A story - part X (groupwork)

The soft melody was Peter’s alarm clock gently waking him up. When he was fully awake, he heard knocking at the front door. He now realised the whole thing had only been a bad dream. He ran to the door and was surprised to see George who came because last night he had a few missed calls from Peter and wanted to check if everything was fine. Suddenly, they both looked at the doormat. There was a white envelope with a letter inside. It read:
We have your girlfriend. If you want to see her alive, be today at 7 pm on Gardiner Street and bring with you 100 000 euro. Don’t call Garda or she will die.

A story - part IX (by Daniela)

George told Peter that the first and most important thing to do was to check if there were any clues in Katy’s apartment. It could help to understand what was happening.
So Peter decided to go in search of a clue as soon as possible. When he arrived at his girlfriend’s apartment, he found the door half open. He was scared and so entered very slowly, then looked everywhere. Everything was clean and in place, the windows were open and surrounded by a nice aroma, which was Katy’s scent.
Suddenly he heard a soft melody, which scared him so much that he hid behind the sofa. He realised it was Katy's voice, but it was coming from each and every room, and every corner of each room. He did not know what to think about it and what to do. He thought it best to call George for help, but he found he had not brought his mobile.
Peter tried to move without making any noise and see who was in Katy’s room, but at the same time he heard a soft tread getting closer to him.

A story - part VIII (by Margarita)

It was George's gardener. They looked at each other for a while. After a few seconds, the gardener said that George was not at home and disappeared in one of the rooms. Peter grabbed his phone and dialed George's number, but George did not answer. Peter went outside, it was still raining. He knew that he could not wait a minute. But suddenly, Peter's phone rang. It was George. Peter said in a loud voice, “George, I have to see you tonight in a small cafe called The Red Cow, just outside town.” When they met, Peter explained everything that had happened to Katy. George listened to him patiently. When Peter finished, George said very quietly, “I will do everything to save Katy.”

A story - part VII (by Mario)

The godfather, George, lived in a big, old house in the suburbs. Many years ago he was a very rich man (he made a fortune gambling in Monte Carlo), but he spent it all on his eccentric hobby. He adored Agatha Christie and her detective stories, and he would collect everything which was connected with her life and books. Before he realized, he had spent all his money. Peter knew that his godfather was broke, but he believed in his experience and wisdom. A man who read all the novels by Christie could know a thing or two about crime. When Peter came to George’s house, the door was closed. He found the key under the doormat, opened the door and went inside. He didn’t wait for a long time. Soon he heard footsteps in the hall…

A story - part VI (by Aiste)

And at that moment Peter realised that he couldn’t trust anybody. He had to find his own way to understand what was going on. There was only one person in this world that he could rely on - his godfather. He needed to get away from Robert and his friends as soon as possible. He didn’t have much time left. After the phone call, he tried to be calm and just told Robert and the crew, “The plan has been changed”. He made them believe every single word he had said. The time was ticking, he had to be quick. So he left the van and the guys. He had to run through the city to his godfather’s house. If there was anyone who could help Robert, it was his godfather. It was raining, and he couldn’t see anything in front of him, but there was only one thing in his head: “She needs me and I will be there”. She was the one.

A story - part V (by Eliza)

The red bin reference worked as a wake-up call. There was no such thing as a red bin, was there? But it didn’t really matter; it was just a sign he needed to start asking the right questions. The truth was there wasn’t any evidence that those people would really have Katy with them. All that time he hadn’t even tried to reach her. Actually, she had warned him she would be unavailable until later that day due to work commitments. Why would someone ask him, of all people, for 100 000 euros? Everyone knew he didn’t have that sort of money. The few euro banknotes over the newspaper pieces in the bag were pretty much all his savings. He was getting suspicious, felt he couldn’t trust anybody. Maybe he should have contacted the gardai through official channels instead of going straight to his friend? Robert was having money problems. A few weeks ago he had heard him and his wife arguing about her shopping addiction and their credit card spending.

A story - part IV (by Grzegorz)

Peter didn’t hesitate any longer and rang his best friend Robert. Robert worked for the Garda Special Detective Unit, so Peter told him about his girlfriend. After 10 minutes, Robert arrived at Peter’s place to give him support and advice. Together it was easier to invent a plan that would help get Peter's girlfriend from the hands of kidnappers.
Robert wanted to use Peter’s black van to realize his plan. He gave Peter a suitcase full of newspapers that had been cut into small pieces, and on top of them put a few euro banknotes. At 6.00 pm they picked up Robert’s people from the Garda station and went to meet the abductors. Peter was horrified, but he had trust in Robert. They had been driving around Gardiner street for a few minutes when Peter got a call from the kidnappers:

In the park on Gardiner Street you will see a red bin. There’s a letter waiting for you. In that letter you will find more instructions about the exchange. Hurry up! Be there before the bin man.

A story - part III (by Marzena)

We have your girlfriend. If You want to see her alive, be today at 7 pm on Gardiner Street and bring with you 100 000 euro. Don’t call Garda or she will die.

When Peter finished reading the letter, he couldn’t move for a moment. "This can't be true!" he thought. His beloved Katy was kidnapped? How could that happen? He saw her yesterday night! After he had found out about his promotion, he invited her to the best restaurant in town. It was a really nice evening. They had fabulous three course dinner and after dessert he drove her home. But now thousands of thoughts were buzzing in his head. Is it possible that the kidnapper is waiting in her apartment? Is that somebody he knew? And where will he get such a big amount of cash in such a short time? He looked at his watch and realised there was no time to waste.

A story - part II (by Dora)

It was Monday after a busy, tiring weekend. That morning started in Peter’s life as usual, although he could not sleep well. He was excited about his career. In spite of his young age he was a well-known businessman. He was close to getting a big promotion and his own office. He wanted to be a new junior vice president of sales. He chose his best-looking Armani suit and a par of shoes.
While he was taking a shower, a tall weird-looking stranger rang at the door. Peter did not hear the bell. After several attempts the man went away leaving an envelope under the maindoor. On his way out, Peter picked it up. The text of the letter read:

A story - part I

Please find below the first part of a story that we're going to write together over the course of a few weeks. Each student will be asked to write a part of it (word limit is 120-200 words). Let me begin...


Peter was young, well-mannered, loved and respected by everyone who knew him. He never drank or smoked, had a good job, and was very faithful to his girlfriend of almost five years. And they were planning their future together. One rainy morning, however, his life changed dramatically.

Part VI of the story (final part by the whole group)

Antonio was a friend of Marco and Kate from the times when the couple was still together. He came to the Spire with Marco to meet Kate and help Marco explain everything to her. Two years ago, just before Christmas, Marco went to hospital for his annual health check. It was meant to be a routine check, but it was discovered that Marco was suffering from a brain tumour. As a result, Marco felt so sorry for both himself and Kate that he decided not to share the news with her. He knew it would destroy her happy life.
Doctors advised Marco to go back to Italy for chemotherapy, and so he did. After almost two years of painful treatment the doctors had great news for him: he was healthy again. Shortly afterwards he decided to go back to Dublin and explain everything to Kate.
He was still pretty weak, so he asked Antonio to go and meet Kate with him. When they noticed that Kate wasn’t at the Spire, Antonio decided to ring her.
The following day, Marco had an appointment with one of his former doctors in St. James’s Hospital. When he was walking down the corridor toward his doctor’s office something caught his attention. It was a scarf that he had given Kate for their last Christmas together. The scarf was unique, handmade by his beloved great-grandmother. It was lying beside one of the beds in intensive care. He approached the bed and whispered: Kate, is that you? Her eyes opened.

Part V of the story (by Wojtek)

She stopped running in order to get the phone, but the caller had disconnected before she was able to answer. The very same moment she realised that she was standing in the middle of the street in front of a gigantic truck speeding at her. She could not have avoided the catastrophe. The monstrous vehicle thumped her. The hit was so strong, that she had flown about five meters above the road before she landed on a concrete footpath. The situation did not look well. A young girl lying in a pool of blood - it definitely was not a nice thing to look at.
One of the passersby called an ambulance which arrived in a few minutes. The crew attempted to resuscitate Kate and after a short time succeeded in doing so. Her state of health was bad, but she was alive. The ambulance took her to St. James’s Hospital, but something was left on the bloodied footpath. It was her mobile, and the message on the display read: Missed call from Antonio.

Part IV of the story (by Milosz)

Suddenly, she noticed a pretty similar guy to Marco walking up towards the Spire. When he was getting closer, Kate recognised him, but she couldn’t believe it was Marco. He used to be a strong, good looking and cheerful person. But now he was changed a lot and looked like a homeless man with no hope for the future. His looks confirmed that he could have started using drugs, as she’d thought before. It could have been the reason why he changed so much. He got very skinny and his face was sad. It was the worst case scenario she could imagine.
They were still some distance from each other when Kate completely changed her mind about the meeting. She turned back, took off her high-heels, and run away. She was running back to her apartment crying, and she was already half way there, when her mobile rang.

Part III of the story (by Sueli)

Kate was so eager to see Marco that she decided to go by taxi. When she arrived at the Spire, Marco wasn’t there yet. After a while Kate looked at her watch – it was almost 9 o’clock, and the wait was already making her frantic. Then she remembered that when they were dating, Marco was always punctual. She was also thinking about the text message that Marco had sent to her. What could have happened to Marco that put him into such a dangerous situation? Has he started using drugs now? But he had never even had a smoke before. Maybe somebody was after him, or it was just a misunderstanding. Marco used to be so kind, so adorable. She kept waiting and thinking about what could have happened to Marco when suddenly…

Part II of the story (by Edyta)

Suddenly, she heard a text message arriving on her phone. It was a message from Marco. It read: I’m in danger! Meet me tomorrow at 9 a.m. at the Spire! I will explain everything! She looked at her mobile in disbelief. Then, she tried to ring the number the text was sent from, but there was no answer.
Kate decided to meet Marco in the morning to get to the bottom of this mystery. At night, she was so excited she could hardly sleep. She woke up early. After she'd had her breakfast, she put on her best dress and her red high heels, because she wanted to look her best for Marco. And off she went...

A story

Please find below the first part of a story that we're going to write together over the course of a few weeks. Each student will be asked to write a part of it (word limit is 120-200 words). Let me begin...


It was a warm, almost windless May night in Dublin. Kate was sitting beside a big bedroom window of her small apartment on West Essex Street in Temple Bar. It was quiet. Monday nights are usually fairly quiet even in this part of the city which is known for being very vibrant and lively. She could only hear some light traffic noise coming from Dame Street. She was sipping white wine. The three-year-old sauvignon blanc from the north of Italy reminded her of Marco – an Italian boyfriend of hers who had lived in Dublin for almost a year, but then suddenly disappeared without any trace. The last time she saw him was on the New Years Eve of 2009.

Hello World

Hello World