Sunday 30 March 2014

Fifty two cards and two jokers

Fifty two cards and two jokers.
They sat opposite each other and shuffled nervously
A lot was riding on this
Miriam leant forward and opened the first card. 'Happy Mother's Day, love you so much'
Kathy decided to raise the stakes and took five cards to open 
Three birthdays, one Mother's Day and a condolence 
Miriam was on the back foot
She drew seven cards and paused momentarily before slitting open the first
Tension descended 
Two 'wish you were here', two 'sad loss', one new birth, one new job and .......
She could hardly believe it ....... It was there in her hands ...... A birthday centenary from HRH  
Cheers broke out
The game was over after just twelve cards
Kathy stood and enveloped Miriam in her arms
"Well done, well done," she said with genuine pleasure
Some days it was fun to work in the 'undelivered post' department of the Royal Mail





Friday 28 March 2014

Expiry Date

Without real reason he decided it was time to clean out the cupboard. As he got to the back some of the dates on the packages had expired over five years ago. It made him feel slightly ill to think that this food had been there so long.

The problem was that every time he bought new food he put it at the front and things that were already there just got shuffled slowly to the back. He mustn’t do this again he said to himself, he must develop a system.

As he carried the box of ‘expired’ food stuff to the front door he thought about how his cupboard represented his life. Never dealing with issues, just pushing them to the back of his mind and covering them with newer problems. Perhaps it was time to face up the real darkness. The childhood issues that sadly had no expiry date and contaminated the whole of his life.

He stared at the threadbare rug at the top of the steps and thought about how many times he had meant to replace it. His heel caught in the edge and he fell, the box and its contents smashing and spilling onto the pavement.


The edge of glass jar severed his artery, as his eyes misted and the view of the spilt food clouded away he thought about the suddenness of his own expiry date.



23 hours - the thirteenth hour

12.00. At the stroke of noon everything changes. In three separate locations screens bust into life and there is sudden intense activity. Searches locating a specific IP address and GUI’s are started and people are shouting across each other. Everyone knows how important it is to trace this computer, it’s location and who is operating it and before anyone else possibly can. In the Minister’s office a call is patched through. “Yes,” says the Minister with a voice of dejection and resignation. A quiet authoritative voice speaks, ‘Someone has just plugged in the USB stick.”
12.05. Messages are transmitted to various teams to be ‘on standby’. Body shapes change as people go from a state of semi comatose to alert. The man sitting in his pyjamas is still being questioned and losing the will to live. Apart from falling asleep he has done nothing wrong but they won’t believe him. The door is suddenly opened and with one look his two questioners jump up and leave the room. He is left with two people dressed in black and both armed. He tries a ‘raised shoulders’ slight grin but it cuts no ice. He glances down and see the stupid gap in the front of his is pyjama trousers are open. The worst day of his life has just got even worse.
12.10. GPS and search programmes run speedily and silently closing in on the location and ownership of the computer in which the USB stick has been inserted. In her living room Tracey-Rebecca stares at the white box asking for the password. ‘Of course it would be password protected’ she thinks and ejects it. After a moment she types in ‘password generators’ in the google search box and starts to read about the most common forms of passwords. In a number of offices there is a collective sigh of frustration, anger and profanity as the signal drops out. Have they got enough?
12.15. We have drunk our coffee and Faith checks her watch and says in an innocent way, “I wonder if we have the wrong time? Perhaps you could call him?” His wife picks up a landline and presses ‘quick call’ 1. After a few moments she turns and says, “It’s gone straight to ansaphone I’m afraid. I’ll try his work mobile, I’m not supposed to have the number really,” she says in a conspiratorial voice. As she presses 2 Faith knocks her cup onto the floor. She has read the woman correctly as she immediately hangs up and runs to get a cloth from the kitchen to remove the stain from the cream carpet. Without a pause Faith is up, presses 2 on the phone and takes down the number on the screen then we are out of the door and away as the woman returns.
12.20. The area has been tracked with differing levels of accuracy and range by the opposing sides. They know that it is near Betcherton and once again teams are despatched. One team has been there already and sat waiting at the Ground One Coffee Shop before being sent elsewhere. Now everyone who is travelling in cars and vans realises that this is the best chance they have. They have to retrieve the object. A call through to the Minister lets him know that things are moving again. The young man at the desk knows that the Zurich team are the best he has. The game has started again.
12.25. We are back in the Genius bar and Faith is searching the web whilst I discuss the various merits of memory sizes on the iPad to keep eyes away from her work. She has had to go into one of the ‘Departments’ websites and we know that this will be noticed. We can only hope that it will be some time before the information is fed up the chain. She suddenly stands bolt upright and turns to me. “Do you have the answers you need?” she says to me. I reply quickly and we leave the shop. Outside she tells me who the mobile number belongs to I feel a state of shock tremble through me.
12.30. She is not going to be able to sleep and she is not going to be able to open the USB stick. She sees her mug of coffee undrunk on the table. The top has a surface of curdled milk. She goes over to the fridge and sniffs the milk. An involuntary gag in her throat tells her it is off and that is doubled by the thought she could have drunk it. She picks up her purse and bag and sees the USB stick which, for an unknown reason, she slips in her bag. She leaves the house and walks up towards the Ground One Coffee Shop
12.35. In the Reptile House at London Zoo a man stands staring at a crocodile. Neither move nor seem to take their eyes off each other. An outside observer might note that the crocodile seems more wary. In the reflection of the glass the man sees another gentleman walk up behind him. Momentarily the man takes his focus from the crocodile and to the reflected eyes of the gentleman who turns immediately and drops an envelope onto a nearby seat. The man turns his attention back to the crocodile and counts to 80. As he turns from the tank the crocodile snaps into the air. Any other people in the area turn to watch. Quietly the man retrieves the envelope.
12.40. Faith and I are sitting talking through what we now know. It would appear that whatever could go wrong has gone wrong and most will think we are responsible. We need to get a message through to Control and let them know what has happened and who we now think is involved and responsible for the chaos. There is only one direct route and will put as it risk but after going through all the other options – it does seem our only choice.
12.45. “Hi Trace, night shift?” says the café owner. She nods with a tired expression and asks for a Double Macchiato to go. She looks around the café which is unusually busy and filled with suits. There is very little conversation. She turns to Ed who owns Ground One. “Busy here today,” she says. “It’s been an odd day. First thing this morning this lot arrive, order drinks, pay then run out leaving them behind. About half an hour ago they turn up again. Seems like they’re waiting for something. Tracey-Rebecca changes her mind and asks for her coffee to drink in.
12.50. They have both narrowed the signal from the USB to a street. Unfortunately for them it is mainly blocks of flats. In both office teams are running names and addresses through systems to see if any trigger any known links. It’s like an episode of Heir Hunters but without the dull commentary and actually interesting. As they search information is being passed through to the teams. Everyone is in the state of nervous expectation. They know it’s a race.

12.55. The Minister is doing his best to report progress. The only really good news is that the USB still exists, whoever has not yet opened it and they have a slight trace on its whereabouts. Other than that it sounds like a catalogue of chaos and cock up. The Minister is still trying to deflect blame to those around him but those above are clear about who they blame. He hangs up the phone and returns to the window. The walls either side are filled with photographs of him meeting some of the most famous and notorious people in the world.

Thursday 27 March 2014

The Ant and the Deer

How animals get their names

It was a love that owed nothing to tradition or custom. It was a challenge to all those that saw it. Many could not overcome the sense of disdain and discomfort and the horror of what they saw as unnatural. But for the ant and the deer it was love at first sight.

From the moment the young doe had bent down to eat the fresh grass and looked straight into the compound eye of the ant it was the love that was meant to be.

The rest of the ants tried to convince him he was wrong and no good would come of loving someone from outside the colony. They tried to prevent them seeing each other but love will always find a way.

Over the days they spoke of starting a new life away from all the prejudice. One night, when the moon was full, the doe left her herd and went to the large nest. The ant was waiting for her and when she leant down he crawled up until he was settled between her beautiful ears.

As soon as he was safe the doe turned and ran her energy fuelled with love. In the morning everyone would know what they had done but tonight, as the moonlight lit the doe, only two owls witnessed this wonderful moment.


Slowly one owl turned to other and spoke, “Blimey,” he whistled, “Look at the ant elope.”  

Friday 21 March 2014

Polar Bears in the Night

The window doesn't fit well
A gap beneath the door
The rug is thin and threadbare
And wind blows through the floor
So Sarah lies a shivering
Her breath a silver thread
No warmth to give some comfort
She lies upon her bed
And through the frosty window
Her eyes gaze on the moon
A wish she sends to help her
To bring warmth to her room
And as her eyes are closing
In answer to her prayer
Giant paws engulf her
The massive polar bear
So soft white fur envelops
And warmth spreads through her bones
A cuddle desperate needed
No longer lies alone
And as her eyelids falter
To sleep that lasts all while
Upon a face so frozen

The remnants of a smile

Wednesday 19 March 2014

The Wordsmiths

Before, there was just sound.
Noise.
Gutteral utterings.
Inside a need
Outside, no form.

Then they came
A wandering band of vagabonds
A higgledy piggledy group of artisans
Skilled craftsmen and women all
A cart filled with wondrous tools
Cases packed with abundance
Dragged with joy from settlement to settlement
Infectious energy and smiles
Captivating hearts and faces

Their arrival a source of excitement
Their purpose as yet unknown
They stop and unpack their wonders

They are the Wordsmiths

An ancient band of creators
Capturing the sounds and making real

Once established they sit and wait
Slowly people come to forward
Sit, eyes captivated by what they see
Silence speaks volumes

A Wordsmith steps forward and points
The ‘tree’ is big with heavy boughs.
He points to one of the children and back
Slowly the child realises and makes the noise

The Wordsmiths scream with joy
Repeat the sound until it is fixed and set
Others join in chorus loud

With one gesture silence falls again
The Wordsmiths set to work
Tools blur, materials carved, sewn,
Forges lit, bellows strained

Effort precedes the emergence of
The word
TREE
Made real
There in front of them
A sound now physical and fixed
TREE

From their cart they take a case
Words tumble from it to the floor
Previous language captured
Now shared, passed, owned.

As dawn come up an empty space
Dents in the grass where once was
And
TREE
writ large

An elder turns to the assembled
“They have gone.”
Nods of understanding

Before, there was just sound.
Noise.
Gutteral utterings.
Inside a need to communicate
Outside no form.

Then they came
A wandering band of vagabonds
A higgledy piggledy group of artisans
Skilled craftsmen and women all
A cart filled with wondrous tools
Cases packed with abundance
Dragged with joy from settlement to settlement
Infectious energy and smiles

Captivating hearts and faces