Well it's a bittersweet day. It's the last day of Flash Friday Fiction. So get your head switched on; it's time to write a story. It's the best type without a minimum (or worse 'exact') word count. A story of fewer than 200 words - and don't do what I did a couple of months ago and be word blind… yep, I wrote a 200 word story. Idiot. Deep breath and read the question like you're back as a teenager doing an exam.



Of course it is a shame to see it go, but it's been good while it lasted; and there's not much in 2020 we can say that about (unless you're a Liverpool fan, then there's a couple of other good things to have enjoyed).



The photo prompt for the final Flash Friday Fiction is this shot of the Torii Shrine but don't just use the phone - read all the prompt before writing (and remember that it is fewer than 200 words, not up to 200 words).

It goes without saying that all the best vibes and wishes should be sent to Rebekah and Deborah for bringing back the institution this year. Kudos!

It was good to judge with @voimaoy for Flash Friday Fiction once again this weekend. It was the third and final time for this incarnation of Flash Friday. Some nice stories using both the Ice and Fire prompts - and so many bananas. Good to get a new winner for the challenge too - I was worried we kept picking Flash Dogs.

There are just three more weeks of the weekly challenge and I can relax and write for it now and not worry about the judging. Just three weeks… real shame. Get involved writers while you can. See you Friday over at Flash Friday.



And a big thank you is owed to the wonderful dragons for bringing this community together for a time, particularly during this most turbulent of years. Such lovely dragons.

Tomorrow I am helping judge this week's Flash Friday Fiction so I don't need to worry about getting a story written myself for it in the early hours again. Thought I'd put some words on something up though, as I have written very little this last week or so - and it's good to keep the blog a little live. Sassy Lia on Twitter asked a question earlier today about whether any of her followers 'had never travelled solo before, and if so why.' Needless to say I first misread it as 'ever' but I thought I'd write something anyway - because an affirmative answer is as useful as a negative one I'm sure.

I'd never travelled properly on my own - as a holiday - until 1996. It was a big year for me. I went to work on a project in Tabasco and Chiapas in southern Mexico. The proposal written by my elders and betters had the project timed as a 5 week one - and on the infamous first day the MD said we'd get it done in four and all have a week on the beach. As it happened I ended up being there for five and half months - and only had about 7 days off. It was a crazy time. Being young we worked hard and played hard. And didn't sleep much at all. When we did get days off we made the most of it in terms of sight seeing - like going to the amazing Palenque, Tuxla & the Sumidero canyon, or the Atlantic coast - and best of all climbing up (and into) El Chichon volcano.

We didn't get the opportunity to do much on our own there. But I loved everything about Mexico. Once the project finished I made it so that I travelled back a few days late so I could take a look around Mexico city and get up to see the Teotihuacan pyramids. After the initial nervous few days traveling around Mexico City by myself I began to relax and go with the flow. The feeling of freedom was the thing that made it for me I could truly go anywhere, in my own time. Don't get me wrong I was genuinely quite apprehensive for the first couple of days - especially on public transport - clutching my bag hard against my side. But once I got into it I soon realised it was fine; be aware of what's going on and whatnot, but don't be paranoid. Enjoy it.

Back in England I wondered about getting back over there. It was cheap once you were there so it was all about the flight over. And I found an unbelievable flight to Mexico (less than £200) for two weeks later in the year. It was a package flight and everyone bar me and one other girl were holidaying in Cancun. It was back in the day when flights were smoking at the back and I was sandwiched in the middle of a smoking family. It wasn't the nicest start to my first solo trip. But boy it got wonderful. One night in Cancun due to a late afternoon arrival then I was off around the Yucatan, down to Belize and then into Guatemala for Tikal. I did so much in that two weeks, but at the same just enough so I could smell the coffee and taste the cerveza. Just getting to Chichen Itza and Tikal was worth the trip alone. But the main thing I found was I totally comfortable with traveling on my own. I saw some wonderful sights, got up/went to bed when I wanted, stayed a day or two longer whenever I wanted, ate and drank what I wanted, met some lovely people. Well, basically I paced myself exactly how I wanted and did just enough each day to make me inordinately happy.

In subsequent years I've had wonderful trips around the world by myself from city breaks in the Baltics, to road trips on the west coast of the US and a whirlwind trip to Thailand, Laos and Cambodia, I've never had a trip away that has been disappointing - even just 60 miles from home. Going with the flow is nice at home and it can be even better away from it. I'd recommend anyone giving it a go, if your nervous about it why not give it a go in the UK first? Get yourself to Bristol, York, Glasgow or wherever.