Cyclist

Music

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Well, there I am after a week's shifts, and listening to music...and what comes onto my stereo is Loreena Mckennitt's adaptation of Tennyson's Lady of Shalott. Now... a better analogy, I can't imagine.

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Sweat and Tears 7

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CHAPTER 7
Our new house was far warmer than the old grey block in Anthorn, a Victorian mid-terrace of three floors, quite deep with a narrow frontage.



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This story is 26 words long.

Cold Feet 83

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CHAPTER 83
Alice’s appointment duly came, and despite my misgivings I made time to go along with her. If I was being told off for interfering, I could still offer moral support by my presence.



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This story is 35 words long.

Sweat and Tears 6

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CHAPTER 6
That was the end of everything, it seemed. Our entire world was gone in one stupid accident.



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This story is 18 words long.

Sweat and Tears 5

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CHAPTER 5
I was called in to the doctor’s surgery in Bowness yet again, not Mitchell’s but our family GP, and there was one of those interesting moments where despite being the patient concerned, nobody actually speaks to you.



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This story is 40 words long.

Sweat and Tears 4

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This chapter deals with severe issues involving bullying and particularly nasty effects of child abuse. Please move on, if you can't read it, but if you want to know the essential plot outline mail me.



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This story is 35 words long.

Cold Feet 82

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CHAPTER 82
Tony was back late, sliding into bed with me just before midnight after some reheated toads and instant gravy. I was quiet for a while, but couldn’t help hugging him fiercely as he lay beside me.



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This story is 38 words long.

Sweat and Tears 3

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CHAPTER 3
After the final healing, my parents treated us to an evening at an amah’s market, our chance to stay up later than normal and eat things my Dad said we wouldn’t want to see by daylight.



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This story is 39 words long.

Sweat and Tears 2

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CHAPTER 2
The late sixties were the tail end of Empire. British Forces still spanned the globe, the presence ‘East of Suez’ still felt necessary, but it was in its last days.



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This story is 31 words long.

Cold Feet 81

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CHAPTER 81
Andy and Bev were back, tanned and happy, and of course with a shedload of pictures to show everyone, not just from the honeymoon, but also from the wedding itself.



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This story is 31 words long.

Sweat and Tears 1

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CHAPTER 1
The mynah was doing the toilet again.



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This story is 8 words long.

Cold Feet 80

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CHAPTER 80
I had to take the hints, I had to back down and out, but I still worried.



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This story is 18 words long.

Cold Feet 79

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CHAPTER 79
All vehicles loaded, they were off to the West at last, and of course I kept a close eye on the older two.



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This story is 24 words long.

Cold Feet 78

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CHAPTER 78
Eventually the evening wound down. It had been a long, long day, and I was still shuddering at the thought of steak in chocolate sauce.



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This story is 26 words long.

Cold Feet 77

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CHAPTER 77
After some more dancing, the DJ called a pause in the proceedings while Andy and Bev took their leave. Bev took his mike first.



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This story is 25 words long.

Cold Feet 76

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CHAPTER 76
So, off we went in a little armada of cars to the site of my rebirth, where Tony had reappeared that first time to bring me my second family, second life.



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This story is 32 words long.

Cold Feet 75

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CHAPTER 75
Back to the grind it was for a week, and then we were off to the Registry Office for the first wedding.



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This story is 23 words long.

Cold Feet 74

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CHAPTER 74
I woke slowly the next morning, taking a while to work out who was snoring with an arm across my chest and a mass of hair in my face.



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This story is 30 words long.

Cold Feet 73

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CHAPTER 73
The day finally came for our little excursion and we loaded up the car with bikes, tents and all the usual impedimenta.



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A Seasonal Tale

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In response to a suggestion from An Author, I cobbled together this silly little pastiche of naughtiness. Sometimes, Santa is just too busy, and he needs to subcontract to the, er, niche markets.



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This story is 33 words long.

Cold Feet 72

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CHAPTER 72
That was our trial. I had been wetting myself all through it, it was over, and I hoped never to have to go through that again.



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This story is 27 words long.

Cold Feet 71

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CHAPTER 71
This was starting to get silly. I had dug myself into a hole, it seemed, where almost everyone around me was pair-bonding, breeding, marrying or just worrying about religious affiliations.



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This story is 31 words long.

Cold Feet 70

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CHAPTER 70
Margaret had sorted authority for compassionate paid leave for us, but I knew the shop had to be sorted in the end, so I made the trek back to Canterbury the day after my talk with Arwel.



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This story is 38 words long.

Surprise

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Well, it was a big one. I have, like so many people, a long list of old e-mals on my system, from years ago in many cases, where I have swapped with people I met on training courses, or at college, and so on. Yesterday, one of them came up as 'on line' on my instant message system,and there was a rather surprising change of name, from a clearly masculine one to an absolutely female one.

I have e-mailed the person concerned, but if by any chance they are on here, and what I think is going on is actually happening, welcome and best wishes.

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Comfort

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Bailey Summers' story 'Bridges' is one i have been following and enjoying, and the PTSD stuff has hit a few targets in me. I posted about Jefferson Airplane's track 'Triad', and as one must, I dug out 'Crown of Creation', then 'After Bathing...' and then 'Surrealistic Pillow'
So, here I am, a geriatric tart in a Wales rugby shirt, headphones on as I listen to the music of the childhood I wish I hadn't had, a glass of wine and its friends beside me.

I can't decide if this is good or bad. I'll put some 'Country Joe' on next and drift away....sod it, I think I need to get drunk.

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Cold Feet 69

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CHAPTER 69
I cycled round to Alice’s place with Jim the next day, partly to see Alice, but mostly to have a word with my uncle, to see where he was headed in his mind.



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This story is 35 words long.

Cold Feet 68

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CHAPTER 68
I was tired, in that state where your eyes seem displaced to the back of your skull, looking out through long tunnels that feel soaked in vinegar.



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Cold Feet 67

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A short one tonight. I have to work, but this is at least an offering.



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This story is 15 words long.

Characters in 'Cold Feet'

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I have been asked or prodded to put up something to give an idea of who's who in the story, as it drags on and on, so I have composed a little list of main people. I have attempted to add it as a comment to the 'outline', but as a technophobe have probably done it incorrectly, so here is the list in an accessible place.

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Cold Feet 66

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CHAPTER 66
I realised I was losing it again when Tony arrived for the third time, and at that point I started trying to get myself under control.



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This story is 27 words long.

Cold Feet 65

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CHAPTER 65
Monday morning was another delivery day, so it was all hands to the pumps, apart from Andy. Despite his sudden advances into being human, he still had a blind spot about the quantity of work the new stock entailed.



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This story is 40 words long.

Cold Feet 64

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CHAPTER 64
When we got back from France, I had a phone call.

“Sh’mae, Sar, beth wyt ti’n ‘neud penwythnos nesa?”



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Cold Feet 63

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CHAPTER 63
It was still a huge thing to me, though. Tony could rationalise all he wanted, but after everything was done, would he really be able to handle having two children, or more, so far away and effectively out of reach for their early years?



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This story is 45 words long.

Cold Feet 62

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CHAPTER 62
He wasn’t putting it on as I would with Tony (mmmmm), or as he would with me, but casually, carefully, as a friendly thing. I was proud of my uncle at that point, proud of my entire family.



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Fantasy and SF

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I have been reading the latest 'year's best SF' and quite enjoying it. I then look up stories here, see 'SF' or fantasy in the header, and switch off. One story, "The Island", intrigues me,and I will continue reading it, but those stories with miraculous devices/transformatons do not speak to me. Clearly, this is a personal thing, and I mean no criticism of others, but while I love SF I can only connect with TG stories that are close to real life. Perhaps this is personal identification, maybe I am inflexible, but I offer now my apologies to those who write that sort of story.

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Cold Feet 61

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CHAPTER 61
Geoff looked hard at Hywel, obviously weighing him up. I got the impression that he had more than a little protectiveness in his nature, at least where his wife was concerned, and wondered what might have happened to bring that about.



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This story is 42 words long.

Cold Feet 60

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CHAPTER 60
I got the chance to catch up with Anne later, as she had taken the morning off for some church event or other.



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This story is 24 words long.

Cold Feet 59

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CHAPTER 59
Catching up. That is always the thing that can delight or appal you, as you work through the mail and the gossip that has piled up on the doorstep.



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This story is 30 words long.

Change of user name...

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Well, today I was told to stay off work. Snow had closed it down, and looking out the window at nine eleven PM my time, the snow is still coming down, and the road past my placeis nearly shut. The drifts on my walk around today were nearly at my knees. Not big stuff compared to other countries, but it's bad enough fora cyclist. Ice under powder snow, now being covered with fat flakes. So...I should call myself 'Walker' now!

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Cold Feet 58

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CHAPTER 58
Breakfast was not wonderful, but then we didn’t really expect something amazing in France. Nonetheless, there was a rose on our table for me.



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This story is 26 words long.

Cold Feet 57

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CHAPTER 57
I slipped into the living room with a quilt, and, as gently as I could, laid it over the two.



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This story is 21 words long.

Cold Feet 56

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CHAPTER 56
Cheeky Alice had even managed to squeeze Margaret onto the reception guest list without me noticing, so she was sitting smiling fondly with the old tart as more speeches came and went.



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Cold Feet 55

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I was going to save this till tomorrow, but hey....



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Cold Feet 54

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CHAPTER 54
There was a week to go, and Siá¢n, Elaine and our parents were over for the final preparations. The two girls looked edgy, for some reason I couldn’t fathom, but Mam and Dad slotted straight in, especially with Pie duties. Dad walked him so much I swear the dog’s legs got shorter.



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This story is 56 words long.

Cold Feet 53

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CHAPTER 53
It is odd when you have a large task to complete. You look at it at the start, and there is no way it can be done, it’s just too big, but you get on with it because you have no choice. For what seems like an aeon, nothing happens. No matter how much you beaver away, there is no progress, until one day you see a hint of movement. Gradually, you spot the changes, and finally you can actually see the end off in the distance.



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This story is 89 words long.

Cold Feet 52

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CHAPTER 52
That was a relief. Neither of the two men was exactly backward in using his fists, and the last thing I wanted was a set to. It would be my day, my guests, my music, my hangover. I might let Tony have a look-in, though.



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This story is 46 words long.

Cold Feet 51

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CHAPTER 51
Tony was on lates, so I didn’t see him till gone eleven thirty, when a pair of cold thighs slithered into our bed. He asked the obvious questions, I told him the well-worn story, and he seemed satisfied. He promised to contact Steph to find out about Hywel Powell and her.



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This story is 53 words long.

Cold Feet 50

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CHAPTER 50
The beer flowed, and folk relaxed. About eight thirty, we were joined by Aunty Gwen’s two, Karen and Elspeth. Ellie was straight to the point.



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This story is 27 words long.

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