Continuing Activities - Month Six (Part Two)

[smallhobbit]

I finished two FutureLearn courses today.  The first was Working Lives on British Railways: Railway History and Heritage by University of Strathclyde.  This was absolutely fascinating.  I've watched nearly all the series of Michael Portillo's Great British Railway Journeys, which look at the railways both in the past and the present, so I'd seen some things about the railways, and particularly the construction and the effect the coming of the railways had.  This concentrated on the people involved, engine drivers, signalmen, navvies and clerks, and was really instructive.  The presenters were enthusiastic.  There was even a welcome to the course by Sir Jim McDonald, who is principal and vice-chancellor of the university.  They're doing a similar course on mining, which I'm already signed up for and there's another one due on mill working.

The other course I finished was Start Writing Fiction by the Open University, which was okay, but I felt I knew quite a bit from being part of the fanfiction community.  The final assignment is for a short story of up to 1,000 words, which comes up for peer review.  I was relatively happy with what I wrote (discerning readers will spot similarities to some of my fics) and I had two positive reviews, but overall I'm glad the course is finished.

 

Mrs Smith put on her coat and looked at her reflection in the mirror.  She patted her hair and adjusted the scarf around her neck.  Happy with her appearance, she opened her handbag to check everything was in there.  Once satisfied, she opened the door of her hotel room and then turned back for one final look round to make sure she hadn’t forgotten anything.  She then closed the door firmly.  Further down the corridor, she heard the lift stop, and glancing up, she saw a man was about to step inside it.

Knowing how long she would have to wait if she missed her chance, she called out to him, “Oh, please, hold the lift for me.”

With a sigh the man obligingly kept the doors open and she hurried to join him.  Her handbag was still unzipped, and she quickly pushed her key inside, before closing the bag.

“Thank you,” she said.  He nodded but paid no further attention to her.  That didn’t surprise her.  She was simply one more woman of late middle age, like so many who stayed in that hotel.

They hadn’t descended very far when the lift shuddered and came to a halt.

“Oh!” Mrs Smith said.  “Oh dear!”  Her fingers twitched nervously, and she opened her handbag again, took out her phone, fumbled with it and replaced it in her bag. 

She took a step towards the man, who grimaced and said, “I doubt we’ll be here for long.”

“Oh, no, no, I’m sure we won’t be,” Mrs Smith said.  “It’s just, you know …”

She took another step towards him, coming within touching range of his suit jacket.  He glared at her and tried to move away from her, but as he did so she moved in the same direction.

He said icily, “Look, there’s nothing to worry about.  I suggest you remain calm.”  From his expression she could see just how contemptuous he was of her.

However, as he spoke, she raised her arm and plunged a syringe hard into his shoulder.  He gave her a look of complete astonishment, before sliding to the floor.

She saw he was trying to speak, so remarked, “It’s okay.  The effect’s only temporary.  It should wear off in about an hour’s time.”

She felt like sticking her tongue out at the man in retaliation for the way he had been so condescending to her earlier.  But she resisted the urge, thinking it would be rather unprofessional, however satisfying.

The lift shuddered again and resumed its downward journey.  When it reached the ground floor, the doors opened and she called out, “Please, could someone come and help me.  There’s a gentleman in here and he’s collapsed.  We were stuck between floors for a few minutes and I think he must have had a panic attack.”

As she expected, most of the people waiting for the lift took a step backwards, not wishing to get involved, but one young man stepped inside, saying, “It’s okay, love, I’ll take care of him.”

Having fulfilled her part, Mrs Smith swiftly crossed the hotel foyer before glancing back.  She saw the young man had called a friend and together they were helping the unfortunate man out of the lift.  She turned and left the hotel, instantly blending into the crowd, as she made her way to the tube station.

She was about to take the stairs down when her phone pinged.  She glanced at the message which said, ‘Your package has been safely collected and will be delivered as agreed.’  She permitted herself a small smile, such as a lady might make on learning the new curtains for her dining room would be arriving soon.  Or, a civil servant, who had recently started to accept payments from a foreign government, would soon be ready for interrogation.

Mrs Smith stood on the platform waiting for the tube to arrive.  As it entered the station the waiting crowd surged forward, and she felt someone push against her.  As one who had long experience of Harrods’ sales, she pushed back and onto the train.  As expected, there were no seats available, but she was happy to stand, after all she was only travelling for three stops.  As she held onto the centre pole, she felt in her coat pocket, her fingers closing around the bug which had been slipped in there.  The tube lurched forward, she was slightly unbalanced, and in the process planted the bug on the man beside her. 

It was all very satisfactory: an errant civil servant apprehended, and a tracker placed on his handler who had no suspicion about the late middle-aged woman standing next to him in the crowded tube.

 

Comments

[castiron]

This is a very satisfying story.

[smallhobbit]

Thank you very much :)

[debriswoman]

This reads very well:-)

[smallhobbit]

Thank you - it was either Mrs Smith or the Ferret ;)

[stonepicnicking_okapi]

I am glad you found a course that you really enjoyed and inspiring further learning. That's wonderful. I enjoyed your story. I like the surprise twist of plot and all the similes. It reminded me of that Lord Peter Wimsey novel where he employs the middle-aged lady to do some snooping, making use of an underused and overlooked asset.

[smallhobbit]

Thank you. I'm delighted you liked my story.

[scfrankles]

Just wanted to tell you I have finally signed up for FutureLearn! The Frisian course is coming round again in early November and I didn't want to miss it.

The railway history course does sound very interesting. And though we're all always improving, I think it's not surprising that you weren't that enthusiastic about the start writing fiction course. You have got quite a lot of experience behind you now ^____^ But it's a lovely story (nearly said fic :P) for your final assignment and I'm glad you got positive reactions to it. Middle-aged women having adventures for the win! ^___^

Particularly liked: She permitted herself a small smile, such as a lady might make on learning the new curtains for her dining room would be arriving soon.

and

As one who had long experience of Harrods’ sales, she pushed back and onto the train. That was a nice detail ^___^

[smallhobbit]

Oh excellent! Beware, it's addictive - all those wonderful things to learn about. I'm signed up for a three poetry course in a month's time as well as coal mining and mill working.

The writing course was very heavy on creating your character and then letting the plot flow from there, which was okay. But expecting a story of 1,000 words when you're supposed to fully create your character first was unrealistic, especially where the majority of the course led up to a 500 word character study. 'Mrs Smith' was a completely new creation of mine (I may well use her again) and was popular with my two reviewers. As I said to Okapi, it was either her or the Ferret.

I'm glad you liked the details - she was fun to create.

[margaret_r]

Great story, I'm not surprised you had good reviews, Mrs Smith is a very interesting subject! You really don't need a start writing course as you are no novice, but such courses can give you some insights sometimes.

The railways course does sound interesting, I'm glad you enjoyed it.

[smallhobbit]

Thank you very much. I found some of the exercises interesting, but overall it wasn't that helpful.

The railway course was fascinating.