Previously
As he made his way home, Steve decided that he needed to make two phone calls on Monday after work.
Continued
Monday 4th April Steve’s House
Today was the first day back at school after the Easter break. It had been chaos in the staff room because it was both the start of Mock Exams and the week when Year 9 pupils would begin choosing their optional subjects for GCSE. The tension was also palpable among Steve’s older pupils. He was glad to be home now, in the kitchen, preparing something to eat, calming down and thinking about the preparation work he would need to look at later.
True to form, the ‘phone rang while he was eating. He could see from the caller display that it was Peter, his 30 years old son.
“Hi, Dad,” Peter greeted him, “I hope I’m not interrupting your tea, but I noticed that your annual service and MOT test are almost due on your car. Would you like me to book you in – and would you want me to drive it in for you? I could drop you off at school on the way.”
“Hello, Peter, thanks for reminding me. Will next Monday be OK?”
“I’ll sort it. Would you like me to pop over one night to give your car a quick once over, so that I can sort anything obvious before the MOT?”
“If you would please Peter – just not tomorrow night because of dancing – and not Friday either. I’m hoping to set up a meeting with the Vicar. How are things with you at present? Everything at the garage still OK? Any outings planned with your mates?”
“All’s well with me for the moment, Dad. We might have a run up to the lakes at weekend. Perhaps tackle Scafell Pike but try a different route this time.”
“That all sounds good Son, but for goodness sake take extra care if you are thinking about using Hardknott Pass.”
“No problems, Dad. I’ll pop round after work on Thursday then.”
Peter had moved out of the family home four years since. He had been getting on much better with his dad these days. Relationships had not been good at the time his Mum had left his Steve. He had only been twenty. But that was then. He was a mechanic now at a local family-owned garage and was well liked by his boss. He had several friends with whom he often went on trips on their motor bikes. Their outings were often linked to hill-walking ventures. Scafell Pike was England’s highest mountain peak, and the Hardknott Pass was the steepest road in England. As a road it wasn’t just steep but very narrow and twisting. As a route it was challenging for both car and driver. Many drivers even found it a frightening experience.
Featured Photo
Today’s Featured Photo is one that I took especially for this series of posts. It is an image of a semi-detached house to represent the home of Steve’s son Peter. I may need to use it again later on – in the same way that a painted piece of scenery backdrop may be used in several acts of a stage-play.
I chose to include this as a monochrome shot to remove the distraction of colour, revealing something more of the grittiness and brutalist nature of the building.
EXIF data were: Camera was a Fujifilm X-T4 26 MP cropped sensor mirrorless model with a Fujinon XF-16-55 mm lens. Shutter speed was 1/300 secs @ f/3.6 and 16 mm. ISO was 160.
writing and photography 