<p>I put this up on the forums and I make no apolgoy for repeating the call here.</p> <p>Once upon a time there was an earthquake in Haiti. On the other side of the world, in Denmark, a writer named Greg McQueen saw the devastation and decided he would do something about it. He put a call out for writers from all corners of the globe asking for 100 short stories to put into an anthology. The result was 100 Stories for Haiti, a book that came from conception to publication in a matter of two months and all proceeds go to the Red Cross to help the people of Haiti.<br /><br />Last night Greg saw more pictures of devastation, this time from Pakistan and now he&rsquo;s put out another call. He wants 50 stories and he wants it published in a month. You may think he&rsquo;s crazy, but I&rsquo;ve seen him do this before.<br /><br />So come on all you writers. Now&rsquo;s your chance to do something for nothing &hellip; but it&rsquo;s not for nothing. Flex your typing fingers and get writing and let&rsquo;s see 50 stories for Pakistan working to ease the suffering of people less fortunate than ourselves.<br /><br />Here&rsquo;s the form.<br /><br /><br />50 Stories For Pakistan<br /><br />Max 500 words<br /><br />Any subject, any genre but no death, violence or destruction.<br /><br />Paste your story into the body of an email.<br /><br />He also needs your name, address and contact number. You can add a short bio if you wish, but the contact details are vital.<br /><br />Send your email to: storiesforpakistan@gmail.com<br /><br />Want to hear Greg spelling it out.&nbsp; Then go here: <a href="http://audioboo.fm/boos/176966-stories-for-pakistan-let-s-go">http://audioboo.fm/boos/176966-stories-for-pakistan-let-s-go</a></p>

<p>There was a lengthy natter last night between three locations in the UK (Hereford, Nottingham and Manchester) Brisbane in Australia and Aarhus in Denmark which demonstrates how far modern communications have come. When I was a kid, you were lucky if you get through to your school to chuck a sickie, now we're chatting all over the world without batting an eyelid.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Astonishing how much progress we've made, innit?</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Not so when it comes to battling the forces of nature.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>While I was chatting away last night, I watched the BBC news and the scenes from Queensland were frightening. Cars carried off by a wall of water, houses demolished, businesses wiped out, and much human suffering.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The people of Queensland need help.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>You all know me. I'm the least charitable guy in the world. When the chuggers (charity muggers) wave the collecting tin under my nose, I either tell them to clear off or I nick the tin and then tell them to clear off.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>But I don't want your money. I want a bit of your time and a piece of your work. And it's not even me that wants it. It's <span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>100 stories for Queensland.</strong></span> Something between 500-1000 words, something upbeat, even light-hearted, any theme, any genre.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>We need it by <span style="font-size: medium;"><strong>Friday January 28th.</strong></span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>There are no guarantees of acceptance and even if your work is accepted, you won't get paid a bean. But you will get a thank you and you'll have the satisfaction of knowing you helped.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>The submission guidelines are short and sweet and they can be found on the submission page at:</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="http://100storiesforqueensland.submishmash.com/Submit">http://100storiesforqueensland.submishmash.com/Submit</a></span></p> <p>&nbsp;</p> <p>Go on. You know you want to.</p>