earth has been going on this year? In March, suddenly, the skies cleared, with no tracks from the metal birds. We […]
- The Coronavirus Outbreak – by Sam SturdyOnce in a small market in China, a 20-year-old man was selling fish. The man was called Jim and he had not been doing very well with business.Jim said, “What a bad day like always.” Ten minutes later, a country […]
- Lockdown – by Amber Young aged 10Coronavirus has been difficult for so many people. I have had some ‘wobbly’ days but mostly, I am GRATEFUL for: G – Greatest Grandparents. R – Really nice weather. (most of the time) A – Awesome friends. T – Trees, […]
- The New Normal – by Brought Me HereThey keep calling it “the new normal”, but what does that mean?We’ve seen acts of incredible selflessness, but at the same time we’ve seen others being selfish. I’ve heard neighbours arguing with each other from window to window. Disagreements below […]