Telling and listening to stories

Stories for the telling

Today's story is Trouble for Tea. 

Again, as on Thursday when I was thinking about how this COVID-19 pandemic might be effecting those people huddled together in the world's refugee camps, today I got to thinking about how families with children with particular conditions, such as ASD or Aspergers, might be struggling with lockdown. It's all too easy to take the ivory tower approach and disapprove of anyone who might dare to move around outdoors at the moment, but in Gibraltar, most of us live in tiny apartments and a daily trip outdoors is a must for the rest of our health, not to mention our sanity. I'm happy as anything stuck indoors and lockdown means a good rest to me. But for others, it must feel like a punishment. 

Trouble for Tea is a story I wrote some years ago after witnessing a particular exchange between a parent struggling with her young child, and some disapproving ladies who, given their shrivelled frowns, had no experience of a child on the autism spectrum. It's set on the bus. I use the bus frequently to get out and about. Bus rides are a wonderful resource for story ideas and inspiration. Overheard snippets of conversations, observed exchanges, noticing what people wear, their mannerisms, the items they carry that tell of where they've been or where they're going - all provides great material for the writer.

This is the first time I've tried to publish a recording on this blog. I hope it works.