itsmeagain Posted October 7, 2023 Author Posted October 7, 2023 (edited) my mind, ever inquisitive, thought 'Charles Huffam Dickens, 7 2 1812 to 9 6 1870. Used to frequent Rochester, a cute town... Edited October 7, 2023 by itsmeagain Quote
poppy Posted October 8, 2023 Posted October 8, 2023 in Kent. Ah, beautiful Kent, the Garden of England ... hops and apples, cathedrals and castles, the white cliffs of Dover. I sighed, alas too far away at present. But didn't he visit Edinburgh? Perhaps I could ... Quote
itsmeagain Posted October 8, 2023 Author Posted October 8, 2023 (edited) go over there and try to read up about his travels there. Then again, he loved USA, Italy and France, perhaps I can go and see some sights. I love to travel, those bus journeys I had in India, the ... Suddenly I remembered the small suitcase of books I still carried with me. If I play my cards correctly, Patty Puke may like Dickens. 'I saaayyy dear', I ventured, waving like Ollie Hardy summoning a 'garçon ',yet sounding like some old fogey from the House of Lords trying to clear his throat, 'but do you enjoy Dickens..?..' What happened.... Edited October 8, 2023 by itsmeagain Quote
lunababymoonchild Posted October 8, 2023 Posted October 8, 2023 next was astonishing. Patty didn't bother to look up but the man in a pink and lavender overcoat and incongruous looking scarlet turban (how did I miss him in this establishment?), sidled up to me again in the same creepy way he did the last time. 'Dickens, you say?' he asked. 'Show me what you've got' he said without waiting for an answer. What to do? Scream loudly to scare him off for a second time or attempt to sell him the valuables? And was he asking to see the books? Then ........... Quote
poppy Posted October 9, 2023 Posted October 9, 2023 he made a clumsy lunge at my suitcase, but I was too quick for him. With the reflexes of a pronghorn, I lashed out with my mashed tatties and emptied the contents of my cuppa over his incongruous red turban. Dye formed interesting rivulets down his sly face. He let out a wail, 'Just look at the state of my coat!' Personally, I thought a bit of spud improved his look, but ... Quote
itsmeagain Posted October 9, 2023 Author Posted October 9, 2023 revulsion is in the eye of the beholder. I struggled to think of anyone more repulsive looking than Mr Incongruous, but I couldn't. Boris Johnson was a prime candidate, with his fat bulbous face, inane grin, and obnoxious twit demeanour, but even he couldn’t take the award here. 'All I wanted was a look at your..err.goodies', he shrugged, a sly, shady smile on his tea stained, ugly, face. 'I'm disabled ', he informed me, 'and a key board member of our disabled rights.... Quote
poppy Posted October 9, 2023 Posted October 9, 2023 (edited) movement.' 'Really. Well, what doesn't kill you only disappoints me.' My sarcasm was obviously too much for him and he slunk off into the night, dislodging potato bits as he went and leaving a trail of red stained tea leaves. A furtive looking dog followed him enjoying the unexpected windfall. I fell back into pondering. Who won the stakes for most imbecilic leader ... Bojo or the Tangerine Trumpet? I thought I'd ask Patty. She ... Edited October 9, 2023 by poppy Quote
itsmeagain Posted October 9, 2023 Author Posted October 9, 2023 said , 'eh..?..you what love..? Oh I've no time for politics, I've enough on running this place..so what are you ordering next?..we have pistachio ice cream, lentil and mushroom pie, potato curry, vegan sausage soufflé, apple meringue, chocolate digestives, samosa sarnies, bananas, oranges, apples, legumes of all kinds, crusty bread, and fried chips.' 'Do you want a Thomas Hardy?', I plaintively... Quote
poppy Posted October 9, 2023 Posted October 9, 2023 asked. 'Wots a Thomas 'ardy luv? Is that Cockney slang for a bit o' argy-bargy like?' I gave up and ordered a potato curry and a large helping of chips. 'Do you do mushy peas, I could go a nice bit of mushy peas ... and another big mug of tea, please, make it hot and sweet?' I'd have to come up with another plan to sell my books, but never mind, in the meantime ... Quote
itsmeagain Posted October 10, 2023 Author Posted October 10, 2023 (edited) I ate the repast in front of me and decided to take a stroll down along the Thames, my haversack packed with unsold books, and it was nice to see boats, barges, even a yacht, out on the water. What an excellent day it was. Sometime around 4pm a sweet tabby cat 🐈 began wandering about ahead of me , and she came up to.me and I gave her a few bits of dry cat food I often carry in a container for such emergencies. She purred happily. Jezebel, I decided to call her. Then a call came through.'Mr Revolting, howdy it happens to be the day after the day after the day I agreed to meet you in your house, and there I was like a div, ringing the doorbell, no answer, til a man answered, claiming to be you. He had the most fetching multicoloured ponytail type thing going..' 'Is that you, Bob Gallstone..?, I enquired, trying to recall his.... Edited October 10, 2023 by itsmeagain Quote
lunababymoonchild Posted October 10, 2023 Posted October 10, 2023 accent and the sound of his voice. Not to mention his angle, I felt that he always had an angle and I wasn't going to like it. 'No, it's not Bob Gallstone' the other voice said in a rather hurt tone. 'It's Pythagoras, I have a cold' She explained. Oh good grief! Pythagoras, not what I wanted at that precise moment in time. Why had I switched my 'phone on? And more to the point, how did I get from Cheryl Choke and Patty Puke's excellent all potato establishment in Wigtown to the side of the Thames? I must be losing my mind, I decided, when ................ Quote
itsmeagain Posted October 10, 2023 Author Posted October 10, 2023 I became cognizant of the facts, namely, Wigtown ,the town of the hairpiece, is a corner of Streatham, London, and hence the Thames runs near enough close by. Wondering who wanted some Hardy, I went into the Lad and Lager, a greasy, rundown.... 1 Quote
poppy Posted October 12, 2023 Posted October 12, 2023 pub down a seedy looking side street. What on earth made me think there'd be prospective Hardy readers or collectors inside these squalid walls is beyond me now. I can only put it down to a bad case of dyspepsia caused by my over indulgence at Patty's and subsequent softening of the brain. I ordered a sarsaparilla and looked around for somewhere to sit. Over in the corner ... Quote
itsmeagain Posted October 12, 2023 Author Posted October 12, 2023 (edited) sat an old man known as Bodger Hardman, Bodger cos he was a handyman of high repute, Hardman since he was very tough. Indeed, his brash, angry demeanour belied a sweeter temperament, namely a liking for the works of Daphne du Maurier, sipping Cabriolet, and listening to punk rock. He saw my bag of books.. Edited October 12, 2023 by itsmeagain Quote
lunababymoonchild Posted October 12, 2023 Posted October 12, 2023 Hi Poppy and itsmeagain. I'm not feeling well so I'll bow out of this, temporarily, as inspiration (if I ever had any!) has deserted me and I don't feel like struggling with it. I WILL be back, sooner than later (it's nothing serious, just feeling a bit meh). Please carry on in the meantime without me, I very much look forward to seeing where the story goes. 1 1 Quote
itsmeagain Posted October 12, 2023 Author Posted October 12, 2023 (edited) 39 minutes ago, lunababymoonchild said: Hi Poppy and itsmeagain. I'm not feeling well so I'll bow out of this, temporarily, as inspiration (if I ever had any!) has deserted me and I don't feel like struggling with it. I WILL be back, sooner than later (it's nothing serious, just feeling a bit meh). Please carry on in the meantime without me, I very much look forward to seeing where the story goes. You've been great Luna. Only poppy and myself, over the years, have kept these ludicrous stories going, we had a Germany based Brit named OlderFish for a while, 7 years ago,but mainly me and popsicle. You, Luna,bucked the trend, you have been amazing. 😃 😀 Edited October 12, 2023 by itsmeagain 3 Quote
lunababymoonchild Posted October 12, 2023 Posted October 12, 2023 Aw thank you itsmeagain, very nice of you to say so. Don't stop, I will be back. 1 Quote
poppy Posted October 12, 2023 Posted October 12, 2023 8 hours ago, lunababymoonchild said: Hi Poppy and itsmeagain. I'm not feeling well so I'll bow out of this, temporarily, as inspiration (if I ever had any!) has deserted me and I don't feel like struggling with it. I WILL be back, sooner than later (it's nothing serious, just feeling a bit meh). Please carry on in the meantime without me, I very much look forward to seeing where the story goes. I'm so sorry you're not feeling well, Luna and really hope you'll be better soon. Just love your Continue the story contributions, we'll miss you 😥 Come back soon ... big hugs 😘 xx 1 Quote
lunababymoonchild Posted October 13, 2023 Posted October 13, 2023 7 hours ago, poppy said: I'm so sorry you're not feeling well, Luna and really hope you'll be better soon. Just love your Continue the story contributions, we'll miss you 😥 Come back soon ... big hugs 😘 xx Aw thank you Poppy. I saw the doctor yesterday and he says it's not serious but requires blood tests. I fully intend to be back as soon as possible. 2 Quote
poppy Posted October 13, 2023 Posted October 13, 2023 (edited) Quote sat an old man known as Bodger Hardman, Bodger cos he was a handyman of high repute, Hardman since he was very tough. Indeed, his brash, angry demeanour belied a sweeter temperament, namely a liking for the works of Daphne du Maurier, sipping Cabriolet, and listening to punk rock. He saw my bag of books.. and started bouncing up and down and getting excitable. At first I thought he might be under the influence of some illegal substance which had an agitating affect and I started to back away slowly, but ... Edited October 13, 2023 by poppy Quote
itsmeagain Posted October 14, 2023 Author Posted October 14, 2023 no, Bodger was a book aficionado, and proud of that. Pulling out a packet of Gauloises tobacco, rolling a fag, and lighting it, he opined, 'we in our family love France. DeBussy, Rousseau, Poirot...' A portly bloke with soup stained clothes chimed in with, 'Bodger, Poirot was a Belgian , moit..e was , aye', looking at me for affirmation. I Quote
poppy Posted October 15, 2023 Posted October 15, 2023 nodded but thought I'd appease him by saying it was easy to confuse the two. 'I've got a couple of Victor Hugos here in very good nick and a Madame Bovary if you're interested?' By now a little group of onlookers had gathered, all requesting their favourite authors. Little did I know that I'd accidentally, and very fortuitously as it happened, stumbled onto a ... Quote
itsmeagain Posted October 15, 2023 Author Posted October 15, 2023 (edited) branch of the Book Lover, Inc., a charity sending thousands of unwanted books abroad, to libraries, schools, refugee camps, and prisons, all to assist people to love books. 'I'm after WEB DuBois, Black Man Emancipation , 1905', said a thin youth with a gold tooth , pirate ear rings, and a plastic watch. 'It's actually.... Edited October 16, 2023 by itsmeagain Quote
poppy Posted October 16, 2023 Posted October 16, 2023 been banned in 59 countries on six continents ... it never made it to Antarctica.' 'Something to do with the spelling was it?' I asked. 'Sorry, it's not one I've come across. But I do have The Manly Art of Flower Arranging by Florian Blossom if you're interested?' Picaroon Freebooter thought he'd ... 1 Quote
itsmeagain Posted October 16, 2023 Author Posted October 16, 2023 (edited) interject, pointing out with a wry smile, that Mallory Looroll produced a compendium of flower arranging stories, Tales from The Stalk and the Stamen, still on sale for a fiver in his local Tesco. 'Can we get down to business?', I asked, hoping Edited October 18, 2023 by itsmeagain Quote
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