‘She wants to choose her music. Three songs. Two were
easy, cabaret stuff, but the third caused the difficulty.’
‘How?’
‘She couldn’t decide if she wanted to be cremated or
buried. If cremated she wanted Arthur Brown’s Fire…’
‘And buried?’
‘Going Underground by the Jam.’
‘What’s bad about that?’
‘I can’t have a mother who’s a punk fan. That’s just wrong on so many levels.’
This piece stems from the latest prompt from The Carrot Ranch, here:
April 4, 2019, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story about fire. It can be a flame that burns or a light that inspires. Follow the flames and go where the prompt leads!
My name is Geoff Le Pard. Once I was a lawyer; now I am a writer. I've published several books: a four book series following Harry Spittle as he grows from hapless student to hapless partner in a London law firm; four others in different genres; a book of poetry; four anthologies of short fiction; and a memoir of my mother. I have several more in the pipeline.
I have been blogging regularly since 2014, on topic as diverse as: poetry based on famous poems; memories from my life; my garden; my dog; a whole variety of short fiction; my attempts at baking and food; travel and the consequent disasters; theatre, film and book reviews; and the occasional thought piece. Mostly it is whatever takes my fancy.
I avoid politics, mostly, and religion, always. I don't mean to upset anyone but if I do, well, sorry and I suggest you go elsewhere.
These are my thoughts and no one else is to blame. If you want to nab anything I post, please acknowledge where it came from.
Can’t think where else you’d go. BTW, today… I started Pearl Barley and The Flight Of The Banshees – A Novel… you want to read some and see what you think? It’ll be very raw… and I’ve no idea where it will go but it’ll go somewhere if Pearl wants me to write it.
Great subject here, Geoffle. Choosing three songs isn’t as easy as it sounds and what with all my health problems over the years, I’ve been meaning to have things organized. I can’t see my family organizing much. My Dad’s very good with all the funeral type details but his speech would be in bullet points and no slide show. Fortunately, my aunt has worked as a funeral director and said she’d sort it out. Not sure if that’s great either but at least it will happen.
Couldn’t listen to Fire so out of these two, I’ll have to go with Going Underground.
What about David Bowie Space Odyssey? Not sure how I feel about being stuck in my tin can for eternity though.
I’m doing the A-Z Challenge again this year and doing motivational quotes to encourage writers working on a big book writing project. I’m actually head down bum up finally writing the much anticipated book. I’m putting together a collection of biographical short fiction from my family history research. It’s going really well and makes a good first book, to launch the stuff i’ve got sitting in the bottom drawer.
Best wishes,
Ro
Thanks, very much and I’m glad I made you smile. I had a wonderful night tonight. It’s open week at dancing and Miss and I were watching her friend’s more senior jazz and tap classes. This bunch are around 15-18. They were really stretched and really doing very difficult, very fast paces and it was exhilerating to watch, especially as I’ve known some of them since pre-school as they’re J’s age. We were all clapping and cheering and one of the girls grabbed a bag full of tinsel pom poms like you’d use for cheerleading and handed them round the audience. One of the dads took two and put one behind each year. We had a fantastic night.
Best wishes,
Ro
Sound’s like Mom is going to light a fire of controversy! I like the idea of setting the tunes for one’s final farewell. And it’s whacky to play both songs at once!
TanGental 
Oh no! Definitely not cool to have a punk loving mother!
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I try to imagine my mother in that role. It really is so so wrong.
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He he… My mum was into The Beatles… And James Last!
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Aggh. James Last and Richard Clayderman are two performers for whom an early introduction to poison would have improved humanity no end…
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😂 She had these cassettes of his…
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Poor woman… the trauma; has she had counselling?
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I think we weaned her off… But you can never be sure…
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I can’t see a thing wrong with being a punk loving mother. Sounds musical in itself to me….
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Ah i can understand but some of these characters have minds of their own
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I love Morgan’s Mum 💜💜
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I wonder who she’s based on?
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Not your mum , definitely not the lovely Barbara 🌹
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Haha, Geoff, this is awesome.
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Thanks Robbie!
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Charli’s prompt says fire ‘can be a flame that burns or a light that inspires.’ and you of course end up in punk music. Of course you do 🙂
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Can’t think where else you’d go. BTW, today… I started Pearl Barley and The Flight Of The Banshees – A Novel… you want to read some and see what you think? It’ll be very raw… and I’ve no idea where it will go but it’ll go somewhere if Pearl wants me to write it.
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oooh yes – pick me, pick me
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Ok. I’ll re read the first chapter tomorrow and email you and see what you think…
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Ooh, now, I had Leonard Cohen’s Closing Time down for my final curtain. But Fire you say – hadn’t thought of that one …
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I think you are narrowing your focus into what you need to write to free your soul. From what I do not know. But I salute you. Carry on.
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Thank you Ma’am
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Great subject here, Geoffle. Choosing three songs isn’t as easy as it sounds and what with all my health problems over the years, I’ve been meaning to have things organized. I can’t see my family organizing much. My Dad’s very good with all the funeral type details but his speech would be in bullet points and no slide show. Fortunately, my aunt has worked as a funeral director and said she’d sort it out. Not sure if that’s great either but at least it will happen.
Couldn’t listen to Fire so out of these two, I’ll have to go with Going Underground.
What about David Bowie Space Odyssey? Not sure how I feel about being stuck in my tin can for eternity though.
I’m doing the A-Z Challenge again this year and doing motivational quotes to encourage writers working on a big book writing project. I’m actually head down bum up finally writing the much anticipated book. I’m putting together a collection of biographical short fiction from my family history research. It’s going really well and makes a good first book, to launch the stuff i’ve got sitting in the bottom drawer.
Best wishes,
Ro
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Thanks Ro. I’ve read a few of your quotes. Help made me smile! Good luck with the book!
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Thanks, very much and I’m glad I made you smile. I had a wonderful night tonight. It’s open week at dancing and Miss and I were watching her friend’s more senior jazz and tap classes. This bunch are around 15-18. They were really stretched and really doing very difficult, very fast paces and it was exhilerating to watch, especially as I’ve known some of them since pre-school as they’re J’s age. We were all clapping and cheering and one of the girls grabbed a bag full of tinsel pom poms like you’d use for cheerleading and handed them round the audience. One of the dads took two and put one behind each year. We had a fantastic night.
Best wishes,
Ro
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Sound’s like Mom is going to light a fire of controversy! I like the idea of setting the tunes for one’s final farewell. And it’s whacky to play both songs at once!
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Yes planning is everything
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lol absolutely love this and wish that everyone would pre-plan their funeral … punk for Mum!
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I’d love to do that… maybe i could persuade my wife to permit ‘come on baby light my fire’ as she pushes the buttom
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I’d give it ago, the best funerals I’ve been to were planned well ahead by the deceased so that they really reflected their personality!
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I agree!
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**2 hours later**
‘She get rid of the punk songs?’
‘Yeah, but now it’s Disco Inferno, so I should have said nothing.’
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Ha… ‘it could be worse.’
‘How’
‘If she hears “come on baby, light my fire” I’m putting myself up for adoption’
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