A Spot of Bother

A few of my writing group and I entered a story each in the ABC 500 word stories on the theme of Cringe last  month.. After reading them a friend told me her own cringe story recently and I thought I’d share it here.

This friend, I’ll call Beth, had taken advantage of the flue needle available at her workplace. Now Beth had had a narrow escape years ago when she had been diagnosed with melanoma but the Doctors managed to excise it before it became too invasive. She still has a large scar from the surgery. Consequently she regularly checks her body for signs of skin changes.

 Recently she found a black spot on her arm that she thought was dirt. She scrubbed at it for a couple of days in the shower but it seemed to be spreading a little and she couldn’t get rid of it. 

 Becoming increasingly worried – and who could blame her -  she contacted her GP whom she hadn’t seen for ages and pushed to get a quick appointment.  

 She had a brief chat with the Doctor , explaining her concerns.  The doctor examined the spot closely. 

“Hmmmm.” Said the doctor.

 “Oh God” thought Beth.

“What is it?” asked Beth. 

“Hang on a minute” said the doctor and she got a swab. 

 Beth watched in trepidation which quickly turned to a cringe when the Doctor wiped the residue left from the small band- aid that had been put on the spot where Beth had had the flue needle, days previously. The doctor laughed and Beth thanked her and left, clutching her dignity all the way home.   

Memories

Recently I submitted a story to the ABC Open 500 Word Stories in the “First Memory” theme.  There was a word limit of 500 words so the story had to be brief.  In thinking of early memories I triggered a wonderful scrap of memory that I have replayed often since. I have written it here.

Memory is a funny thing. Some memories are visual and have a story others may be a brief moment in time or a scent, or a sound.  An early memory that has been visiting me lately and is almost like a meditation, is a moment in time.  I know it happened when I was very young and I know I am sitting in a rowboat while my dad rows us along lake Macquarie. I know that.  But I see  and experience a small part of that scene.  I watch over the side of the boat as the flipper shaped oar dips into the deep green water and pulls the boat forward, powered I know by my dad’s young strong arms. But I don’t see him. I see the oar pull through the water then rise up dripping  as it swings back to dip once more in the propelling and compelling rhythm  of the rowing.  I marvel at the deep green water and peer down to see if I can see the bottom.  I hear the lap of the water on the side of the wooden rowboat, and the smell of the wet wood and the bait and the salty water mixed together wafts gently over me.  I give myself over to the experience.

The Launch of Mirrors, The writing workshop anthology

I want to share with you some wonderful news.  I am part of the Newcastle WEA writing workshop which is run by our tutor – Karen Whitelaw.  Karen is an amazing tutor and published writer.  She has a wonderful ability to guide and advise emerging writers at each level of their writing as they grow.

In 2013 Karen suggested that we were now writers and should write and publish an anthology of short stories.  And so our journey began. We wrote and edited and wrote some more.  We critiqued each other’s work and with Karen’s expertise and guidance we each ended with a short story worthy of publication. Karen and Dianna – who is a member of our group and a whiz with grammar etc. -were the co-editors.  

 Then Karen set about the arduous task of publishing our work as an E-book.  She generously gave massive amounts of her time until finally the task was done.

Last night our anthology was officially launched. 

 

                                          

                                                 Mirrors the Writing Workshop Anthology.

 

We gathered with family and friends and then celebrated together.  We are now published authors every one, all due to the encouragement and hard work of our tutor Karen, helped by Dianna.  Thank you Karen from the heart.

You can find our anthology on Amazon.  If you Google :   Amazon.com Mirrors workshop anthology Karen Whitelaw,   you will find it easily.  The cost is 99cents.

There are nine stories, all by Australian writers and the topics are diverse.  As I don’t know how to re-blog someone else’s blog I will direct you to Karen’s blog “the Writer’s Life” – E-Book launch, where Karen writes a lovely summary of the anthology. 

It has been an amazing experience to be part of publishing this E-book. Hope those of you who download the book enjoy it as much as we enjoyed writing it.