Ooh, spooky trees – do you feel a shiver tiptoeing down your spine?
There’s a graveyard across the road from the office. The Howff. It’s mediaeval and a really interesting place. I cut through it around four times a day between car park and office. Sometimes the gates are still locked in the morning and folk have to walk round the outside.
One infamous time, late afternoon – have I told you this before? I was cutting through on a quick errand from the office and came to the bottom gate – and it was padlocked. The penny slowly dropped with a dreadful clang: did that mean….? Yup, the gate I’d just come in had been chained and padlocked, too, seconds after I’d passed through it.
Locked In
So there I was, locked in the graveyard. Dusk falling. No coat. No bag. Mobile phone on my desk in the office. I’d only popped out for a minute.
I walked back and forth for a bit, giggling at the ridiculousness of it. I scanned the walls – was there anywhere I could climb over? Not a chance…..
The bottom gate is where the parks and recreation truck drives in and out. And I noticed that its weight had caused the road to groove down a bit. Could I? I’d have to.
I got down on my back and shimmied under the gate like a commando. Jumped up on the other side, dusted myself down….Frightened the life out of a couple of passers-by. Goodness knows what they made of it!
Other than that it’s usually a very tranquil spot, especially in spring and summer as it bursts into bloom. But there’s something striking about this time of year, too, and these trees caught my eye in their stark architectural twistedness.
So, spooky trees in the graveyard…. Your inspiration for today!
Maybe poetry is your writing thing. Lucy talks inspiration here.
Shirley Blair Fiction Ed Shirley’s been with the “Friend” since 2007 and calls it her dream job because she gets to read fiction all day every day. Hobbies? Well, that would be reading! She also enjoys writing fiction when she has time, long walks, travel, and watching Scandi thrillers on TV.
