Four days ago, in the blog https://strachan.blog/2024/04/20/quite-a-weekend/ , I wrote a postcard of a recent short break with a family who have recently taken pity and adopted me.
The brood in question, belonging to my beau Sarah, who have generously welcomed me into their loving arms… And closed wallets, the tight gets!
With my own family scattered around England, the Brook clan providing yours truly with familial support and a local shoulder to cry on when my mood is low, or I’m peeling onions.
An arrangement which warms my heart and helps with the isolation sometimes borne from living alone… That being said, I wish Sarah’s mum, Judith, would stop asking to bath me and read me a bedtime story.
Anyhow, in the aforementioned narrative, despite the Brook (and extended family) support, I embarked on a barrage of playful slights at a number of the holiday group. Sarah’s son-in-law’s Liam and Simon, in particular, coming in for a few tongue-in-cheek jibes at their expense.
In candour, when journaling that type of mischief, I am always conscious of offending the barb’s target. Consequently, as I did when penning the fiction based on fact postcard four days ago, I always take a period of reflection prior to publishing the work.
This a juncture where GJ Strachan ponders, mulls, and ponders again (I do a lot of pondering). Ensuring, in a world where “I am offended” is worn as a badge of honour by many, I …. Errr… Well, don’t.
Regarding Saturday’s blog, this extensive period of reflection on the prose’s suitability for publishing (5-10 seconds) resulted in me concluding “It’s only Liam and Simon; they can go bollocks if it offends them!” … Subsequently, the piece was almost immediately placed within my websites capricious corridors for public scrutiny.
Seriously, though, I have raised the topic of not wishing to offend individuals in prose due to a surprising reaction from one of the break’s party towards this parody postcard. Sarah’s eldest daughter, Kayleigh, seeming put out that she wasn’t a victim of, or should I say included in, my literary tomfoolery.
Kayl’s (as absolutely no-one calls her) clearly irked by her omission from any of the essay’s horseplay. Observations like “Why have you left me out of the blog, Gaz?”, “You’ve always been a shit dad to me, Gary!”and “Can you empty Rory’s potty for me?” among stronger diatribes fired in my direction.
It was the first time I had received adverse comment from a person who was put out by me not insulting them in either prose or verbally. The 20-something Leeds lass spitting feathers when informing me of her disenchantment… To clarify, she was not angry, Kayleigh just has the idiosyncratic habit of plucking a chicken with her mouth… Either that, or she’d just eaten the dove of peace I had offered her!!
Anyhow, to rectify my oversight of omitting to target Sarah’s eldest daughter with insults in my previous blog, I would like to close this narrative by stating:-
“Kayleigh, you have BO, you’re boss eyed and you’ve got a frying pan arse like your mum!!”… There, I hope you feel better for that!… I certainly do 😉
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