Wombat Bill

On the day of their move to Jason’s grandmother’s house, Colleen and Jason were up early and had all their possessions packed and ready for the removalists. Jason convinced Colleen to resist the urge to ‘snoopervise’, as he called it and let the professionals do their job unhindered. When the truck was fully loaded Colleen followed it to their new address and Jason stayed behind to the clean the flat. The plan being that Colleen would pick him up after the transfer of the furniture was completed

Another interesting suggestion!

So, that's two votes for adoption. Any other choices?

Daniel was so devastated by what he found that he could not continue to sort through the contents of the wardrobe. He just moved it all into the garage so that the flat would be ready for a final clean before they moved his mother in. When he arrived home he hid the envelope in a safe place in his office and joined the rest of the family for dinner. Over dinner nobody noticed Daniel’s mood as they were all excitedly chatting about the partial lifting of the lockdown. Each had a preference

Haven't you all been waiting for a cliffhanger?

Daniel had appointments with patients all day, so Jenny, Christine and Kevin went over to Beryl’s flat, via Bunnings, where they got heavy duty cleaning materials, the paint Christine had chosen and painting tools. As soon as they arrived, Kevin started filming the flat and the materials they bought. Jenny plugged in her vacuum cleaner but it would not work. When Kevin noticed this he flicked the light switch, then they both realised there was no power. “Damn, I remember now that years ago

Colleen was still sleeping after a night shift, so Jason went down to the garage and moved the car out to make way for a workout. He was just getting started when Joanna walked in. “Hi Jason, working out I see. Keeping those muscles pumped up?” “Yes, Joanna and I’m glad you dropped by because...” but before he could explain Joanna interrupted. “That’ sweet of you, I wanted to see you also.” “That’s not what I meant Joanna. I wanted to ask you if I left a towel in your apartme

“Hi Steve, Kev here, how’s things with you?” “Oh a bit of excitement here today, tomorrow’s May Day and because of our family name we celebrate May Day, although this year will be a bit different.” “Why is your dad a communist?” “No, not at all, he’s a conservative through and through.” “So why celebrate May Day?” “Well basically because our family name is May, but we celebrate in the manner of the northern hemisphere tradition of welcoming the arrival of spring, new lif

Hi NimirRaj, I like the way you analyse the chapter to find the characters' motives and how they are thinking. Your reading technique is very perceptive.

Daniel’s mother was happy with the idea of having someone come to live closer to her and overjoyed that her family were all so thoughtful and caring. Over the next week there were a number of family conferences via phone and text. So many, that Beryl became confused as to how this would be resolved. She didn’t mind who came to support her, she just wanted them to sort it out. Over one of their family dinner meetings Daniel told his family of the discussions with his mother. “Kids, I’ve talke

Great character interpretation. 🦊 Thanks, Bill

But which would be the most fun? I asked a friend a similar question about another chapter when I was sending this story only to friends and her replies was "I want to see drama."

What should happen to the video evidence?

The family stood by the graveside each trying to cope with grief in their own way. Christine was inconsolable, Jenny was misty eyed but managed to keep the tears in check. Daniel was clearly concerned but remained composed, while Kevin showed his usual disinterest in such matters, but his mother mistook this for stoicism. Maude was laid to rest next to Bert who had succumbed to cancer one year earlier. At the conclusion of the burial, attended only by the immediate family, they returned to

Jason took his gym equipment home and set it up in the garage of their unit. The garage was small, so Jason could only use his weights when the car was out of the parking area. Today he started his workout when Colleen left for work. The garage had no windows that could be opened so Jason left the roller door open for fresh air while exercising. This meant he was visible to all walking past. He noticed passers-by would slow while walking past but not stop or say anything. After a while it

Thanks for the memories. I remember there was a theatre in Sydney that had the stars in the ceiling. It was the Capitol theatre. Still there but now a live theatre. I think it was only saved from demolition by a heritage order. But there were other ways of seeing stars in a theatre, apart from on the screen. At my local 'pictures" there was a sliding roof that was opened on hot Australian nights, so if you got tired of watching movie stars you could watch astronomical stars. It's true what some of the other comments say, just going to a theatre was an experience in itself, regardless of the movie. The absolute antithesis of this was when Hoyts opened their first multiplex in George St Sydney. Seven screens, black ceilings and pinball machines in the foyer. I used to call the Pinball Parlour that sometimes screened movies . Well done Mawgrim.

Loved this story about a cinema for two reasons. It reminded me of my childhood days attending the Saturday matinee with friends and Monday night with Mum and Dad. We called it the pictures in those days and yes, we did have a sliding roof that was opened on hot Australian nights. The other reason it bought back memories was that in the 80s I worked as a Cinema manager for Village Theatres. That was at the time when old theatres were being twined and new multiplexes were being built. Thanks for the memories.

Daniel Covid was becoming increasingly concerned about his aging mother living alone, but could not think of any way to resolve the problem. She was in the vulnerable age group for the Corona virus so needed special care. He decided to have a family meeting, over dinner, to discuss possible options. “Kids, I’m concerned about your Gran living alone. Since your Gramps died she has coped, as she is still very active and independent, but in these times I think she needs more support.” Kevin

Nice thoughts, thank you guys. Bill

Daniel’s great grandfather never returned from the Great War. He was killed in France in August 1916, so Anzac Day always had a special meaning to the Covid family. Since marrying Jenny, they had both attended the local ceremony, with Daniel’s family. After the children were born they accompanied their parents to the ceremonies each year. Jason and Christine grew up understanding the meaning of Anzac Day within their family and the broader Australian community. Kevin, however, had never quite un

Thanks guys for the likes and I'm knocked out by getting Wows.

From the day she took her son home, Jenny had struggled to get him to sleep at night. Kevin was born a bad sleeper and this continued until he was old enough to understand instructions given to him by his father. Daniel diagnosed him as having an over active consciousness, so when Kevin was old enough Daniel tried to teach him various methods of inducing sleep. They finally started to have success when Daniel managed to convince his son that he should block out all other thoughts and concentrate

While closeted in his bedroom, Kevin had been watching many YouTube clips of the ways people were coping with staying at home. He found some of them entertaining, some just plain stupid and other downright dangerous, such as free-running through the house. Always being one to accept a challenge and do better than his fellow man he decided to give it a try. He had no particular plan in mind so he just turned on his computer, activated the camera and hit record. “Hello anyone out there who

Great start, so looking forward to Toby's journey.

He threw one leg over the Harley, put his foot lightly to the ground and stood over the machine. Christine’s view from the rear was of his leather clad butt just inches above the saddle. As he lowered himself to sit, Christine noticed the leather fit him so tightly that it seemed like a second skin. He raised his gloved hand above his head and waved it forward indicating that it was Christine’s turn to mount. Christine put her left foot on the passenger stirrup and lifted her right leg over