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Hello everyone and welcome back to Bedtime Stories, BBC Radio 2's 500 words podcast.
We have a brand new selection of some of the finalist stories from this year's competition, and I, for one, cannot wait to hear them.
Oh, excuse me, one minute, listener.
Dom, Dom, what are you doing?
What do you mean?
Why and why are you piling all those suitcases by the door?
Ah, yes.
So, look, I was out last night at my regular Monday Monopoly club.
And we were chatting about following our dreams.
Tim dreams of hiking the Himalayas.
Tom dreams of moving to Canada.
And I said, I would love to go around the block in a balloon.
And then Tom and Tim said that it would take ages.
And I said, I reckon I could do it in 18 minutes.
And then they said, well, OK, prove it.
Right, OK, hold on.
Let me get this straight.
You are planning to balloon around the block in 80 minutes.
That's like one hour and 20 minutes.
I mean, I don't want to squash your dreams, but aren't you kind of missing one vital thing?
Oh, I'll get it.
It'll be just the thing I need, hopefully.
I ordered everything last night on followyourdream.co.uk and don'tcostalot.com.
Yeah, thank you.
That's great.
Yeah.
Look, if you just leave it in the garden.
Yes, yes.
It is a lot bigger than it looks online.
Yeah, I always get a bit confused about that kind of thing.
You know, the sizing.
Yes, great.
I'll take it from here.
Thank you.
Bye.
Look at the size of that thing.
It's massive.
What are the neighbours going to think?
I hope you know what you're doing, mate.
Look, don't worry.
Like the theme of this week's podcast, it's up to you how far you'll go.
If you don't buy, you'll never know.
In a quiet suburb called Oakville, just outside of Toronto, lives seven-year-old Grace Walker.
Grace is an only child who has lots of friends and a happy little life.
Although Grace felt happy and loved, there was something niggling away at her.
Everyone seemed to know exactly what they wanted to be when they were older.
Unlike Grace's friends who love to play with dolls and bake muffins and pink tutus, Grace was always outside playing in mud and clearing snow with her toy truck.
Oakville Elementary holds an annual career fair.
During this day, children hear from adults about many different careers.
They heard from doctors, held rabbits that came in with the local vet.
They met a senator running for election and a librarian who told everyone how she was born holding a book.
But Grace had no inspiration whatsoever.
That evening, Grace was very quiet at the dinner table.
Her mom was worried and asked her what was wrong.
Grace began to cry as she poured her heart out to her mother about her future and career.
Grace has always dreamed of becoming a firefighter, helping others and being a hero to families in situations of despair.
When she told her friends, they laughed as a girl can't be a fireman.
Grace's mom smiled and hugged her.
Her mom went into her study and picked up her laptop.
She ran a quick search and placed the laptop in front of Grace.
As Grace looked up, with tears running down her face, she saw the screen.
There was a beautiful, smiling female firefighter accepting a medal from the mayor for her bravery during a horrific car accident on the QEW road last year.
In the photo, she is holding one of the little girls she freed from the school bus.
Grace couldn't believe it.
Grace's mom suggested they contact the firefighter on LinkedIn.
Grace sat and waited, hoping for a reply.
They couldn't contain their excitement when a reply flashed up a few minutes later.
Constance Baker was her inspiration.
Finally.
She continued to read Constance's blog and followed her daily.
Constance even suggested.
Grace joined an activity club at the weekend to learn outdoor schools and survival hacks.
That summer, Grace celebrated her birthday with a garden party with all her friends.
When it was time to bring out the cake, Grace was told to close her eyes.
Suddenly, they heard loud sirens coming closer and louder by the second.
When she opened her eyes, Constance in her full uniform and helmet was holding her cake, and the rest of the crew were crowded around the fire truck.
Grace's friends and family were shrieking and lining up to ride in the fire truck and take pictures wearing the helmets.
This was the best birthday Grace could ever have.
At school, Grace was the talk of the hallways.
She was so proud of her future dreams and now truly believed anything is possible.
BBC Radio 2's 500 Words.
Bedtime Stories.
The Bird Feeder.
Dave woke up sleepy and relaxed.
Then he realised what day it was.
He had been looking forward to this, but now he felt really nervous.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.
Come in, he said.
Unexpectedly, all of his friends came bursting in.
You gotta get up, mate.
It's the big day, they shouted.
Dave looked at his best friend, Jeff.
Can you get everyone out of here, he asked.
I've got to get dressed.
Yeah, sure, but you haven't got long, Jeff replied.
Dave tried not to think about the challenge ahead.
The bird feeder was an extremely difficult obstacle.
No squirrel had got onto it yet.
Only the little birds.
The robins, blue tits and all the finches.
Dave got dressed into his outfit.
Meanwhile, in the other tree, the little birds were hatching a plan.
Dave looked out of his tree.
He could see the bird feeder was on the thinnest, most slippery branch and now he felt very stupid for ever saying he could do this.
There was another knock at the door.
Come in, Dave said in a small voice.
Five minutes, mate, grinned Jeff, giving him a thumbs up.
Jeff left Dave with his jaw open.
Five minutes left.
He tried to stop panicking and started practicing all he had learned in the past few months.
First, he did some stretches, touching his toes and doing the splits.
Then he did cartwheels, backflips, handstands, front walkovers and back handsprings.
He even practiced holding a pencil in his tail.
And now five minutes was up.
It was time to go outside.
He looked down at his special leotard and felt like he could do anything.
He ran down the tree, thinking it was nice to feel the fresh air.
He was going to try and bounce from the trampoline he'd made with Jeff and somersault onto the bird feeder.
Dead easy.
He knew every squirrel in the garden was watching him as he climbed onto the trampoline.
Then he leapt.
He did a triple front flip, did the splits in midair and coiled his tail around the branch nearest the bird feeder.
He swung from side to side, then stretched as far as he possibly could.
As he popped his mouth into the bird feeder's opening, he could hear the crowd cheering below.
He took a huge bite and started munching with a big grin on his face.
It was then that he heard giggling.
And out of the corner of his eye he saw a group of cheeky-looking little birds who seemed very pleased with themselves.
Suddenly, it felt like his mouth was on fire.
He looked at the bird feeder and realised, to his horror, that it was full of hot, spicy chilli flakes.
Many generations ago, in a mystical world, there were two groups of wizards.
They both hated each other.
In fact, they were enemies.
Their groups were called Death Eaters and Bone Crushers, and they planned to kill each other.
They had been fighting many wars for many years.
Lots of wizards had died in the battles, but there was one wizard that tried to stop them.
One wizard called Bob had a spectacular idea.
Bob was a clumsy and forgetful wizard, but he wanted to stop the fighting because it kept on killing people.
Bob was a good wizard.
Bob thought that if he swapped the Death Eater's swords and the Bone Crusher's guns with sprouts and broccoli, using magic, then everyone might find it too funny to carry on fighting.
It was the day of a fight.
The two groups got ready.
The Death Eaters were lined up on a huge hill.
The Bonecrushers were on the edge of a dark, gloomy forest.
There were hundreds of angry wizards ready to kill each other.
Bob was hiding in a bush and felt nervous and scared.
He heard someone scream, Charge!
The Death Eaters ran with swords and guns towards the Bonecrushers, who ran at them with spears and knives.
As they got closer to each other, they raised their weapons, ready to strike the other wizards, when Bob started his magic.
With a flick of his wand, Bob turned the swords into broccoli, the knives into bananas and the guns fired sprouts.
One spear became a vacuum cleaner, and someone's hard shield turned into a frying pan.
They tried to fight with broccoli and sprouts, but no one was getting hurt.
They all found it rather funny and started to eat the yummy weapons.
Bob chuckled to himself.
One wizard started doing the vacuuming with what used to be a spear.
Eventually, two rival wizards forced the saucepans together.
Suddenly, there was a big bang and a blue puff of smoke covered the battlefield.
When it cleared, there was a giant strawberry in the middle on the green grass.
It all went quiet.
Had a team won?
Soon there was a cheer as someone tasted the strawberry.
It was the most delicious strawberry ever, but tasted a bit like peas.
The wizards realized it was better to be friends and eat together than try and fight with sprouts and vacuum cleaners.
There was a nervous moment when they thought an explosion had started the fight again, but it turned out to be the bone crusher wizard called Jeffrey making a fluffing noise after eating too many sprouts.
Bob was a hero.
He had brought peace to the wizards who hated each other.
From then on, the bone-crushers and death-eaters lived happily ever after.
Once upon a time, there was a boy called Sam who wanted to be a football superstar.
In his school, they had a football team called the Mighty Rockets.
He often thought about trying out for the team, but he knew he was not that good at football.
Sam was better at being a scientist and doing science experiments.
He wondered if he could design boots that could make him better at football.
Sam told his family his ideas about the boots, and they exclaimed, Isn't that basically cheating?
He said, No, in a worried voice.
He wasn't sure.
Sam went to work in his bedroom.
He invited his friend Alf over to help him with the science project.
They had metal, springs, magnets, electric circuits, wires, glass and plastics.
They worked all night long.
Finally, as the sun came up and the birds started singing, they had finished.
The boots looked just like normal football boots, but they were operated by a controller converted from his favourite games console.
Sam and Alf often played games online for hours on end.
Alf could control the boots while Sam wore them.
He tried out for the school football team and wore his new boots.
Alf hid in the bushes with the controller.
Just like on the games console, when he pressed left, Sam went left.
When he pressed X, Sam hit the ball in the air.
And every time Alf hit the right button at the right time, Sam scored a goal.
They even had special skills moves.
Everyone's face went pale with shock as they watched Sam play like a superstar.
They were amazed.
The manager said, ''This boy can be our new star striker.''
And everyone cheered.
With Sam's help, his school team got to the cup final.
Alf sat in the stands with the rest of the crowd.
Just as the game was about to start, Alf noticed a red light on the controller start to flash.
The batteries were running out.
What would Sam do without his special boots?
Alf waved his arms around, trying to get Sam's attention.
Sam waved back, thinking his friend was wishing him luck.
This was going to be a disaster, thought Alf.
The referee blew his whistle and the game began.
At the end of the match, the Mighty Rockets were the winners and Sam had scored a hat-trick and the winning goal.
His teammates carried him on their shoulders and sang his name.
Alf ran over.
He needed to tell Sam what had happened with the batteries.
Meanwhile, Sam was trying to get down and go to Alf.
He wanted everyone to know that he didn't deserve the praise and that it was Alf who was the real superstar.
Alf grabbed Sam before he could tell everyone the truth about the boots.
He told him about the batteries.
Sam smiled because now he realised his skills were all his.
Now, Sam's a pro footballer and Alf's a famous inventor.
Ask me the binoculars.
What's happening?
Let me see.
Let me see.
Get off.
Let me just have a look.
Oh, look.
There's a big lorry outside the house.
They're having something delivered.
Oh, this was a great plan to move into the treehouse across the road from Dick and Dom.
Yes, yes, it was.
Now, let me see.
It's very, very, it's a very large box, Diddy Dick.
Oh, look.
I wonder what this is.
It's a giant red balloon.
And it has a big basket underneath.
Are you thinking what I'm thinking, Lovey?
No.
What are you thinking?
Let's climb down the tree, sneak across the road, climb into the hot air balloon and have an adventure.
I've always dreamed of floating high above the ground, seeing the world from a bird's eye view.
Ah.
Eh?
What?
The diary of a £5 note.
Day one.
Born today!
But why am I here?
All I know, I emerged from this machine which printed two ugly images on me.
On one side, a rather fancy-looking woman, and on the other, a stern, grumpy, balding man.
Not the look I would have chosen.
Day three.
Today, I was inside another machine.
Met loads of other notes just like me. discovered they call us fivers.
Loved it.
Cozy, warm, and friendly.
But next second, I get shoved out of a tiny slot into the cold.
Some crappy hands stuff me in a pouch.
Now it's just me and a fifty-pound note.
Thinks he's ten times better than me.
Hope I'm out of here soon.
Day 63.
Still here.
Bored.
Been in the same wallet for weeks now.
Nothing ever happens except the 50 pound bragging.
Then some coins dropped in my head.
Ouch.
I'm getting really claustrophobic now.
Also, I started wondering about the meaning of my life.
Day 102.
Been put in an old, rusty tray.
But I have my own compartment with some other fives.
That's great.
Made some new friends.
We've got lots in common.
However, there's a weird scent of expired Kit Kats and Rolos.
Day 103.
Rude awakening today.
There was a massive krr-ching and the tray was jerked out.
A few of my buddies got swiped away, then krr-ching again.
The tray was slammed back in.
Got a headache now.
Day 167 My latest wallet, home, was snatched by a small, podgy child.
She pulled me out, then twisted me, drooled on me, and put me in her mouth and chewed me.
Oh, the worst pain ever.
Excruciating pain.
Fortunately, I'm made from the finest of thermoplastic polymers.
My ego was more damaged than my edges.
Day 248. day.
This lady was rushing down the road and dropped me onto the horrible, grimy street floor.
Lay there for hours.
I got trodden on, rained on, and finally driven over by a 50-ton truck.
Cheers.
Day 439 AM
Today, I got shoved into a suitcase with loads of my other friends.
Saw a hooded man.
He looked mean.
Heard gunshots, screams and a very loud alarm.
Don't get what all the fuss and noise was for.
Day 439.
P.M.
Heard sirens.
Then more gunshots.
The suitcase was opened.
Looked up to see a friendly man with a shiny badge and stripes on his shoulder.
Got transferred back into the machine like the one I started in.
Still don't get my life.
Why am I here?
Day 3784
I've seen quite a lot over these years, but something different happened today.
My latest owner was strolling through a park and stopped in front of an old man.
His clothes were ragged.
He sat on a crumpled sleeping bag on the floor.
With desperation, he begged, Any change, mate?
I was handed over.
The man started sobbing gently.
He wept.
You just saved my life, mate.
My owner smiled.
Finally.
I think I know why I'm here.
Night's night.
You can't be a knight, you're a girl, exclaimed Charles.
It's not all jewellery and looking pretty.
It takes more than that to be a knight, Jonathan sneered.
Betsy sighed unhappily.
Betsy was a young girl and was fed up of not being taken seriously.
She was quite often misunderstood.
She longed to be a knight, but as a princess she had far more prettier jobs to do.
She had to braid her hair so it was presentable to the people of the court.
She had to wear dresses to fit every occasion.
Betsy hated dresses.
She had to wear tiaras that were so heavy with jewels she struggled to hold her head high.
Betsy hated tiaras.
And she had to eat nicely, all this fancy food, when all she really wanted was pizza.
Betsy hated fancy food.
One day, Betsy was so fed up, she decided to take matters into her own hands.
She snuck out of her bedroom and took the knight's armour that was on display in the castle.
To her delight, it fitted perfectly.
Now to night school, Betsy whispered to herself.
To her surprise, it was very easy to sneak into night school.
No one questioned her.
Even Charles and Jonathan didn't recognise her.
Then the instructor came forward to take the register.
Betsy was nervous.
Bert?
Yes, sir.
Harvey?
Yes, sir.
Charles?
Yes, sir.
Jonathan?
Yes, sir.
Oh, we seem to have a new recruit.
What is your name, boy?
Um... Betsy stammered.
Ben?
Ben?
Ben Sir, the instructor corrected.
Ben Sir, Betsy put on her best boy voice.
From then on, Betsy went to night school every day.
She learnt how to ride a horse, use her sword and lead the troops.
To her surprise, she was a natural and all the other trainee knights wanted to learn from her.
She was the best, and the instructor was very impressed.
So much so, he decided that she would compete in the Night Challenge, a very important competition.
When the day came, Betsy was very nervous.
She got on her horse for the first challenge, the race.
Everyone cheered for her.
Go for it, Ben!
Then they were off.
Suddenly, Betsy's helmet became loose.
And before she knew it, her helmet fell off, revealing her golden locks and her true identity.
Everyone gasped.
The race stopped.
Betsy felt wet, salty, blobby tears trickling down her face.
This was the end of her knighthood.
Clapping, followed by cheering, became louder and louder.
Go Betsy!
The crowd cheered.
At that point the instructor rose from his chair and announced to the stadium From now on, girls and boys can be knights.
The king and queen were very proud of their daughter and as they tucked her into bed that night, the queen said Sleep well, my little angel.
Night, night.
Out on the high seas, a crew of very fat, very unfit pirates lived on a ship that creaked under their weight.
This ship was called the Podgy Roger and it drifted along half submerged beneath the waves.
One day the captain of his ship looked out from his poop deck and gawped at the pirates as they lay lazing about huffing and puffing their tummies bulging.
This is no good at all, the captain thought to himself.
What unfit misfits we are.
No one will take us seriously when we come a-pillaging.
The crew had been at sea for a year now and fresh food was scarce.
All they had left in their cupboards were biscuits and cake.
The famous gold rush had long since dried up, which meant the pirates had no treasure ships to go looting.
Trapped on their ship, with little to do and no room to exercise, the pirates had grown fat.
Whilst feasting on cake was a jolly old treat, it had done little good for their waistlines.
When his faithful parrot had started squawking pieces of cake instead of pieces of eight, the captain knew things had to change, and fast.
Right lads, bellowed the captain, we are laughing stock.
With our bloated bellies and our double chins, no one will take us seriously when the gold rush begins.
With that, he turned on his heel and stomped below deck, vowing to return with a plan that will take his crew to greatness.
After what was an eventful few hours in his cabin, the captain emerged back on deck, decked in striped lycra, clutching several woven mats made from the ship's rigging and his captain's hat perched high on his head.
Surveying the scene before him, the captain roared ''Wake up, you lazy louse''.
As he kicked the cabin boy snoozing at his feet.
''You are going to the gym, lad.''
Get up, you lot!
Get changed and put your valuables in Davy Jones' locker.
He won't mind.
Meet me on the deck in five minutes sharp.
We is doing some Pilates.
The begrudging pirates heaved themselves up and waddled slowly below deck to get changed.
Soon enough, the ship was bustling with activity.
Pirates in shorty shorts were sweating and stretching as they followed their captain through his Pilates routine.
From the mermaid side stretch to the crab and the seal, the pirates were put through their paces.
One of the pirates suddenly screamed, I've pulled a muscle!
Don't be so crabby, panted the captain.
Just keep going!
From that day on, the captain made his crew follow his plan.
And when the gold rush began once more, the pirates of the Podgy Roger had chiselled chests and bulging muscles.
Not only were they now the most feared pirates of the high seas, they were most definitely the fittest.
All thanks to their captain and his pirate Pilates, me hearties.
Well, that's that.
I'm all packed and ready to go.
I've even packed a picnic and a flask of tea.
You sure you don't want to join me?
Look, you know I don't like heights, or flying, or baskets, or balloons for that matter.
Are you sure this is safe?
Look, stop worrying.
It's important to follow our dreams.
You never know where it may lead.
I know where this one's going to lead.
Straight up in the sky in a flimsy wicker basket.
Come on.
Help me throw my bags in the basket.
Hang on a minute.
What are those two docile diddies doing?
All right, you two, stay away from my balloon.
The curse of Pageton Manor.
The wind howled as the heavy birch door of Pageton Manor slammed shut behind them.
Bang!
The horrid weather offered a harsh contrast, as they had been standing outside soaked from head to toe.
Cautiously, they peered through the corridor as a candle was lit.
Puzzled, they looked at the spiral staircase, and at the top all they saw was dark gloom.
Neither of them dared to venture up there.
Meanwhile Alice tugged at Eliza's coat, pulling her back as she tried to talk, but nothing came out, only the sound of her shaking legs and chattering teeth.
After only a few minutes of exploring, swallowing gulps of thick waxy air, Alice froze to the spot.
She could hear the sound of faint, flipping pages.
Each step Eliza made, the louder the noise became.
Eliza, who was being dragged by Alice, was following the sound of the flipping pages.
Soon they found themselves in an old abandoned library with one tall white candle slowly burning.
Alice realized that the flipping of pages had suddenly stopped.
She shuddered.
Those books look amazing, gasped Eliza.
Alice didn't respond.
Instead, her eyes were fixed on the empty bookshelf next to her.
Alice was shivering.
She blinked, rubbed her eyes, and then in the empty bookshelf was a book.
A book with no title.
No ruled pages, just a blank book.
Suddenly, the flipping of pages had started again, but much faster.
Alice stood motionless.
She was drumming her fingers on the shelf nervously.
Alice couldn't wait any longer.
She picked up the book and the next moment, the book fell to the floor.
Eliza jumped with a start.
She picked up the book and there was what looked like a small girl on the front cover and she thought she recognized her.
Eliza realized that alice had gone somewhere.
She stopped.
Still holding the book, she noticed that letters were appearing on the cover.
It spelled alice's life now.
Eliza was confused but still carried on.
She opened the book and it said my name is Alice and I live at number one, Fern's Cottages, and my best friend Eliza, left me.
Eliza shivered.
She wondered what had just happened.
She turned to the next page.
Eliza looked at it curiously.
There was no writing, just a picture of books on a shelf, just like the one Eliza was standing next to.
Eliza didn't know what to do.
Her brain was dizzy.
It felt like she was spinning around on the spot when her mouth opened.
Alice, Alice, Alice, where are you, Ali?
She stopped short.
It felt like a gust of wind had just swept past her.
She felt a warm breath on her left ear.
Then she felt a hand, a cold hand, touch her shoulders.
Then there was darkness.
Now the dark figure emerged from the shadows, picked the book up and placed it back in the shelf.
The beautiful game.
In the dusty back streets of India, a pack of dogs crowded around a sponge-chewed ball.
The moon's beam shone on the muttly crew of flea-infested dogs like the light from a football stadium's arena.
It's our kick-off tonight, growled Harry Canine.
Yeah, but we won last night, snarled David Barkham.
Get on with it, snapped Carl Walkies.
Pelt!
The ball hurled in the smog-filled air.
The sound of scratching nails as the dog scrambled towards the filthy ball.
Heads and tails, nodding and wagging as the four-legged friends kicked headed and nose-nudged the football.
Goal! shrieked Jarmaine Dubon as he booted the ball into the back of the rancid dustbin.
The small brown dog celebrated as he twirled in the air.
His victory was short-lived when he felt a razor-sharp fang tear into the back of his neck.
Louie! shouted a voice from the dark shadows.
Harry Redsetter appeared.
I've been watching you lot.
How's about we form a team for the Wolf Cup?
Meanwhile, in the bleak depths of Iceland, Arsene Wagner looked upon the luxurious coats of the beautiful hounds that glided across the ice holding perfect formation, whilst their attractive eyes watched the glistening snowball clinically strike the inside of an igloo.
Goal! howled Cristiano Rufaldo.
That's what you call teamwork, woofed John Terrier.
Think we're ready to win the Wolf Cup.
After weeks of intense training, the time had come to travel to the mighty ground of Liverpool Stadium.
The atmosphere was electric as every breed crossbreed gathered in the stands.
Most of the dogs were scrapping and boasting who would win the game.
Viking war chants could be heard throughout the arena.
The muttley tribe were barking winners winners, not dog dinners.
Hot dogs and corn dogs were served to the ravenous gangs.
The game kicked off, literally fouling all over the pitch, with every referee's decision weeing up the corner flags to mark their territory.
Red Bones were handed out to a player on each side and they were sin-binned to the kennels.
An outstanding hind-leg strike from Josh King-Charles lobbed the keeper, Jordan peaking knees.
As Danny Welba chased a rogue squeaky toy, fights broke out, and not just amongst the players.
The fans sang hurtful, abusive songs like...
Dirty mongrels, who would want to be you?
You ain't a pedigree anymore.
Then like a thunderbolt out of nowhere, the opposition booted a screamer into the back of the net.
One, one, all hell broke loose.
The hounds of hell were unleashed.
Amongst the chaos, the little brown dog howled in the centre of the pitch.
Stop!
He yelped.
I just want to play the beautiful game without being tormented.
Every breed and creed, colour, shape and size should unite to respect each other.
The raucous crowd stopped, so they all wagged tails and called it a draw.
It doesn't matter where you're from, just be kind.
BBC Radio 2's 500 Words.
The Bedtime Stories Podcast.
Oh no, lovey, we've been spotted.
Quick, give me a leg up the basket.
Ooh, it's too high.
This is not a good idea.
What are you two doing?
Stop right there!
What were you thinking, Diddies?
Sorry, Dick and Dom.
I just got very excited when I saw the giant balloon.
I've always dreamt of flying in one.
I didn't think I'd ever get the chance.
Well, why didn't you say so?
You could have just asked.
Actually, I'm actually looking for a partner for my 18-minute voyage.
Really?
Oh, lovey!
Thank you!
Right, come on.
I'll help you in.
Alright, OK.
Well, whilst you two are following your dream, Diddy, Dick and I will cook up a lovely lunch.
Oh, I love cooking.
Yeah, me too.
Great news.
Oh, you know what?
I'd love to have a go on that cooking competition.
You know that one on the telly where you have to cook really fancy meals?
Oh, yeah.
So would I. Well, that's it from today's podcast.
I hope you enjoyed all the fabulous stories.
And remember, it's up to you how far you'll go.
If you don't try, you'll never know.
Oh, that's lovely, Dom.
If you're feeling inspired, here's our top tip from our friends at Oxford University Press.
Location, location, location.
From ruined temples to dense jungles, dark caverns to perilous shipwrecks.
The setting for your adventure story needs to be a dangerous place where twists and turns can surprise your main character.
Maybe you could give your hero a sidekick.
Think about the character's strengths and weaknesses and how they could help or hinder your hero along the way.
Don't forget to like and subscribe.
See you next week.
See you next week.
Goodbye.
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