Bolton Abbey
Peter being a novice at the Augustinian Abbey had been given the unpleasant task of flushing the monks waste into the river Wharfe, unfortunately he did not listen carefully enough to the instructions given to him. Indeed the morning was so mild and the trees so fine, by the time he had reached the river he was back in his childhood playing with his friends. Now the toilets were flushed by removing a stone and allowing the river to flush the open sewer. Peter removed the wrong stone, allowing the monks fish stock to return to the river. Peters penance, restock the fish pond.
Footnote: as there was no picture available, I made use of the name for my key. Peter Abbey
This Post Has 35 Comments
We all make do and while away the time. And we all have to restock the pond. Lovely
Restocking the pond I like it. Mike
Child indeed. Partly do not blame him, but ahhh, did them a lot of injustice
He learned a powerful lesson, thank you for your feed back. Mike
Dear Michael,
Very clever. Usually I’m not so forgiving when someone uses a photo other than the prompt. Under the circumstances you’re well within your rights. Well done…but ugh…poor Peter.
Shalom,
Rochelle
Thank you Rochelle. Fresh fish was a valuable part of the monks diet. I still very much look forward to seeing the real prompt photo. Hope all is Ok. Mike
All is well, Michael. The prompt is there now. There seems to have been a disturbance in the Force. Aside from that, all is well. Thank you for asking.
Great take on the prompt, or lack of it. I’m impressed at the ingenuity of the Friday Fictioneers.
Needs must. Thank you Sandra.
What a great idea! You did well.
Thank you very much. I am still looking forward to seeing the real prompt photo,
Well done, Brother Michael.
Thank you, Brother Patrick.
Nicely improvised! Poor Brother Peter, daydreaming the fish away. He won’t make that mistake again! Great tale Michael 🙂
A most inventive substitution, Michael. I do feel sorry for Peter, but at least he didn’t have to go wash out the toilets by hand. I was afraid that’s what was going to happen until I got to your last line.
Thank you Sandra, in the 1960s as a trainee nurse I was given a tooth brush and told to spend the day cleaning between the tiles of a psychiatric hospital toilet block. As I rebelled I got to train as a nurse, the hospital needed people who asked questions.
Hey, I’d have rebelled too. Of course, I definitely don’t ever want to be a nurse, but stupid is stupid in any profession, right?
Knowing when to rebell is not always easy.
Very true. Although it seems most true rebels don’t bother with figuring out the best time. They just react to injustice when it happens — regardless of the wisdom of their action. And I guess, in the long run, that’s the best way. If we think too long, we can talk ourselves out of the courage necessary to make the move.
Thats true. Mike
Ugh! Poor Peter. Me thinks he’s not quite all there. Great picture to replace “The Invisible Box.”
Hey, the Invisible Box has served me well. 🙂
Thank you, sadly most history is invisible to us, but that gives great scope for writing historical fiction. mike
I like this very much.
So pleased, when I first saw the Bolton Abbey in early 1970, I found a marvelous resource of mental images, which since have started to feature in my writing.
I’m reminded of the Mel Brooks movie “History of the World” where the Lords would holler for the “Piss Bucket Boy” every time they needed to take a whiz.
Now if the novice become a lord, I really hope he has learned how to hit the bucket.
Peter needs some more monkly training in keeping his mind on the present 🙂
I feel sure that he is going to get it now, that is once he has restocked the abbeys fish pond. Mike
Loved the line “Indeed the morning was so mild and the trees so fine, by the time he had reached the river he was back in his childhood playing with his friends.”
Thank you for your kind comment, it really helps to know how a story is seen.
I agree with the previous comment – your images are lovely. And you’ve built a very satisfying story from the missing prompt, too.
Thank you very much Margaret.
Hilarious, but I think he got a better job. So guess he actually won!
You may be right, but the water was cold and the nets heavy and wet, he is certainly going to be tired and hungry. mike