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Short
Stories
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SIMPSON by Ian Mallender
There was no doubt, Simpson was the boss: that ginger cat, the youngest member
of the family, ruled the roost… It was a catastrophic day and that blasted
cat started it. And the tale proceeds with one antic after another as this
cat creates chaos.
Listen to an audio clip :
MP3 format(280K)
WMA Format (387K)
THIRTY SOMETHING by Lynda Wakeling
Three is such a sexy number, all voluptuous curves – a bit like me,
really. And nine doesn’t look too bad either . But forty! Forty is simply
hideous. Forty is old and stuffy and past giving a second glance to. Forty
is saggy bottom and grey hair and I don’t want to be forty. So she decides
to have her hair done– get a new look, but all does not go well.
Listen to an audio clip :
MP3 format(260K)
WMA Format (364K)
BUBBLE TENNIS by Pam Weaver
Northerner, Kirstie, working in London hasn’t made any new friends yet,
and finds difficulty with southern reserve. One morning the tube stopped in
a tunnel and some teenage girls started to play bubble tennis. Soon the whole
carriage had joined in – that is until the train started again and everything
went back to normal. Except, during the game she had recognised another northern
accent and she and Greg got acquainted…
Listen to an audio clip :
MP3 format(249K)
WMA Format (347K)
ACTING ON IMPULSE by Pam Weaver
Liz and her husband do not agree on how the antique business should be run.
Liz insists that they give their customers fair prices; her husband is more
interested in making money. By doing what she thinks is right Liz avoids some
disreputable dealers and ends up with a valuable miniature.
Listen to an audio clip :
MP3 format(313K)
WMA Format (434K)
A FITTING TALE by Joan Stanley
A country bumpkin goes to London to find a ‘new look’. She ends
up in Saville Row and dares to enter a prestigious ‘shop’. This
is a true story. How much did I spend? I’m not telling. Suffice to say
that I went to London with the intention of committing actual bodily harm
to my flexible friend and in the event it was only mildly abused.
Listen to an audio clip :
MP3 format(456K)
WMA Format (627K)
DO COMPUTERS IMPROVE A MAN’S IMAGE?
By Mike Stanley
Realising grey hair has made him look more distinguished, and this is related
to stress, Eric, a mathematical modeller of high repute, decides to accelerate
the rate of growth of his silver tints by taking breaking in a new computer.
He is hoping that Her-At-Home will be so much in awe of his silver crown that
she will forget all about diets, exercise and heart disease.
Listen to an audio clip :
MP3 format(296K)
WMA Format (417K)
NUMBER’S UP by Joan Stanley
A duologue between two telephone boxes that find themselves in the same dump.
Although Maisie and Dorothea come from opposite sides of the social street
they become quite good friends as they share their thoughts.
Listen to an audio clip :
MP3 format(565K)
WMA Format (773K)
FUN IN MY LITTLE SHOP by Joan Stanley
The second part of the trilogy. That milk round nearly got my husband a punch
on the nose. One day I was sitting on the till. No. Not on the till, on its
shelf. And a dirty great big bloke came in the shop. Stood in front of me
and rolled his sleeves up…
Listen to an audio clip :
MP3 format(630K)
WMA Format (860K)
FOOTPRINTS IN THE CORNFLAKES by Joan Stanley
Maggie is flustered, after many years of widowhood she is going on a date,
and with a ‘posh’ man, Rupert. On top of that her teenage son
is being moody. How is she going to reconcile these two ‘men’
in her life? Then they find footprints in the cornflakes. Rupert takes over
and deals with the intruder, Jim is impressed, “OK, Mum. You win. You
are clearly not safe to be left alone and I can’t be here to keep you
out of trouble all the time.”
A STATIONARY TALE by Joan Stanley
Brenda and her kids are waiting, freezing, on the platform for the delayed
train. Everyone is getting fed-up. There is an announcement on the tannoy,
after which it does not get turned off and the waiting passengers can hear
everything that is going on in the office…
GETTING DOWN TO IT IN MY LITTLE SHOP by Joan
Stanley
The third part of the trilogy. As I was saying, the bubbles make the bath
slippery. I was in a right pickle. Funny that – back to the beetroot!
Now where was I, oh yes…
ACTING ON IMPULSE
and other short stories
A
selection of eleven light-hearted stories
and a corner shop trilogy.