1000 Words or Less

  “What you need is a change of scene,” the doctor pronounced, with the authority that 40 years in the business had conferred.   I wondered whether any of his confidently-asserted diagnoses had ever been questioned because there was never any shred of doubt in his voice, no sense that his advice might be less than satisfactory.   But, who was I to suggest that the twelve-minute consultation he was allowed under Medicare was hardly long enough to get to the bottom of the lethargy and lassitude I had been feeling for the past few months?   This was not the first time I had consulted this particular doctor for this particular disorder.   He had one time confidently prescribed anti-depressants but I might as well have been taking lollies for all the good they did.   “We’ll try something stronger,” he said and I spent the next few weeks in a semi-comatose state.   “Hmm!” he murmured. “Have you tried exercise?   A brisk walk tw...

Ally woke with a start.   What time was it? Glancing at the clock beside her bed and absorbing the bad news, her heart sank; it was after 6am and she knew she’d been beaten again.   She pulled herself together and made her way across the corridor to the bathroom in the hope that this morning might be different to the dozens that had gone before.   She hadn’t taken two or three steps when her hopes were dashed.   A quavering voice could be heard from behind the closed door, “You are the promised kiss of springtime that makes the lonely winter seem long.”   Since her grandfather had come to live with them, Ally’s life had changed dramatically.   No longer could she think of this bathroom, the smaller of the two in the house, as her own.   No, she had to share with grandad, and nobody in the family realised how awful that was.   The bathroom had always been a special place for Ally.   All teenage girls need a speci...

  Ethel Lucas and Gladys Dorrington were in the habit of meeting every Wednesday for Morning Tea at Mrs Howard’s Tearooms in the High Street.   It was an indulgence, they admitted, but Mrs Howard’s scones were light and fluffy and since both ladies were widowed and each with a little nest egg in the bank, they didn’t see any harm in it.   After all, it was 1910 and Britannia ruled the waves, as the Prime Minister delighted in quoting.   If they couldn’t enjoy a bought cup of tea from time to time, what was life about. Usually, they found lots to talk about. Mrs Lucas’s children were all grown up and had moved away to homes of their own but they kept in touch with their mother and there were always stories about their children that filled in most of the morning.   Mr and Mrs Dorrington had never been blessed with children so Mrs Dorrington played the role of audience.   However, she was genuinely interested in the exploits of Mrs Lucas’s ...