Only seven of us today, various reasons given from catching colds, other engagements and too busy thinking about more pressing things. But we all enjoyed the smaller gathering and changed the format to include discussions about the story after it was read. We all thought this worth doing as we were not too critical of each other.
Sue wrote a long story about three generations that some of those present knew was based on her own family. Joan Read's story involved the telling of a charity abseiling and a very frightened participant. Brian told of a ghostly visitor. Ann told the story of a nurse who got blown up. Joan recounted the colourful goings on at Strictly Come Dancing. Pat continued with Mrs Cross reading the papers. My story was about a car crash and the benefits. Rosemary won with five votes out of seven with :
SHE BLINKED: She blinked, but no amount of blinking could stop the tears from coursing down her cheeks. As she tried unsuccessfully to brush the tears away and hide her distress, Jim came up behind her, put his arm around her shoulders and said "Don't take on so lass. I'll be back, never fear. And when I DO come back I'll have an important question to ask of you."
She turned to him and her tears flowed the harder, as he hugged her and she hid her face against his chest. After a while her tears subsided a little, and as she looked up at him Jim said "Mebbe I should ask you the question right now, eh lass?" and after a pause he continued "When its all over and I come home, will you marry me?" She had smiled then through her tears and nodded vigorously, too choked-up to speak.
And so it had been that when Jim eventually came home from the War in 1946 they had got married in the little village chapel, surrounded by all their family and friends. She knew and thoroughly appreciated how fortunate she was, for so many had NOT come back from the War as her Jim had done; even though for several years afterwards he had suffered terrible nightmares caused by the horrors he had witnessed out there on the battle field.
She was so thankful that Jim had asked her that important question that day in her mother's scullery BEFORE he went to War - the question she had been longing to hear. For the thought of his homecoming, their wedding, and their future life together had kept her going throughout the terrible years of separation during the War.
But how many many times they had chuckled together over the 60+ years since, remembering exactly how Jim's impromptu proposal had actually come about. After all, it was really only the ONION she'd been peeling that had made her blink and cry so much that day! So as Jim said with a twinkle in his eye every time she'd blinked and cried peeling onions over the years since then "To think it was a humble ONION that trapped me into proposing to you lass!" And each time he said this she replied "THANK GOODNESS FOR ONIONS!" and they would laugh together over their own precious private joke!
24 January 2011 next meeting "and floated"
