
Back when I was a nipper, I was taken fishing by my Grandfather.
I was only six or seven and so my memories aren’t clear, but I can’t articulate enough how much that trip meant to me. Particularly as my Grandfather died the following year.
He was a character, that was for sure. My most vivid memory of him was that he loved his whisky, with just a dash of water in it. I remember clearly his voice calling out to my Mother “Don’t drench it Gwen, whatever you do!”
On this particular day, we set off in his car. He was the terror of the area because he insisted on driving at twenty miles per hour and no faster, regardless of how many people cursed and beeped their horn. It took nearly forty minutes to reach the harbour, a trip that takes me just twenty nowadays.
Grandfather had managed to pull a few strings with some of his old contacts at the harbour where he had worked as a docker for many years and managed to borrow a small motorboat for the day.
As the engine went “Putt, putt, putt” it became clear that Grandfather was no faster on the water than he was on land.
Eventually, we reached a spot out to sea and grandfather taught me how to cast the fishing line.
Something tugged on my line almost immediately.
“Grandpa! I think I’ve caught something,” I exclaimed.
“Well, reel it in son, don’t let it get away” he cried back.
Together we reeled in the line, it took both of us, then it emerged, the biggest fish I had ever seen. It was as tall as I was, admittedly I wasn’t tall for my age,Β but it was pretty impressive considering we’d forgotten to pack any bait.
[300 words]
This story was written for A Guy Called Bloke’s Challenge, click on the link below:
Spin The Keyboard Yarn – Baby Steps First
I have also included the following word prompts:
https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2019/04/03/rdp-wednesday-articulate/
https://onedailyprompt.wordpress.com/2019/04/03/your-daily-word-prompt-drench-april-3-2019/
FOWC with Fandango β Contacts
https://wordofthedaychallenge.wordpress.com/2019/04/03/penitent/
Right OK. I admit it, I didn’t read Rory’s instructions fully. I skipped the part about marking the story out of ten for believability! So I was a bit taken back by the marking…
Anyway please forgive me, I am most penitent. π
Here is what I should have added.
Out of Ten, how believable do you think my story is?
Aha!! Now there’s a yarn indeed Kristian! I have always found the best fish caught were the fish that cost nothing! Nicely done indeed!
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Thanks, Rory. Glad you liked my little tale. Entirely fiction, but hopefully believable. π
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Well you had me at … Grandpa π
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π
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Reblogged this on A Guy Called Bloke and K9 Doodlepip! and commented:
Kristian joins the fishing party with his tail of ‘oh looksee what l have gone and caught too!’
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I would say this is a solid 9. You have to have good bait!! I could picture Grandfather yelling over to Gwen! Nicely done π
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Haha, Thank you, Nova. I used bacon rinds when I was little, I didn’t catch anything π
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Welp, youβve already said it was fiction, so Iβll give you a 3 for the other qualities like I gave Fandango!
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Thanks, Paula, I can see you are a tough fish to catch, or at least convince. π
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A great fishtale… LOL! I’ll rate this 7. π£
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Thank you, Beckie. I’ve never really rated a story, except in Creative Writing class. I’m just pleased people liked it enough to read it. π
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Niether have I. I also feel the same way you do. π
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Lol. π
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I have reread Rory’s instructions and so now realise why my story was getting rated, it was a bit of a surprise at first LOL. All the best. π
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I think some of us got a wee bit confused. I screwed up and wasn’t able to link to back to Rory.
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Well, you had me too. I believed the story was a true one. A nice story, beautifully written. Adorable! *I know that you like it when I tell you if a word has the same spelling and meaning in French. It is the case with the word Adorable. π
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Formidable. Which although is used in both French and English has different meanings. I like the French word. Thanks for commenting, Dominique. All the best. π
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Do you mean the word “Formidable” or “Adorable”? Which one has a different meaning in English. I thought they both had the same meanings in English and French. Have a lovely and creative day Kristian.
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Thank you π I thought, from school, that Formidable in french meant ‘wonderful and great’. In english formidable means ‘Impressive but a bit scary’. π
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You are right about the French meaning of ”Formidable”. I didn’t know about the scary part of it in English… Interesting. π
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It’s those little nuances of language that make it so fascinating. π
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Agree!
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A 10 for getting all the prompts in. 1 for believability.
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Haha, Thanks Sadje. What was unbelievable? I did have a grandfather, in fact two of them…? π
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Maybe the size or the fact that you caught it without a bait!
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Yes, I think the bait (or lack of it) was a bit of a give away. I used to use bacon rind as bait when I was little and funnily enough, I never caught any fish! π
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So sad. Some people donβt have the luck. But donβt worry you can make up a story. Youβre a great story teller. π
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Bless you, Thank you. I love spinning yarns, but I gather I have to work on my believability a bit π
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You should have put in more twists in the story.
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A true story never runs straight, yes, life is full of unexpected twists.
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Exactly.
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Very well written. I give it a 9!!
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Bless you my friend. I am going to start reading them all today. I didn’t have a lot of time yesterday, only enough time to write. For some reason it takes me a lot less time to write something than to read something. I am going to be reading them all today. Promise. π
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You’re welcome. No worries. I’ve read a few, but I haven’t gotten to all of them yet, either.
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I’ve caught up now. I loved the idea of the fish next to an action man figure! π
Now I can have some breakfast. π (I don’t think I’ll be having fish though.)
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Thanks! Haha!! Can’t say I blame you. Fish for breakfast doesn’t sound too appealing right now. π
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I vote a 10 on the believable scale! : )
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Thank you very much! I’m glad I managed to convince you. π
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3 – Most of it is believable but no bate??? LOL!
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A stretch too far…. Oh well. π
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Good story, true or not. I give you a 9.5.
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Haha, Thank you. π
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