Category Archives: 100WCGU

He burst through the door, annoyed by something. We’d been together long enough for me to know that he would respond to my raised eyebrows with the cause of his frustration. He began to tell me that his usual evening dog walk was being ruined by the cat meeting him half way round the route and following both him and the dog for the rest of the walk.

‘It’s happening every night! The neighbours must think I’m some sort of idiot, taking a Shih Tzu and a Siamese out for a walk each night!’

I turned away before I smirked.

I was supposed to be born in the Mediterranean. When it is cold, wet and windy,  days are short and dark and the wardrobe is full of jumpers, trousers and boots, I feel gloomy. My arthritis hurts and I want to eat naughty foods for comfort.

When it’s sunny and warm, I feel energised and alive. My arthritis goes to sleep and I dig deep into the wardrobe for summer dresses and pretty sandals. I eat salads and dig in the garden. I want to run and skip and jump and I feel happy to the core.

I love Summer heat.

This week’s prompt is the phrase ‘the angle was very acute’

The meeting was called for 9:30. All parties were seated around the table and Jim tapped his  pen nervously on the white vellum in front of him. The double doors were snatched open and the architect entered in a flurry of damp raincoat and assorted document cases. He apologised whilst handing over his coat and arranging the documents on the table.

A stapled booklet was handed to each person. There was silence punctuated by the rustling of paper. Finally the man at the head of the table boomed out,

‘It will never work. The angle is very acute. Surely this can not be built.’

I couldn’t manage to get this into 100 words plus the prompt this week. I’ve gone 13 words over – sorry!

This week’s prompt was the words of Victor Meldrew ‘I don’t believe it!’

You’re telling me you checked my blood

And found something concerning?

You think I need to lose some weight

In diet be discerning?

You talk to me in acronyms

Of ‘LDL’ and neuts

And tell me arteries are furred

You’re too big for your boots!

I don’t believe it when you say

If I don’t change you think

My heart will fail, I’ll have a stroke

Or die from too much drink

I love my food and glass or two

My butter thickly spread

I don’t believe it when you say

I’m eating too much bread

And as for exercise – you jest!

Go running? Bah…mistake!

I’ve heard enough. I’m going home.

To have a slice of cake.

She ran her fingertips over the smooth surface of the wall. The smell was amazing. Under her touch, the wall began to melt and left its sticky sweetness on her hands.  The hall table, previously shiny glass, was now brown. She examined it closely, scarcely able to believe her eyes.  She ran her tongue over it – it was chocolate too. The floor beneath her feet began to crack and disintegrate and she felt herself slipping through into the void below. Looking at all of that chocolate she began to seriously regret saying to that fairy godmother that she wished her whole house could be made of chocolate.

She inched forward across the lawn, feeling the iced blades of grass underfoot, breath hanging in the air like a whisper. If she had looked behind, she would have seen the whitened prints she had left but her gaze was firmly ahead, searching for the key. She drew the coat around her tighter, tension growing, eyes focussed, thoughts ranging from ‘what if’ to ‘don’t panic’. It felt like hours but was probably only a few minutes when she saw the glinting metal a few feet ahead. It lay there, taunting her with its icy stare, daring her to pick it up.

When you are young, it is easy to mock the antics of the older generation. For years, my in-laws put up with comments like ‘You must be going bleedin’ senile!’ when they got anything wrong. But as the saying goes, ‘what goes around comes around’  So after cooking the tea last week, I switched off the light and spotted the faint blue glow of the gas burner still flickering and thought to myself ”Oh my goodness, I nearly forgot. I must be going bleedin’ senile!’  It brought a smile to my face to realise that I am now the older generation.

They all thought she was a confident girl. She had one of those faces – all smiley and positive. She listened attentively and when she spoke, people stopped and listened and nodded in agreement. What they didn’t know was that beneath the surface lay a timid girl. A girl with terrible memories which had shaped and formed her into what they saw today. She had a history which was buried deep in her heart and mind, never to be mentioned to anyone – not ever. She had built a wall, impenetrable and strong, laying the positive, confident demeanour  – concrete  – over the surface.

This was the holiday of a lifetime. We had counted down the days. Friends and family were so jealous when we told them our itinerary, especially when we told them we would be seeing the Grand Canyon. Now we were here and it suddenly didn’t feel quite so exciting. I had never been comfortable with heights and this viewing platform was more than I could bear. He joked with me and said he’d hold my hand. I’d be fine. It was as safe as houses. At that moment, the sun broke through the cloud and lit the pathway. I stepped forward.