Opportunities: a story

Saturday  8^th December 

I’ve just had a brilliant idea for a story that will absolutely knock their socks off at the Hinckley Scribblers. All I need is an hour or so to sort out the details and get it written. However, that could be a problem today, given that we need to clean the house this morning, and this afternoon we have to take some rubbish to the tip and pay a visit to B&Q in Hinckley. Maybe I’ll get a chance to do the writing tomorrow.

Sunday 9^th December 

We usually take the dog for a long walk on Sunday mornings, and today is no exception. We’re going to Battram, near Ellistown, where there are miles of woodland paths to explore and which the dog will love. This will take us right through to lunchtime, but I might get a chance to do some writing this afternoon.

On the other hand, I’d forgotten that the snooker final takes place this afternoon, and that could easily take priority. No matter – there’s always tomorrow.

Monday 10^th December

Writing opportunities will certainly be limited today, because this will be my final session at De Montfort University library before I retire, and I need a buy a box of chocolates in town as my farewell gift to my colleagues. My wife has suggested that I go into town early, so that I can also do my Christmas shopping as well as visiting Thorntons for the chocolates. Good idea.

However, this does mean that my morning at home will be severely curtailed, given that I also have to take the dog for a walk round the village before I catch a bus into town. So not much chance of being able to get anything written today.

Tuesday 11^th December

I had thought that today would be the real opportunity for writing the story, because Tuesdays are usually unencumbered by other distractions, but this week is different. I co-ordinate the volunteer rota at Newbold Verdon Library, and I cannot find a second person to do the morning shift. Given that today has been booked for the Tots Tales Christmas Party, I really have no choice but to fill the breach myself. So how about this afternoon for getting the story written?

No such luck. My wife has phoned to say that her sister, Jenny, has come to Leicester from Aylesbury for a business meeting and has another appointment at a branch of her company in Glenfield on Wednesday, so she has asked if she can stay the night with us?

The problem with that is that our spare bedroom is now my office, and full of books and other stuff, although the dismantled spare bed is propped against the back wall. This will mean clearing enough space to get to the bed, taking it downstairs, putting it together in the dining room – which is the only suitable space in the house for this purpose – and finding all the necessary bedding.

Bye-bye Tuesday!

Wednesday 12^th December

Sister-in-law Jenny is not leaving until mid-morning, so story writing is not really an option until she does so, after which there is another job to be done, which is reversing the tasks of yesterday afternoon. The spare bed has to be stripped and dismantled before going back against the wall in my office.

I then have to think about doing my regular shift at Newbold library, for which I will need to leave the house shortly after one o’clock. 

The shift ends at four, after which I will catch a bus into town to meet my wife, help her with the shopping and join two of our old friends for a regular get-together at Pizza Hut.

Chances of writing my story? Minimal!

Thursday 13^th December

At last! Now I have a real opportunity to get to work on my story for the Scribblers. Or at least, that would have been the case did we not have an invitation to a wedding on Saturday. The house will be devoid of people – but not dog – for more hours than we would really like to leave said dog alone for. We have therefore arranged for someone we know to come and take the little darling for a walk while we’re out. The lady in question, who has never been to our house, is paying me a visit this afternoon so that I can show her where everything is.

However, once I’ve got the morning dog walk out of the way, there should be time for story writing. On the other hand, Sod’s Law being as inescapable as it is, today’s walk turned out to be a lot more protracted than expected, due to an emergency involving an elderly lady whose Yorkshire terrier got over-excited on meeting our border collie and slipped his collar before running out into the road.

I therefore found myself chasing after a Yorkie while still holding on to our dog and stopping the traffic with frantic gestures. Success on this front was followed by the lady crossing the road to the bus stop, tripping over the kerb and measuring her length on the pavement. Fortunately other people stopped to help, although the bus then arrived and some other drivers got very cross about the obstruction caused by the cars of the people who had also stopped.

Everything got sorted out, and the lady and her dog were both perfectly OK, but it all ate into potential story-writing time.

But then, when I thought about it, I realised that maybe I didn’t need to bother about the story after all. This little diary is a story all on its own, isn’t it? 

I think I might give it the somewhat ironic title of “Opportunities”.

© John Welford