Ann Kay is retired and lives in West Dunbartonshire and revealed: “The main character in my story, Lily, experiences isolation because of her personal circumstances. Many people have become more isolated due to the pandemic so I wanted to explore this theme.

“At the same time Lily has a network of people who care about her, so there is hope and positivity in the story too. I was writing just after COP 26 which focused the collective mind on climate change. The idea that coal was a thing of the past dovetailed with Lily’s sometimes confused memories and so the idea of warmth through whatever means took shape with references to the electric fire and the coal fire – and of course the tradition of first footing.

“I am delighted to be one of the winners and can honestly say I was flabbergasted to receive that news.”

GATHERING WINTER FUEL

Lily switched on one bar of the electric fire. Her feet were warm enough and her hands if she held them near enough, but other bits were not getting the heat. She wondered if she should put on the second bar. She’d had a letter from gov.uk (whoever they were) saying she would get £200 Winter Fuel Allowance for her heating. She was going to phone them up to thank them but James said no Gran, everybody your age gets it. She was proud of James, he was a student at the University. He said he was Saving the Planet. Kenny had got her a phone for Christmas. Maybe she should put on the second bar. Mrs McPherson said if Jimmy was still alive she would only have got £100 from gov.uk but so would he so that was eexie-peexie. Plus they could have cuddled up on the settee and kept each other warm. You couldn’t put a price on that.

Winter fuel allowance. Once someone sent her a Christmas card with a picture of rosy-cheeked children skating across a frozen pond with their arms full of sticks of wood which they had presumably gathered in the pine forest just behind them. Inside the card it said ‘gathering winter fuel’. She remembered sticks of wood for lighting the fire. Her mother used to send her and Maggie to the cooperative for messages and sometimes on the line after milk, a plain loaf, golden wonders and mince it would say ‘a bunch of sticks’. There they were, bunched together and tied with string just outside the store nearest your door, and it was just as well as they didn’t have a forest or a frozen pond handy.

There weren’t many cards on the mantelpiece this year. Kenny said a lot of people had stopped sending cards. She went to poke the fire before remembering. Kenny said she should get rid of the poker and other fireside accoutrements. Kenny had a lot to say these days. She told him she would keep her companion set for old times’ sake and he looked at her as if she was daft. In the old days you had to scrunch up newspapers before arranging the sticks on top and then the coal. Then strike a match and soon you would have a roaring fire.

Coal. The Prime Minister said recently there would be no more coal. What was her name again? She remembered just the other week when Kenny asked her.

What a stupid question! She had asked him to phone the doctor for her about her sore back and he said the doctor would likely ask her who the Prime Minister was. Anyway when he phoned for an appointment he couldn’t get one for three weeks so she told him not to bother. She thought that was why he had got her a new phone. It was a lot easier because she just had to press a number beside a name and bingo!

Number 3 – Doctor. She tried to make an appointment herself but the receptionist started asking if she had a tablet or a smartphone. Then she had to phone Kenny (number 1 of course!) to find out if she had a smartphone or a tablet. She used to make tablet for James. Or you took a tablet for a sore head.

Anyway Kenny did that sighing thing and told her she only had a landline.

She phoned James (number 2).

- Hi Gran!

- How did ye know it wis me?

- Ach never mind. How are ye getting on wi the phone?

- No bad son. Ah wis jist wantin tae ask ye something...cannae mind whit it wis...

- Never mind Gran. Whit are yedaein fur the Bells?- Ah don’t know son, when is it?

- The night, Gran! It’s Hogmanay!

- Whit time is it son? Ah’ll need tae get tae the cooperative afore it shuts.

- It’s nearly six. Will ye manage?

- Aye ah’ll be fine.

- Right, see ye next year Gran!

- Cheerio son.

- Cheerio Gran.

Carefully Lily wrote out her list. Coat on. Fire off. Purse. Key. Glasses. At the front door there was a notice in Kenny’s handwriting. DON’T FORGET YOUR

MASK AND HAND SANITISER! He was bossing her about even when he wasn’t there.

The girl at the checkout was cheery and helped her to pack her shopping trolley.

- Is that everything Mrs Thomson?

- Would ye check ma list hen?

- Ok, bread, milk, potatoes, steak pie, shortbread, tablet, sherry... a bunch of

sticks?

- Did ah write that? Och hen, ah’m livin in the past.

- What does it mean?

- Ask yer granny hen.

- I will, Mrs Thomson. Happy new year when it comes!

- Same tae you, hen.

Another quiet Hogmanay. A wee bit of telly, a wee greet and bed at 10.

Her first foot arrived soon after breakfast time. James crushed her in a bear hug.

- Happy new year Gran!

- Happy new year son!

- Ah couldnae get black bun so ye’ll huv tae make do wi cherry cake!

- Ach that’s lovely son, come on in.

Someone else was at his back.

- Kenny!

- Happy new year ma!

- Come on in, the kettle’s on.

- Here ye are ma. A wee present fae yer second fit. He handed her a box-shaped glass object. Inside was something black. Light glinted off its rough edges. It took her a minute to recognise what it was.

- A lump of coal!

- Aye ma, the last lump of coal in Scotland!

Lily laughed as she led the way into the living room. Two bars of the electric fire blazed brightly. Lily carefully placed the lump of coal in its glass case on the fender next to the companion set, and went to make tea for her boys.

WHAT MADE THIS A WINNER?

Bernard Bale: “Lily. What a character and we all have a Lily in our lives either now or in the past. Right from the start you cannot help just loving her and hoping that she is OK. Her innocent bewilderment of the things of today are so well portrayed by her wondering how James knew it was her on the phone even before she spoke. Lily represents a bygone ago when cash was cash, shop keepers provided customer service and food, radio, politics and almost all aspects of life were not synthetic. All of that is beautifully captured in this simple but lovely tale. ongratulations.”

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