Drabbletober

Season 2, Bonus Episode 7: Anything From the Canteen Sheet?

This is Drabbletober, the podcast of tiny fiction. Hello, and welcome to Drabbletober. This is an occasional bonus episode, for the first of May, 2026. I'm Elizabeth Guilt. Your one-hundred word story for the day is: Anything From The Canteen Sheet? --- He lunges when it slides under the door. The first week, still used to shops and restaurant menus, he sneered at the crooked page. He mocked his cellmate's eager interest - and got punched for it. Now, he's the same. Any break in the grinding tedium is welcome. Anything. When something new appears on the list, he savours it. Plays with it in his mind. Orders it, even hair products he will never use. Anything for novelty. This week, between instant noodles and A4 notebooks, is a new item: Final Apocalypse. He writes a 1 in the box. Immediately, thunder rolls. --- A while ago, I entered a drabble competition which had a theme of "Canteen". I sent this one, having discovered that the weekly order forms given to prisoners - in the UK at least - are called 'canteen sheets'. It wasn't placed, but I'll pop a link to the winning drabbles in the show notes. https://www.patreon.com/posts/100-word-project-128068977 [https://www.patreon.com/posts/100-word-project-128068977] --- Take care, everyone, and I'll see you again sometime. https://www.elizabethguilt.com/drabbletober/s2-may1-bonus

Season 2, Bonus Episode 6: Everywhere

This is Drabbletober, the podcast of tiny fiction. Hello, and welcome to Drabbletober. This is an occasional bonus episode, for the first of April, 2026. I'm Elizabeth Guilt. Your one-hundred word story for the day is: Everywhere --- There was a bang and, too late, a screech of brakes. "Shit! A deer, we hit a deer." "What?" "A deer! You saw that, right?" Dave was five or six whiskeys down, his voice rising, panicking. I'd seen blond hair, plastered by rain against a pale face. For weeks afterwards, I trawled local news sites. No reports of a road death, or a missing woman. I stopped drinking after that. Dave didn't. When his car ran off the road, I wasn't surprised. I don't drive at night any more. Is she there? I don't know, but I see her. Everywhere. --- Take care, everyone, and I'll see you again sometime. https://www.elizabethguilt.com/drabbletober/s2-apr1-bonus

Season 2, Bonus Episode 5: Yanked

This is Drabbletober, the podcast of tiny fiction. Hello, and welcome to Drabbletober. This is an occasional bonus episode, for the first of March, 2026, and I'm Elizabeth Guilt. Your one-hundred word story for the day is: Not Again --- Mason wakes up, a familiar pounding in his head. Not again. They'd only had six weeks this time. He looks wearily over the furnishings. 1800s. Probably Britain. He creeps through the house, finds clothes that mean he won't stand out, takes a couple of things to pawn, and heads out to look for Alex. They've got systems, but without internet it's difficult. Alex hasn't left messages in any of the usual places. It takes months. Finally, Mason finds a run-down boarding-house in Bognor. "Alex!" "What? Who're you?" Mason slumps. "Oh. This is one of the times when you don't remember." --- --- Take care, everyone, and I'll see you again sometime. https://www.elizabethguilt.com/drabbletober/s2-mar1-bonus

Season 2, Bonus Episode 4: Someone Needs Looking After

This is Drabbletober, the podcast of tiny fiction. Hello, and welcome to Drabbletober. This is an occasional bonus episode, for the first of February, 2026. I'm Elizabeth Guilt. Your one-hundred word story for the day is: Someone Needs Looking After --- "Evelyn! Come in!" Nan waves her visitor down the corridor, and keeps up her half of the conversation. "I know! Awful out there... Yeah... That's February for you..." Nan's delusions are getting worse. But no-one actually comes round now, and these imaginary visits keep her cheerful. I head to the kitchen so I don't have to play along. She can't live alone now, but I'm happy looking after her. Except when she hallucinates doctors coming to examine me. I could do without that. As 'Evelyn' 'departs', I hear Nan whisper. "So sorry about my grandson. His delusions are getting worse." --- --- Take care, everyone, and I'll see you again sometime. https://www.elizabethguilt.com/drabbletober/s2-feb1-bonus

Season 2, Bonus Episode 3: January You

This is Drabbletober, the podcast of tiny fiction. Hello, and welcome to Drabbletober. This is an occasional bonus episode, for the first of January, 2026 and I'm Elizabeth Guilt. Your one-hundred word story for the day is: January You --- Join the gym. Run every morning. Go vegan. Two yoga classes. Read fifty new novels this year. Drink less. Do dry January! Learn Spanish. Get up early. Journal. Marie Kondo the spare bedroom, the kitchen, the whole house. Maybe try paleo? Maybe not paleo. Is vegan paleo even possible? Is vegan possible? What the hell do vegans put in sandwiches? The gym is expensive. Running hurts your knees. The yoga is fun, though. You blow dry January on the seventeenth, laughing with Kim over cocktails, speaking in broken Spanish. Marie Kondo was right. Keep the things that bring you joy. --- Welcome to 2026! If you are making new year's resolutions, then remember to be kind to yourself. There's plenty of good stuff about the old you. As a minor point of order, I checked with my reference vegan and she assures me there are plenty of sandwich fillings from the mundane (fake ham) to the grandiose (crispy-fried tofu with lettuce and tomato) via hummus, marmite, avocado… --- Take care, everyone, and I'll see you again sometime. https://www.elizabethguilt.com/drabbletober/s2-jan1-bonus