Hello all, I din’t have any time last week to read many of the FF posts by other folks and I apologise for that, it’s been mad, busy here, even with the Boss away on some awful cruise around the Canaries or an all inclusive to Corfu.
Thanks as ever to the Queen of improvisation of flash fiction, Rochelle Wisoff, I have so much to learn. Thanks also to Nick Allen for the thought provoking photo prompt, I’ll try my best to get it off quickly.
Old King Cole was a broken man after contracting tinnitus; experts believed possibly bought on by the folk music played by his Fiddlers 3.
He had instructed them to oil their bows which only resulted in deeply unsatisfying non-musical, swiffing sounds from the instruments. He’d lost count of the number of smashed bowls and fractured pipes the equerry had dropped as he skidded across the lubricated throne-room floor.
The, Not So Merry, Old King took to his shed, exacerbating the tinnitus by running lathe workshops fashioning wooden bowls.
The trio moved to Jaywick where they now busk in the shopping precinct.
There we have it, 100 words again, I can’t remember if we’ve met Old King Cole yet in my first “FF” season. I’ll leave that for someone else to point out!
The Count Of North Clifton 
If you’ve used Old King Cole before, I don’t remember. Anyway, this was a fun take on the prompt.
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Thank you, kind words!
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Tinnitus is a tough thing to deal with, I feel a bit for Old King Cole, he used to be so merry! 🙂
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Merry no more, despite the season
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Ya never disappoint!!
And, frankly, even if you used Old King Cole, I’m willing to bet it had nothing to do with this one. (And if I weren’t so lazy, I’d go check!)
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Thanks me too, I’m at my folks tonight so I imagine I’ll be going to be early, I always sleep well and long there, so before sleep I will check and let the world know! I know I haven’t mentioned fiddlers and oil in the same FF sentence before
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Old king should get his tinnitus checked by a doctor and let fiddlers manage their own instrument and music.
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Quite right but he liked to throw his weight about, he is asking after all!
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Those Fiddlers have got a lot to answer for. Brilliant story. Loved it.
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Dear Shrawley,
No wonder the old king developed tinnitus. Those fiddlers don’t sound like they were all that pleasant to listen to. I agree with Dale, if you’ve used Old King Cole before I doubt that it was anything like this. Great fun is always found here. Keep it up. 😀
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Thanks Rochelle, I don’t think I can give it up anyway! its an addiction, I wake up all excited on a wednesday morning, print the photo off and take it to work with me in my car, trying to summon up the inspiration!!
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Ok.. So we have the King exacerbating in the shed and the trio busking the shoppers.. What is the world coming to??? Ha ha aha ahahh love it!!!!!
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It’s nice to know that Old King Cole is still about. Cute story.
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Poor King Cole, he used to be a merry old soul. He needs to get that tinnitus checked out. Very clever tale! 🙂
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Thanks Brenda, check out my other FF’s all follow a similar vein
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Will do! =)
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I loved Old King Cole when he was Merry. Now… well now he just seems old. Hahaha, wonderfully told tale.
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What a fun and fresh take on the prompt.
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Thanks much appreciated, its getting harder and harder though, I’m running out of recognisable children characters!! Next week i’ll be bringing Mumphy back from the dead!!
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The affictions that beset old kings! Such a merry story for a merry and very busy season.
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Why thank you muchly!
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Oiling the fiddlers… that’s one idea he he… smooth telling.
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Cheers! It makes me 😂
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[…] week I was reminded of a not so merry King Cole and his previous misadventures, catalogued here Cole’s back story. I’ve been running out of children’s characters to bastardise and hopefully ruin their […]
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