Death or Survival

I’ve been working today on my novel. I don’t have many words to show for it – 300 or so - but I have made progress. Now I’m tired, but I DAREN’T sit anywhere too comfortable as I simply cannot be trusted to stay awake… Yes, even now, nearly a week later.

So instead, I thought I’d start the first, in possibly a series of posts, about the boxes that my Dad made me sort through while I was in the UK.

I come for strong ‘keep it, it might come in useful one day’ stock, which accounts for the boxes still being there after twenty five years but I married a ‘chuck it, it’s rubbish’ man. I was tempted to throw out the lot without looking through it, (how proud Husband will be to hear that) but there was something specific that I was looking for. Sadly, I didn’t find it but I did find some hilarious treasures to tell you about.

The first treasure was a copy of a novelette that we had to write for homework in my first year at Grammar School. It was called: Death or Survival. I don’t believe it was my first attempt at a novel, but it still makes entertaining reading: it’s so dreadful I can hardly bear it.

Before I introduce you to some of its charms, let me take this moment to apologise to Irish people everywhere – I’m so, so sorry…

It opens with a drunken Captain of a ship, his Oirish deck hand Seamus and Seamus’ immortal line: “Oh Begorra, you been at it again, ‘Sorr.’”

It’s the story of four children: Philip, John, Charmaine, Jessica and their dog, Bongo (yes, really). (Obviously Philip is the oldest; John is his sidekick; Charmaine is vain and a pain and Jessica is wet but will win through…) Because the Captain is drunk the ship is involved in some kind of accident the night after leaving port and the four children and their dog are marooned on a desert Island. Quite which port they’ve left, I don’t specify but clearly, it’s not the Isle of Wight… It’s in the flavour of ‘Lord of the Flies’ and Enid Blyton’s adventures. Clearly I read way too much Blyton.

My teacher’s comments include:
‘Don’t exaggerate too much – your story loses credibility otherwise.’ Hmm, you think?
‘Your characters are described well – they are very believable.’ Though cliched.
‘The characters are very convincing.’ In Enid Blyton's world.

Illustrations by the Author, it says.