Tale Weaver – #279 – Protest – June 11th – A Sense of Protest.

Posted on June 11, 2020 by Michael

 I knew it was the right thing to do.

There had been an injustice committed and now was the time to protest.

I was one of thousands who turned up and that number alone suggested our cause was worthwhile and necessary.

Around me men and women carried placards, most with crudely written words all expressing outrage over what had happened.

I had decided to make a stand. Support for a cause was a valid reason for being here and around me I could sense the energy of the crowd growing by the second.

Already chants were going up, placards were being waved and within seconds I felt the mass of people began to move like some giant organic beast.

We made our way through the city streets, along the way police lined the route ready to deal with any lawlessness.

We gathered ultimately in the city square and by the time I arrived the speeches had begun.

There were calls for justice, and change.

The speakers were greeted with howls of support and I felt myself being pushed forward as though a huge human wave had come from behind and I had no other recourse than to go with the surge of mankind.

By days end I was exhausted. Some around me displayed an endless enthusiasm starting up songs and one group burned an effigy of the Prime Minister much to the delight of those nearby.

I eventually made my way out of the throng, and headed for the train station. Around me among my fellow protestors was an air of satisfaction as the protest had gone off peacefully and we had made our point.

It was later I learned that some radicals had engaged the police in physical confrontations, which led to arrests and some protestors and police being injured. Those actions ruined the day for me, as that was all you heard about the next day.

I knew from my experience that today was not my last day of protest.

Written for: https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2020/06/11/tale-weaver-279-protest-june-11th/

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Photo Challenge #319 – Pot of Gold

Posted on June 9, 2020 by Michael



It was all true.
There at the end of the rainbow was the promised pot of gold.
Mind you it did take some looking but determination won out in the end. It was the little man with the large green hat who gave it all away.
He was sitting there trying to look as though he was minding his own business when I came upon him.
“I’ve come for the gold,” I announced.
“What gold?” he asked.
“The pot of gold that’s at your feet and what’s at the end of that there rainbow,” I stated matter of fact.
“Ha,” he laughed, “ you’re not believing all that nonsense are you? It’s all myth and legend. A pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, what a silly silly notion. Now be off with you and be getting on with your business, I’ve things to be taking care of and I don’t need a pimply faced young man hanging around.”
“But there’s a rainbow and you are sitting next to the pot of gold,” I replied more determined than ever.
“It’s an illusion, nothing more than an illusion, a trick your eyes are playing on you. Now be off I’ve important business to be attending to.”
“I found the gold, I want the gold, it’s mine to claim.”
“Now look, if there was as you claim a pot of gold, and I’m not saying there is, wouldn’t there be a crowd of fellas here right now all claiming the same? Wouldn’t I be looking down the face of a riot, as they’d all be claiming the gold was theirs? And if there was said pot of gold and I gave it to you then what? What would happen to me? I’d be unemployed and these are tough times, as you well know. Jobs are hard to come by. Having a job is a mark of standing in the community and in my village this hat is a coveted possession. Every second lad wants to wear the hat, wants to guard the gold, if there was any mind you.”
“So if I take the gold I then leave you unemployed? That’s terrible, couldn’t you just get another pot of gold?”
“Pots of gold aren’t just lying around you know. You only get one and it’s my job to guard it and not give it away. I’d be nothing, penniless, a laughing stock as very few ever find the end of the rainbow let alone the gold.”
At that the little man burst into tears and I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him. Did I really need a pot of gold I asked myself? I knew I’d squander most of it and he was right times were tough employment wise. I felt a tear of sympathy come to my eye as I contemplated the predicament we found ourselves in. What to do?
I looked down at him and noticed he wasn’t there, nor was the rainbow or the gold. I looked around and found myself standing in a field on the edge of town.
I thought as I walked back to town that I had best keep this all to myself after all who might believe such a story?
 
 
Written for: https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2020/06/09/photo-challenge-319/

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Reena’s Exploration Challenge #138

Posted on June 8, 2020 by Michael


“All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women are players. They have their entries and exits” famously said Shakespeare.
Shakespeare got it all wrong. Life is what we choose, and everything else is just existence.
 
 The suggestion that life is pre-determined is always up for debate.
We do have choice.
What we choose can be to our benefit or not.
I made choices in life that seemed a good idea at the time but in hindsight was it because I was seeking an easy route through life as I sought security?
The choices I made I tried to make the best of and fortunately for me I found I enjoyed them after a while.
Working in the public sector, exposing yourself to the whims of so many when you are basically a shy and retiring person is daunting to say the least.
There’s a part of you that wants to achieve and be someone and there’s another part that would prefer you stand back and let it all happen around you and not attract any attention.
Entrances and exits, I made a lot, and in hindsight I think I made more exits that entrances, and lets face it at some stage, no matter what, it’s the exits that will be the last thing you do.
 
 
 
Written for: https://reinventionsreena.wordpress.com/2020/06/04/reenas-exploration-challenge-138/
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What do you see # 33 – 8 June 2020 – Stegs

Posted on June 8, 2020 by Michael


 He liked nothing more than a walk in the path with Stegs.
It was easy when he was little as he looked like a toy he could hold in his hand but as he grew it became more and more difficult.
Most people thought Stegs was a blow-up toy, lifelike but that’s as far as their imaginations went.
In the park they could wander and Stegs liked to be with the boy who seemed to be able to find just the right plants Stegs liked to nibble on.
 That was the issue with having a stegosaurus as a pet, feeding him. Not that he was all that fussy but the boy knew when he’d found the right plant, as Stegs would munch into it with plenty of gusto.
Today was one of those beautiful spring days where both boy and Stegs were happy to be out. As they wandered along the boy would regale Stegs with stories of his life, he loved telling him about his family: his grandfather who had fought in the war, his dad who had invented a machine for injecting life saving vaccine and about his brother who was seriously good at sport.
Stegs was a good listener and although he wasn’t so good at contributing to the conversation the boy liked that Stegs was listening.
In the late afternoon the boy headed for home and upon arriving greeted his mother in the usual way, telling her in his gushing way about his walk in the park with Stegs. His mum understood her son and listened to his account of his afternoon before serving him his dinner of sausages and three veg.
Later as she tucked him into bed she asked him if he had any plans for the next day.
“I’ll check with Stegs and see if he’s free,” replied her son, “I was thinking there should be some tasty plants at the far end of the park. He eats a lot mum, and he burps,” giggled the boy as he drifted off to sleep.
 
 
 
 
Written for: https://lifeafter50forwomen.com/2020/06/08/what-do-you-see-33-8-june-2020/
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Sunday Writing Prompt “Secret Admirer”

Posted on June 7, 2020 by Michael

 I first saw you on a crowded platform waiting for the 3.28 train. It was a Monday afternoon and the crowds were mainly school kids on their way home and people like me wanting to get home as early as I could.

I was immediately taken by your beauty. Tall, ash blonde elegantly dressed and very aloof from all around you.

I was taken in by your sharp facial features, your high cheekbones, your eyes behind expensive eyewear and your tall straight demeanour.

You were wearing a black business suit so I assumed you had some job in a bank or someplace but from the get go I began to speculate about who you were, what you did and where you might live.

I followed this pattern each afternoon when I discovered you caught the same train as me. I would stand a little away from you and taken in the beauty I found mesmerising.

As it turn out you alighted at the same station as me and many an afternoon I walked up the steps to the station exit a step behind, or in front or sometimes beside you but never would I be brave enough to speak to you.

I noticed from the start you had the most beautiful long thin fingers and your ring finger was adorned with striking white gold.

I felt ashamed that I was fantasising about a married woman but that fact never took anything away from the image I had of you.

One afternoon as we crowded onto the train I took a seat behind you and noticed you had a notebook on which was written: “Why should I stay?” You have started to list things but I didn’t/couldn’t read what you were writing.

I felt sad you were having relationship issues. I know it happens all the time but that didn’t lessen the sadness I felt for you. That afternoon I sensed heaviness about you, and when we reached our destination and we were climbing the steps I nodded in acknowledgement of you and you smiled back.

At the top of the stairs we parted once again, you left and me right. I felt warmed by your acknowledgement and went home feeling I have achieved something I didn’t think I could.

But I never saw again after that day and I often wonder as I travel to and from work what happened to you and whether or not you found some resolution and happiness.

Written for: https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2020/06/07/sunday-writing-prompt-secret-admirer/

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Crimson’s Creative Challenge #82 – Age and Neglect

Posted on June 5, 2020 by Michael



Crisp my wonderfully aged companion stood looking at the old house.
“I like this place. Everything is so old. I relate to that. Back home Ace Watson ran the cordial factory in a building, not unlike this one. My favourite cordial was ‘Pigs Flying’ a suspiciously sweet indeterminate flavour that didn’t seem worth worrying about it was so delicious.
This place is all about age and neglect. When I look in the mirror, that’s what I see. Age and neglect. You give up on appearances, don’t you when you get to our age. After all, who are we trying to impress?  My eyebrows have all but joined forces, and my hair exhibits an air of having lost the will to live.”
Crisp was being her pensive self once again oblivious to my presence. “You don’t really count,” she said, glancing my way, “you’re part of the furniture of my life.”
 
 
Written for: https://crispinakemp.com/2020/06/03/crimsons-creative-challenge-82/
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Tale Weaver – #278 – Dirty Windows – June 4th. – A Change of Perspective.

Posted on June 4, 2020 by Michael

It had to be an assault.

After all no one had bothered them for so long it was hard to remember when they had been paid any attention.

They lived in blissful ignorance that anything could be different. They survived storms, wind, dust and neglect. They were content.

Now there was this assault on their very being.

They were used to being wet on the outside but on the inside it was almost unthinkable. What was this soap and water being applied? And the rubbing, it was unthinkable!

They were feeling quite affronted by the entire ordeal.

Layers of warmth where being stripped from them. Suddenly it was if they were being stripped naked and the entire world could see their bits, could see right inside their indignation.

To make it worse the one part that gave them some sense of individualism was being taken away. The broken pane, long part of the landscape was being replaced by a clean, bright and in the windows opinion, haughty new one.

It was all part of the new regime to clean up the old shed. For so long it had nestled in the warmth of layers of sawdust and cobwebs oblivious to any other possible condition.

But now there was movement, things were changing, the dust was being attacked, the tools uncovered, the floor rediscovered and to make it even more disconcerting, the windows cleaned.

It took a little while to rid the windows of their accumulated years of dirt and grime but once completed and they realised the benefits of such a clean they took on an air of superiority. “Look at us,” you could hear them saying, “aren’t we the smartest?”

With the windows giving up their long held belief of having a right to hold every thing in, their new found liberation, the fact they could now see beyond the window sill gave a whole new perspective to the old shed and a realisation that the view was well worth a good long look. How had they missed that they asked themselves as they took in the green fields, the cattle grazing and the wood ducks on the creek.

Dirt and being dirty, were a thing of the past and in the windows opinion the rest of the shed had better get its act together to keep up, for no matter how old and dated you might be there was nothing like a good scrub to give you a whole new lease on life.

Written for: https://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2020/06/04/tale-weaver-278-dirty-windows-june-4th/

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What do you see # 32- 1st June 2020 – Holiday Photos.

Posted on June 1, 2020 by Michael

Image; Pixabay-DariuszSankowski

 It was all there before them the proof he had been to the cities depicted in the photos.

They didn’t believe him at first because they didn’t think he had the wherewithal to take on a trip such as he had described. He was basically an introverted character happy to stay home and wallow around in his own little nest.

But he had apparently taken himself to the travel agent and made all the necessary bookings, made the journey through Europe and had the souvenirs, the photos and the bruises to prove he had done it all.

The bruises he said he got when he fell in front of Notre Dame Cathedral. He didn’t see the raised drain and as he like everyone else was enthralled by the sight of the Cathedral (it was a few years before the terrible fire destroyed so much of it) and when it happened down he went, in the proverbial cloud of dust. As he later described it he was lucky he landed on his camera which suffered only superficial damage but he was left with a very impressive bruise on his abdomen, so he claimed as there were never any photos produced of said bruises.

But his camera produced numerous photos of things French, Italian and Swiss. His record of the journey was impressive as he said, “We live in a beautiful world and I was lucky to capture some small part of it.”

When we asked him if he now had the ‘travel bug’ he said no. He didn’t like the long plane journey, the seats were uncomfortable and most places he went were crowded. He did concede the food was excellent.

“I was left with memories of places I only saw in books but more so the experience of mixing with people from every continent, the sort of stuff you don’t forget.”

Written for: https://lifeafter50forwomen.com/2020/06/01/what-do-you-see-32-1st-june-2020/

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Reena’s Exploration Challenge #137 – Writer’s Reality

Posted on May 29, 2020 by Michael

When I sit down to write so often there is an idea in my head to explore and elaborate on.

It’s also the reason why sometimes I don’t write. There can be days where I have nothing to say in relation to a prompt and so rather than force something, and not be happy with it, I let it go, as there’s always next week.

My reality is I have to be enjoying the experience. It must be of value to me. If my readers find some meaning in it be it only entertainment then that I consider is a winner.

I write for me. I long ago came to the conclusion that writing to please others was not a good way to go. I’m not trying to sell my work; another aspect of my reality is my short attention span!

But when I start and I find the words flowing then I get on the proverbial roll, as they say and away I go. Word limits are useful but so often a pain as I have to limit my verboseness. You might say I like the sound of my own writing.

As long as I enjoy the experience and feel I have something to add to the conversation then I shall continue.

It’s a lot of fun playing with words, shaping them into a meaning you hope makes sense to others for that is another aspect of my reality, as long as I continue to blog I am mindful that from time to time other bloggers will read and comment and that reality urges me to strive for the best I can do at the time.

Words, so many possibilities, so much fun.

Written for: https://reinventionsreena.wordpress.com/2020/05/28/reenas-exploration-challenge-137/

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Crimson’s Creative Challenge #81 Crisp On the River.

Posted on May 29, 2020 by Michael

My aged companion, Crisp, and I were standing by the canal that meandered its way through the village.

“When I was sixteen I went on a ‘romantic’ date with Toby Felch, our towns heart-throb. We went rowing, and as we went along, he regaled me with river stories. At the time, I was more terrified of falling into the river than of him, and so I tuned out to his drone of a voice.

He was telling me, as we approached the bridge over the river, that tradition said if you kissed your loved one as you went under the bridge, it ensured a wholesome and fruitful life. The next thing I knew Toby’s large bulky form landed on top of me. I began thrashing about repulsed by his rotten fish smelling breath.

The next thing I knew we were in the river, my greatest fear realised. I went home soaked, embarrassed and thankfully aware Toby would never ask me out again.

Written for: https://crispinakemp.com/2020/05/27/crimsons-creative-challenge-81/

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