I (sometimes) call myself Mr. Pondersome. I'm a rather wordy, weirdy person. I say hullo a lot. I write a lot more. While you're here, why not give some of it a read?

Thursday 31 December 2015

BE RESPECTFUL...NOMINATIONS NOW OPEN! (a.k.a. The Last Thing I Wrote in 2015: A Last-Minute Gimmick)

            You're under consideration. Your manners have been noted.
            The Be Respectful awards are coming up. They're looking for a poster boy and girl, chemistry not essential but please reserve judgement of one another before, during and after allocation.
            You've heard about the ceremony, of course. Smart-casual: no exceptions in either direction. We want a level playing field. It's a big auditorium.
            Categories include: Politeness in Unlikely Awkward Social Situations, Due Course in Outwardly Emotional Matters, Best Moral Exercise of the Golden Rule and Silver Rule (respectively) etc.
            Full silence needn't fall throughout, just maintain a small and considerate murmur. By all means chat among yourselves but please mind what you say.
            Any slight, perceived, intended or otherwise and you'll be asked to leave; not just the proceedings but the ceremony, the venue itself. We will not abide such terseness. 
            Look at the title: Be Respectful. No ifs, no buts, no coconuts. This, of course, has recently been decreed the least tolerant fruit.
            We look forward to seeing you in action. Please look forward to hearing the nominations.
            Above all, reciprocate.

Saturday 26 December 2015

GIN GIRL, BILL ROOK (a.k.a. 260 Words Inspired by a Misheard Christmas Song Title - Can You Tell Which One?)

            I found her talking to a shelf stacker about carrots.
            She was looking for a 'thick knobbly one' and, when the kindly old fellow found such a one, she volunteered why: 'The snowman's knob should be nice and thick and really, really orange.'
            She stopped bothering him when she saw me.
            'Do you really need that carrot?' I asked her.
            She dropped it in the trolley and we went to the booze aisle.
            'Why's it having a piss?' she asked me, 'Why an indefinite article?'
            I pulled out two bottles of gin: Gladhouse and Viddick's.
            'I mean, usually it's just piss,' she carried on, 'A verb.'
            I sighed. 'Verbs into nouns isn't an uncommon thing.'
            'But how about taking a piss?' She tilted her head. 'Taking and having. What a difference a verb makes.'
            'Choose,' I said, holding up both bottles in front of her.
            She took the Gladhouse one right away and put it at the front of the trolley, where the fragile cargo usually goes.
            'You still call me Wilma,' she spoke up halfway down the frozen vegetable section. Quite frankly I was expecting to hear something about the carrots here as well. Chopped up.
            'I'm not calling you Bill,' I replied.
            'I like Bill Rook.'
            'Well, I still like Wilma Rook.'
            She folded her arms. 'You can't keep change from happening.'
            I shook my head. 'Love might.'
            We didn't talk again until the checkouts and then that was in response to the girl there. She had inquisitive eyes and tightly-packed hair. She held up the knobbly carrot.

Friday 25 December 2015

MAYOR EAST'S BOAR CHIDE (a.k.a. 250 Words Inspired by a Misheard Christmas Song Title - Can You Tell Which One?)

            The hog had the Mayor's chain. It even sat on his velvet-cushioned chair.
            'It doesn't suit you,' East said, arms folded behind his back, 'Black matted fur or whatever it is you have over your pork, it doesn't suit gold. Certainly not the chain of office.'
            The boar snorted and padded its two front hooves. East turned sharply.
            'You're Christmas dinner, you realise that! No, wait! You're not even that, you're Boxing Day leftovers! Ham sandwiches! Pigs in a blanket! Now give me it back!'
            He clawed at the pig's neck but its tusks were out. East raised his hands and shifted over to the intercom near the office door.
            'Beatrice,' he spoke into it, 'How could they do this to me? They deliberately sent a malevolent boar.'
            It hummed and clicked before responding. 'The farm people are on their way, sir. Traffic's bad on the M3 apparently.'
            East sighed.
            The hog snuffled one of the chair's armrest.
            'You better not get snot on that lacquer! Foul beast!'
            East collapsed in a guest chair.
            'As far as power plays go, I have to remark this is the longest I've ever experienced. So, well done in that respect.'
            The boar gazed at him with its black beady eyes.
            'You wear that for much longer, you'll be in the job, you know? Officially.'
            The pig stood up again. East rubbed his eyes. A clack, a rattle, another clack. The chain was now on the carpet.
            Mayor East's laugh was delayed. 'Good choice.'

Thursday 24 December 2015

MISSILE-TOWED ANN VINE (a.k.a. 240 Words Inspired by a Misheard Christmas Song Title - Can You Tell Which One?)

            Ann strapped herself to the rocket. It was a solo job, fastening the safety harness to the underside, laughing as she hooked up.
            'Safety,' she said.
            Launch happened an hour later. The stars were out, clear weather for December but still with a nip in the air. Things heated up soon enough.
            There was, of course, an objective but reaching the highest point in the atmosphere would be enough for her. She wanted her breath to catch, giddy tingles in her brain. A perspective change.
            Ann clung onto the rocket, her chin pressed against the cold metal of the tube. The vibrations rattled her skull. Her eyes were already watering. She couldn't quite tell all that from the tears.
            Ascension. Her eardrums shattered. The pressure exerted outside her head overpowered the pressure from within. She screamed but couldn't hear it. All that ringing and rattling: she didn't anticipate it.
            She hadn't been thinking. Even her objective was hazy now she thought about it, something so close to fiction it suddenly lost all worth.
            The sky that was once above her was now around her, thin veils of cloud swirling just below. There was a peculiar scent to the air: iron and salt.
            She felt herself loosening. The tether lasted just long enough to catch her, to hold her upside down.
            Ann glimpsed something. There was little oxygen up here and her view was wrong.
            Nevertheless she mouthed 'Santa' and fell.

Wednesday 2 December 2015

UNISEX WATCHMAKER (a.k.a. A Taste of the Internet Celebrity Short Story Collection I'm Working On)

Hi Guys! Wow Guys! Wasn't that a GREAT let's Play? I play something similar on my channel: UNISEX WATCHMAKER. I play RPGs like Age of Classics, Scatter Chart and any fo the God Chess series. I also play other games like this. Come check me out! Awesome!

Wow! Good game, good Game. Love this chanel, big fan. If you like Fishing on Kepler then why not check out my own channel? It's called UNISEX WATCHMAKER. I'll bei playing this game soon and others, really cool klike Xeno Joust and Gridface. Only PC tough. You'll like it. Come on!

Hey! Did you know UNISEX WATCHMAKER is set to appear on DevelopMental Gaming soon? I am! Watch out! While you wait go visit our channel for Let's Plays involving great games like Shelf Biter, Don't Forget The Tape and Jameson. Might even get to Cobweb before Harris, amirite? Seriously. Check.it.out.

UNISEX WATCHMAKER's first episode on DevelopMnetal Gaming will air real soon. Got a lot tow ork on currently, editing and shit. Don't worry though. Check out my channel while you wait. I've just finished playing thru the Cobweb series. Sorry, Harris. (not sorry)

UNISEX WATCHMAKER: why not check it out?

Hi, guys! UNISEX WATCHMAKER here with some HOT News! I'm be the guest on the next RTSCast. Look forward to arguming with Crumpet Daddy about the latest Age of Classics. See you then! See my videos now!

Change of plans. Unforeseen. Sorry guys. Here's a link to my channel - UNISEX WATCHMAKER.

Hi, guys. My name is Ed of Unisex Watchmaker. I would really like it if you could take a minute and check out my channel. I post daily Let's Play videos about RPG and RTS games like Age of Classics though I have played other popular games like Cobweb and Don't Forget the Tape. I work Really hard on them and if you could check them out, that wouldbe great. Thanks.

Flagged as spam

            

Saturday 31 October 2015

DEEP-SEATED (a.k.a. A Halloween Haunting of a Kind)

            I'm legging it. I know I'm late, have to make up for time lost on that shitty train. Got in fifteen minutes late, can you believe it? Fatality on the line. Yeah. This late. I thought they liked to go pop in the daytime.
            All right, I'll shut up. How far's the club? Actually how the fuck do you even get out of this station? I see signs but they're fucking ancient. No-one's around either. Weird for Saturday. The pissheads got off at the other city.
            Wait. I've got it now. Just about. This place is twisty as shit.
            Yeah, I've had a drink. Or two if you count the lager from dinner. Could go for a few more though. What are the prices like? Reasonable-ish then.
            What did you say it was called again? The club. Fast 87? 87 what though? Sounds like an anthem mix or something. No, it's all right. That's the kind of music I like.
            Just about figured the way out. Long corridor, lots of posters. I don't know: books and plays and shit like that.
            Now that's a good-looking bloke right there! Christ, you should see how shady this fella looks. Big eyes sunk into his head. Yeah, deep-seated.
            Scrawny too in an all-black suit. No, I'm not in a suit, he is. I think he's meant to be a magician. Creepy bastard. Arms out, fingers like crazy spiders. He's got hairier knuckles than you, if you can believe it.
            I'm going, I'm going. The entrance is just down the stairs.

            All right, I'm out. Course I'm panting, we're not all rugby stars like you. Gave that shit up for a reason. Still got cauliflower ears. Thanks for that.
            I'm crossing the road. First crossing, is it? Good. It's pitch black out here except for the...well. Our magician again. Creepy fingers reaching out the billboard, heading for traffic.
            His eyes look worse at that size. He's obviously wearing mascara. Who does he think he is? New Romantic? Yep, showing my age. I grew up in the 80's, lad. Best time.
            Anyway I'm on my way to the bus station now. Longer than a few fucking metres, mate, that's half a mile. I'll make it though. Course I will.
            So I've heard the girls are pretty good at this club, that right? Hand jobs in the toilet? My kind of party. I'm sure I'll get further though, proper cop off. Wanna make it interesting? All right, twenty. Fifty? I didn't know they paid you so well for what you get up to on the pitch. Can't match it though, unless there's a cash machine nearby. And not one of those that charge, mind. Fucking ridiculous.
            Reached the bus station. Where now?
            Fucking phone cut out. Useless shit.

            How you doing, love? Long night? No, I'm not buying, just waiting. Not even chewing gum, no. Got to save me pennies for now.
            Hang on though. Do you know who this guy is? The magician on the poster. He's everywhere, isn't he? Been to see him? No. Well, I'm new in town myself. Never seen his like before.
            Sorry, love. Got to take this.
            So where now? Yes, I'm at the bus station. Carry on right. Okay.

            The woman at that till was a bit all right. 40, I'd say. Sounded Polish. Remember Agata? Hoo boy. Worse comes to worst, I might be back before the night is through.
            Do I take the shortcut? Between the factory buildings? Worth it? I'll manage it.
            Hey, do me a favour? You're already at the bar, right? Yes. Bacardi. Good lad. I'm parched.
            Getting a bit tight between these buildings. I'll suck my gut in. Shan't be more than five minutes now.
            Fucking hell, he really is everywhere, isn't it? That magician I talked about. Saw him in the bus shop too. There's two posters around me, one on either side. His eyes and hands are...well, he looks like he's about to grope me. Don't laugh.
            Yes, the deep-seated eyes. He looks old up close. Really thin and wrinkly though that might just be the damp on the wall. Still don't like it much.
            It's pinching me now. I am squeezing, trying my best. I'm not claustrophobic or anything but this is freaking me out a little.
            I have this recurring dream, yeah? Being fed through a letter box. Don't laugh, you dickhead. Never sharing with you again. Jesus.
            That was close. This club better be good or else I'm forcing you in here, you prick.
            I see it now. Just across the road from it. Can see what you mean about that line. Might be an hour getting in.
            Whoa. Slipped. You still there? I am, just about.
            Tripped on a something sticking out of the road. It's still flapping. A fucking flyer stuck on the tarmac. Half-melted.
            I'm getting up now. Might have twisted my ankle. Jesus. Let's have a look at this slippery piece of shit.
            Fuck. You'll never guess. It's-
            A van.
            Shit. 

Thursday 8 October 2015

ON READING POETRY (a.k.a. A Reason for Why It's Not for Everyone)

You can read it from a page,
get the gist,
guess the rest
but that's not proper poetry.

Catch a performance but
you'll need an ear
to get to the essence of poetry.

Middle ground: perform yourself
but is that honestly poetry?

I don't read poems right.
I don't write poems. Really
I've been nodding 
along
all my life.

At a reading, I don't shut my eyes,
don't connect,
can't switch off to hear
even half the words.
I catch what I can,
join the wow afterwards.

All I hear is a rap,
a rhythm,
lyrics filling melody's absence
with a well-meant melody
of words.

I love those,
I love them,
it's just the form they come in.
Plots may plod along but
at least I feel the breaks,
the pacing, the pay-off.

And so breathless too
or breath-heavy
though that is usually the poet.
He has a sinus problem.
He said.

It could just be the poet's drone
but no. The actors, presenters, performers,
they're too pretty,
I hear their voices too well
for the words to tell
rather than sell themselves.

Perhaps I'm no good at poetry,
all that intention they expect you to find,
I fall asleep if the thoughts get too deep,
snorting awake at a cheap para-rhyme.

I do see humour
far better than beauty.
Cheek is fun.
Keep a tongue in there,
we're golden.

That
all
be-
-ing
said
I still go out for poetry,
still stay in, thumb it,
plumbing for perfection,
peering proper but
leaving tired.
Prose, pick me up.

It's not really my nature
to think of nature
like that.

THAT WHICH IS TRULY TERRIFYING (a.k.a. National Poetry Day and Halloween: Two Red Letter Days with One Poem)

The everyday played up to expectation
and then
suddenly
a turn -

People maiming themselves

quite willingly. Everything a lie,
a conspiracy on
one.

The figure in the distance,

framed in moonlight or
sunlight, depending
on safety.

Events shrinking 

to an inevitable
claustrophobia.
Small joy - 
snatched.

Little blood, 

more sweat.
A subtle, scratchy recording.
A real dead body. Significance
sharper than the knife.

Hurt by a friend's hand.

Lies waking life.

Slow boil.

Staccato tension.
Release.
It happens.

And she's dead. She's always been

dead. You just weren't looking.
Conclusion...
but the promise goes on.

























































































































































































































Just one jump scare. 


Saturday 12 September 2015

THE CURVE OF A COAT HANGER (a.k.a. Some Automatic Writing Volunteered)

There's plenty going on upstairs. It's hot upstairs. There's steamers upstairs and sometimes they burn you. One time one of the pipes broke and that left only one steamer in operation. Nick lets me know gleefully when the new pipe comes in, shows me it in the store room. It's coiled like a snake but I tap it anyway to check its firmness while Nick watches, repeating the fact that we have a new pipe for the broken steamer. It's only a matter of time before he'll be joining me in the hard work.
            Most of the time Nick cubes which is to say he puts the little numbered cubes onto the metal hook of the clothes hangers. He identifies them, their size. He has taught me that the black felt hangers are for the ladieswear and there's an abundance of them today. Meanwhile the men's hangers are wooden and thick and make hollow knocking sounds when you snatch a spare one from the rail. The pink hangers are for the vintage clothes, the metal clip hangers are for the trousers and it's a good thing that the radio is on when we get there or else we might lose our minds with the boredom and repetition of it all.
            It is repetitive. When the steamer scolds me it wakes me up to the fact that only an hour has passed since the last time I glanced at my watch. Nick's conversation goes on and on in circles. He means well but he has the sort of brain that doesn't age with the rest of his body. Arrested development although please don't hold my word to it, I'm just trying to avoid all the obvious mean-spirited ways of putting it. He's a good kid in a middle-aged man's body but he does go on about DVDs a lot. How many DVDs to a box set of Terry and June? Is Doctor in Distress out on DVD yet? His sister says no but he insists on confirming it with me. I'm a lot more responsive when he talks about Doctor Who or even Queen CDs which he's started doing very recently. Apparently he has every single Doctor Who episode on his hard drive but he isn't bragging, he really doesn't understand bragging. He has a sense of humour with some level of sophistication but only as far as knowing that people are teasing him. I rarely tease him unless Sean is around.      
            Sean is a character, the life and soul of the bric-a-brac storage room upstairs. There are three floors and the jolliest man is relegated to shifting toys and picture frames at the very top. He does come down to lay out new stock which he sometimes does rebelliously, just to spite another volunteer who is apparently very fussy and likes to boss people about but plays the little old lady card when those people talk back. I hope I never have to meet her. I won't say this woman's name because I don't really know her aside from all the nasty things people say.
            Anyway the day goes on: we bring up white bags of clothes, we rip them open and hang the clothes, we steam them, Nick cubes the hangers and we wait for someone else to price them. There is an intricate system of pricing in a charity shop, so intricate that customers often complain about it on the shop floor. They try to haggle but, of course, that's not company policy. Apparently people even come up to Pauline who works down on the till just to tell her that this coat is overpriced or how can you expect to shift so many necklaces and jewelled bands with £3.99 a pop? I quite agree, Pauline agrees, even Sean agrees but that's how we're told to do it. The manager isn't around long enough for us to make proper inquiries.
            Pauline is another character. She's the one who stands at the till all day except for lunch and toilet breaks and grumbles at being alone and so cold. There's a heater behind her but it is quite far away from where she needs to stand. She's been getting more help lately after discovering that she has a rather aggressive cancer but she's still on her own whenever I see her. Apparently customers have noticed this too and a few of them have been taking advantage. They say I want to buy a bag for later, which is 5p incidentally, and then they disappear into a changing room with a bundle of clothes. They return some clothes but they keep what remains in the plastic bag and make a hasty retreat. To know that they do this exactly makes me think that someone has caught one doing it and maybe stopped them but all there really is is a note on the till.
            I've run the till a few times, both with Pauline and without her, and have cocked up almost all the time in some way. Apparently people don't like their change cocooned in the receipt, it makes them quite venomous. Some people just like to talk which I do but I don't quite feel comfortable around them.
            I generally prefer working upstairs with Nick, with the radio playing in the background. I sometimes ask Nick to sing along with the song currently playing but, of course, he says no and just keeps on cubing. I carry on steaming and eventually have to roll up my sleeves so I can properly focus on these new, creased sleeves waiting to be tidied and distributed to the rails downstairs. Thankfully that's not always my job, usually Nick and I just bring them down and the people on the tills do the rest.
            Sean often visits us though not as often as he visits Pauline. They have a cute relationship which involves a surprising amount of swearing. They get on very well and, if Sean isn't upstairs, then that just means he's downstairs having a laugh with Pauline about something. He brings her trinkets.
            He brings sweets for me and Nick: flapjacks and shortbread stars. He teases Nick about the woman who takes over from me in the afternoon, the blue-haired Charlotte that Nick never seems to stop talking about. She prices the ladies clothes and is apparently quite young. I hope to meet her someday and I hope even more that I find her physically attractive and compatible. We have Nick in common, his little frustrating behaviours, and I like to think that she hangs and steams just as much as I do. We might bond over that. She might see how patient I am with Nick, how well we get on and that might be an attractive quality in her. She isn't the first young female volunteer that I've never met but heard a lot about, that I've thought about like this. It's what happens when you steam iron clothes all day and listen to sexy songs on the radio. Usually Nick's out on lunch at this point.
            These are my loneliest and quite frankly oddest moments. I start talking to myself, letting out little verbal tics and glancing over my shoulder to make sure that the manager or Sean or anyone else hasn't just walked in to hear them. So far I've been lucky.
            I usually work more thoroughly. I pull out sleeves and iron them individually and check that the shoulder straps of dresses are properly on the dents in the hanger. I run my hands up the rest of the curve but it's not like the hangers you get at a department store, those are plastic and prone to breaking. These are felt or wood and ultimately strong.
            It bothers me that I can't work quicker. I want the clothes hanger to pick itself up and plonk itself down on the rail that is always a good two paces away. I want to turn back and find that the next item of clothing is there waiting to be steamed but no, that sort of behaviour is just for Nick. He reappears after his lunch break, coat off, and begins to cube what I have steamed all over again.
            I convince him to take occasional breaks when neither the manager nor deputy manager are in and we go down to check on Pauline. We sometimes find Sean there and someone helping Pauline run the till. We have a little joke and keep our eyes on the customers that have been giving Pauline grief but we ultimately go back to work with a laugh cut in half by the closing of the door.

            Charity shop volunteering can be a lot of grunt work. 

EATING WELL (a.k.a. What Comes of Chopping Up Healthy Eating Advice)


Saturday 27 June 2015

SPOT THE DIFFERENCE (a.k.a. Happy Flash Fiction Day Everyone!!! Part 3)

            Mike flipped the paper placemat in the tray. The suspect was in the ladies', no doubt silently screaming, and he really needed to do something to release this buzz.

            Mazes, a word search, Spot the Difference: a whole page of activities. Children's brainteasers but there were enough to keep him patient for five, maybe ten minutes. He picked up the pen she had left behind; technically it was evidence but what would a pen really mean to a case like this?

            Mike started on Spot the Difference; a pig surrounded by pinecones. Five differences. He circled the left ear, then the bottom right hoof. He noted the change in eye colour between pictures, green on the left and red on the right. And initial observation was usually his weakness. He circled the slightly larger pinecone that was rolling away to the left. Five minutes? More like three.

            Mike searched around the pig slowly, the rings of pinecones and then the rather basic outline of the creature. Not even quiver lines: these were cheap cartoons. Nevertheless, the fifth difference...

            The smile? No. The hairs on the belly? Too small: the kiddies wouldn't pick up on them. Was there a slight discolouration in the second pig's skin? The second did seem closer to flesh colour.

            'It's the snout,' the suspect said. Mike glanced up. Her eyes were puffy and her glasses in one hand. 'The right one's smaller.'

            Mike threw down the pen. 'You're eyesight's improved, Mrs Paetro. And your memory?'

ALL PLANTS (EXCEPT FOR TREES) (a.k.a. Happy Flash Fiction Day Everyone!!! Part 2)

   A tree surgeon rang at 8pm. Told him you were out, asked him to ring tomorrow instead. Wants you to rest assured that the chemicals he will use won't kill your other plants.

   Insists he has nothing against plants, even rhododendrons. He hasn't got anything against trees either. Insists they're completely separate things. He tells people he loves all plants except for trees mostly to distinguish the two. Went on about this for a while.

   Cut him off before he went into species names. Told him I had to deal with Pump 4. Sounded huffy but ended the call anyway.

   Hopefully we'll have this old evergreen cleared before summer. Can't really afford any more funny looks from drivers.

   Let me know how it turns out on Thursday.

VOIX EN CHAMBRE (a.k.a. Happy Flash Fiction Day Everyone!!! Part 1)

I lost my voice in a Parisian hotel room.

            I put it in a tape recorder, sealed in by the stop button. I played it back only once. It sounded all squeaky so I hid it in a cupboard.

            The following morning I packed in silence, checked out and ran for the airport. I was midway over the Channel when I noticed what was missing.

            It was an old tape recorder so I don't miss it. However when the stewardess came over to offer me a beverage, I couldn't speak. I couldn't even squeak. Fortunately I knew a few basic signs and she knew them too. I ordered a glass of lemonade.

            I could speak again when we landed though every word sounded unnecessarily French. People thought I was a snob. I am a snob but not in a particularly Parisian way.

            I told a taxi driver allons-y and went home. I thought long and hard about my little bit of voice still in Paris, imagined the turn down service baffled and the concierge only mildly amused. What a trinket; except for the accent, not at all Anglais.

           And yet I can't remember this very simple sentence. For the life in me, I can't recall what it was I said.

Saturday 6 June 2015

MINUTES OF THE 2015 CONFERENCE OF DEATH (a.k.a. Some Grim Record Keeping)

Apologies:- Suicide, Manslaughter.

Minutes of the last meeting:- The minutes were passed as read.

Euthanasia:- Wants to change name to 'Culling'. No moral or ethical reasons, just doesn't want to be misconstrued as a 'Youth in Asia'. Finds such puns tawdry. Prefers Culling because it sounds like a badass name, not due to an unannounced passion for the Twilight vampire.

Natural Causes:- Following on from Euthanasia, would quite like a name change too. Unfortunately can't think of anything suitably bombastic at this time.

Murder:- Reduced services are planned due to budget cuts. Is willing to share more work with Manslaughter provided the conscience can be found. Will not be giving any more to Suicide; people are starting to get the wrong idea. No offence meant. Murder ultimately wants to integrate better in this community.

Immolation and Electrocution:- Wish to abdicate given the recent rise in survival rates. Do not believe they can properly contribute anymore. Impalement and Dismemberment still undecided though answers will be forthcoming.

May 4th Event:- Irradiated atmosphere expected but not yet paid for. Genocide and Epidemic still require more volunteers to man the plague towns and so shall extend the deadline to April 1st (no joke). Variety of talent would be appreciated.

DOOM Skill Improvement Sessions:- To be held in local Killing Fields on Tuesday 7th April. Resurrection will be involved but not leading the speaking part of the session. However it would be polite to acknowledge this time.

Brain Death:- Still waiting on placement decision. Culling née Euthanasia is taking a great interest and will support wholly if the outcome is positive.

Sacrifice:- Ritual Sacrifice's condition is deteriorating. Heroic Sacrifice would appreciate further support from the community, preferably donations made in blood.

Traffic on the Dark Endless Plain is still speeding although Trials have been done and nothing is planned at present.

Mortal fouling bins are requested on Sadism Lane, as there is a bad problem with corpse bags being thrown into the burning bushes. This is unfortunate, as this road is not on a collection route.

Date and time of next meeting:- The End of Human Civilisation (all being well).