Advertisement
If you have a new account but are having problems posting or verifying your account, please email us on hello@boards.ie for help. Thanks :)
Hello all! Please ensure that you are posting a new thread or question in the appropriate forum. The Feedback forum is overwhelmed with questions that are having to be moved elsewhere. If you need help to verify your account contact hello@boards.ie
[Writing Contest] - THE ARENA
Options
Comments
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Advertisement
-
Just read DK's and it's absolutely brilliant! I'd say I'm fairly screwed, but sure hopefully I'll do better with more practice
Anyway, here it is, 600 words including the title
:
The Races
The place was empty now. Only the well trod, muddy ground and the few missed pieces of litter would hint at the thousands of people that flooded the area only days before. It was always like this when the yearly races ended. It would be similar at any large organised event of course. One day the area is empty, then a kind of anticipation builds up and before you know it, the area that was so quiet only days before is now buzzing with activity.
For a short while it takes on an entirely different personality, the atmosphere is transformed. And then, without warning, and almost always in much less time than the build-up takes, everything just reverts back to normal. The crowds disappear, the marquees are taken down, the rubbish is picked off the ground and pretty soon there are only traces left.
Things are a little different this time though, thought Pádraig, as he surveyed the grounds. By rights, the races shouldn’t be finished yet. The crowds should still be here. The noise, the music, the makeshift bars and barriers. He should be struggling to move through a sea of drunken revellers making the most of the last day of the races. And yet, here he stood alone in the grounds.
The place wasn’’t entirely empty however. The marquees may have been taken down, but the makeshift barriers had been replaced by the Gardaí’s crime scene tape; the crowds may be gone, but the forensic investigators were now moving in. In other years, the grounds had seemed peaceful after the end of the races, now there was tension in the air.
It was crazy to think something like this could happen in Ireland. Crazy to think our little island couldn’t stay separate from the conflicts affecting the rest of the world. He looked down at the scorched earth in front of him, where the device was detonated. The politicians were targeted. Of the 6 people who died in the blast, three were TDs and one a senator. More were put in hospital. A protest against the continued use of Shannon airport by the US military.
Perhaps the most interesting thing about the incident was the public’s reaction. Obviously the condolences came rolling in. A country in mourning for the men they had been cursing only days before. And also, of course, there were those who would call it justice, who had developed a hatred of all politicians and would now cruelly joke that ‘the bastards got what they deserved’. But most importantly, for the vast majority of people, the tragedy opened their eyes. People were seeing that there were bigger problems than the ones they were dealing with day to day. They were realising that our connections to the rest of the world aren’t only economic. We had seen the war on terror on the news, seen the unrest spread across the middle east, struggled to understand the problems and conflicts which seemed to involve half the world yet were so far away from us. Now we were part of it. This wasn’t related to the recession, to the banks, to the corruption of our leaders. There was more to our world than the economic crisis.
Pádraig looked back up across the grounds. It was getting late. Had things gone as planned, the last race of the week would have been starting now. The events of the this week would undoubtedly cast a shadow on the races for years to come. But maybe with a bit of luck, he thought, we’ll have learned something from it.0 -
-
-
-
-
don't know how to send "Thanks" in order to vote(??)
It's the little thumbs-up icon at the bottom-right of the post you want to thank.How does a body join in the fun by the way?
You just register interest in being a challenger in this thread afaik.
Welcome, by the way.
0 -
Sorry folks I didn't have my laptop last night to respond here. Thanks for the lovely compliments on my story. I'm never quite sure if something I write is sh1t or not so it's great to get positive feedback.
needacchelp, thanks for the challenge, I hope you're not planning anything at the races this year!
Oooh! I only just found this thread...what a great idea..loved that story by DK but very new to this Boards lark...don't know how to send "Thanks" in order to vote(??) How does a body join in the fun by the way?
You need a certain postcount to see the thanks (thumbs up) button. I sould really know what the number is.
To get involved you have to challenge me or whoever won last. But if you're thinking of challenging me, I won't be able to accept til next week because I have 14,000 words to beta read for someone and then there's Eurovision...
:pac:0 -
-
-
Advertisement
-
Advertisement