The Bottom Drawer for Thursday, 4 December 2025, 7.00 to 9.00pm

We have a magnificent line up of texts from different genres for this Thursday’s session, the second last this year. The focus is on the festive season, and our creative members have emersed themselves in the Christmas mood, resulting in poems, memoirs and stories reflecting the special atmosphere of these days.

As well as this, our Mug of the Month contest is due again. Fierce competition is expected to find the winner, who, this time, will have the notable distinction of harbouring Mugsy over the Christmas holidays until we reconvene in January!

And if time allows, there are many more items in the Bottom Drawer waiting to be presented. As usual, we can be sure that our 120 minutes of Write-On productivity will be over in a flash!

And here is the line-up of items in…

…The Bottom Drawer

A Christmas Story by  Elizabeth Hannon In this warm and nostalgic memoir, Elizabeth Hannon revisits the Christmas traditions that shaped her family across generations. What begins with the rediscovery of a beloved childhood book — Miss Flora McFlimsey’s Christmas Eve — unfolds into moments of magic, chaos, laughter, and tender ritual. From turkey markets to nativity plays, from handmade decorations to firelit storytelling, this piece celebrates the sensory richness of family Christmases and the enduring power of shared memory.   The Clock  by Kathleen Phelan In this quiet, atmospheric flash fiction, a stopped mantel clock becomes the centre of a home steeped in memory. As Eileen returns each month to dust, tidy, and sit alone with the silence, the clock symbolises not absence but presence — a delicate boundary between grief and letting go. With subtle emotional weight, the story traces the moment she must decide whether time should begin again.   The Thimbles  by Kathleen Phelan Two sisters discover a small cloth bundle hidden deep in an old desk — inside, a pair of delicate porcelain thimbles. As morning light fills the room, the thimbles awaken memories of their grandmother’s hands and unspoken understandings between the sisters. A tender, quietly moving flash piece about inheritance, distance, and the gentle mending we do for one another.   Longing  by Anne McManus In this luminous winter vignette, a snowy night transforms the world beyond the window into something magical and unreachable. The narrator’s quiet yearning to run through the whiteness is met with a tender moment of connection — a lift toward the cold air, the beauty, the possibility. A brief but powerful meditation on desire, confinement, and grace.         The Away Team  by Helena Clare This warm, funny memoir recounts the Christmas when a young American niece, Annie, arrived in Galway for the first time. With her confident opinions and New York grandparents to compete with, the Irish family quickly realise they are the “away team” — determined to win her heart through decorations, nativity scenes, Christmas cake, and shared tradition. A charming slice of family life full of affection, humour, and memory.   Adeste Fideles  by Mary Hodson A richly evocative remembrance of Midnight Mass in a rural parish, where candlelight, incense, and hymn-singing drew the whole community together. Through the eyes of a young girl watching her mother’s voice rise clear and strong in Latin, the piece becomes a love letter to tradition — to faith carried across generations, and to the quiet holiness of a night that never loses its magic.   The Elf in the Cornflakes by  Mary Hodson A laugh-out-loud Christmas memoir about being utterly convinced that the Elf on the Shelf truly moves by magic. Through earnest storytelling, solemn grandchildren, and one unforgettable conversation in a gift shop, Mary charts her hilarious journey from wonder to realisation. A delightful, self-mocking celebration of how Christmas mischief can enchant children — and adults — in equal measure.   Unowned Fields  by James Conway In this darkly playful tale, Amy wanders the wild “unowned fields,” a place thick with rumours, forgotten sins, and imagined creatures rustling in the grass. By day she works in a peculiar shop that never closes; by night she listens for mysteries modernity can’t explain. Humour and unease intertwine as the truth about a long-vanished tax man surfaces — in a way only James Conway could deliver.   Chapter 41 – The Boy in the Bed by  Frank Fahy Christopher finds new confidence as spring arrives: he moves more steadily, sheds his crutches except on damp days, and transforms the yard into a kingdom of engines, tools, and possibility. Indoors, tension thickens, yet outside a resurrected Morris Minor becomes a moment of triumph — a sign that the world is finally tilting in his favour.   Bittersweet Christmas by  Joyce Butcher A deeply moving reflection on the dual nature of Christmas — the bright childhood magic of 1959 contrasted with the darker family realities that unfolded later. Through love, loss, resilience, and eventual healing, Joyce traces how new generations can reclaim joy and gently rewrite old stories.   Losing My Glasses by  Kathleen Phelan A quietly luminous poem in which the blur of misplaced glasses becomes a new way of seeing the world. Edges soften, colours drift, and the speaker discovers fleeting clarity in the gentleness of imperfection.   Fidelis  by Tom Doyle On a rain-soaked Christmas Eve, a young man’s desperate search for a meaningful gift leads to a shaggy toy dog, a bus full of onlookers, and unexpected grace. A warm, nostalgic story about sincerity, embarrassment, and first love.   The Writing Workshop by  Kathleen Phelan In this playful and affectionate send-up of creative writing groups, Kathleen Phelan captures the chaos, charm, and biscuit-fuelled brilliance of writers trying (and failing) to be profound. With dream clouds, lost pens, poetic sheep, and a tutor on the brink, this witty piece will resonate with anyone who’s ever stared down a blank page — and found laughter waiting instead of genius.

Genre	Title	Author
Memoir	A Christmas Story	Elizabeth Hannon
Memoir	The Away Team	Helena Clare
Memoir	The Elf in the Cornflakes	Mary Hodson
Memoir	Adeste Fideles	Mary Hodson
Short Story	Unowned Fields	James Conway
Short Story	Bittersweet Christmas	Joyce Butcher
Short Story	Fidelis	Tom Doyle
Flash Fiction	The Clock	Kathleen Phelan
Flash Fiction	The Thimbles	Kathleen Phelan
Novel Extract	Chapter 41 The Boy in the Bed	Frank Fahy
Poem	Longing	Anne McManus
Poem	The Writing Workshop	Kathleen Phelan
Poem	Losing My Glasses	Kathleen Phelan
Website	The Write-on Story (Living History & Reflections)	All Members