In Our Own Write – June/July 2026
Rather fittingly the title for our short story was “They met on a Monday” and there were five totally different works produced.
1, A very descriptive piece about a super-recogniser noticing that she was being followed by two people in various guises. When she challenged them she found out that they wanted to recruit her and they offered her a job to utilise her skills.
2. A girl called into a coffee shop before work and noticed a good looking man who was always there at the same time. Some time later he introduced himself and they continued to meet up but then he told her that he couldn’t see her again as she reminded him too much of his sister who had been killed in a car crash.
The girl subsequently started a new job nearby and to her distress found out that history had repeated itself and the man, who had worked at the same company had been killed on the anniversary of his sister’s death.
3. A lonely widow literally bumped into a younger dog walker who went out of his way to charm her. He offered to take her out for meals and days out but never paid and gradually insinuated himself into her routine alienating her from others. He was very secretive and refused to have his photo taken.
He suggested that if she bought a car, and he just happened to have a friend who would sell her one for cash, he could take her out more often. He was most upset when she said that she was going to keep it at her home .
One day he fell asleep in her garden and she took advantage of that and took his photo and checked his wallet discovering that he had a different name from how she knew him.
Before she could challenge him she fell and had to be hospitalised and arranged for a friend to come and stay with her to look after her. His offer to arrange for a private nurse she declined and he disappeared from her life.
Subsequently she saw him in a local park giving a repeat performance of how he “accidentally” met her. Worried that he was going to try and con another lady she went to the police showing them the photo that she had taken and the name in his wallet. To her horror she later found out that he had a history of befriending older women and was arrested for the murder of one three years previously. A lucky escape indeed.
4. A girl grew up in a family where her father played the violin and the piano. She moved away but returned home after a relationship breakdown and her father asked her to help spruce him up, which she did.
He went out every Wednesday and one night came back with a smudge of lipstick on his cheek. Worried that he might be having an affair she followed him one Wednesday night. To her relief she discovered that he was actually a very popular pianist at an upmarket hotel and the lipstick mark came from one of the young assistants.
5, I will confess that my story of a u3a writing group was loosely based on ours. However as far as I am aware none of us are government assassins and Ruth’s Smart car does not have built in rocket launchers. It really doesn’t pay to underestimate the elderly and we have a huge advantage in that to some people we are invisible. So if you are an extremely bad person and a “doddery old dear” accidentally bumps into you, I suggest that you check for needle marks, if you have time, before you meet your Maker .
Our next meeting will be on the 13th July and the topic is “An uninvited or unexpected guest”.
Travina White, convenor