Prunella Plume, in the Bedroom, with Sulphate of Zinc?

Posted on July 21, 2016 by Susi Lovell

The devil is in the details.

Mrs. DeLacey was found in her bedroom at 08.28 by her housekeeper Dolores Pritchitt when she brought Mrs. DeLacey her morning coffee. On the bedside table were the cup containing the remains of Mrs. DeLacey’s hot chocolate and two digestive biscuits. Dolores Pritchitt says she knew mischief was afoot the moment she saw the digestive biscuits. Mrs. Delacey was not one to let a digestive biscuit go uneaten.

Prunella Plume is missing. So too is her new green car.

This much we know for a fact.

A quick deduction would lead us to the logical assumption that Prunella Plume was the perpetrator of this vile, heinous and despicable act.

However…

Let us examine the details:

Item 1: The keys. Did Prunella Plume use them to let herself out of the house after committing the dastardly crime? If so, why did she go back inside to Continue reading →

Walking Down Walls

Posted on July 14, 2016 by Susi Lovell

Looking up, he saw the girl half-open a window on the sixth floor, squeeze through it and walk down the wall to the street.

“The party was a bust,” she explained.

Her voice was flat, thin, a little nasal. He wondered if that was caused by her having walked down the wall. Resistance to gravity must surely have an effect on the nasal passages. She was extraordinarily pale under the streetlights.

“Do you need special shoes to do that?” he asked.

“Do what?” She walked with an easy stride that seemed to cover inordinate Continue reading →

The Opposite End of the Rainbow

Posted on July 7, 2016 by Susi Lovell

rainbow

When she arrived at the end of the rainbow, she immediately pulled a shovel out of her backpack and started digging.

“Excuse me,” the sheep said. “I know this is going to be upsetting…” His voice was sympathetic and kindly. “But…”

She dug furiously. Her t-shirt was already stained with sweat.

“I should tell you right away that…”

She threw the shovel aside and crouched down to scoop out the earth with her hands.

“…this is Continue reading →

Mirror, Mirror, You’re So Mean

Posted on June 30, 2016 by Susi Lovell

mirror, Georgian House, Edinburgh

Mirror, Mirror on the wall,
My most constant companion and partner of all,
Tell me I’ll win my handsome rich love
And make his heart flutter like the wings of a dove.

My Lady, you’ll snag the gent you desire
For your beauty enchants like sweet songs from a lyre.

Then why do you show me this hideous face –
Grim, haggard, addled and lacking all grace?

My Lady, I’m trying my very best,
But it’s not at all easy to fulfill your request.

Mirror, Mirror, you’re so mean and unkind
To show me this face like a donkey’s behind.

Lady, the problem’s not mine if the truth be told,
For I shine most brilliantly in my frame of gold.

*****

Inspired by The Weekly Photo Challenge: Partners

The mirror was photographed in The Georgian House, Edinburgh.

Today I Feel Like Singing

Posted on June 23, 2016 by Susi Lovell

I do not sing often. I
do not have a sweet
tone nor do I recognize
notes but today
I feel like singing.
An ode, I think. Yes, an ode
will be perfect. An ode to
joy. Are you ready? You must
brace yourself. You can’t say
I didn’t warn you that my tone
is not the most harmonious or
dulcet. Indeed, it has
been compared to a summer’s
rake drawn savagely across a Continue reading →

Cat of Malice

Posted on June 16, 2016 by Susi Lovell

Alice snatched Mr. Sporratt’s cat when he went inside his house to fetch the clippers to trim his prize rose bush.

She was surprised at herself.

She knew she hated Mr. Sporratt’s cat, the way it sat on the wall staring at her, flicking its tail from side to side. She felt in her bones it was a cat of pure malice.

But there had been no plan to snatch the cat, no premeditation.

The problem was, now that she had Mr. Sporratt’s cat, what was she to do with it?

And why was it not trying to escape? Why was it Continue reading →

No.6 – House of Ghosts

Posted on June 9, 2016 by Susi Lovell

My house – number 6 – is a house of ghosts.

I know because when I turn around the old lady is standing there, right behind me.

“This is my house now.” I tell her firmly. “It’s time for you to go.”

I don’t want to be unkind but it’s very disconcerting to have someone, however insubstantial, wafting around, appearing when you least expect or want it. In the kitchen, when I’m experimenting with a complicated new recipe. In the bathtub, soaking in the fragrant foam. Changing a light bulb, teetering at the top of the stepladder, the little screws between my teeth, about to drop the glass cover.

Sometimes her husband comes with her. I assume he’s her husband. He’s a little more wizened, a little more stooped than her. He stays behind her, his shadowy body averted as though he’s embarrassed to be inconveniencing me like this. He’s showing me by his stance that he’s apologizing for this intrusion. I feel he wants me to know that she’s doing this against his advice, that it’s not his idea.

At least he has boundaries. He never appears when I’m in the bath. That really would be the limit. And he never appears alone. I suspect he is Continue reading →

The Bundle of Spare Dreams

Posted on June 2, 2016 by Susi Lovell

She has so many dreams. Far too many.

Surely she could spare a few for those less fortunate, who don’t have any at all?

This one she doesn’t need any more, the one about becoming a famous film star (with her teeth? stupid, stupid).

Nor this one about becoming a concert pianist (almost…no, nowhere near).

As for the dream about losing fifty pounds in four weeks, that dream has hardly been used. It’s as good as new. Someone could Continue reading →

See Those Scars?

Posted on May 27, 2016 by Susi Lovell

Mother Earth, Montreal Botanical Gardens, 2013

See those scars?

One slicing across Mother Earth’s forehead just above the eyebrows, the other across her cheeks.

Another mine blasted open, another drill driven deep.

*****

There’s no spare planet earth

*****

Thank you for dropping by to read this week’s Blurt. It was inspired by the Daily Post Weekly Photo Challenge: Spare.

The Ecstasy of Jubilation Theory!

Posted on May 26, 2016 by Susi Lovell

Hi! I’m Julie, Jubilation Facilitator, level 5, and I’m on breakfast duty right now, waiting for Mr. Joneses to come down.

I love being on breakfast duty.

“Where’s our ju-ju-jubilant face this morning?” I sing out as Mr. Joneses comes down the stairs.

He grabs his head in both hands and sags at the knees. I’m not discouraged. I’ve seen it before. That’s exactly what The Ecstasy of Jubilation Center (the Jube-Cube as we insiders call it) is here for.

“Remember Theory Number 3?” I take his elbow and allow a note of Continue reading →