Community news
Written by: Jack
We are delighted to announce that the winner of this year’s Rooker Prize – the club’s writing competition – with a 250 word opener to ‘The Teeny Tiny Toaster Dragon’ is Ronnie Hendra.
Ronnie is a science teacher and ‘massive women’s football fan’. She was inspired to sign up as a Lewes FC owner after seeing this Sky Sports piece about the club.
After becoming an owner, Ronnie saw that the Rooker Prize was open for entries, and had the idea of a tiny dragon living in a toaster. She then ‘wrote it on the train’! Ronnie, who has never written before, says she’s ‘over the moon’ to have scooped the trophy. The judges loved Ronnie’s piece calling it ‘brilliant’, ‘refreshing’ and ‘charming’… and they are now all thoroughly checking their toasters.
A Sheffield United fan, Ronnie regularly supports Arsenal Women, as well as playing herself. However, as a new Lewes owner, our prize winner can’t wait to visit the Pan this Sunday to watch Lewes in their last home game of the season, and to pick up her award at half time from Guy Pratt of Rooker Prize sponsors The Rockonteurs.
Ronnie has elected for her £250 charity winnings to go to the mental health charity Mind, for whom she is also running a half marathon in October this year. She’s looking forward to her visit to Hachette UK too, where she’ll be paired with an editor to discuss ‘The Teeny Tiny Toaster Dragon’.
Read Ronnie’s winning piece below, and catch it on our website along with our judges’ other commended entries next week.
Congratulations to Ronnie, and, of course, Happy International Crow and Raven Appreciation Day to all you Rooks out there!!
The Teeny Tiny Toaster Dragon
DING. The toaster plunger pinged, snapping Martin back into the kitchen from his daydream. He didn’t remember putting any bread in the toaster. He turned around to check, he was right – no bread.
He always thought there was something odd about this toaster his mother had given him. It lasted much longer than most – toasters don’t typically work for over forty-five years, most are lucky to reach their second birthday. But not this one, its shiny metallic frame had glistened into the eyes of Martin’s family for generations. Not once broken or clogged with crumbs, and now pinging with no bread in. Strange.
That’s because Martin’s toaster was by no means a normal toaster. It was, in fact, home to a tiny dragon. A teeny tiny dragon named Theo. Theo worked inside the toaster, turning bread into delicious crispy perfection by blowing his tiny flames over each slice. And just a few seconds ago, Theo had stubbed his toe on the plunger.
Martin inspected the toaster now for the first time, pulling it away from the wall, revealing a small patch of flour from last night’s lasagne sauce. Had he been looking; Martin might have seen Theo’s tiny footprints dotted amongst the white spelt. Instead, he peered inside the letter-box-like slats, his shadow looming over the toaster. As the light changed, Theo scrambled to his feet and pressed his back flat into the wall. Trembling, he screwed his eyes shut, wishing more than anything that Martin hadn’t seen him.
You can read the winning entry and the two commended ones here: Rooker Prize 2023 winner + commended 3
Ronnie wins the trophy and £250 to be donated to a charity of his choice.
If you’re not a Lewes FC Owner yet, just sign up here and get that entry in next April.