Hi all, It’s Farzana, your host, for another thought-provoking Thursday Connectors.

Our new theme is Mindset and I’m sure you’ll agree with me when I say our mindset is one of the most important aspects of our personality. Our attitudes and our opinions towards others can make or break a society, and us as individuals too!

I advocate positivity in my workshops through tolerance and respect, using writing creatively as a tool of expression and healing. Working with others in this way means I’ve often seen and read biases, cliches and stereotypes floating in and out of sentences and paragraphs about sectors of society, such as women, the working classes and, especially the minorities. But as the host, I don’t let it get to me too much. All I can do is try to educate and communicate a truer, more tolerant picture by fostering discussion. Am I trying to change mindset? NO! Far from it. But it’s important to say things as they are when you see something negative, as most of the time this negativity is a product of mindset and environment.

Of course, I don’t know whether me trying to educate my participants like this is a good thing, as the spaces I host are meant to be all-inclusive and somewhere our creative juices can flow, so I’ll let you be the judge of that. However, my own mindset automatically tells me to correct negativity, so where it’s safe and OK to do so, that’s what I try to do..

Mindset is a big and important theme and I’m sure we’ll be exploring it in many different creative ways over the coming weeks in Write On!

With that mind, I’m delighted to bring you a couple of fantastic Connectors this month. We have a poem from E.M Blake and a short story from Jo Webb; both great reads I know many will relate to.

Firstly up, a poem. Hi Ellie. Let’s connect:

The Yesterdays

The quiet breaks as
The bell rings, it’s early,
And you are resting now,
While I remember the yesterdays
Those distant echoes
Before the stormy struggles

When spring was spring
Adventures beckoned
Our greatest lament was
Last rounds, 6am flights,
Why weekends weren’t longer
The tragedy of Sundays ending

Parting is such sweet sorrow,
A heavy blanket like snow
We wait for sunlight to come
Warm our hearts and melt
The giant friendly snowmen
Wearing newly knitted scarves

As the new dawn grows
The bells ring louder still
Then sudden silence falls
There’s peace in the distant past
When we knew nothing, but
Thought we knew everything.

© Ellie Blake, 2025

Connect with Ellie at her website: mycreativeeveryday.weebly.com

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And now, a lovely short story. Hi, Jo. Let’s connect:

The Fairy Who Found Her Wings

Once upon a time, there was a fairy. She didn’t look like your typical fairy: dainty wings, long blonde hair, a soft, sing-song voice and pretty dresses. But she was nonetheless a fairy.

This fairy was more solidly built, with a pixie haircut and an edge to her voice.If she wore a skirt, it was a short one. As for her wings, they had yet to appear.

One day, she was out for a walk. The sun was high, the sky blue and clear of clouds.

Hot and slightly bothered, she rested beneath an oak tree. Its broad green leaves on sturdy branches provided the ideal canopy from the blazing sun.

The fairy had felt discombobulated for a while now and knew she had to make changes. The how and when to implement these caused her sleepless nights and a furrowed brow.

She felt comfortable under this tree and returned to it daily. It gave her peace and space to think.

It was on one such day she was sitting, eyes closed, though not asleep, listening to the birds chirping and the leaves softly rustling, when she felt a presence next to her.

Warm breath on her leg and a tickle on her arm.

Slowly  opening one eye, she looked down and saw a bright yellow dog lying there; its tail tickling her arm and its breath on her leg.

Having no idea how to react, the fairy sat motionless. As did the dog. They remained like this for some time until the dog disappeared.

Due to fairy life getting in the way, it was a couple of days until she was back under the tree, wondering if the dog would appear or if she’d merely dreamed it.

The dog did appear, as before. It disappeared the same way, too. The fairy was unsure of what to make of this, so did nothing. The presence of the dog made her feel less lonely.

One  day, she spoke to the dog: “Hello.” Not expecting an answer, and not receiving one.

The fairy and the dog spent most of their days together. Each time was the same as before until, one day, the fairy was feeling particularly sad and spoke to the dog about how she was feeling. Still, the dog said and did nothing. However, the fairy felt better just for having just spoken.

This continued for a few days and then one day the dog said, “I’ve sat here listening to you. Why haven’t you done anything?”

The fairy was shocked. A talking dog! “Umm, I don’t know. Scared maybe?” she replied.

“What are you scared of?” asked the dog.

“The future. The unknown. Being on my own” admitted the fairy.

“You are on your own now and not happy, so surely taking a step towards the unknown can only serve to make you happier,” counselled the dog.

The fairy mulled this over and was about to speak when the dog disappeared.“Drat,” she muttered.

The next day, the fairy wasn’t sure if the dog would appear and, if he did, would he speak? Would she? This caused some anxiety.

When the dog appeared, she let out a breath, unaware she had been holding it– feeling suddenly better with  his breath warm on her leg.

“So, oh wise dog, what do you have to say today?” asked the fairy nervously; not entirely sure she wanted to hear the answer.

The dog said nothing. Instead, he stood up and looked at her, his soulful brown eyes encouraging. Walking  away, he turned just once to look back at her. The fairy took this as a hint to follow. They walked in companionable silence. She felt her anxiety return.

Suddenly, he started to run. The fairy ran too. In the middle of the field, the dog stopped and said to the fairy: “I’ve done what I can for you. It’s time for me to go.”

He jumped the fence and, in midair, transformed into a large black stallion.

The fairy made her way to the kissing gate at the end of the field. She tried to go through but couldn’t. Breathing in she pushed the gate wider, climbing over, climbing under.

She heard the dog say: “If you open up, you’ll get through.”

Leaning on the gate, she thought about this and realised the dog meant SHE had to open up.

The more the fairy remembered, the further the gate opened until, eventually, she was able to walk through.

The horse welcomed the fairy with a neigh and shook his head. As she approached him, he said: “Get on my back.”

“How?” asked the fairy. “I can’t get up there!”

“You’re a fairy –  use your wings,” instructed the horse.

“I don’t have any wings,” the fairy said sadly.

“Of course you do. You just need to know how to use them,” said the horse.

“How do I do that?” asked the fairy.

“Believe,” the horse said.

“In what?” asked the fairy.

“Yourself,”  the horse replied.

The fairy felt a tugging on her back, a wriggling under her skin. Craning her neck, she saw two near transparent butterfly wings growing out of her back. As she continued to believe, so the wings grew.

“What did I tell you?”  the horse whinnied.

The fairy practised flapping her wings and, before she knew it, she was flying. She managed to land on the horse’s broad back and grabbed its mane to steady herself.

Again, the horse said: “Believe.”

Trying very hard to do so, the fairy saw her future in the distance. Leaning forward, she patted the horse’s neck, whispering: “Thank you” into his thick mane.

Steadying herself, the fairy stood. She beat her wings a couple of times to warm them up and then, spiralling upwards, flew on to meet her future.

© Jo Webb, 2025

Connect: Instagram @jowebb2013

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Brilliant! Thank you, Ellie and Jo, for your Connectors.

Now, for the sake of my own mindset, for health reasons only, I’m taking a break for a couple of months. But not to worry, my loyal readers, I’m leaving you in the capable hands of Saniya Iqbal, a young lady who will be using Thursday Connectors in June and July to host ‘Youth Connectors.’

Saniya will be connecting to young adults and children of all ages, so please show some support and send in submissions from your families and friends’ children for her to use. The theme doesn’t necessarily have to be Mindset, but she is particularly interested in featuring moods and creativity. She’d like writing on colours, imagery, seasons and food to reflect this. Artwork is also welcome, so please send in your summer pictures, such as flowers and what your favourite foods look like..

Looking through and past the exam season into summer, I’m sure the next two months will bring much joy. It’s always important to give our youth a voice and a space for creativity too.

Good luck, Saniya!

I hope this break will do me good and I’ll see you again soon. Until then, take care of yourselves and keep writing.

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