iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 28/05/2026

Hey MK and nearby folks! I'll be speaking at the Midsummer Festival on June 21st, talking about my City of Secrets project and the haunting stories I'm collecting. I'm on at 5pm, but come for the day, it's going to be awesome :D www.midsummer-festival.co.uk/whats-on#Sto... #UncannyCommunity

An AI generated (ChatGPT) image of the light pyramid in Milton Keynes, imagined for a folklore and storytelling festival. Text reads: Milton Keynes Midsummer Festival - June 21st 5pm - Mapping A City Of Secrets

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 24/04/2026

I’m so happy to have my very short horror story included in this collection - and highly commended too! Thank-you so much @mklitfest.bsky.social - who knew a bloodthirsty tree would go down so well!

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

Well, that was fun! A properly creepy new story for Halloween - you’re in for a treat tomorrow, #UncannyCommunity! Hey, is anyone planning a listen-along?

A shot of the stage and audience at the BBC radio theatre for the recording of the Uncanny Halloween special, October 29th 2025

A photo of a cup of earl grey tea on a table reserved for audience members, at the BBC radio theatre for the recording of the Uncanny Halloween special, October 29th 2025

A shot of a schedule run-down at the BBC radio theatre for the recording of the Uncanny Halloween special, October 29th 2025

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 20/08/2025

Here’s a sneak preview of my article about this surprisingly haunted city! Haunted is out on the 1st of September, in the UK shops a day later and should be with our US and Australian distributors by the end of that week. Order now at hauntedmag.com wherever you are. #UncannyCommunity

A screenshot of an article in Haunted Magazine all about Milton Keynes. The link to order is hauntedmag.com

The cover of the 47th issue of Haunted magazine. The link to order is hauntedmag.com

A stack of copies of Haunted magazine. The link to order is hauntedmag.com

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 29/07/2025

New story time! 'Bless The Light' is included in this new anthology from @commapress.bsky.social and is all about rituals, protection and pride - and the things that wait for the darkness to fold in. Thanks again to @mattjwesolowski.bsky.social for a fab course! www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B...

A cover image for a story called "Bless The Light" by Steph Lay. The picture shows a snowy village in a valley, all the houses blazing with candlelight, except for a dark cottage in the foreground, only one window lit.

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 24/07/2025

Milton Keynes people! I've collected true spooky stories from across 25% of the city - but there's still a lot more to find! If you've got a story to share, I want to hear it... cityofsecrets.blog/tell-your-st... Everyone else - v grateful for shares to get the word out! #UncannyCommunity

A dramatic nighttime photograph of The Rose memorial in Milton Keynes, with the city skyline in the background. Four lines of text read:
Milton Keynes
City of Secrets
I've found dark stories for a quarter of the grid
Help me find the rest!

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 09/07/2025

I didn't realise these photos I took the other week would become historic artefacts quite so soon... I'm glad that the site will be used for something now, but it is always sad to see an old landmark vanish. www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...

View of The Point in Milton Keynes as seen from the shopping centre car park. It's abandoned, derelict and sprayed with graffiti.

View of The Point in Milton Keynes as seen from the shopping centre car park against the city skyline - Hotel la Tour and the XScape visible in the distance. It's abandoned, derelict and sprayed with graffiti.

View of The Point in Milton Keynes as seen from the empty shopping centre car park opposite.

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 11/06/2025

It's taken a bit of doing, but tonight's story of disturbed sleep and haunting prescience is finally live. Also, "enjoy" these out-takes from my attempts to produce an 80s bedroom scene - Midjourney thinks hands should be feet. Or possibly claws! cityofsecrets.blog/2025/06/10/y... #UncannyCommunity

An AI generated image of a shadow figure standing at the foot of the bed in an 80s bedroom. The image *should* show hands grasping at the sheets, but the AI has created these as elongated things that look more like feet.

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 26/05/2025

Milton Keynes. We do roadside cairns a bit differently here ;)

A photograph of a pile of rough concrete blocks piled up into a tower about two feet high. It’s sitting on a verge at the side of a main road, with a roundabout visible in the background.

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 23/04/2025

If you’re free on the evening of May 1st, come along to the @mklitfest.bsky.social’s Beltane story-telling event! I’ll be reading this dystopian little tale of a drowned Milton Keynes - should be fun :) www.mklitfest.org/dreams-for-b...

A promotional image for a story called “What Lies Drowned May Rise” by Stephanie Lay. This is an AI generated image produced using Midjourney v7. It shows a dystopian vision of the light pyramid in Campbell Park in Milton Keynes on fire, surrounded by flood water, with a figure in a hazmat suit in the foreground. An ominous tentacle is rising from the waters.

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 22/04/2025

*Launching today!* I'm starting a new city-wide project to collect, curate and share spooky stories. If you live in, work in or visit Milton Keynes, and you've experienced something you can't explain, I'd love to hear from you. Full details at cityofsecrets.blog/tell-your-st...

A promotional image for the Milton Keynes City of Secrets project, showing a night-time shot of the MK Rose, the Hotel La Tour and theatre in the background. The text below reads "A Ghost Story In Every Grid Square".

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 19/04/2025

Ah, thank-you, friendly bench. You’re not so bad yourself :)

A photograph of a park bench covered in graffiti. In the middle of all the random tags is the phrase “YOU ARE LOVED”

A dramatic filtered vignette photo of a park bench covered in graffiti. In the middle of the random tags is the phrase “YOU ARE LOVED”.

A close-up of blue graffiti on a black park bench seat. It says “when the power of love overcomes the love for power, only then will the world know peace.” There’s a smiley face sticking its tongue out next to the text.

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 11/04/2025

Oh, yesterday was a very very good day! One of my creative non-fiction pieces was awarded Highly Commended in the MK Lit Fest's 2025 writing competition... and what's more, I'm going to be reading it at this event tomorrow too! Exciting times. www.mklitfest.org/raising-voices

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 08/04/2025

Exciting post this morning :D A little teaser for a new project I will be launching soon…

A photograph of a stack of postcard-sized flyers lying on a flattered envelope. The image shows a picture of the MK Rose at night, with the text “Milton Keynes City of Secrets: a ghost in every grid square?”

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 06/04/2025

Quiet morning up at the farm. No-one around - although one of the security fences has been moved… I’m holding fast to my principles of admiring the dereliction from a safe distance, no matter how tempting it is!

A picture of a derelict farm, with tumbledown buildings in the background. A security fence has been pushed aside, leaving a tempting gap!

A picture of an overgrown pathway, sunrise in the background.

A picture of a derelict barn, graffiti-covered, with the silhouette of the photographer (me!) in the foreground.

A picture of a derelict barn, a tree growing up through the roof.

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 28/03/2025

Flipping heck, that feels a lot for a blog I set up as part of a coursework assignment for my MA and don't really promote. Cor. Quietly delighted at that - who on earth are they though?

A screenshot of a notification from the JetPack app that says "10K' surrounded by confetti. Underneath is the text "Congratulations! Your site, City of Secrets, passed 10,000 all-time views." and a button that says "Take a deep dive"

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 23/03/2025

I never know what to call graffiti - 'street art' sounds like an ad for an edgy art show, and I'm about thirty years too old to start throwing around 'graf' or 'bombing'. Anyway. I found some nice - tags? - today. There's a new post on the blog - link in linktree in bio, as ever, with more photos -

A photo of graffiti under a bridge. The centre of the image shows a weird creature in black and white paint. It could be a bear, but its eyes aren't in the right place and it had disturbingly large teeth.

A photo of graffiti under a bridge. This image shows a weird grinning character, a kind of stylised, exaggerated face with immense teeth.

A photo of graffiti under a bridge. This photo is very brightly coloured, with the letter DDRD in bright green bubble writing, and a cartoon orange face with bright lipstick and eyeshadow.

A photo of graffiti under a bridge. This is a long black and white shot of a 'gallery' formed by the bridge supports, vanishing away into the distance.

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 14/03/2025

I found this awesome new Milton Keynes street art today - for local folks, this is just off Lodge Lake, before you get to the stepping stones. No idea who Arkade is, but this is seriously impressive. The attention to detail, wow - even carrying on the pattern up on the top edge of the underpass!

A picture of graffiti under a bridge in Milton Keynes. It shows a stylised heron against a blue and green stylised background. The tag above reads 'Arkade'.

A side-view of graffiti under a bridge in Milton Keynes. It shows a stylised heron against a blue and green stylised background. The tag above reads 'Arkade'. This picture is taken at a slight angle showing that the background continues onto the edge of the bridge support.

A picture of graffiti under a bridge in Milton Keynes. The stylised background motif from the heron artwork in the last couple of images has been repeated right up at the back corner of the bridge - amazing attention to detail that you'd only see if you turned around to look!

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 10/03/2025

When your mood lighting looks like this, it's no surprise that you end up writing some rather dark tales. In related news, I just finished the first draft of my submission for @commapress.bsky.social's Modern Folklore anthology :) @mattjwesolowski.bsky.social

An image of a table lamp in the shape of a spooky hare with a forbidding expression. It's sitting on top of a copy of Barrowbeck by Andrew Michael Hurley

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 08/03/2025

A beautiful day to go and wander around a derelict farm :) Yep, I've been up at Devil's Den again. I had a lovely note last week from a blog reader who is going to photograph the ruins for their fine art project! They were asking how it's looking since my last post in January so I went for a look.

A long shot showing two derelict barns against a bright blue spring sky. The barns are part of the abandoned and now partly demolished farm at Shenley Dens, locally known as Devil's Den farm.

The picture shows a pile of rubbish abandoned at the side of a field on a bright spring day. There are random pieces of wood, plastic and furniture. In the background is an upturned armchair. This was taken at the edge of the abandoned and now partly demolished farm at Shenley Dens, locally known as Devil's Den farm.

The picture shows a derelict barn with missing tiles and a crooked roof. It is silhouetted against a bright spring sky, and the sun is very bright. The barn is part of the abandoned and now partly demolished farm at Shenley Dens, locally known as Devil's Den farm.

The picture shows the side of a tumble-down barn with a lot of missing tiles. It's behind a security fence which has a warning sign telling people the buildings are unsafe and there is a danger of death. The barns are part of the abandoned and now partly demolished farm at Shenley Dens, locally known as Devil's Den farm.

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 02/03/2025

“Bag of five and a latte please mate - put it on my bill” :)

A picture of the donut and coffee van at Willen Lake in Milton Keynes. The only customer is a large swan who looks pretty hungry ;)

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 21/02/2025

So so delighted that my creative non-fiction piece has been shortlisted in the Milton Keynes Literary Festival's latest competition :D Roll on the awards ceremony and anthology launch in April... www.mklitfest.org/mink2025-sho...

A screenshot of the Milton Keynes Literary Festival's shortlist for the 'Home' competition, spring 2025. The text reads:
"Creative Non-Fiction 20+
SHORTLISTED
And where do you... ? - Guy Russell
Following the Long Thread Home - Steph Lay
Home Vlog - Ralph Keats
Moving On (Ode to my Lair, Ode to my Lion) - G D Carrion
The Fire - Jerard Bretts
The Fire She Left Behind - Ondia Morris"

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 13/02/2025

I don’t normally look at the referrer stats for my tiny little blog but it’s been an usually good week - ahem, thankyou @weirdinthewade.bsky.social for the boost! - so I had a peek… I’m intrigued, who on earth has found their way there from MUMSNET of all places?!

A screenshot of statistics for referrers to my blog - 51 views in total, 36 from Facebook, 6 from BlueSky, 5 from search engines, 5 from Twitter and 1 from mumsnet.

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 10/02/2025

So, this took a bit of delving into obscure Reddit threads (www.reddit.com/r/shortcuts/...) and dabbling with creating Shortcuts but I've pulled out the one frame from the original where the flash appears... Unfortunately, this method also just created a loaf of GIFs so it's not highly-detailed -

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 09/02/2025

Well, that was a blast, St Mary's did not disappoint. I've done a proper write-up on the blog but do have a lightly spooky photo to share... all being well, this should appear as an animated GIF - I have absolutely no idea what's flashing in the bottom-left there. cityofsecrets.blog/2025/02/09/s...

A colour photograph of St Mary's Church, Clophill on an overcast February day. The church looks dark and gloomy, with bare winter trees all around. This is an animated GIF, and in the bottom left of the image there's an occasional bright white flash - I have no idea what it is. The picture was taken when only three people were there and none were close to that part of the site.

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 01/02/2025

@revpeterlaws.bsky.social A windswept lonely church overlooking the ocean, you say? Think I’ve found Creepy Cove’s Icelandic chapter :)

A picture of a small white church with a black roof set up on a hill. The church is surrounded by a mossy grassed churchyard with crosses and headstones. In the background, you can just see the sea - the waves are quite fierce!

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 31/01/2025

Well, shit :( #uncanny #UncannyCommunity I’ll just have to watch it when I get home - enjoy, everyone!

An error screen for the BBC iPlayer that says this content can only be played in the UK.

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 18/01/2025

Eee, that was so much fun! I know, this is post-performance euphoria but I really enjoyed giving my presentation - look, there I am! (I hardly ever share photos of me, but I like this one.) The whole day has been brilliant - it's hard to imagine a more "me" collection of topics and speakers! ...

The image shows a screenshot from an Instagram story posted by the societyofinkslingers. The text reads "Into the second half of our day and now looking at some specifics of the uncanny: Dr Stephanie Lay is sharing her research into the uncanny valley and how humans perceive faces." Below the text is a screenshot of a Zoom event, with my Powerpoint slide titled 'Faces both Familiar and Strange: Walk with me through the uncanny valley' on the left, and a still from the video of me in my study on the right. I look very pleased with myself!

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 14/01/2025

Yes! I remember seeing this on Twitter a few years back and thinking - blimey. What a terrifying thought, but it's a good point! It would be great starting point for a story, you're right :)

Screenshot of a Tweet from December 17th 2020 6:57pm - it reads: "David Szymanski
@DUSKdev
One of the most frightening things I've ever heard is when someone pointed out that the existence of the uncanny valley implies that at some point there was an evolutionary reason to be afraid of something that looked human but wasn't."

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 13/01/2025

@bpal.bsky.social In honour of the full Wolf Moon tonight, I’m wearing this - from 2004! This little bottle is old enough to buy a drink over there, it has no right smelling as gorgeous as it still does :D

A picture of a bottle of Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab’s “Wolf Moon” perfume standing on a bookshelf. Text on the label reads “Wolf Moon - a little lunacy - 2004”

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 11/01/2025

And finally, on my way home, I visited a couple of lakes, walked through a frosty playground and found a jacket that no-one else wanted. 11 miles, all in all. Oof.

A long-exposure picture of the weir at the Teardrops Lake

A picture of Lodge Lake, frozen except for a small space of open water where birds are swimming. Further across the lake, birds are sitting on the ice.

A black and white picture of a jacket left on top of a junction box at the side of a street. The jacket is heavy covered with frost.

A picture of a see-saw in a playground. The see-saw is shaped like a crocodile and the picture shows its face. It's covered in thick frost.

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 11/01/2025

Then, I had some shopping to do so walked into town via Precedent House, another abandoned site I've visited before. The cobwebs coated in frost were really beautiful, and I liked the way the sky reflected in these window fragments...

A picture of a derelict building with shattered windows. In the middle of the image, a row of cobwebs have formed in one window and they are thickly coated in frost.

A close-up picture of a piece of shattered safety glass on a pavement in front of a derelict building. The glass is reflecting the bright blue sky above.

A picture of an abandoned building with smashed windows. A shopping trolley sits upside down just in front of one of the windows, with graffiti sprayed on it.

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 11/01/2025

I've had a day of chilly walks. First, I decided it was a good time to venture over the frozen fields to take another look at Devil's Den farm, horribly sad to see it all reduced to rubble but the fog and frost really added to the atmosphere. Full write-up here: cityofsecrets.blog/2025/01/11/d...

A picture of bright yellow 'FIRE DO NOT CROSS' tape caught in a thorny bush, covered in a very thick layer of frost.

A picture of a path leading up to derelict farm buildings. There's a security fence blocking the path. There are bushes to either side of the path and there is yellow 'Fire, do not cross' tape strewn through the bushes.

Abandoned rusted farm machinery at the edge of a. field, covered in frost.

A blue-tinted bokeh image of seedheads rimed thickly with frost.

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 10/01/2025

-5 today! I had to see a man about a will which was about as much fun as you'd imagine so I walked back home through the woods and round a lake. I love the ghostly swan in the long-exposure, and that frozen pond has definite 'spirit of dark and lonely water' vibes.

A long exposure picture of a lake with a rather ghostly looking swan. The photo has been filtered to appear particularly cold and blue.

A long exposure photo of the weir at Lodge Lake in Milton Keynes. There's a particularly pleasing whirlpool in the bottom right corner.

A photograph of a frosty path winding through trees at Linford Wood, Milton Keynes

A black and white vignette photo of a frozen pond at Linford Wood, Milton Keynes

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 06/01/2025

I had my Christmas tree in this corner, and after I’d taken everything down, it felt a bit sad and gloomy. No more! Hello, spooky hare :) It feels like he needs a name…

An image of a table lamp with the base in the shape of a metal hare.

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 05/01/2025

First they want me to buy a Chernobyl snow globe, now it’s a Halloween zen garden. That pesky algorithm, eh?

An screenshot image of an advert for a product sold by Temu - a Zen garden consisting of a tray of blood-red sand with different tools for creating contours in the sand, along with “spooky” ornaments to stand in the garden e.g gravestones, skulls, skeletal tree.

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 31/12/2024

Decorations all down (with a little help from Kiki) and put away for another year, all the tree needles hoovered up, and everything cleaned. Bye bye, 2024. You've been better to me than I thought you would be - let's see what 2025 has in store...

The picture shows a tortoiseshell cat sitting in the middle of a green pine-tree style Christmas garland, lit with fairy lights.

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 30/12/2024

I know, I hang out in the most glamorous places! (Seriously, the bridge over the railway was a bit spooky. Won’t go that way again.)

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

I'm writing a story set on a nearby street, and it takes place on an eerie foggy night. Thick fog today, so I headed out early to take some atmospheric photos to use as a cover image. Look at this! It wasn't raining, but I guess the camera picked up the moisture in the air anyway. I quite like it.

An image of a modern house on a foggy residential street called "Hubble Drive". You can see the street sign, the road and the house, but the image is blurred and made indistinct with streaks of what look like white light.

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 29/12/2024

Found in a playground just up the road - there's got to be a story behind why these roses have ended up like this. It looked like most of a bouquet...

Several red and yellow roses from a bouquet lying scattered in long grass.

Close-up on a discarded rose in long grass.

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 25/12/2024

Do my friends know me or what?! Happy Christmas everyone x

A stack of books resting on a leather sofa. The titles are The Shocking Horror Colouring Book, Hauntology by Merlin Coverley, Barrowbeck by Andrew Michael Hurley and The Haunting of Borley Rectory by Sean O’Connor. Happy Christmas!

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 22/12/2024

I always like the day after the solstice - you've been through the darkest, longest night, and the light is starting to come back. I went for a long walk today to a local ruined church - one with its own werewolf legend no less! There's a story there... cityofsecrets.blog/2024/12/22/s...

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 20/12/2024

I've always loved writing, but I only started to take it really seriously at the start of this year, as part of my big "what the heck do I do with my life now it's just me?" adjustment. I decided I'd take a 'few' courses - oh boy! I do love a good spreadsheet, so here's my summary of the year...

A bar chart with the title "One year - 28 writing courses! 37 whole days of events!". The chart shows the number of days spent on writing courses along with the number of courses I've done. The full stats are: Course Days spent Number of courses
Alex Davis Events 15 10
Arvon 7 4
MK Lit Fest 4 1
Comma Press 3 1
Nottingham Writer's Studio 2 2
Romancing the Gothic 1 3
Smokelong Quarterly 1 1
Retreat West 1 1
Writers Online 1 1
London Lit Lab 1 1
Fractured Lit 1 1
ProWritingAid 1 2
Grand Total 38 28

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Passing through St Mary's churchyard on the way to and back from the lake this morning - once before dawn, once at sunrise. Such a beautiful morning.

A black and white photograph showing a silhouette of a dark church against a stormy-looking sky, with dark trees in the background.

A bright sunlit view of a church with gravestones brightly illuminated and casting sharp shadows.

A closer-up silhouette than the first photograph in this sequence but showing the same church, a stormy sky behind.

A brightly-lit photograph of a churchyard, with the sun casting bright rays from the horizon.

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Steph Lay @stephlay.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

I went back to have a look at the ruins of Precedent House this morning, it's looking more beaten up than ever. I managed to get a better photo of the writing inside the upper floor, and I *think* it says "I know you won't read this, but you're special." (I'm choosing to think it says that, anyway!)