Test

I had been dreaming of water, of cool, chlorinated rhythms, but I woke with a dry tongue and gaping mouth, body thirsty but still not conscious enough to act. I squinted into the in-between light of an almost sunrise, my hand tangled in E’s black hair …

The reason my grandfather, Gordon McInnes, felt that everyone should learn to swim was because at the start of the war he was unable to. At that time he was a qualified merchant seaman, and for a poorly-schooled young man from a working-class Glasgowfamily he considered himself, prior to 1939, fortunate in his job. It was secure and well-paid and it showed him people and places he would never otherwise have seen.

🎉 Happy 2024! 🔥The OPEN MIC – by The Reader Berlin – is back! Where: Das Gift, Donaustrasse 119 (U-bahn Rathaus Neukölln) When: Wednesday, January 10; Doors open at 18:30. Sign up for a 5-minute reading slot at the door. OPEN MIC begins at 19:00. — There’s no better practice for your writing than reading it out loud—and what better place to do it than at our new event: The OPEN MIC. — A very short story, a few poems, a micro-memoir or essay, or an excerpt from something longer – no more than 5 minutes – and we want to hear it! — No feedback or critique – just an opportunity to share your work and get inspired.👏 — And if you don’t have anything to read this time around — just come by for a drink and hang out/catch up with your fellow Berlin writers.😊 This edition of The OPEN MIC will be hosted by our very own WRITER MIKE: fiction tutor, writer and musician Michael Jeffrey Lee! Next class: Writing Flash Fiction

Spring is springing – and so is our next Open Mic in April! 👏 Where: Das Gift, Donaustrasse 119 (U-bahn Rathaus Neukölln) When: Tuesday, April 23; Doors open at 18:30. (https://www.facebook.com/events/7687495231284198?ref=newsfeed) Sign up for a 5-minute reading slot at the door (starting at 18:30) OPEN MIC begins at 19:00. — There’s no better practice for your writing than reading it out loud—and what better place to do it than at our new event: The OPEN MIC. — A very short story, a few poems, a micro-memoir or essay, or an excerpt from something longer – no more than 5 minutes – and we want to hear it! — No feedback or critique – just an opportunity to share your work and get inspired.👏 — And if you don’t have anything to read this time around — just come by for a drink and hang out/catch up with your fellow Berlin writers.😊