Seven of the short listed entries for the story writing competition were invited to read their stories at the award winning ceremony held in Geldeston church on Saturday 9 March, fittingly in the same week as World Book Day. A wide range of approaches to the theme of the ’Two monks’ were produced in prose and poetry with some illustrated. Geldeston has got talent with four of the short listed entrants living in the village. It was a joy to hear the stories being read by the authors. The high standard of entrants made selecting the winner a difficult decision for the judge and author Lucy Lethbridge with the prize going to Roger Brown for his story ‘On retreat’ printed below . Roger and his wife Jane live in Norwich. Roger practised and taught osteopathy and acupuncture until ill health forced retirement. He has a keen interest in medieval church architecture and has visited St Michaels and All Angels, Geldeston several times. Delicious tea was served after the readings and many thanks go to all those who help make the afternoon such a nice occasion. Readers of Tidings will have something to look forward to as all the short listed stories are going to be published in future editions of Tidings.