… Or looky loo in the US. The bane of emergency services as bystanders gawp at an accident in the possibly prurient hope of seeing someone worse off thereby validating their own luck. As a youngster we had a similar group who drove us bonkers. They were the tourists who stopped with no warning to goggle at the New Forest ponies that would appear out of nowhere or be congregating, on hot days by a cooling bridge or other be-shadowed structures. We called them grockles and we loathed them for their mindless behaviour, their selfishness and their indifference to the inconvenience they caused. The tourists were awful too.

Pesky ponies… the New Forest October 2014 – jut as wet as I remember it from the 1990s

One urban myth had a misguided visitor offer a pony his sandwich; the beast bared his considerable dentures and lunged for the treat. The man’s hand did what nature had taught it – that in moments of attack it should take flight – allowing the multi-fanged equine psycho to sink said gnashers into the wing of his car.  There’s a strain of  te unreconstructed velociraptor about these creatures.

This week’s prompt over at the Carrot Ranch asks about a looky loo.

December 9, 2015 prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less) write about a looky-loo. It can be in the general term of “looking around” or it can be a nosy neighbor kind of tale. You can also go deeper into the prompt and have a looky-loo at another culture (or your own).

So, Mary and Penny have new neighbours this week…

The world next door

‘The new neighbours have arrived. They’ve two girls. Har… and… Jai…’ Mary grimaced. ‘I didn’t really catch their names.

Penny rolled her eyes. ‘God you’re such a racist, mum.’

‘Penny! That’s awful. They’re just a bit unusual.’

‘You call Mr Khan, Mr Can. And..’

‘Nonsense. Anyway, I’m pleased they’ve come…’

‘Well I know something you don’t. They’re Sikh.’

‘Are they?’

‘I saw a man with a turban earlier. Kiran told us about that in class.’

Mary laughed. ‘I’ve a lot to learn. Shall we take them something? Jam?’

‘Muuuum.  Chocolates and wine.’

‘Wine? Do they…?’

‘Oh yes, Kiran said…’

And here’s where you can keep up with the ongoing soap opera that is Mary’s story