Make Up a Story
Stories from Around the World
Going Nowhere
This lady is called Blanche Scott . Or Amelia, Amy for short. She could be known as ‘BAA’. Makes her sound like a sheep!
She’s not really a pilot – she is just posing or having her photo taken. She’s too young to be a pilot, and she is wearing a mighty greasy skirt for a model. She could be a pilot - she looks as though she’s steering - but she could be the mechanic. Well, she’s not looking where she is going! No she’s not - she is far too inexperienced; she’s taking her life into her hands. Maybe she’s not inexperienced; maybe she’s the daughter of Scott of the Antarctic, an adventurer, a chip of the old block.
It’s the plane that’s old; so old it’s in a museum. Which has a wooden roof. But there is grass and people so it could be a showground. Maybe it’s at the Gower Show. If it’s there it is probably very wet – it’s always raining in Wales. It could be an early model of a Red Arrows aeroplane! With a whirring engine. Yes, it’s a very early airshow. Then the plane is in an aerodrome - a military one – perhaps it’s Biggin Hill. Well, it’s not a Spitfire! It’s made of wood and canvas and tubular steel.
It’ll be cold and windy up in the air in that plane - no wonder she has got a thick knitted jumper and leather gauntlets on. Maybe it will land quickly on a beach, or on the sea. Well, it could be a seaplane – it looks like it has a rudder - although it would need floats. It does look like its on water.
She will land on a beach – in Spain, where it is warmer. The sky will be blue and the grass green. Then she’ll have too many clothes on; she’ll only need shorts and a top – not boots like that! Perhaps she is heading for the North Pole. Or Russia – she looks Russian with all that dark brown hair. She won’t get that far. It’s doubtful she will get as far as the other side of the channel. It won’t fly at all with those wheels; it’s all too heavy to fly. And flimsy. Perhaps it’s not a plane. Perhaps it is one big farce. Perhaps it’s just parked … in England … in the cold. If the plane was in Exeter we could ask her where she is going. It shouldn’t stay parked in Exeter too long – it’ll get a parking ticket!
Story created by: Beryl, Jill, Rena, Roland, Brian and Molly
St. James Memory Café, Exeter, August 2015.
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