Thursday, April 22, 2010

112. The ravenous hordes


They had started early. The sky was a bleak shade of iceberg, when Monica and her friends – known to Monica’s children as ‘moochers’ – trudged their way up the steps at the railway station. As always, a couple of bulbs were blown and the process was fraught. Monica tried to block her ears without being obvious.

They had ‘gone bush’ every other Saturday for over fifteen years now, nothing over the top and difficult, more a ramble or even an amble. They kept the numbers at twelve, enabling each walker to have a month of organising and leading. The programme was produced season by season, always a season in advance, enabling them to fine-tune where necessary.

For many the highlight of the morning – did I mention that walks were capped at five hours - was the serenity of the early starts. For others, the coffee break could not come too soon.

3 comments:

Joan Elizabeth said...

I'm all with the amblers. This one is different it just seems to amble into its ending ... and don't those muffins look delish ... I like it.

Julie said...

Yes, not sure what this is called, but I am wanting to have a journal, diary, memoir genre, too. This is not there yet as it is still third person. But it is a style minus any ending that has 'suspense'.

Reportage ...

diane b said...

A five hour walk.......I'd stick with the muffin stop.
Good write!