Tag: creative nonfiction

Where'd I Leave It Wednesday

Where’d I Leave It Wednesday:

theblindscribe

Happy Wednesday bookish people! So… it’s Wednesday and that means it is time for another Where’d I Leave It Wednesday story. In case you are confused about the title this time being ‘Dobwalls’ it is a place in Cornwall, England and that is where my partner’s Father lives and so I’ve been down there a few times and I thought why not share a couple of things that have happened while I’ve been there on my blog. Well, actually there’s plenty of reasons why not but I’m going to continue anyway before I overthink it.

So as I said, there is a lot of things that I could talk about in relation to visiting Dobwalls but I will start at the beginning. It’s not too long a drive from where I am to Dobwalls, It’s usually about half an hour – not even long enough to start reading a book which is what I do most times that I am in a car – but I was very nervous the first time I went there. My Dad was driving me, because of course being classed as blind I really can’t drive myself, and when we arrived he came in with me as well. I remember sitting at their kitchen table with a cup of tea and not saying anything. Note: this not saying anything is a recurring feature. And as soon as I could I went on a little tour of the house with my partner, and yes I was nosy and I was looking at all the photos on the walls as we went around. They also have two dogs, a Jack Russell called Sparky and a Staffordshire Terrier called Tia. I never expected the bark of a Jack Russell to make me jump so badly, but it did (and still does…). That’s not even the worst thing that makes me jump when I’m there, my Partner’s Father – his sneezes. My partner thinks it is hilarious that everytime he sneezes I almost fall out of my seat. I’d quite like to stay in my seat, it takes me long enough to find the seat to begin with. It looks like I’m trying to kick their chairs but I’m not it is just how I would find the seats down there.

I’m pretty sure that my Partner’s father thinks I’m terrified of him, which I am but I was hoping he wouldn’t discover this, and if he didn’t think I was before he almost certainly did after I ran out of a room he entered. Yes, I did say run. He was downstairs talking to my partner and my partner’s brother so myself and my partner’s stepmum had gone upstairs and I was talking to her in her bedroom. That was nice, she’s a lovely person and I felt quite comfortable having a conversation with her. Then I heard someone of the stairs. When I realised it was my partner’s father I all but jumped off the bed and ran from the room to the safety of the room I was staying in and shut the door. That was… embarrassing to say the least. He then came to the door and said that I didn’t need to leave the room just because he entered it..I’m so glad there was a door between us when he said that.

So that’s two things that have happened while I’ve been in Dobwalls and I’m going to leave this story here. I hope you all enjoyed it and if you did maybe I will write a couple more of the things that have happened or will happen in the future because I’m sure I will continue embarrassing myself.

Where'd I Leave It Wednesday

Where’d I Leave It Wednesday: Father’s Day

theblindscribe

Happy Wednesday bookish people! I hope everyone is having a good day, and that you all had a good Father’s Day last Sunday. That’s what today’s story is all about – what I did this year on Father’s Day.

Car Shows and Cats

It was an early morning start to this years Father’s Day, and by early I mean we left home before seven in the morning. That’s not too bad for me because I’ve always been an early bird, the same as my Mother. My Dad and Sister though, they could sleep through anything. Literally, this one time we were in a hotel on the Isle of Wight I think and a helicopter landed right by the hotel. It was so loud, my Mum and I both woke up but my Dad and Sister slept through the entire thing.

Anyway, we left early. We travelled up to Beaulieu for the vintage car show that they were holding this year. My parents both love cars, I on the other hand can’t tell the difference between them. The only thing I can see is one is red, one is blue, one is green… so you can guess that my Parent’s don’t ask my opinions of the cars as we walk around. So, we finally got there – after three and a half hours of driving.

The only good part about the travelling is that it gave me plenty of time to read. My book of choice for this trip was Serpent and Dove by Shelby Mahurin, which was an amazing read. Unfortunately doing this I managed to strain my eye.. (Just don’t tell my boyfriend) but it was worth it.

W went to the show. I can’t comment much on it because there wasn’t much there for me, some of the cars were nice. The stalls had some nice 50s style dresses and in the afternoon I ate a hot donut. On the way home we went to visit my Great Aunt, that was really nice to get to go and see her, especially because she’s not very well at the moment. She also has a cat which makes everything better. My sister getting a cat has really changed my opinion on them. On the way home, another four hour drive!, we stopped for dinner which turned out to not be very nice. My Dad’s dessert arrived but mine and my Mum’s didn’t show up for another twenty minutes and of course when it finally did I dropped chocolate cake down my dress…the stain placement was not good.

And that’s what I did this Father’s Day, I hope you enjoyed my story!

Where'd I Leave It Wednesday

Where’d I Leave It Wednesday: The Turquoise Zebra

theblindscribe

Happy Wednesday bookish people! It’s Wednesday which means it’s time for another Where’d I Leave It Wednesday! I’ve decided to stick with a similar way of writing as last week’s story, let me know what you think!

Today’s story is all about swimming, of course when I go swimming (it’s rare) I have to leave my cane and glasses in the changing room… the world looks very strange without them..

On to the story!

It wasn’t blue, not completely but a turquoise colour. A turquoise with diagonal stripes of deep blue, like a turquoise and blue zebra had melted on the floor and left a puddle. An extremely deep puddle. That strangers will float around in like human versions of ducks in a bath. Usually wearing ridiculous things like bikini tops with no straps. Even though water is like a stronger version of gravity to those things. That is how I see a swimming pool – a swirling, whirling pit of green and blue merging together. I imagine jumping in would feel like catapulting myself into it’s wide open mouth. Of course, I only imagine it, I would never be stupid enough to actually jump in. Maybe one day an overzealous scientist who believes they will change the life of someone like me, for the price of a classical painting that is, will invent eyewear that stops a pool from drowning your eyes in salt at the same time as allowing me to stop imagining melted zebras at the local sports centre. Like a Gucci version of goggles. How fancy. The envy of every blind person. Until then I just can’t visit any zoos.
            Swimming and I, we’ve never gotten along too well. From the first time I waded into the blurry expanse of the pool. And by that, I mean ‘gently’ guided in by a teacher after having a tantrum, worse than a toddler told no in a supermarket, before I’d even left the changing area. I shrieked, I cried, I ended up in the water anyway. Clinging to one of those coloured pool noodles made of foam like it was the last remaining lifeboat on the Titanic. Our relationship only got worse from there. A tumultuous relationship that most recently led to an embarrassing moment with a toddler. It wasn’t even my child. When my sister asked me to go swimming with her and her friend, I didn’t realise we would be bringing along the crazed energy that is her five-year-old son. Generally, I love children. Having an uncensored, often brutally honest, conversation with them can be refreshing. But her son could make the most pious nun renounce God and never go to church again if it meant getting away from him. As soon as he clambered into his car seat with yellow armbands on, that could have fit an elephant, I knew that day was not going to be as simple as just swimming in water I couldn’t see. The armbands absorbed the top of his arms like the sleeves of a 1980s wedding dress. Each time he moved they knocked against each other and created a long drawn out squealing noise. If I had any pins in my hair, I would have used one to pop them. Oh dear, he wouldn’t have been able to go swimming. What a shame. Unfortunately I didn’t have anything so her son did end up swimming with us. By us I mean me, considering his mother disappeared to the opposite end of the pool with my sister as soon as we entered. They stayed in the deep end of the pool, swimming around like sharks drunk off mischief. Being short and well, blind, I went no further than the water skimming my hips which meant being an unwilling babysitter. He even began calling me Auntie. I am not his Auntie; he has one who lives in Wales. If I was an Auntie, and my sister had somehow reproduced, I would definitely not take them swimming. I would also make sure their parent was in close proximity so that I could hand them back quickly. I couldn’t do that when his mum was down the other end of the pool.
            I thought that perhaps he would be bored or scared after being in the pool for an extended amount of time but instead he was taking large jumps, as large as he could with toddler sized legs suspended in water. He made for an ungraceful ballerina. It was during one of these leaps that one of his curled-up feet caught on the mottled texture at the bottom of the pool. His face barely had time to crease in anticipation of a complaint before it smacked into the water and disappeared beneath the turquoise. The speed of which he fell pushed his bottom half to the floor of the pool and he bounced there for a moment. The sound echoed around and reached his mother but I had already reached under and pulled his head back out of the water. She stayed at the other end of the pool. Water cascaded down his forehead and dribbled from his chin. His eyes were squeezed shut. I was already preparing for his next move; he might begin to cry or he might make a dash for the stairs to exit the pool. Not that I would have minded had he wanted to vacate the pool as fast as possible. I thought there had been enough adrenaline for one day. Neither option was what he did. His little hands bunched up around his waist and before I had time to ask if he was okay, he pulled his swimming trunks down and let them inflate in the water. He stood there proudly naked in a public swimming pool and said “kiss it better Auntie”. I don’t think so.

That’s it for today’s story, I hope you all enjoyed it!

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The Kitten Escapades Part 2: The Game of Cat and Mouse

theblindscribe

Happy Sunday bookish people! and if you celebrate it – Happy Easter! I hope everyone is having a good day today so far. I knew there would end up being more stories about Shadow, my Sister’s kitten, because he’s a fluffball who loves to cause mischief. So onto part 2 of the Kitten Escapades….

It was Thursday and my Sister and I were sat in the living room doing different things. She had some sort of tv programme on about a detective because it was played by someone she’d seen in another show and she quite liked, this is literally the only reason my Sister watches programmes on tv, If she’s asked for something to be put on the first thing out of our mouths is ‘who’s on it’, annoys her to no end. I was busy working on a script for my Dramatic Writing class. Our Mum was in the kitchen – this feels like I’m going to go off into sing a song of sixpence… which I’m not but it is sounding very similar- anyway, Mum was in the kitchen and we could hear her talking to Shadow. If you have a cat I’m sure you talk to them too. She was saying all the ‘oh have you got a toy’, and ‘aren’t you a good boy playing’ then all of a sudden she went completely silent. My Sister and I didn’t think much of it, we were caught up in each of the things we were doing. Then she called us.

So, me and my Sister go out into the hallway to see what she wants. Mum is there staring into the doorway of the dining room, she had this look on her face which was like half horror and half just pure shock. We moved a bit further round until we could see in the doorway. It was Shadow, curled up on the floor in the doorway like he does when he wants us to think he’s all sweet and innocent – honestly he’s a cat that likes to cause a lot of trouble – and he had something but I couldn’t see what it was. To me it looked like he’d stolen some chocolate out of the cupboard because it was just a shapeless brown lump, to me at least. Then my Sister gasped.

Okay so it wasn’t a lump of chocolate that he’d taken from the cupboard, it was a little mouse. My Mum thinks it was a dormouse but I’m not up on my knowledge of mice breeds so I had, and still have, no idea what type of mouse it was. Other than one that was in the paws of a cat. Our cat. Our indoor cat. So he must have found the mouse somewhere in the house and I really don’t want to know where in the house he got the mouse from.

My Sister bent down and talked to Shadow trying to get him to let her take the mouse. He was patting it, the way you would pat a child on the head, but you know with claws out and thinking the mouse was a new toy. He didn’t let her take the mouse. Instead, he picked the mouse up with his teeth and ran under the dining room table with it. Oh also at this point the mouse was still alive. We got a pot from the kitchen and went back and finally got Shadow to release the mouse. I always thought that when a cat found a mouse it would be very Tom and Jerry and they would be friends but also enemies because nature has made them that way, I was sorely mistaken about this…Shadow then tried to claw my Sister which of course didn’t get her to give him the mouse back. We took the mouse in the pot to the kitchen and shut the door so Shadow couldn’t follow us.

He was crying at the door and meowing the whole time, it’s such a sad sound. He knew he’d been bad. Surprisingly the mouse was still alive. My Sister named it Mickey and we were trying to decide what to do about it. the mouse was so small sitting in the pot and my Sister noticed on it’s side that there was some injuries. So unfortunately little Mickey didn’t last long after that. This was the first, and hopefully only, time that Shadow has brought us any gifts that weren’t hair bands, elastic bands, pens, notebooks, bookmarks or spoons, oh or roast potatoes. We just couldn’t believe that he’d found a mouse, the poor little thing.

That’s it for today’s story, I hope you enjoyed it. I’m sure it won’t be long before Shadow does something else and there will be a Kitten Escapades part 3.

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The Kitten Escapades Part 1

theblindscribe

Happy Sunday bookish people! I hope everyone’s weekend has been lovely. Today my story is going to be one of the (many!) things that our kitten has done – he’s a crazy ball of fluff, very curious and very mischievous. He knows what things he shouldn’t do he just does them anyway. So, I’m probably going to turn this into a series, that’s why this is part one, because he’s almost definitely going to be doing naughty things for a while yet.

We got him, I say ‘we’ – he’s my Sister’s kitten but he loves me more, in October of 2020. My Sister’s friend had a cat called Luna who had four kittens (Trigger, Rusty, Opal and Shadow) three boys and one girl. Then unfortunately Luna was hit by a car and the kittens were left motherless. My Sister and her friend then hand reared the four kittens and one of them became very attached to my Sister and we got to keep him! Now we have a black and white kitten called Shadow. He’s afraid of everything and he likes to wake up at nighttime and play with his toys that have bells on them.

So, last week I was in the bath, and it was warm and relaxing and lovely. except for the slight breeze coming through the door that has to be left ajar. Shadow doesn’t like being shut out of rooms, he cries and cries at the door if you do. He especially doesn’t like being shut out of the bathroom because he likes to curl up on the purple flower mat that we have in there. If it ever goes really quiet in the house we would probably find him asleep there on the bathroom mat. So that’s why we have to keep the bathroom door open if any of us are in the bath – well, actually my Mum and I are the only ones who keep it open because we can’t resist the cute little kitten.

I’m in the bath, the door is open, and in comes Shadow. I could hear him purring but I couldn’t see him from where I was so I assumed he was just getting comfortable and then he would go to sleep. This is not what he did. It went very quiet and again I assumed he was asleep and I’d just have to be careful not to stand on him when I got out of the bath. So I’m washing my hair and for some reason I do this with my eyes closed, don’t ask me why because honestly I have no idea. Then all of a sudden I open my eyes and a black and white blur shoots over the edge of the bath. The front half of it starts to land on the edge next to me. But then it slips. And suddenly there’s a kitten in my bath. He does not like water and as soon as he hit the water he was already trying to get out, unfortunately for him there was something in his way from doing that. My leg, it was my leg in the way because he had fallen on it and now he was scratching it in his rush to get out. He did manage to get out. I screamed, he meowed, everyone downstairs heard and he showered me in water droplets and cat hair when he was firmly on the bathroom mat again. I might start closing the door from now on…

That’s it for this story! I hope everyone enjoyed it! I’m going to be posting some book reviews today as well so come back to read those if you are interested. Also, the kittens in the picture are not mine, I wasn’t able to post a photo of my kitten for safety reason but there are going to be photos on my instagram @the_blind_scribe if you want to see him!