Shreds of Gorak: 11-20

Memoir, anecdote and meaningful other: Shreds 11-20 Nan Love: My nan had recently had a fall and I'd gone to visit her, but as I hugged her, I felt something soft and malleable in my hand… The Scratching: Rats move into my loft, causing a rat phobia from my childhood to re-surface. I set about understanding my enemy and observe the emergence of murderous feelings towards them. Waste Management: A facetious suggestion that hospital waste could be recycled and used as a meat alternative. I Swear, You Swear: At age seven I persuade a fellow pupil to swear. We swear at passers-by, awarding ourselves points based on the severity of their reactions. Knit Love Not War: After learning to knit, I have an idea to create a more peaceful world through 'Knit and Natter' parties. Fight, Fight! Through having to defend myself from school bullies, I discover an inner rage. Hans Free: A tongue-in-cheek look at driving while using a mobile phone. Run Reynard: A satirical look at fox hunting, offering solutions to nuisance foxes in the form of 'fox utopias'. Islands in the Stream: A fanciful tale about the relationship between Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton. A story about love, rejection and a song ruined with cringy 'aha's'. Model Behaviour: Disillusioned with the posts on offer, I take a cynical look at the staged photos of those in employment on the wall of the Job Centre. Viewing them as prisoners, caught up in a system that serves its own needs, I enter into an imaginary conversation with 'Joe'.