Monday 29 August 2011

Overheard


An old lady in a coffee shop, to her coffee drinking companion:

"Now, I need you to do me a favour. Do you get the Advertiser? Right. I need you to look for something for me. You can probably guess what I'm getting at. If there's a certain death announcement, cut it out for me. No, he's not dead yet. Look, it's a long story, just cut it out if it's there."


I heard this (she had a loud voice) before I looked up to see where it was coming from. I actually thought the lady was speaking on the phone, but when I looked she was addressing her friend. I'm sure the real-life situation isn't as crazy as she made it sound, but it was very intriguing so obviously I had to transcribe it there and then.

8 comments:

Julie P said...

That's excellent short story/ novel material if I ever I heard it! I wonder what was going on! Am intrigued!

Julie xx

Teresa Stenson said...

Hi Julie - yeah, it felt like there was a BIG story in there. I did hear a few more snippets, but it was the way she delivered that request that I just loved. Hope you're well :)

Rachel Fenton said...

Very Agatha Christie!

You could be the next detective!

"He's not dead yet - give it till the end of the week"! Rahahahaha!

Excellent work - keep it up!

Teresa Stenson said...

Ha, thanks Rachel. I'm not noesy, it's just research... he he.

Dan Purdue said...

Brilliant. I love that she's clearly desperate to get her hands on that clipping, but can't be bothered to buy the paper herself.

Who do you think "he" is? Estranged husband? Arch rival from the local jam-making competition? The possibilities are endless!

Teresa Stenson said...

I know! Whoever it is, he's on his last legs. I particularly like the conspirational tone, and the almost-irritated way she says "it's a long story".

Miles said...

Oooooh... therein lies a movie idea! How very Strangers On A Train...

Karen Jones said...

I'm a bit scared of her.