Pictures can provoke writing in many different ways. Last week we enjoyed a fascinating session using old photographs including this one which is apparently the old Co-Op in Bolton town centre. For some reason the huge store reminded me of the closing down Beales, also in Bolton , and of the top floor I can see through my son’s apartment windows. Minds love association. So here is the beginning of a story based around several associations!
The Caged Lift.
Alice’s Aunt Sheba left her thirty thousand pounds in her will with only two stipulations. The first, that Alice should leave her shared bedroom in the family home and seek accommodation more befitting a fledgling inventor. Second, that Alice should take over care of her Aunt’s dog Toby, a small terrier type animal with the heart of a lion. The announcement of Alice’s sudden wealth fell like a chill in the front room where all the Lofthouse family were gathered to listen to the solicitor, the young Thomas Michael Llewellyn.
Alice’s mother piously adjusted her skirt, whilst her father flushed crimson to his collar.
“Why leave everything to her?” he said. “Why not me, or poor Grace sitting I ever there? Was my dear sister in her right mind at the end Mr Llewellyn?”
“I believe so Sir,” replied the young solicitor in his lilting voice.” Everything was witnessed, stamped and quite in the right order. My father checked the will only last night.”
“Well damn!” said Mr Lofthouse. “Damn! And damn you Sheba wherever you are! “
Thomas Llewellyn raised his eyes as if seeking inspiration from above and then attempted to calm the situation by blowing his nose for a full minute with a large monogrammed linen handkerchief. Then he nodded solemnly at Alice.
“Thank you father” said Alice, standing up, “I appreciate both your honesty and your consistency. Is there a time frame for my removal Mr Llewellyn?”
“Your Aunt trusted to your judgement Alice, but I do recall our last meeting clearly. Her final words to me were “tempus fugit.”
“Then I should start packing soon, shouldn’t I?”
Thomas Llewellyn offered a rare smile and reached for his document case.
With no more ado, Alice left the room, collected Toby who was tied up in the hall and walked out onto the street. Alice preferred to gather her thoughts outside, because inside thoughts tended to be short on possibilities.
She was right. As soon as Toby paused at the first lamp post, a brave idea emerged from the darkness of inside her mind.
“We must emerge from life’s tangled shrubberies Toby and pursue our heart’s true destiny.”
Toby watched Alice closely, saddened by the loss of shrubberies, but still hopeful for a tasty treat.
‘I want to live in a place with a turret, a long oak table and a yard for you to play in’.
Toby looked brighter.
‘And the place must have a lift. An art deco cage lift’
.
Toby barked at a pigeon, clearly much taken with Alice’s idea.
The specifics of Alice’s dream were of course no accident. For several months Alice’s walk home had been delayed by a few minutes pause in front of Arkingstall’s Store on Lower Globe road. Investment opportunity, said a blue black notice. Upper floor suitable for large apartment. Lift access too. The precise figure needed to acquire this apartment had remained a mystery until an hour later, when Alice made her decision to buy a portion of the top floor in the veloured comfort of James and Sanders residential agents.
Alice signed her name with her customary small flourish and for some reason paused, looking at her signature with a mixture of fondness and regret. Another idea swam to the surface and took a hearty breath. This outside idea even spoke aloud.
‘Alice is a name for a conventional girl. She stays at home, listens to her parents and marries the boy she has loved since school. Alice will never invent anything other than a headache. Sydney however, will stay up all night pursuing her experiments watched over by her trusty companion, Toby. Sydney will surprise the world. All she needs is a space of her own with a turret and a view. ‘