BEER FOR BREAKFAST

 

BEER FOR BREAKFAST

 ‘Beer for breakfast?’

‘I don’t like coffee,’ Andy said. ‘Anyway, it’s only one.’

Penny put the milk away, noting the emptiness of the fridge. “On top of the six you guzzled last night.’

‘What are you – my mother?’

‘Your mother let you do whatever you liked – that’s half the trouble.’

‘You leave my mother out of this!’

‘You brought her in.’

Andy slammed his glass down so hard that it cracked. ‘I’m going to work. I’ll be late home.’

Penny looked at baby Henry in his high chair and said calmly, ‘Be as late as you like – we won’t be here.’

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The amount of harm it does to children to grow up in the presence of addiction is incalculable, and I think Penny made the right decision - do you?

This week's image was painted by Rochelle, who also hosts Friday Fictioneers on her blog - is there no end to her talents?   https://rochellewisoff.com/

ASSUMPTIONS

 

ASSUMPTIONS

Eighty per-cent of the passengers on Trudi’s coach tour were well past pension age. “Don’t forget which is your bus!” she said, helping them down the steps, but Gerry had painted it with forgetful elderly clients in mind.

Trudi relaxed in a cafė, confident they could come to no harm in the sleepy French town – they were old, after all!

 An hour later she had to help several bandy-legged customers off the carousel horses, winkle five inebriated gentlemen out of a bar, and prise one protesting lady from the arms of a young Lothario.

 Moral – never make assumptions about the elderly!

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Having just read that 65-79 is the new middle-age, I still squeak into that category, though my Lothario days are over - unless, of course....

I've been absent from Friday Fictioneers since August, dealing with stuff that's stopped me writing anything except the occasional tweet - namely the illness and unexpected death of my husband. He had dementia, but when he went into hospital with an infection we fully expected him to come home. Unfortunately the doctors found he also had cancer, and within ten days he was gone. A shock to us all, but he did save himself from the pain that cancer can inflict - he died before it had begun to trouble him.

Don liked colour and loved wearing bright clothes, so at his funeral people wore their brightest outfits. When I saw this week's photo prompt, I thought how much he would have loved that bus - it would have made a splendid hearse!

I also took it as a sign that now I am alone, I should get on with promoting my latest book, Carousel, a link to which you can find at the top of this page! 

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

 

POWER TO THE PEOPLE

 The architects had tiled the roof with solar panels, the car park had wind turbines instead of trees, and the walls were fully insulated. Theo entered the building on his first day, relieved to be leaving the icy weather outside, but inside wasn’t much warmer.

The receptionist greeted him. “Go straight up – floor four.”

As he exited the lift someone grabbed his arm. “Thank goodness you’re here!”

Theo hadn’t expected such a welcome – then he saw the contraption. They thrust him onto the saddle, put his feet on the pedals. “There’s no sun or wind today, so you’re the dynamo.”

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A bit of silliness for a change! This has been a busy week and looks like continuing that way, so I've posted my story pretty much as it came out - hope it amuses you!

Thanks to Rochelle for hosting us and to Brenda Cox for the photo.

In case you missed it, my latest book CAROUSEL is now on Amazon - you can find it by clicking on the cover on this page.

 

ON HOLIDAY

 

ON HOLIDAY

Two young men on holiday in Tenerife were seduced by the sight of Harley-Davidsons gleaming in the sun, 'For Hire'.

Their girlfriends wanted the beach, but the temptation was impossible to resist. 'See you later!' and off they went.

A rough empty mountain road on bikes too powerful for them, no barriers, they took a bend too fast and dropped off the edge through bushes that closed behind them.

It took three days to find them. Three days injured in the searing heat with no water. They had no chance.

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I love the sound of a Harley and always turn to look with a smile on my face. I once saw a miniature model in a shop window that a child of eight to ten could ride and imagined my grandchildren's faces if I bought it. (Not at that price!) So I understand the seduction, BUT the above story is true.

My week has been busy with various medical appointments, but what took my mind of those is that my latest novel is available on Amazon.

CAROUSEL, set in southern England in the 50s and 60s, continues Albie Smith's story started in Helter-Skelter. Albie is the father of six children when tragedy hits his family and he has to leave behind the wandering life of a gypsy. Consumed by the dramas of a single parent, Albie is entering old age before he can think of love again.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/CAROUSEL-sequel-Helter-Skelter-ALBIE-FAMILY/dp/B09C335ZDR/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=carousel+by+elizabeth+young&qid=1628695646&s=books&sr=1-2

ALIENS

 ALIENS

They appeared out of a shimmering heat-wave and overran the town by sheer weight of numbers. The town was powerless to stop them billeting themselves in every house.

 The heat-loving creatures took many specimens from the countryside, but when they stole human DNA for an inter-breeding programme, there was talk of killing them despite the risk. Wiser souls said “Wait – Mother Nature will sort them out.”

 It snowed unseasonably early that year, and none of them made it back to their ship - the icy blasts froze the oil in their mechanical innards.

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The minute I saw Ted Strutz's photo I thought 'dead robot', and with a tweak here and there I was able to resurrect an old FF story. No time to do more as we are about to Go To The Pub!! Yes, I know, DANGER writ large and all that, but we're double-jabbed and desperate to meet up with the old gang, so sod it, we're going! I may be some time :)

And while I'm here, my latest book is now out on Amazon. CAROUSEL is a sequel to HELTER-SKELTER which I published a couple of years ago. Please buy a copy and leave  a glowing review!

ICE

 ICE

‘Let’s go camping,’ he said.

‘In winter?’

‘Warm sleeping bags, a fire under the stars, it’ll be romantic.’

So we went, and it was romantic, with our sleeping bags zipped together.

I woke to the sound of a growl and shook him awake. ‘Bears!’

He peered through the flap. ‘Can’t see anything.’

‘There it is again!’

We rushed outside, shouting and waving the torch to scare them away, then a massive head broke through the ice.

As its huge mouth closed around his body I ran for the car.

True as I’m stood here.

Shame the cops didn’t believe me.

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My Canadian daughter-in-law tells stories of camping ON the ice in her youth - not something I'd feel comfortable doing, but then we don't get ice thick enough in England. 

My daughter and friends are taking their children camping next week, which is probably what prompted this week's story, though I doubt there will be ice monsters in Dorset. I hope some of you at least are managing to take a holiday somewhere, even if it's only a tent in a field. I'm a bit past sleeping anywhere but in a bed!

Thanks to Rochelle for hosting FF and to Jennifer Pendergast for this week's photo.

FAMILY PHOTOS

FAMILY PHOTOS

My parents only took photographs on special occasions – weddings, baptisms, visits from distant cousins, and holidays.

Each year, somewhere in England that wasn’t home, we posed around our suitcase-piled car: Mum, my brothers, and me, while Dad set the timer before running to his allotted space. Smile, wait-for-it, click.

Until one year he didn’t run fast enough and the photo was only of five. He wouldn't take another.

A month later he left us.

When Mum died I inherited the family albums and went through them. She’d cut him out of every photo. Then I felt he’d really gone.

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Thanks to Roger Bultot's photo - I like your mirror, Roger - you have a here story about an old-fashioned kind of self-portrait, the kind that my grandchildren wouldn't recognise. Neither would my grandparents, whose photographs would have been even rarer, taken in studios in stiff sepia poses. Such is progress. Today I bought a smart TV which my smart grandson had to set up for me!

To read other stories from Friday Fictioneers, follow the link from  https://rochellewisoff.com/

And if you'd like to read a longer story, I have a 500 word one on @visual_verse this month.