February's story at John's

Unusual, Rosemary got four votes but didn't win as I trumped that with seven.
Why did I think of Len Goodman then?
"Have to be" next month on the 4th April Chez nous.

Her head

It's isn't just tables and chairs that have feelings and can talk. Sweets can as well – don't scoff - no pun intended. At least Cadbury's milk tray chocolates are able to as I've heard them. I admit it was Christmas and the wine was flowing but I'm sure I heard their whispered conversation. It was in the 50s while I was attending a family party and after a good feast I went into the front room to have a rest from the merriment. I had been sitting there for only ten minutes in a comfortable high back armchair when believe it or not I heard these tiny voices coming from a chocolate box with individual chocolates arguing amongst themselves and from the tone of the raised voices you could conjure up the different varieties that were talking. I gathered from their excited chatter that it was on how they were rated as chocolates an argument that started from the time they were made to share apartments. It was the chocolate Raspberry Heaven - A fruity burst of raspberry encased in delicious milk chocolate protesting that it was NOT the least liked of all of them. It argued that some times it was the first out of the box. The Hazelnut Swirl - A whole roasted hazelnut set in a heavenly praline tossed her head sending hazelnut fragments flying in all directions. What rubbish. Careful you know we might be eaten by someone with an allergy to nuts censored Dreamy Fudge - Soft, creamy fudge enveloped in a dark chocolate coating

Coffee Crescent - A sweet coffee centre wrapped in rich milk chocolate joined in by addressing Raspberry Heaven - A fruity burst of raspberry encased in delicious milk chocolate You know you only only get picked first when some little girl has the first choice they pick you because you are pink inside, girls love all things pink. Rasberry Heaven infuriated beyond belief rose indignantly almost jumping out of the box. What! You know it's nearly always your fate to be the last one out. You're only here because of political correctness.

Racist retorted Coffee Crescent.

Almond Crunch - Finely chopped almonds immersed in a truffle filling and wrapped in rich milk chocolate warned Quiet I'm sure some one is listening.

It was at that point I ceased looking at the box as I was beginning to think it might be the drink making me delirious. The sound of the party increased as the door opened and Pauline my niece came into the room and seeing the box on the table made a beeline for it. Tearing of the cellophane she plucked the chocolate Raspberry Heaven from the box. I heard the The Hazelnut Swirl - A whole roasted hazelnut set in a heavenly praline triumphantly call out I told you so. Pauline looked at me reluctantly offering the box but fearing for my sanity I muttered no thanks and hurriedly left the room to rejoin the party it was time to have another drink.

January's meeting at Sue's

Pat had won with 4 votes

PIECE

In the furniture charity shop stood a beautiful old sideboard, ignored by most shoppers as it was rather large for these modern houses. Then, one day the young strong volunteers began moving things around and in came a lovely shining table, "hello" the sideboard said, and where have you come from?" The table sniffed quietly and replied " I have been thrown out". No one wants me.

After a while the table told his story. Many years ago I was loved and polished, standing proudly, always with a vase of fresh flowers in the centre. My very favourite day was Christmas. Eleanor and her husband and two children sat down to a wonderful meal with all the trimmings. This went on for a few years until the children brought home partners...then the spare leaf was inserted so that they could all sit down together. Some time later, the two couples came with their offspring,look at the lights look at the fairy, so my 2^nd leaf was inserted. I was so excited, being the centre of attention. A few more children arrived during the following years until one day, Eleanor said that things had to change. No more leaves! Or chairs, or space! After that,the two young couples began their own traditions, texting each other " who is going to have them this Christmas?"The parents sitting at home waiting to be invited. One year there was just the two of them eating on their laps watching the TV. The table looked at them sorrowfully, not being needed any more. Sniff sniff.

Sadly, Grandad passed on and things became too much for Eleanor, so she sold up and moved into a smaller house." I was given one more polish before coming here. " One day a young couple wandered in the shop with a child in tow. Look, look she exclaimed to her husband, this is the piece of furniture I would like". We have enough room, and what with the twins on the way this will serve us forever. He ran his hand over the shiny surface, its been well cared for, he thought, and then he spotted the two spare leaves on runners under the table. Perfect for Christmas he thought. The table sighed happily and watched, as the husband examined the sideboard. Will both pieces fit? Out came the tape measure...Merry Christmas everyone. From the table.

November's story

Sue got the most votes scoring three.

Next meeting is in January and the word is "piece"

'Futile' 

It's futile.  I have been round and round trying to find a way out, but I am getting so tired now and it's pitch black.  Even if I close my eyes for a few seconds, then open them again, I can't see any difference.  I sag against the nearest wall, then sink down in a heap, completely spent, thinking, "I'll just rest here for a few minutes before I start again."

Behind my closed eyes I relive the beginning of this nightmare.  We'd been driving to a remote cottage in the Scottish Highlands, where we were looking forward to doing some walking in the rugged countryside.  The weather was pretty awful, with heavy rain and a sort of twilight all day.  James had just said to Isla that we should be there soon when he gave a shout and Isla screamed once, before the car was veering crazily across the road, then tipping sideways and starting to career madly down the steep hillside.  There was a grinding crash and we tipped over even further so suddenly that my door flew open and I was catapulted out and continued to roll and bounce down the crag side.  I saw a stunted fir tree right in my path and tried to avoid it, evidently unsuccessfully, as the next thing I knew was opening my eyes and seeing nothing below me.  I was wedged into a fork at the base of the tree with my head hanging over the void.

I stayed like that for a few minutes to get my bearings and check how I felt.  Apart from being battered and bruised, I felt okay, so looked cautiously around.  I was on a narrow ledge with a solid rock wall at its back.  The ledge seemed just wide enough to accommodate the tree, then petered out to nothing.  I wriggled around until I could get myself out of the tree, then carefully backed towards the solid rock and looked up.  It soared away above me until it met the sky, so there was no hope of climbing up that way.

As I sat there, I noticed there was a scrubby bush at the base of the tree.  I idly pulled at it and realised it was concealing a low cave entrance.   "Well," I thought, "This looks like the only way to go, and besides, at least it will be dry and a bit warmer in there."

 I had sat in the small cave and pondered for a while, getting myself pulled together, then decided to see if there was another way out.  At first it had seemed very promising, as there was a narrow passage leading back into the hillside.  I followed this slowly, bumping against the walls, as I couldn't see where I was going.  It felt very damp and smelled of small creatures which had sheltered in it before me.  Then suddenly there was nothing either side of me and I realised I must be in another cave.  

So here I am, having followed the walls blindly for I don't know how long, always coming back to the passage I had come down, recognisable by the lump of rock at its entrance which I kept falling over.

I must have slept because I suddenly jerk my head up and think, "I'll just go round once more, then go back the way I came."  I must be going even closer to the wall this time, because I find a small slit in its surface and eagerly investigate.  Is it wide enough to slide through?  I try putting my head to the gap - not a chance.  But I persevere and bend lower.  Yes, it's wider here, and I stick my head through, then squirm first my shoulders, then my body, after it.  I hope I don't get stuck.

I find the new space is a little larger and seems to go even further back into the hillside.  It begins to slope more steeply downwards as I creep along.  Soon I am having trouble keeping up with my feet and lose my balance, sliding down the steep slope until the ground disappears altogether.  "Help," I scream in my head as I tumble on, then splash into icy cold water which closes over my head before I claw my way back to the surface.

I soon realise I am being borne along on a rushing torrent and before I can gather my wits, whoosh, I am catapulted out into the dim daylight again and find myself in a pool at the base of the hillside.

I drag myself to the bank and lay gasping for several minutes.  Then I become dimly aware of noise, people calling my name, so I drag myself up and stagger towards the sounds, realising at the same time that it is James and Isla calling.  Then they spot me trying to run towards them and cry out in relief, "Oh, Scotty, there you are.  Good boy, we wondered if we'd ever see you again when you were thrown out of the car and lost your leash".

Oct story in November

All of us at Pat & Brian's so a lot to listen to Sue the previous winner started her story first about returning to her childhood home in Cornwall. Rosemary an intergalactic holiday. My story about my first car. Joan our holidays when Mark was young. Joan R, John the pilot proposed and we were left wondering. Sheila remembered days before Asda spoilt Totton. Pat's decision to go to the USA and their houses they lived in. Jenny a holiday in the USA. Brian all about Mason's and their craft. John a dad sorting out his daughter's wayward boyfriend.
The chosen story with a surprising wake up ending was Ann's strange tale.

Next month "futile"

Ann's story

Packed Up

“I’m home Sam”, Adele called as she and the children came in the front door, but there was no answering welcome. Thinking Sam may have gone out while she was shopping and collecting Kelly and Noah from school, she started unpacking and putting things away. It was Kelly who found the envelope with Adele’s name on the front propped up against a vase on the sideboard. Tearing it open she read it with a look of utter disbelief on her face – “Darling Adele, I don’t know how to explain this, but I have found my calling and am going now to pursue it. Please don’t try and find me. I love you all dearly, but this is something I need to do. I will always be thinking of you and wish you all the best in everything. Your ever-loving Sam.” Having read and reread it several times, she went to the bedroom to see if there were any clues there. Everything appeared to be there – no clothes seemed to have gone and his passport was in the drawer along with his bankcards. When she went back downstairs she looked in the alcove under the stairs where they kept the computer and everything was packed up neatly, along with Sam’s laptop. The only thing she could see missing was a family portrait they had had done last Christmas for the grandparents. Frantic with worry she phoned her brother who came over with his wife. David said they should contact the police and show them the letter, but Adele felt they wouldn’t take it seriously. She decided to call his office and see what she could find out. Sam had been on a couple of days off, but they may be able to shed some light on his mental state. Things got even worse when she spoke to his manager. Sam had resigned three months ago saying he had got another position. What other things had been happening that she had no idea about. He had been going out every day as if nothing had happened. She thought she had a happy, loving marriage with two gorgeous children now it had been blown apart. They had met at school and always knew they would end up together. They married when they were twenty and twenty-one and Kelly arrived three years later. Noah came along two years after that. Now at thirty her life was falling to pieces. What was she going to tell the children? How could she explain that the daddy they adored and had thought adored them had suddenly walked away with no real explanation? In the end she and David went to the police taking the letter while his wife took the children to the park.

The police did take the situation seriously and made many enquiries regarding his financial status and health issues. Nothing untoward was uncovered and appeals were made around the country - even Interpol became involved. There were several sightings reported in far-flung places, but they all proved to be false. As time went on Sam’s name melted into obscurity and the general public forgot him. Adele and her family never gave up hope though and always believed he would return eventually. Life went on. The children grew up having done well at school and both got jobs they enjoyed and were good at. In time they both married and Kelly had a daughter who went on to make Kelly a grandmother and Adele a great grandmother. Noah had a son who went into the army. Adele never married again saying that no one could ever replace Sam, but enjoyed her role as regular babysitter for them all. When she was in her late seventies she had a slight stroke which she recovered from, but which left her with a limp. Complications set in and she found life difficult on her own, so moved in with Kelly. One day a young stranger in his early thirties turned up at the door. He asked to see Adele and said that she must be Kelly. She thought he seemed vaguely familiar, but just couldn’t place him. However when Adele saw him she gasped and said he was the spitting image of Sam when she last saw him nearly fifty years ago.
“I am Sam” he replied. “I’ve been helping with research in another universe with my space friends all these years, but I’ve been keeping up to date with you all. I know Kelly has a daughter and granddaughter and Noah a son who has become a soldier. I was visited by these beings who chose me to go with them to help in their research into cell regeneration. I’ve never stopped thinking about you all, but there was no way I could explain what had happened and if there had been, you would never have believed me. I knew I had to come and see you all again before it was too late. There was a price to pay though. I will never be able to go back and in the morning I will have aged as you all have, so I can grow old with you.” When morning came granddad Sam was there to meet his granddaughter and her new baby in person.

September meeting

Ten of us today but 11 stories, Sue sent hers in. Ann started, story involved brain haemorrhage. John immigrants making good. Rosemary the difference a cataract operation makes. Sheila, daughter thought mum wore crinoline. Joan Read ladies of the night being murdered.  Jenny happy memories of childhood. My story about Michael Bentine and reincarnation. Joan from Cadnam to here. Pat Sci-Fi with teleportation.  Brian away with the fairies, the story not Brian.
Unusual voting results only one story got 2 votes to win and that was Sue.

Next month's meeting will be on the 2nd of November at Pat & Brian's.

"Packed up"

Sue's story

'When I lived ...' Those three words conjure up all sorts of memories for most people, especially if they have moved around the country, or even lived abroad. My mind immediately goes back to the time when I was first married and we had to move whenever my husband changed his job, which usually involved travelling some distance. He didn't do this because he was found wanting in any way, but as a way of gaining promotion.

Brian had chosen dairy farming as his career and having completed his college training and his Army service, we married and made our first home ten miles outside Cambridge, where our first child was born.

Two happy years later, it was time to progress, so we moved to Wiltshire, with me expecting my second child. It wasn't an easy process, moving a great distance, with a young child, another on the way, and having to see the furniture off before we left, clean up, then drive to our new home and hope to get there before the van. This would have been an impossibility but for the kindness of Brian's parents, as we didn't even have a car!

This move proved a disastrous one, as the lady farmer was not very pleasant and her beloved pedigree Turkey stock had all just been destroyed because of fowl pest. Not a happy time, although Brian became the dairy herd manager. This job only lasted six months, until Brian became herd manager on a Co-operative Society farm in Radstock.

We were very happy there and our second daughter was born the day after we moved. We had a modern house - our first, the other two being Elizabethan and early Victorian respectively - on top of a hill above the town, with panoramic views all around. Even when we were snowed in from Boxing Day until March 1963, we enjoyed our life there, with friendly, generous people in the village who made sure we didn't go without anything. We would have happily remained there, but fate played a hand in moving us on yet again.

This time Brian was head hunted by a gentleman farmer from Whitchurch Canonicorum in Dorset. He came to see us! He wanted Brian to breed a herd of pedigree Red Poll cattle, which was a challenge Brian could not refuse. The only problem was, there was no accommodation, but planning permission for a Woolaway bungalow had been granted.

Meanwhile, a large caravan had been purchased for our use. Not ideal for the four of us, but full of youthful optimism and a certain sense of adventure, the job was accepted and we packed up once more and set off for Dorset and what was to become my spiritual home. Would we have moved if we had known what awaited us, what fate had in store for us, in the years to come? Judge for yourselves.

We spent the winter enduring more cold, snowy weather and life would have been much more difficult but for the kindness of the farmer's wife, who made her bathroom available for me to bath the children, allowed me to use the washing machine and plied me with coffee while entertaining the children on many a bleak morning.

The summer in our new bungalow was sheer bliss and I could walk the two miles to Charmouth beach on sunny days, spend the day there and return home in the evening with Brian when he finished work.

This life came to an abrupt end when the farmer's son-in-law was sacked from his job and brought to the farm to take Brian's job and our home. We were given one month to find another job and a new home, so once again were on the move, this time with little time to search, and fate took us to a village between Watford and the M1 and events which changed our lives forever.

Do I dwell on 'what ifs'? What is the point of that? I firmly believe we have to live life as it is and not always be wishing it had been different, and I have enjoyed a full and happy life doing my best to live by those principles.

August meeting

Nine of us today meeting at John's braving the rain and floods to do so.
Pat having won last time started with dancing with death on a cliff edge not forgetting the dog. John on the child who lost his parents and was a problem. Joan Read mistaken identity.Brian seeing things that weren't there at least we hope they weren't. Sheila self catering holiday cottage. Jenny bike ride to the New Forest. Joan live as it is for us, My story my first job in the docks. Joan E staying home happy with what is.

When I lived - next month's story

Ann won

Tell Me What

When Felix told me he was leaving I was devastated, but on reflection, I should have known this was coming. All the signs had been there for several years and I had chosen to ignore them – working late at the office, overnight meetings midweek and taking more interest in his appearance. How could I have been so gullible?

We had met at university twenty years ago and there had been an instant affinity. When we graduated we managed to both get jobs in the same town and got a small flat. I always hoped we would eventually get married, but Felix seemed in no hurry saying that we didn’t need a piece of paper to prove our love. I accepted the situation, but said that if we started a family I would want to be married before the child was born. No children came and things continued in the same way. We moved into a large house in a smart area of the town, had holidays in exotic places, were able to eat out at fancy restaurants when we felt like it and go up to see the new shows in London. Some of our friends said they envied our carefree life, but if the truth be know, I envied them theirs, with their small families and regular routines.

As time went on the holidays, restaurant and theatre visits got less and we both became immersed in our jobs. We met at breakfast and made polite conversation and as we came home at different times, often ate our evening meals alone. One Friday evening I arrived home to find several suitcases in the hall and Felix waiting in the lounge. He told me he was moving out and had got a flat in the next town. On further questioning he admitted there was someone else and they were moving in together. I ranted and raved and told him none too politely what I thought of him. I ended up by picking up one of the smaller cases, took it to the front door and threw it into the front garden and told him to take the rest and clear off. When he had gone I was so exhausted I fell into the chair and cried myself to sleep. I woke up the next morning and took stock of the situation. I was not going to let this drag me down. I almost felt a sense of relief that there wasn’t any obligation now to put on a show of unity any more and decided that even though I was nearly forty and unmarried, I still had a life ahead of me. That weekend I sorted cupboards, drawers, bookcases and shelves out, filling dozens of bags with anything Felix had left and things he had given me. I even went into the roof and got cases down with old clothes in – the dress I wore on our first date, clothes he had bought for me when we went on holiday. On the Monday morning I called into the charity shop near my office and left them all there. That lunchtime I visited an estate agent and enquired about small flats for sale. I phoned Felix and left a message for him saying I was putting the house on the market. A few days later my boss told me the promotion I had applied for had been agreed and I would be in charge of the training. I started the following month and enjoyed the challenges the new job entailed. Alice, one of the young girls was having a few problems with some of the work and I took her aside and gave her more instruction. She opened up and started telling me that she didn’t remember her parents as they were killed in a car crash when she was small. An aunt had brought her up with her own children, but she had always felt an outsider. I liked her and over the months we went for coffee together and she would tell me things she was doing and planning. I almost felt like a surrogate mother to her. One day she told me she and her friend were going to a fancy dress party. She had got the perfect outfit and would bring it in to show me. The following day she came in with a bag and explained she had done a trawl of the charity shops and had found this. I couldn’t believe my eyes. There on the table was one of the outfits Felix had bought me on one of our trips abroad.

“Tell me what you think,” she said. “ I can’t imagine what sort of person would wear this, can you?”

“No I can’t,” I gulped. “It looks very, er, um, unusual,” I replied, as I inwardly smiled to myself at the thought of the big putdown for Felix’s choice of outfits.

.

July Meeting

Just nine but 10 stories as Joan Read read out Rosemary's who could not make it.
The story was how to pack holiday clothes. Joan all about an assassination. My story emigrating to Canada. Ann a time travel for hay making. Sheila hoarding clothes. Jenny the delights of flying to the USA. Pat losing the home and downsizing. Brian saving to buy a house. John on inspiration to write a story. Joan bathroom renewal.

Four people had two votes each so we picked one out of the hat.

Pat 's story.

Lack of Space

Angela was 9 and her brother David 7. They lived in a nice house with a lovely garden to play in. Angela was a little 'mummy in the making' so to speak. Her five dolls were changed each day and their hair combed, then sat in a neat row on her bed. Mother was proud of her tidy bedroom unlike brother David’s as he was a typical boy.

One night Angela heard loud voices, looking over the bannister she could only see shadows but she could tell her mother was really upset. Then, her father left with a suitcase, where was he going without saying goodbye? Not wanting to disturb her mother who was quietly sobbing, she crept back to bed. The next day they went to school as usual, but Angela couldn't concentrate and was told off for the first time in her life for day dreaming. Tears came to her eyes and her friend Ellie passed her a tissue.

That evening after tea, their mother told them they were going to move into a mobile home, not too far away so they could still attend the same school. They were given two bin bags each and told to pack only the bars necessities in one and everything else in the other which was going to a friend to keep for the time being. My dolls thought Angela. I can't leave them, so she put shoes on the bottom of the bin bag, then her five dolls then topped up with clothes. They both packed David's as he was in floods of tears at not being able to take his beloved train set.

Angela walked into her new bedroom. There was barely room to turn around, talk about lack of space. I mustn’t let mother see the dolls she thought, and spying a hook on the ceiling, threw a piece of string over and hauled up the five dolls in a bag. Her mother's normally smily lips were in a tight line, and they didn’t like it.

One evening a neighbour brought her eight year old twin girls to stay the night as she had to leave unexpectedly. Their soft hearted mother agreed and a blow up mattress was put on the floor next to her bed. Now there was no floorspace at all. During the night Angela heard the twins whispering. They were quiet and withdrawn, wouldn't say boo to a goose. The next day she asked her mother “ what does going on a binge mean”? After three nights the twins mother reappeared full of apologies and they quietly left.

A few months later mother announced they would be moving to a bigger house. Apparently the old house had been sold. Down came the five dolls, they had been up there for almost a year. For some reason she didn't feel like changing their clothes after all they were only toys. Thinking long and hard she took four of the dolls to the tiny mobile home where the twins lived and gave them to the girls who knew exactly where to put them having seen the hanging bag in Angela's room. She smile and stood tall and went to get her brother. “you can get your train set back soon” she told him, sounding just like her mother. After all, she was ten now, not a child any longer.