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Tuesday, 6 January 2026

Just go naked

Annemarie's story You Could go Naked 

Melanie stood in her dining room, in her bra and knickers while her friend Eva whisked the tape measure up and down and around and around. Today was the cutting out of the latest outfit her friend was making for Melanie. - green silk with a draped neckline to compliment her deep auburn hair which framed a creamy complexion and limped dark eyes. " I'll do it in centimetres then we won't know your size," said her friend, pencil, clenched between her lips. " And what is the event this time?" she asked. "We'll he's just landed a new job and we've been invited to dinner by his future boss to meet the rest of the group. I just hope I do him proud after all those months he's been without a job. So humiliating...my poor old Tony." "You worry too much about how you'll look, what to wear etc. but with your gorgeous face and figure you could just go naked! Forget about 'poor old Tony', he's lucky to have you. And you don't have to wear this green silk dress, you may feel more comfortable in your burnt orange one that like so much. Just whatever makes you feel really good." Measurements noted they both sat down to Melanie's toffee and apple cake, which was always tastier than other apple cakes. She prided herself on being a stay-at-home mum; her three boys off to school wrapped in crisp , freshly ironed shirts and their mother's hugs, lunchboxes filled with home cooked leek flan, banana loaf and fruit. Eva was not too keen on Tony, well she really didn't like him at all; she thought him extremely selfish. When he was made redundant recently, for months he stubbornly took the commuter train...and a fair part of their budget...into London each day (so nobody would know he was out of work) while Melanie took on extra aromatherapy work to keep the money coming in. A couple of weeks later Melanie and Eva met for a final fitting and handover of the dress. Melanie arrived late, her face red and blotchy, tear-dampened strands of auburn hair clinging to her cheeks. "What on earth's the matter?" "It's Tony," Melanie sobbed. "All the time he was going into London 'to see about a job' he was meeting up with some woman. And the dinner with his new boss is just a week away.. I don't know how I will cope... I don't know what to do," she whimpered. "Well, if you ask me," said Eva " he has always been utterly selfish. You let him walk all over you and you're worth so much more. You'll look stunning in your new dress and maybe he'll realise what he's risking - a fabulous wife and three gorgeous boys. Take your time and don't act rashly; think about what YOU really deserve. You'll get through it. Let's have lunch together afterwards and you can tell me how things are between you. Now let's try on the killer dress." As predicted Melanie looked a dream, even with her blotchy face and rather bedraggled hair. Eva couldn't believe she had had three children. " Just be brave and beautiful - you'll be fine," said her friend putting a comforting arm around Melanie. Two days after the dinner they met up for lunch in a cosy Italian bistro, Eva was anxious to know how her friend was feeling, how she was coping. Melanie arrived looking buoyant, taller somehow and yes, with a look of defiance. "We'll, how did it go? How are you feeling? How are things with Tony?... and the dinner.. were you okay? Which dress did d you wear?..." "Too many questions, Eva," Melanie interrupted. "First I'm fine. Dinner was a blast and I didn't wear either dress." "Well what did you wear?" asked Eva. "Nothing! Well not exactly nothing - I wore a wig." "But Melanie your hair is your crowning glory..." "Not on my head, down below, a merkin - you should have seen their faces when I took my coat off... and Tony ..well he was furious, grabbed my coat, threw it round me and apologising profusely that I was ill, he tried to push me through the front door. I refused and asked the host to call me a taxi so that Tony could continue with the dinner. I have never felt so empowered or laughed so much, seeing those shocked faces. Hmm, I wonder if Tony will work with them after all. So, yes, I took your advice, Eva."

 Paula's stories   (2)

The famous fashion designer stood with his favorite model of the moment at the top of the main staircase of Le Grand Palais in Paris. “You are going to end the show,” he told her. “You are going to bring about the grand finale. And here’s how you will do that.”

Pierre Marc turned her so that she was facing the vast room from the top of the stairs. “After all the models have completed their final walks on the runway,” and he gestured to the elevated stage and walkway far below them, “you will return backstage with the others, but you, and only you, will get into the white silk robe that all of you wear while being made ready for your entrances.”

She waited, as he took a deep breath. His excitement was almost palpable, and she was intrigued by what he might say next. He moved to stand behind her as he said, “You will walk out here, just here, just at this very spot, and I will be here. I will be behind you, just as I am now. I will take the silk of your robe into my hands and elegantly cast it off your body in one fell swoop.”

She nodded, wondering what was coming. “So, I will be standing here, at the top of the grand staircase, with nothing on?” she asked.

“Oui, just so!” Pierre enthused, as he returned to her side. “You will be wearing nothing but a pair of sky-high heels. Then if you just go naked, slowly, ever so slowly, down the steps to the landing, you will be met there by my top dresser, who will quickly and deftly clothe you in my piece de resistance: the gown that is sure to be on the next cover of French Vogue! Then, you will continue down the stairs to the stage, where I will be there to greet you. And we will walk together down the runway, to the cheers and whistles of everyone assembled to see this, my masterpiece!”

Again, she nodded, once, twice. “I think I understand,” she said. “You are illustrating in real time how a design goes from nothing, from the nude model, to everything, the dress that will define the very season.”

“You do understand!” He took her hand and raised it to his lips. “That is the very concept I am trying to convey: how a designer takes the empty dress form and transforms it, with time and textiles and talent, into a gown that every woman desires. I knew I had made the right choice in you.”

She shrugged her bony shoulders, and said, “I trust you. I’ll do it.”

The designer’s No. 1 dresser, watching nearby, whispered to herself, “Of course you will. He is going to make you a star, an overnight sensation.” Clad in her normal dowdy working attire of a pin-marked apron and flats, Edith muttered, “It’s not fair. We toil for months on his vision, we work around the clock, we give everything we’ve got to this work, and who gets the spotlight? The models. The models get to take the final bow with the great designer. And we get nothing. And the day after the collection is shown to global acclaim, we immediately begin work on the next year’s designs. And these models, they all go off to relax on some exotic beach. It’s not fair.” She shook her head bitterly and turned away.

Two days later, all was ready. Le Grand Palais sparkled from top to bottom. Chairs were arrayed fifteen deep from the U-shaped runway to the edges of the huge room. As hundreds of fashionistas, journalists, and hangers-on poured into the room, engraved invitations in hand, white-coated and white-gloved servers passed among them with coupes of Champagne. As the lights dimmed, everyone took their seats, and the show began.

All went smoothy. The front row was packed with the fashion icons of the moment: Chloe Sevigny, Kate Moss, Anna Wintour, Zoe Saldana, Charlotte Gainsborough, all looking magazine-perfect in their trend-setting garb. They crossed their long, elegant legs in their impossibly high heels and squinted through their fashionable sunglasses at the incredible outfits parading past them, some making notes in their programs, others taking photos for their Instagram accounts, but only Wintour calmly and thoroughly assessing each look as it passed her.

And then, it was time for the grand finale. The house lights went down again, and a spotlight picked out a single model at the top of the grand staircase. Very tall and very slender, she wore a simple white silk robe. The crowd murmured as Pierre, almost hidden in the darkness behind her, snatched the garment from her shoulders. For an instant, she stood nude, in the blinding light, then she began a slow descent. Camera flashes constantly split the darkness as she walked sedately down the 20 steps to the landing.

There, Edith stood in the shadows with the masterpiece in her hands. As the model faced the spellbound audience, she held her chin high, waiting for the expert dresser to quickly fasten the gown around her. Instead, Edith, hidden from view, stretched a steady hand out toward the naked woman, and shoved hard. The model’s skinny body convulsed, and flew down the stairs, bouncing and tumbling until she reached the bottom of the steps in a motionless heap.

A collective gasp went up, and the flashes continued to strobe. Pierre, waiting backstage, rushed to the model’s side, and cried out, “But it is not possible! She is dead!”

During the ensuing pandemonium, the dresser, disguised in designer duds, stiletto heels, and dark glasses, slipped into the shocked crowd. She melted right into the fashionable audience; no one noticed that her designer outfit was a knock-off, her heels were cheap, and her sunglasses were from a sidewalk stand. In a flash, she was out onto the street, where she walked calmly toward the Seine and a waiting taxi, her ticket to Ibiza nestled next to her passport in her fake Prada bag, right next to the large pile of cash she had lifted from her boss’s studio safe.

*****************************************************************************

How to please a woman:

Compliment her.

Bring her flowers.

Spend time with her.

Rub her back.

Rub her feet.

Make dinner for her.

Tell her how much you adore her.

Write her a poem.

Give her your undivided attention.

Watch old movies with her.

Run her a bubble bath, then leave her alone with a book, a candle, and a glass of wine.

Take long walks with her.

Surprise her.

Take her to her favorite restaurant.

Plan trips with her.

Do the laundry.

Buy her jewelry.

Protect her.

Support her.

Go shopping with her.

Make a big deal of her birthday.

Anticipate her needs.

Be proud of her.

Love her unconditionally.

 

How to please a man:

If you just go naked …

_____________________________________________

 

Sarah's story

If you just go naked 1
(03.12.2025, rev. 04.01.2026 – for January 2026)

"But what can I possibly wear?" whined Sheila.  This was just as usual.  Clio summoned up her reserves of patience and said evenly, "The turquoise full-length is lovely.  And just right for the occasion."
"No, it's not!  I've already worn it several times.  It'll look as if I can't afford anything new."
"Well, then, buy something new."
"But I can't afford it!"
"Well, then how about the black one with the lace?  It's very elegant, and so discreet no-one will be able to remember if they've ever seen it before."
"That's just the problem.  It has no dash.  This is no ordinary occasion, as you know.  The chairman is counting on me to woo the funds we need.  I want to 'wow' them.  Knock them for a loop!"
"Well," said Clio, who was losing patience, "if you just go naked you'll knock 'em dead."
Sheila didn't laugh, but put on one of her sour, older-sister looks of commiseration.
"Time I was going," said Clio, and she was gone.  But she had an idea.

On the evening of the fund-raiser, Clio, who had been invited solely as an impecunious family relative who could not be ignored but who was not expected to donate much and who knew absolutely no-one else in the vast reception room, looked around her with satisfaction.  Boring lot, the whole of them.  So much the better.  Then she caught sight of her sister, looking at her from across the room, and that look had in it not only a questioning disapproval but a commanding invitation to cross the room and offer up an explanation.
"Wherever did you get that?" she hissed when Clio was in hearing range.
"It was Grandma's.  Mink.  Don't you remember?"  A coat, nearly ankle-length that had probably cost thousands but which even their mother and their aunts had never dared to wear.
"You simpleton. Especially not in this season, it's already April."
"Yes, the air did seem balmy as I was coming along the Portland Road."
"You didn't walk here!  That sort of thing is just inviting the animal lovers to attack you in the street."
"They're none of them out there any more.  They don't expect to find people nowadays wearing furs."  
"And it looks terrible.  Don't you realize coats like that are no longer in fashion?  I'm not going to let on that I know you.  Remain discreet!"  
And Sheila gave a little flick of her hand as if to shoo away her sister, who only laughed and gave a little wave in return, and made her way back to where she had been standing before.  But she would amaze Sheila before the evening was over, she thought, and turned her gaze to the gathering throng.  Such an unattractive lot as a whole, she thought.  The women's heavy jewelry only accentuated the lines in their leathery faces, and as for the men, well, she pitied their wives.
People had felt sorry for her, and sympathized deeply with her when she had lost her husband three years before in a climbing accident, a handsome and intelligent man, and of course she had grieved deeply, but there had been no children for her to raise on her own, and she had her job to make her financially secure.  And she had her memories.  Then friends had begun to organize chance and not-so-chance meetings with men who could in no way rival with those memories, and it seemed to her now she had been right.  They would all have turned out to be like these, wouldn't they?
As she took a glass of champagne from a passing tray, a voice said, 'Oh!  I was just going to offer you one of those myself."
She turned and a man of late middle age was bowing so obsequiously that she almost laughed.  "Thank you anyway," she said, instead.  "It's as if you had."
He was looking curiously at the fur coat.
"You must be very warm," he said.  "Allow me?"  
But she jumped back skittishly.  "Oh, no, I couldn't!  You see, I've got nothing underneath."
As his eyes widened, she added conspiratorily, "Not a stitch."
She could see the greedy curiosity leaking out of the corner of his eyes, so she followed this up with "Would you like a peek?" and before his shocked reaction could put itself into words she added meaningfully, "For the cause.  £50."  And she winked.
This was too much for him and he followed her meekly behind the potted palms.  She held out her hand and he put the banknote in it which she stowed in the pocket of the coat, and then slowly, archly, she pulled away the lapels to reveal, as she well knew, the tops of a snowy breast with a deep cleavage and the slightest glimpse of rosy tits.  Then she snapped them shut again, and laughed prettily.  "That's it.  All for the cause!" and led the way determinedly back to the crowd.  
As she expected, not a minute passed before she was approached by another one of the unprepossessing males who had probably been hauled here by their wives and were trying to fight the boredom as well as they could.
"Are you ...  Is it ...?"
"Yes," she said and led him towards the potted palms.  There were two or three more like that, and she patted her pocket with satisfaction.  Then there was one who looked quite flustered.  He almost pushed her towards the palms.  Once they were reasonably out of sight of the mob, she turned, to see him gazing at her fifth button down.  She put out her hand, for he surely must know that this was a fund-raising action.
"Er, ah," he said, fumbling again, "could one see, er, the bottom?"
"Now that would be a hundred," she said and took it, then, pretending not to understand, she turned round and pulled up the coat to reveal, as she knew, some very white, very well-rounded buttocks, but only for a moment.
"Ah, but I meant ..."  It was almost painful to see a person so at a loss for words.  But she made as if to understand at last.  "But that would be another hundred," she said.
And having pocketed that she slowly pulled apart and up the lower pans of the coat to reveal, as she well knew, an exceptionally fine pair of legs and a magnificent black brush.  And then the curtain came down again.
His disappointed look, along with the gesture towards his wallet once again made her interrupt quickly.  "No, no," she said.  "Remember, this is a charity event.  Let's not get carried away!" and she led him out again, gave him a bright smile and turned the other way.
In less than an hour, she must have taken in a huge amount, she thought, and as there was a lull in the visitors she retired behind the palms to count it.  She had got to well over a thousand and there was more to count when it occurred to her that there was a downside to this fund-raising activity.  Despite the unattractiveness of the various bidders for a glance at her charms, all that Peeping Tom business was in fact making her feel horny, and she could tell that she was already moist between the legs.
Just then a face poked itself around the palms.  An arresting face, younger than most of the others, not strictly handsome but attractive, perhaps because of the sly humour glinting from the dark eyes.  She recognized him as someone she had seen before and had thought she rather fancied.  He came fully round and she stashed the banknotes in the coat pockets which were, fortunately, wide and deep.
"How much?"
"That depends," she began, but he was already undoing his belt. "No, no," she said in alarm.
"Shhh," he said, "don't make a scandal.  Let's have some fun.  It's all for charity, isn't it then?"  His hands were already under the coat, softly playing with her firm but pliable breasts.  As they brushed her nipples she felt her legs weakening.
"Besides," he said, "we'll both like it," as he slid easily into her.
And she did like it.  It had been so long ...  But how could she give way here?  As if he had read her thoughts, he was pushing them back gently into a small room, or closet rather, pushing the door shut behind them.  "Let yourself go," he whispered.  And the temptation was too much to resist.
But suddenly the door pushed open again behind them.
"Oops," somebody said, "Oh, Peter," and the door shut again.
"He didn't see you," Peter said.  "Nobody will know."  But the moment was broken, and she felt a decided shock of disappointment.  He must be a rake, this Peter.  But so attractive!  As she came gradually to herself again in what seemed to be a small kitchinette, he was already pushing out a sheaf of notes into her hand.  
"But you can't go back like that," he said, guiding her towards another door, and she realized she must be noticeably flushed.  The door, she saw, was marked "Ladies".  "Pull yourself together," he said, winked, and shut the door.
She sat there for a few minutes until she had calmed down, and looked at what he had given her.  £300!  That helped bring her to her senses, and she shook herself awake.  Mustn't stay out too long or it would look odd.
Re-entering the main room, she spied her sister, alone for once and not far from the door.  
"Where have you been?" Sheila asked accusingly, as Clio came up to her.
"The ladies," she said.  "And I'm very tired.  I'm going home."
"I can't take you home now!  There's still the speech to make and I was counting on you to go round and smile and coax them to give."  
"I can go by myself," Clio said, slipping the fat wad of notes into her hands. "And I haven't wasted my time.  See here: I've talked to lots of people, and convinced them of the worthiness of the cause."  
Sheila stood before her, open-mouthed. "How ... ?" she began, as Clio turned to go.
"Wait a minute," said a voice beside her.  It was Peter.  "You can't go home alone.  Not in that coat.  Let me drive you."
And as he steered her out of the room, he added conspiratorily.  "Unfinished business!"
_________________________________________ 

Jackie's story

 I just go naked

The old lady sat on the edge of the narrow bed, the palms of her hands spread out on her knees, head down, staring at the folds of her stomach which obstructed the view of her pubic hair and the top of her thighs.     She felt a slight tingling feeling in her toes - cold – a draught drifted over her body - she shivered -  She was totally naked and oblivious to the video camera whirring above her.

What was she doing sitting on this narrow couch – her bottom sticking to the leather type fabric – she gently lifted one buttock and then the other hoping that no moisture would soil the fabric.    

Her reflection stared back at her, the entire room mirrored from floor to ceiling;   that  plunged herself into a desperate longing to avoid looking up at her own reflection.   There was no escape from her naked self

Could she get up and leave when she wanted?   She looked around for some clothes – there were none neither blanket, towel or curtains to hide behind.      Could she leave this room totally naked.

 Who was she really in this skin of hers? 

She had never been totally naked before in front of anybody even husband and boyfriends.   Being of a prudish nature she started to worry about whom could come into this  room ….

Someone entered with a white paper and pen in hand.   

“What am I doing here?”

You don’t remember signing up for an internet questionnaire?  – we were looking for people to participate in the naked session – to see how they would react to be without any clothes.   Apparently you belong to a writing group - we found you there under the theme “I just go naked”–…how do you feel now - naked? 

 “Well,  I feel ashamed of how I have neglected my body over the years , I feel raw, stripped and uncomfortable,  cold and unprotected.

Most people find the real “me” when they are naked – is this the case with you?   

“I don’t feel like me,”  My body is pink with wrinkly skin, flabby underarms and dark sunspots and loads of ugly freckles.  

I’m me when I wear clothes and can turn myself into whom I want with a sweater or jacket, dress, or jewelry and shoes -                     So you are only yourself when you are hiding behind clothes?  

Its called expressing your personality.  Clothes give you dignity – clothes make the woman. 

Well you are free to go but there is one last test ;   next door there are 20 people having a cocktail party.   Walk into the room and pretend that you have clothes on – If you manage a conversation with at least 3 people then you will have won -…..

“What do I win?  You win a ticket to wellness and freedom and to feeling peaceful and beautiful from now on. 

   ( It came to her afterwards that she couldn’t remember whether the person who had come into the room was clothed or naked. !  )

Monday, 1 December 2025

The bend in the river

 

Paula's story: 

When Genevieve left her husband after 30 years of marriage — at least 10 of them good, she figured — she was determined to make for herself a sanctuary, a safe place of her very own: Solitary. Peaceful. Happy. She found a fifth-floor walkup in a narrow building on a cobblestone street in the oldest section of the city, which happened to be walking distance from her job. She lugged her linens, her cutlery, and her cats up the steep stairs, settled in as best she could, and waited, hoped, ached for her new life to begin.

Meanwhile, one of her closest friends, a man she had worked with for a few decades, and who, over the years, had become not just a drinking buddy but also a confidant, was dating a younger woman and, naturally, had become consumed with his new paramour. Genevieve and Lewis rarely spoke these days; he didn’t even know that she had left her husband.

Then, one afternoon, Genevieve, in the midst of her divorce, overcome with sadness and fear, had a mini-meltdown in the employee bathroom. Her sobs were witnessed by one of the young writers on Lewis’ staff, who immediately reported it to her manager, who then mentioned it to Lewis.

“What the fuck?” Lewis thought.

And thus was born his Grand Plan.

Within a few months, the younger woman in his life had been jettisoned, and Lewis had become singularly focused. On a new life. On a life with Genevieve. On a life he had always dreamed of.

They worked together so well. They liked each other so much. How could love not be far behind?

They started hanging out, just like the old days. Cocktails. Card games. Confidences. And when the short-term lease on Genevieve’s apartment was up, Lewis just happened to mention that there was a woman in his building who wanted to lease her apartment for six months while she went to Thailand. Genevieve shrugged, and thought, why not? And so it happened that Lewis moved all of Genevieve’s possessions, including her cats, into the apartment two doors down from him, one evening while she was at work. She was flabbergasted. She was charmed. She was wondering what he had up his sleeve.

This particular apartment was in old warehouse, sitting in the bend of the Mississippi River, in downtown New Orleans. Their apartments were on the top floor, and Genevieve sometimes would spend hours looking out at the river, wondering about her future. The ships reminded her of life. As they barreled down the river past the city skyline, larger than the skyscrapers on the bank, their bows were pointed straight at her apartment, and their rusty steel hulls would fill her vision. At night particularly, Genevieve would fear that disaster must be at hand. But always, just in time, the ships veered away south in a gentle, majestic arc, turning aside and sweeping down toward the Gulf of Mexico. You just had to have faith.

By the time her absentee landlord decided to come back home, Lewis had won Genevieve’s heart, and he had once again moved all of her stuff while she worked, but this time, just two doors down, into his spacious corner apartment. There, against all convention, they moved their bed into the immense front room, where they could lie in the moonlight and watch the river traffic, as the constant stream of ships traversed that treacherous bend in the mighty Mississippi.

They lived together, learned together, laughed together at that bend in the river. They fell madly in love at that bend in the river. He proposed marriage to her at that bend in the river.

And they finally understood that, even when life seemed to be barreling straight at them with malicious intent, if they held fast and believed in each other, the things that scared them would, finally, turn away, and leave only the starry sky.

 

 

Patrice's story

You know how when you are at the river getting ready to get into a kayak or plop into an inner tube?  


There’s all this noise around you.  Kids chasing each other, chattering, yelling.  Music playing from multiple sources.   Maybe even traffic sounds on an overpass, dogs barking.   A cacophony, auditory and visual.  Once you are in your kayak, canoe, or  inner-tube and have pushed yourself away from the shallows, letting the current move you along, the noise becomes background, or even ceases.  And if you are a little ambitious you can stroke faster with an oar, or kick your legs, and take a bend in the river ahead of the others and suddenly, there is tranquility, an entirely new sense of place.


Well, that’s how I’m going to treat the world of politics in my country, and maybe even family drama for the foreseeable future. I’m going to go ‘round the bend toward the tranquil space where the noise is background or inaudible.  I’m going to float where the river takes me, drifting in contemplation.  Perhaps like an otter I’ll relax on my back and when I sleep, lightly hold Robert’s hand and listen to the tinkle of water in my ears.


If I get too close to shore and the noise begins to intrude I will sing to myself, loud and proud. I will speak extemporaneous poetry to trees, and birds, and fish, and rocks.  I will live in the lacuna and find the drift, the float, that raises silence to an imperative,  where a soft approach serves both me and the river.  


Should I last on the river until the noise subsides I will step ashore, find some kindling, build a fire, and sit once again on the ground. 



 

Sarah's story

 Richard gazed idly out of the window.  Why were they creeping along at this lazy pace?  It was supposed to be a high-speed train, wasn't it?  The pride of the French railway system.
He began to notice, nevertheless, that in this way he remarked more things, for example this strange orchard running alongside the tracks, with spindly trees, how woefully thin!  Only a yard or so apart and help up by a sort of wire fence.  No wonder, how could one expect a tree to grow successfully in such conditions?  Leave it to the French!  Then it occured to him that perhaps it wasn't an orchard but a tree nursery, a vast tree-nursery, for it had been going on for several minutes, and stretched almost as far as the eye could see.
But the train was picking up speed now, leaving the trees behind, and they came to a river, with full-grown trees wildly lining its banks.  The trees, of various sizes now, mirrored themselves in the still waters—this was no raging stream, which was the way Richard preferred a river to be, and for a moment he wondered whether it was not a river at all, but a canal, so straight did it run.  The French were fond of canals.  As he lazily racked his brain, however, he did not remember any canals in this region.  He was bored again, and he sighed.
The train slowed again, and eased into a town.  Not a particularly attractive town.  The train stopped, a few passengers got off, others climbed on.  And, what ho! a young girl of 19 or 20 or so came in and chose to sit down in the very seat directly across from him.  As if she couldn't have chosen another seat, there were lots of them, and left him in peace.  Was he going to have to sit here and look at her for the rest of the journey?  
He was just about to suggest the idea to her when she smiled brightly and got a word in first.  "You wouldn't mind, would you," she began.  In French of course, but that was not a problem for Richard; he was fluent in several languages.  "You wouldn't mind changing seats?"
His look of stupefaction only encouraged her to go on.  "I mean, you don't seem very interested in the landscapes, you look as though you're just thinking your own thoughts."
How the dickens did she know what he was thinking or not thinking, or what interested him or not?  Besides, what 'landscapes' could she be referring to in this doddering town?  But before he had time to finish asking himself these questions, she had jumped ahead of him again, as the train slid out of the station.
"I mean, I love watching the countryside slide by, there are all the old familiar things, but also surprises.  You never know just what you're going to see."  She was looking at him expectantly.  What the devil did she want him to do?  Agree with her?
"So.  Can we change seats?  It's so much better looking out the window in the right direction!"
She stood up, still wearing her expectant smile, and he realized he was meant to stand up too.
Why should he do so? he asked himself with some irritation.  But it was less of a bore to comply than to start an argument, so he got up, not without a frown, and gave her his seat, sitting down in hers.  Too late he realized he could have taken a seat farther away.
"Look!" she said brightly before he could even get his thoughts together.  But how could he look, and at what?  He was now facing the wrong way to see what she was looking at, even if it were interesting.
"There's a bend in the river!  Who knows what's just beyond it?  I do, of course, because I've been here many times before.  But you don't.  Aren't you curious?"
Good lord, she expected him to converse with her as well?  He was about to reply that curiosity was not one of his defects, but she prevented him the ignominy of rising to her bait by continuing without interruption herself.
"Even so," she said, "there could be a surprise around the bend.  Look, we're almost there.  Yes!  Today there's a fisherman, he's got a long white beard, a real grandfather.  And he must be one, there's a little boy with him.  I imagine he tells the boy stories.  But why isn't the child in school?  Oh, right, it's Wednesday afternoon.  Ah, they're gone now.  Too bad."
Was she really going to chatter on like that for the rest of the journey?  In fact, she was, as he soon saw, but he needn't have worried about having to hold up his part in the conversation, for she valiantly took over the whole responsibility herself.  At every change in the landscape she found something to exclaim about or to marvel at.
"It's like life, isn't it?  Full of unexpected things.  You never know what's around the bend."
Ha!  She could say that, at 19.  But for him?  His course was mapped out in one straight line, to the next promotion, and the next raise in salary, and then another promotion, and another raise in salary ...  For what, he surprised himself by asking.  But she was bubbling away again.
"Look, beehives!  Over there at the end of the field.  So many of them!  They must make tons of honey.  I would like that.  I would like to raise bees some day.  Wouldn't you?"
No chance of that happening, he thought.  Or ...?
"The world is full of so many routes to take, so many doors to open ... don't you think?"
Of course she didn't expect him to reply.  But so much cheerfulness, Richard  grumbled automatically to himself, was irritating to one of his nature.  Yes, it was quite oppressive.  In fact it was, rather, somewhat disturbing.  But then the train began to slow down again, and after a minute or so came into a station, hardly less glum than the one before.
The girl jumped up.  "Well, this is where I get off.  It was so nice talking with you." (With me? he thought, to me you mean.)  "But you can get your seat back now."  She shouldered her small backpack and started to leave.
"Wait," he said, to his own surprise, " what's your name?"
"Judith," she said.  He had a momentary vision of her holding the head of Holophernes by the hair.  Dripping blood.  But girls didn't do that sort of thing any more.  Or did they?  But before he came back to the moment to say "Thank you" (now, why did he say that?) she was out the door, with a little wave.  He strained to see her out on the platform but she must have gone off in another direction; there was no-one to be seen but the station master, blowing his whistle.  
As the train pulled out, he stared at the seat across from him, which looked singularly empty.  He got up and crossed over, taking his original seat again.  And began to look out of the window, at the delightful French countryside, dotted with farmhouses, some of them with lighted windows now that dusk was setting in.  What could be behind those windows, he thought?  And he speculated.  On many things.

 

Geraldine's story

THE BEND IN THE RIVER

 

The river, still quite far from it’s estuary, was running alternatively through wild and smooth landscapes. 

In the early morning, Kate and John, after a wonderful night spent under the stars on one of the little sand island’s dotting the river, got up very smoothly, heated the water for their coffee and prepared a bowl of cereal and yoghourt.  It had become their daily routine before starting the rowing to the next step.

The itinerary had not really been prepared.  They would store their belongings in a waterproof container which was fixed in the middle of the canoë and start rowing in the early morning mist, making as little noise as possible in order not to break the charm : the river was like a mirror with just a few dots made by the insects waking up and taking their first sip.  The reverberation of the high trees was an invitation to follow them, reach them and catch them, between the few white clouds dancing in the water.

This deeply zen tempo would last untill the sun would set highly in the sky provoking a mild wind which would start moving the water they were sliding on.  The East wind was the most welcomed as it would help pushing the canoë and easing their efforts.

After a couple of hours, they would start watching out to see if there was a little village around where they could stop for the morning coffee , which invariably would show up.  They would hopp off the canoë, keeping their rows with them and connect to humanity again with a hot coffee and a croissant in a country bar, listening to barroom gossip : bliss ! 

Where will the luncheon stop be ?  Where there’s a church, or a castle, or something to visit. They would consider the distance, then, spotting it on the map, would hop back into the canoe and row peacefully along the shores.  What is there to see ?  Beavers bringing little branches of wood to consollidate their dams, blue kingfishers spotting fishes in the river and , if lucky, catching them,  otters swimming along, metallic blue or bright yellow dragonflies frantically flapping their wings, shoals of fishes gliding through the shimmering water and sometimes, herons crossing the blue or grey skyes above.

Lunch stop : back to civilization.  The canoë would be hidden in high grass under a bridge in the town, the rows taken with them, used as walking sticks, not that they needed them, but to make sure noone would sail off with the canoe.  Stroling along, they would invariably come accross a « brasserie » for lunch, near the castle or place they wanted to visit.  And back to the Middel-Ages or Renaissance period showing what life, for the rich, poweful and noble was like.  How incredible the constructions were, the huge chimneys in the great lounges, the stained glass for the windows, the stone or marble slabs, the terracotta or yellow tiles, and the richly designed furniture and woven drapery !

After a little pause in the minimarket to buy food for the evening dinner on the chosen island and the next morning’s yoghourt, the  trip would continue towards the sea where all rivers end up to, but it was still more than 500 kms away…

One afternoon, rowing vigorously to the West, they came to a bend in the river. As soon as the bend had been taken, what did they see, but a barbed wire crossing the river with a « no entrance » pannel and a signpost arrow showing where to leave the river…. And walk for 3 to 4 kilometers with the canoe and belongings to avoid…. The big nuclear power station built there in order to have enough water to cool down the system.  

Pulling up all the courage they had left, and regretting the big meal they had taken, they picked up their luggage, home, means of transportation and all and bending under the weight, struggled along the deviation of this power station on the wild river, erected there for mankind confort !

That evening, they landed on one of the scattered sand  island with no noise, hence the bird crys crossing over their heads, gathered a few branches, started their fire and when they had enough braise, took out their grill, and feeling like Robinson Crusoe, gently cooked the meat they had bought in town, the potatoes cooking in the charcoal, and a fruit.  So close to paradise !

 


Jackie's story

The bend in the river

Sitting in the courtroom that morning I reflected on the time we had spent scouring the internet  for a house for sale.   This one appeared one day on a freebie website.

“House for sale, 4 bedrooms, Large kitchen and fireplace with sitting room,  bay windows and a view on the river.     The photos looked too good to be true and the view from the sitting area onto the water was promising.

We leapt at the occasion.    A dream come true. We were transferred by my husbands work from North to the South and we leapt at the occasion to discover another part of the country.

 I had always wished somewhere to live with access to water, whether it be a lake, small pond or better yet a river.

We immediately phoned the agent and even without seeing the house we said YES we wanted to buy.   Cash and the only request was that we could move in before the month of June so as to enjoy maximum pleasure from the garden and especially the river.

Done.   Paid and we moved in.    Our first thoughts were delight as we walked into the house.   Impeccable condition, colours that we loved on the walls and the kitchen was to die for.

When though we got to the sitting room and looked for the so called view of the river – we couldn’t see any  water because of a bend in front of the garden sloping down and made the view impossible.    So,  no river view.

Should we take the owners and the real estate agent to court.    When is a bend not a bend?  A view onto the river obstructed by a bend?.

So here we are in front of a judge.    Examining the advertisement made by the real estate agent and approuved by the owner.     

She stated that :

The agent advertised a “view on the river”
If the physical reality (the bend) means the view doesn’t exist, the agent made a false representation.

The bend is simply the cause of the obstruction, not the person responsible.   In fact it is not the bends fault. The river’s bend blocks the view, so the property does not actually have a river view. Because the agent claimed it did, they made a false statement—regardless of whether they intended to mislead anyone.

Many months later we got our view having put up with tractors , scoupers, and men shoveling sand and earth to un-bend the bend in the river thus providing us with a fantastic view  !

If this story is driving you “round the bend “ You will be happy to know that this is the BEND ooops THE END

Monday, 3 November 2025

Jesus Cacophony dinner blood vertigo grandiose callow

Patrice story



Cacophony, grandiose, callow, vertigo, dinner, blood, Jesus


Dinner had begun because it had to begin.  The before dinner drinks were finished and that had been dreadful enough.  This ritual of meeting her daughter’s boyfriends had been going on since Tess was 14 years old. The addition of a cocktail hour had made no improvement to the ordeal or the young men.


This one had arrived in a cacophony of metal bracelets, neck chains and charms, and earrings that set her teeth on edge every time he moved.  His long hair was parted down the middle and draped behind his shoulders in a Jesus parody that continued to his sandal clad feet - in February.  Instead of shaking her hand, or even god forbid, kissing her on the cheek, he put his palms together, bowed, and said, “namaste”.  Anna thought to her self, na, I’m not staying, but outwardly smiled and offered drinks.


Tess had introduced him with his full name, Barclay William Henry Mackinnon III.  Grandiose sounding at the best of times, and these were not those.  At the drinks, he’d asked  if she had any Lagavulin - the callow punk.  She did but said she didn’t and gave him the Ballantine she used for baking.   During the drinks the public displays of affection were appalling and Anna prayed that Tess was doing it to annoy her and didn’t behave like this when she was out.


She had deliberately not asked about dietary restrictions.  Tess, the darling had been serially - a vegetarian, a pescatarian, a vegan, a carnivore, and one or two other things Anna longed to forget.  She’d opted for potatoes, vegetables and a roast thinking that even if there was a preference something could be eaten from that safe menu.  She’d even bought a cake not wanting to spend more time preparing  the meal than the relationship was likely to last. Her respite in the kitchen was over.  She loaded the platter and brought it to the table.  Tess and the wunderkind were not at the table, nor in the living room where she had left them.  She heard something in the entryway and poked her head through the doorway.  She heard noises coming from the downstairs loo.  Anna had a moment of vertiginous outrage.  Were they really?!! Was it possible - but yes, from the noises it was indeed possible.


Anna went back into the kitchen, poured herself a glass of wine, drank it, then poured another which she sipped, contemplatively.  Was it possible to really disown one’s blood relatives?  One’s child?  Or did one just put up with it hoping that one day it would all change and make sense?  She had no idea.  She heard the loo door open, she sighed and carrying her wine glass, she went to sit at the table.

 

Paula's story

Jesus,” Charles muttered as he threw the pages of the Times to the floor of the sitting room. “Is there no end to the cacophony of press coverage of this thing?”

Camilla looked up from liberally buttering a piece of toast at her place across the breakfast table, and smiled mischievously. “It certainly puts your wishing to be my tampon in a bit of perspective, doesn’t it, my bonny boy?”

“So true,” he grinned his special devilish grin at his wife, once a pariah herself in the press and now the queen of England, his queen, indeed. “Seems it was a simpler time then, wasn’t it? But now! Just think of it! Allegations of rape and pedophilia against a member of my own family!” He was getting heated up again. Camilla let him rant. She knew he would burn himself out eventually, and by dinner time that evening, he would be settled sedately with his Scotch in front of the fire, all thoughts of his ruinous younger brother far from his mind.

But for now, the king was incensed. He stood, drawing himself up to his full height of 1.78 meters. He sighed. He couldn’t appear grandiose no matter how he tried. Scepters, crowns, medals, swords: he still managed to look like the frightened little boy left at Groton in Scotland by his parents, a jug-eared adolescent at the mercy of his classmates. “It will toughen him up,” his father had assured the skeptical Elizabeth. Actually, all it did was provide blood sport for the upperclassmen.

“I’ve made a decision,” Charles announced to Camilla. “Andrew will be stripped of his title. He will no longer be a prince. He will henceforth be known as Mr. Andrew Mountbatten Windsor. Everything I have done up to now

, convincing mummy a few years ago to strip him of his public duties and keep him under wraps, has not been enough. His cavorting with a known sexual predator and convicted sex offender is just beyond the pale. I mean, really! It makes one’s head spin! It’s enough to give one vertigo!”

Camilla nodded. “I agree, darling. I completely agree. I say, let’s kick him out of his home in the Royal Lodge, too!”

“Yes, I fear that is necessary as well,” the king mused. “Although where Fergie will go, I couldn’t guess. Maybe she’ll bunk in with one of their daughters. I never understood why she continued to live with Andrew after their divorce, anyway. Maybe he’s still licking her toes…”

Charles sighed again. “I guess I should involve Will in this decision,” he said. “As the heir to the throne, he will have to deal with the repercussions. Especially if this cancer kills me as quickly as the doctors expect.”

Camilla wiped a small tear from her eye with a manicured pinky. “Oh, darling Fred. I simply cannot bear the thought.”

“I know, Gladys, I know,” the king said, as he moved behind her chair and took the opportunity to gently squeeze the robust breast peeking out from his wife’s silken robe.  “These doctors, they are all so young, so raw, so callow. But they seem so certain.”

“Well, we must keep a stiff upper lip, my king,” Camilla said, standing to curtsey, as she had been trained to do. As she knelt, one leg thrust elegantly behind her, her robe slipped from her shoulders, revealing her nakedness.

“I say,” King Charles proclaimed. “Not just the upper lip, now! Jolly good show, Cammie!”

 

Jackie's story

The dinner preceding the art exhibition was grandiose and as I walked into the room of guests in their fine evening wear a sudden bout of vertigo caused me to knock over a statue of Jesus – as it cascaded into a million pieces,  blood flooded the floor and my normal callow nature overcame me and I stood up and shouted to stop the cacophony in the room, my heart pounded like a drum in an African jungle but then I fainted in the midst of the crowd and everything went blank.     

_______________________________________________________

Geraldine's contribution:

In those days, boarding schools were separate !  Was the idea that girls among girls and boys among boys would discover the joys of blending their minds and bodys later ?  Maybe ! 

Or was it to protect the girls against the boys ?  Or was it to teach the girls that their future life was to attend the males they were to connect with later ? Or maybe only just to separate their body odours considering that the feminine were much lighter and pleasant.  Who knows !

Nevertheless, this related boarding school story took place in a girl’s boarding school.

It was late afternoon at the begining of December : the November winds had completely alliviated the trees of their colourfull autumn leaves and spred out their naked branches towards a dark grey sky.  A load of shiny black crows were furrowing the sky looking down for any leftovers that could feed them and  diving  to the ground in a terrific cacophony.

Santa Claus accompanied by Mr. Bogeyman were expected after dinner and the little girls were impatient, worried and excited.  Had they been good enough to deserve a present, was Mr. Bogeyman going to give them a cruel look and deprive them from their orange, what was to be expected ?

The 6th of December dinner was always grandiose : instead of the plain soup with a few potatoes usually served at night, there would be roast potatoes, cabbage, a bit of bacon and certainly a peace of cake and a tangerine.  Bliss !

Then, everyone would sing

 « Ô Grand Saint Nicolas, Patron des Ecoliers,

Apporte-moi des pommes dans mon petit panier

Je serai toujours sage comme un petit mouton

Je dirai mes prières pour avoir des bonbons »

This song would be followed by a prayer to Jesus asking him to rid our souls of any bad thought or any sin committed recently.  Also to take care of the beloved and make us good !

The nuns would clap in their hands to put the kiddys in a row, the lights would go out and who would walk in but Santa Claus in his red velvet gown with his tall bishop’s crosier, a miter on the head,  a large white beard and just behind him, Mr. Bogeyman, a dark coloured man wearing a turban with an austrage feather and a zouave uniform,  walking in the middle of the row lighted by candles. 

They sometimes provoked a kind of vertigo amongst the young public, the most undisciplined, also being greeted by butterflies in their tummy. 

The stage was set, the show was to start !  The little girls, one by one, went up the 3 steps that led to the stage and sometimes the callow ones didn’t understand what they were supposed to be doing.  But, then, the magic would begin and every single one was given a paquet of sweets, an orange, a gingerbread cake called speculoos, a smile from Santa and a wink from Mr. Bogeyman who clearly made them understand what a loving man he was and how he would never harm anyone of them.

Once all the little girls had been presented with their gifts, they would form a circle and begin to sing the songs that they had learnt at school during the term : happyness and joy were there : a communion of good feelings contrasting with the dull everyday life they were granted with, missing so deeply their homes and their  parents.

________________________________________________

 Annemarie's story

Shipping forecast for the Caribbean, 25 October 2025:  

General Forecast: Mix of clear skies and clouds with a few brief isolated light showers.

Wind Forecast:Moderate easterly breeze at around 30 km/h 

26 October 2025.  Tropical Storm Melissa rapidly strengthening into a powerful hurricane. Strong winds and torrential rainfall could lash the island. Melissa reclassified  as category 5 hurricane bringing devastation, storm surge, flash flooding and landslides

The Hurricane


The seas start to swell, waves climbing higher and higher.

Thé wind shrieks, twists, barrels over rolling waves, through tumultuous seas towards the island.

People run, as the surging storm screams over  beaches, over homes, over crops.

Beams tumble, as buildings jettison windows, tin and tiles.

 A callow youth caught cowering beside a wall is struck.

And blood flows slowly from the innocent boy.

As salty sea water rushes headlong through streets


Roofs ripped, rising, soaring over tempestuous skies.

A frightened family crouch around the table, 

Water crawling through a door; dinner left, going cold,.

The woman stands, trembles, tilts. Shadows slide across her vision.

The floor rises and falls beneath her, as she folds into vertigo’s whirl.

Radio unheard above howling winds, tumbling trees,  crashing waves of water. 

Wires cut, wires dancing, tangled lines flailing furiously over matchstick trees,

Glittering lights extinguished by nature's frenzy.

A blanket of blackness descends.


Outside the swirling storm captures trees, bricks, timber in a cacophony of escalating sound.

Grandiose Anglican Church is razed and Jesus falls from collapsing, fractured  walls.

Grey dawn breaks on broken homes, on shattered lives,

On fields flattened, food finished, soil eroded,

Streets awash with filth, destruction...

...And bodies washed from flooded shores.

The island is broken.


Oh Melissa! - as sweet a name as honey.

But the hurricane has  no guilt, she has no shame; 

Melissa is just a name.



(Cacophony, grandiose, callow, vertigo, dinner, blood, Jesus)



 



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