Writelink Arena

A Christmas Bargain!

Placing my parcels onto the hallway floor I’m now slumped into the nearest chair exhausted and bruised; yet the happiest I’d been for ages. I smiled at the thought of my last minute bargain! Well what a bargain; my secret for now.
My aching feet are another story; literally screaming at me for a good soak! This last minute shopping idea on Christmas eve definitely lies at my mother‘s door. It’s to her I give thanks.
“All the excitement of last minute shopping.” She’d sighed. Her face lighting up at the memory. “Those days seem to have gone now. It’s really not quite the same.” She looked at me then rolled her blue eyes upwards. “Oh for heavens sake Anne don’t be so organized; just for once; be a devil; have some fun and see if you can bag a bargain. You’ll be amazed at how much you can save doing last minute shopping on Christmas eve.”
I can only say her words enthused me! So I had decided this year to take a leaf out of my mother’s book and not start my shopping in October as usual. No. I would try and recapture the thrill of this joyous occasion and go swanning around the shops on Christmas eve.
It all started well. The sun was shinning; the frost glistened. Happy looking people. The breathtaking displays of decorations in red and gold lined the streets. The beautiful tree with lights twinkling. The choir singers in the square; voices angelic. Just looking at the excitement in the eyes of the child, said it all. Yes; at this stage of my trip I certainly could feel the spirit fire up inside me. Goodwill to all man kind was without doubt on the cards.
I had one jewellers and two department stores to visit. This would be a piece of cake. Piece of cake! I had truly underestimated the rest of man kind or should I say animal kind. Because that’s what it had felt like; battling wild animals in a jungle. On entering the shopping precinct all the excitement vanished. It was immediately apparent that every single person had decided to take my mother’s advice; had she been broadcasting or something; and do their shopping at the last closing minutes.
On my first stop at the jewellers, I stood patiently waiting in a queue. I’d seen a beautiful ruby broach I knew my mother would love. Broaches are her thing; like shoes are mine. Some thirty five minutes later; an assistant finally said “Can I help you madam.” It was obvious her face had frozen into that ‘be nice to the customer smile;’ when deep down she probably wanted to blow poisonous darts at anyone who dared come within one foot of the counter! Suddenly out of the blue a snarling voice shouted. “Just a minute I was next!” Turning to the right of me I encountered a red faced, middle aged, agitated male, glaring at me. “Your wrong.” I snapped back. “I’ve been waiting thirty five minutes, thirty five minutes to get to the front of the queue!” “I‘m next.” He insisted. “No you’re not.” Came my retaliation. “I saw you jump the queue.” He continued. I mean come on; were we children? This was the last straw! Me polite little me a queue jumper! I was just about to give this uncouth person a piece of my mind when suddenly someone behind shouted. “Get on with it we haven’t got all day!” “I’m trying to.” Came my furious reply. “But this man is holding everything up.” “Let the lady get what she wants then we can all move up and go home!” Came another shout. The assistant was beginning to shake with fear; I didn’t blame her. It was like being in the midst of a rioting mob! Where was this goodwill to all mankind, I asked myself! I, in turn, could feel a panic attack coming on. My eyes scoured the counter for one of those little brown bags you blow into! Then the manager appeared and calmly took the problem to one side and served him. Purchasing my gift I went along to the department store.
The scene before me was that of utter chaos. People were rushing around as if an epidemic had broken out. I got dug in the ribs by an umbrella; with no apologies of course! Then some elderly lady ran over my foot with her over laden trolley bag. “Ouch.” I shouted. She never heard my cry of pain; well how could she with all the racket of the tills going on and the general noise of a department store bursting at the seams with demented shoppers! I was now standing in the ‘crystal’ section; where I was almost afraid to move for fear of knocking over something so expensive I would have to re-mortgage my home to pay for it! This department was packed to the hilt! Did the entire world want some kind of crystal for Christmas; or was this a conspiracy against me! Truly, I was beginning to think I was actually having a nightmare and would wake up at any second to find myself in my nice safe cozy bed! Managing to purchase the goods I headed for the next port of call, literally dreading it but pleased this was to be my last hurdle. Obviously, it was no different to the last place. But this time the survivor instinct came out in me. No more Miss polite, oh no! Certainly by then the goodwill to all man kind had died a sudden death! I pushed and shoved stood on peoples feet; not on purpose mind you; no, not at all. I breathed a sigh of utter relief on buying my last presents. I couldn’t wait to get back to the safety of home sweet home. So here I am with my aching feet in a bowl of water. Heaven; sheer bliss. The word ‘happy’ written all over my face. I would be spending Christmas day with my parents but it was boxing day that I was really excited about.
I had a lovely day with my parents and when dad had snoozed off in front of the television my mother turned to me and said,
“Well, how did the last minute shopping go. Did you find it exhilarating, and did you bag a bargain?” “It was a wonderful experience.” I answered. “And yes I did find something I never expected to.”
What I didn’t tell her was my bargain turned out to be Daniel who was my dinner date tomorrow evening. We’d met in the car park; not the most romantic of places I know; nor was I looking my best at the time. He’d seen me struggling to get my car keys out of my bag and offered to hold my parcels. “Can I help?” He’d asked. I’d turned to find a handsome man, deep blue eyes, dark hair and the physic of a rugby player! His smile just made me melt. From helping me with my shopping; we went for a coffee and somehow it felt as if we’d known each other for years! Now I call that a real bargain. Don’t you!?
So you see all of the pushing, shoving and verbal insults of that day had been well and truly worth it…what else can I add…cheers mum without you I would never have bagged this bargain! Oh and one last thing; goodwill to all man kind is definitely back on the cards again!
1,267 words including title.

Okay you article people, check this out.

As you know I don’t do much in the way of factual articles. By the time I’m three paragraphs in I’ve usually got a full novel planned.

But I’ve had a bash, summarising the P&O minicruise to Bilbao, complete with piccies. I need your advice to tighten and brighten it, and where I may be able to sell it. (I need the money back that the cruise cost me.)

It’s long-ish at 1700+ words, but your advice will be greatly appreciated.

The Pride of Bilbao

A four day minicruise on the Pride of Bilbao gives you a taste of cruise life, and even leaves time for a few hours on Spanish soil.

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A short sample from DW's Guide To Holidays. This chapter is designed to demonstrate the use of photographs to turn a routine holiday into a disaster. (Something I’m quite good at.)

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The opening of another horror/sci-fi piece. This one appeared on the old arena.

Virgin Horror are seeking new writers in these genres and it’s not too much of a departure from my Spookies series. The first draft is complete. Most of the Adult language has been toned down, but forgive any instances I may have missed. This opening is about 1800 words and as always, your comments are appreciated.

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On the 'normal' Arena also. Reduced from 1700 to 1200 words to meet publishers'guidelines.

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Soft patchwork flowers swathe,
silence envelops;
I squint up into Skye blue
and see a dot: a lark.

My soul soars
and from his eye
I see a red speck
in the flecked frame below:
my scarf.

Sci-fi/horror the opening 800 words, all the research done on my recent trip to Bilbao, it takes place aboard the Portsmouth/Bilbao ferry. Comments appreciated.

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