Moles Story-Telling Group: 2007

These are the stories, for what they are worth, that I have written so far for the Moles Story-Telling Group during 2007.

Please remember that work published on the Internet is protected by copyright. Thank you.

Date	Chairperson	Theme	My Story
January 23rd	Robert	A modern cautionary tale	A Cautionary Tale When the theme was set, it was suggested that we try a cautionary tale in the style of Hilaire Belloc. I have endeavored to keep both the verse form and the spirit of Belloc. Therefore Wayne must come to a bad end!
February 27th	Des	Fire and Ice	Fire and Ice I used Robert Frost's poem, "Fire and Ice" as a starting point. The story which follows could be science fiction, but it is not necessarily so. Was my companion merely an accomplished illusionist?
March 27th	Peta	I saw his face	I Saw His Face at the Window This story, however, is science fiction: the window in the title is an interface between one universe and another.
April 24th	Anne	Dear to My Heart	Dear to My Heart This was not to be a sentimental romance. We were asked to think of something very dear to us. As you will see if you look at the 'Credo' part of my web-site, my faith is very dear to me. This story is, as I said to the group, 'a true story in a fictitious setting'. Indeed, three quarters of the story is autobiographical. But I have put the story into the words and thoughts of a fictious Philip. Readers may like to compare the story with the page 'Why I am a Catholic'. The name Philip was suggested to me by a now dead friend to whom I once regularly took Holy Communion. The story does not, however, recount his death. But the ray of sunlight falling on Philip's face at the end of the story is an echo of an occurrence at his funeral. The day had been cloudy, but as his coffin started to be lowered into the grave, the sun broke through and a bird began singing in a nearby tree. A co-incidence?
May 22nd	Sylvia	The Clash	The Clash In this story I return again to my Classical past. This is a shortened version of the disturbing story told by Euripides in his play "The Bacchae." The ending is bleak. There are obvious parallels in modern times.
June 26th	Ray	Transformation	Transformation The theme was suggested by Kafka's 'Metamorphosis.' My story, therefore, begins with a reference to the hapless Gregor Samsa, but it develops very differently. We have transformation or metamorphosis on two levels: an insect pupating; a human changing into a different life form. Unlike Kafka's story, this one has a happy ending.
July 24th	Pat	Necessity is the Mother of Invention	Necessity the Mother of Invention? I did not find this theme so easy; no obvious examples of the proverb came to mind. In fact, the more I thought about the proverb, the more it seemed to me that it was wrong. A quick search on Google confirmed that I was not alone in thinking this! This story, which takes the form of a dialog, explores some of these ideas.
No meeting during August
September 25th	To plan for the 'Arts Alive' event next month: firstly to decide on the format, and secondly to rehearse the event.
October 23rd	'Arts Alive 2007.'
November 27th	Sylvia	A story developed, perhaps as a sequel or prequel, from a well-known story.	An Unexpected Reunion This is another story that takes the form of a dialog and explores some ideas. This time I have taken Sophocles' "King Oedipus" as my starting point. The story as portrayed in the play does raise some questions. In my story, two old shepherds, one from Thebes the other from Corinth, meeting against expectations, explore some of the apparent inconsistencies in the Sophoclean story.
No meeting in December: Merry Christmas & a Happy New Year!