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shippers1871.bsky.social @shippers1871.bsky.social · 19h

How come you do everything like that?

Like what?
She said.

Like everything is the most brilliant and important thing ever.

It's the last thing he told me.
She said.

What?

To live my life with #verve.
She said.

And you're sure he wasn't talking about the band.

Oh.
She said.

#vss365

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shippers1871.bsky.social @shippers1871.bsky.social · 1d

There is one person in every room that everyone sees. My sister is that person in any room. Any crowd. She smiles sweetly, knowing her aura forgives her #libertine ways. She doesn't ask permission and doesn't apologise.
Never joins a queue. Never takes a step back.

And then goes home alone

#vss365

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shippers1871.bsky.social @shippers1871.bsky.social · 2d

I saw The Waterboys at Glastonbury in 198? and Mike Scott made every song sound like he was writing it there and then. When he sung the words "I freeze in the wind and I'm numb from the pummelling of the snow" a gust of wind blew across the field.

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shippers1871.bsky.social @shippers1871.bsky.social · 2d

A hill of #ash sits in the middle of a field. A single flake rises into the sky and lands on my shoulder. A breath of wind kisses my head and the ashes dance to an imagined beat.
An ash tree forms and I shelter under its branches.
A flap of wings and the bird on my shoulder soars to its nest
#vss365

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shippers1871.bsky.social @shippers1871.bsky.social · 3d

The #clash of colours made her wince. She pressed her lips together and pushed her hands deep into her pockets.
"Should I try a darker jacket?" Said her cousin.
"I guess that would be a start." She said through gritted teeth.
#vss365

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shippers1871.bsky.social @shippers1871.bsky.social · 4d

I #associate Christmas with the sea. Walking along the prom on Christmas morning. Building up an appetite for dinner. Salty spray scouring my young face. Jumping over puddles and feeling like one more leap would take me into the sky.
#vss365

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shippers1871.bsky.social @shippers1871.bsky.social · 5d

The café was full. Dad was offering half-price milky coffees - latte and cappuccino hadn't reached Stockport.
At 12:40 we stopped serving and turned up the radio. The closing bars of Common People faded away and Dad told everyone to be quiet.
He smiled and held my hand as our #advert came on
#vss365

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shippers1871.bsky.social @shippers1871.bsky.social · 6d

They were born a day apart and their houses backed onto each other.
The day she said she was moving, she tied their hands together with an #elastic band.
It pulled and stretched and became transparent, but he could still feel it.
Still feels it today. Tightening and loosening when she moves.
#vss365

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shippers1871.bsky.social @shippers1871.bsky.social · 7d

His speeches were projected on the side of every public building. Broadcast on every channel. Taught in every school.

Still, the people read the words of their ancestors.

He ordered the army to #pulp every book. Wipe every recording.

So the people told tales. Sung songs. Shared memories.

#vss365

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shippers1871.bsky.social @shippers1871.bsky.social · 8d

We've been at sea for 8 days. Or it might be 9. I think i overslept one day and lost track.

I wonder what i missed that day.

I focus on the horizon; looking for an #oasis of land. When, perhaps, I should look behind. See what I've missed. See if sanctuary has already passed me by.

#vss365

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shippers1871.bsky.social @shippers1871.bsky.social · 9d

Nobody knows exactly when they moved to the sky. Some say they've always been there.
We're left here on the ground. Beneath them; figuratively and metaphorically.
As I stand on top of Chapel Hill and look to the horizon, sky and ground and sea #blur into one and, for this moment, we're one

#vss365

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shippers1871.bsky.social @shippers1871.bsky.social · 10d

He'd only applied because she'd challenged him. He got one question a week on Mastermind and she said #Conundrum was "more your level".

Now, here he was; through to the final and one riddle from the jackpot.

"You said what?" She said, making no effort to hold back the laugh.

#vss365

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shippers1871.bsky.social @shippers1871.bsky.social · 11d

The mobile library visited every Wednesday. They kept the travel books aside for him. This week he would visit Prague and Geneva. He'd #sublimate his dream of conquering worlds into planning itineraries he'd never fulfil.

#vss365

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shippers1871.bsky.social @shippers1871.bsky.social · 12d

Dad started researching the family tree after watching Who Do You Think You Are? We came from a long line of dockers, but he found a branch for a daughter who'd married a Baron. The next day he ordered an #escutcheon to put over the front door.

Honor est tantum fabula quam homines credunt

#vss365

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shippers1871.bsky.social @shippers1871.bsky.social · 13d

Any questions?
He was sure someone would ask, so he stayed quiet.

Everyone wished they had his confidence. Obviously there was no need to check his work. Any #scrutiny would have felt almost rude, so he was left to get on with it. And, unsurprisingly, everything went well.

At first.

#vss365

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shippers1871.bsky.social @shippers1871.bsky.social · 14d

They called their first daughter #Caprice. From the moment she could crawl, she never stayed still. She picked up a different toy every 5 minutes.
Then she discovered music. Her #sonorous alto filled the hall but she could never get past the first chorus without switching to another song.
#vss365

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shippers1871.bsky.social @shippers1871.bsky.social · 17d

Einstein said God doesn't play dice. And she doesn't. She plays cards. Each #eventuality is represented by a card. This moment - this #vss365 - relates to the 10 of spades. She told me she sometimes puts in a joker; that's when it gets really interesting.

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shippers1871.bsky.social @shippers1871.bsky.social · 17d

I was 3rd generation. Bob was 5th. And Nix... Well legend was that her family were farming those hills when the Normans landed.
Her leaving was the #bellwether for the desertion of the town. The lights went on and everyone could see the exit
Now weeds strangle the pavement and I'm left alone
#vss365

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shippers1871.bsky.social @shippers1871.bsky.social · 18d

The Autumn sun managed to #reinvigorate the town. The trees along the avenue were a brighter shade of green. The day felt a little longer.
It was so nice, I took a detour on my evening stroll. Turned left for a change, into the park. Forgot what time the gates locked until the Sun went down.
#vss365

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shippers1871.bsky.social @shippers1871.bsky.social · 20d

#Perhaps Mum and Dad walked up this road.
Perhaps they paused on top of this hill.
Perhaps they shared dreams of moving down here.
Perhaps they saw a thatched roof.
Smoke from a chimney.
Climbing to heaven.
Perhaps they made a promise to buy it one day.
To live in the house I now call home
#vss365

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shippers1871.bsky.social @shippers1871.bsky.social · 20d

The flood was a #catastrophe for everyone who lost someone. Every house that was washed away.

For the rest of us it was a second chance. A reset sweeping away every mistake and regret.

Some people just couldn't see the bright side though. Couldn't see past the destruction to the rebuild.

#vss365

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shippers1871.bsky.social @shippers1871.bsky.social · 21d

He's held it inside since he was old enough to talk. He smiles, never raises his voice. The pressure building up is converted to heat. His feelings expand and rise, like Mercury clambering up a tube.
Today is the day there will be an #extrusion. One more push. One more log on the fire.

#vss365

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shippers1871.bsky.social @shippers1871.bsky.social · 22d

Mum always kept a #stock of tinned food and bottled water. She liked to make sure she wouldn't run out of "the staples".
Every wall of the basement was piled high and three deep. When the baked beans toppled and blocked the door we had plenty to eat.
All we need now is a can opener.
#vss365

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shippers1871.bsky.social @shippers1871.bsky.social · 23d

The warrior was the #synthesis of pride and fear. He walked in the knowledge that his home was the envy of everyone he met. Every silhouette on the horizon was coming to steal his future and destroy his past.
He kept walking. Head held high, but looking over his shoulder.

#vss365

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shippers1871.bsky.social @shippers1871.bsky.social · 24d

I know you don't believe me. I know you think I'm nuts. Why would all the birds and bees and even the cat #conspire against me? But they do. Haven't you noticed how the cat doesn't chase the birds any more? They're in an alliance. They're always there. Watching. Waiting. Plotting.

#vss365

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