The London School of Journalism

By Eley Williams - 1st Place

A single Finnish word can describe the blast of heat that occurs when water is poured on a sauna's brazier. Also, one Bantu verb sums up the act of discarding one's clothes in order to dance, while a Pascuense word means 'the swelling of the larynx caused by screaming too much'. So: mbuki-mvuki, löyly, ngaobera. That's how I feel knowing you're halfway across the world waiting to welcome me home.

© Eley Williams. October 2011

By Tru Godfrey - 2nd Place

The fence was down again. Again! Fourth time in as many months. Sam was not happy. She was going to have to call that man again, get him to come round and sort it out - although she was beginning to question if he actually knew what he was doing. Still, he’d been paid to do a job and clearly failed so it was only right he put it right. Again.

When Joe arrived he was not armed with his tools, but with a rose and a question.

‘Can I take you to dinner? Then I’ll fix the fence. Properly this time.’

© Tru Godfrey. October 2011

By Kate O'Reilly - 3rd Place

She gazed down at the scene below, listening to the urban hum of an unaware population. In some ways she wished she had been slightly drunk, just to calm her nerves, but then, on reflection, she preferred the fact that her mind was entirely crisp and focused for this moment. It had to be perfect, had to be exactly right. She wanted to leave this world as pure as when she had entered it. Forget that period in the middle; that would all be erased now.

© Kate O'Reilly. October 2011