Reading
Stories
The following stories were submitted to our sister website, toowrite.com. They were written by people from Reading or are about Reading itself.
Tree Leaves, Sheep Legs
Author:
Christopher Teh Boon Sung
of Reading
So excited by my discovery that I wrote everything down: my approach, the assumptions, and the calculation steps as if it was for a school report. And when my father read my report, he was pleased.
Read the full story here
A Walk Too Far
Author:
G Picton
of Reading
With shaking finger, I pushed the switch to ''on''. Never have I been so glad to see such a welcoming sight as that narrow beam of light striking the sooty brickwork of the tunnel walls.
Read the full story here
Aftershock
Author:
Elizabeth Berk
of Reading
It's only a week, yes, seven nights ago it happened. I can't get it out of my mind. The awful groaning noise, everything moving and breaking all around us and the absolute blackness, shutting us in, choking us even more than the smell of plaster.
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Turkey Trip, 1969
Author:
Elizabeth Berk
of Reading
The gentleman mopped his brow, anticipating the newspaper headlines, no doubt. At Meaux he courteously assisted me off the train and lingered until he heard the loud and excited cries that meant I had met up with my English friend.
Read the full story here
Nepal - A Year Under the Bridge
Author:
Steven C Davis
of Reading
Coming back from Nepal, one thing I could not accept was the generalisations this society instils and inflicts. Nobody should be categorised or dismissed as beggars starving in the gutter - everyone is still a human being, regardless of their status or well being.
Read the full story here
The Enemy Within
Author:
Elizabeth Berk
of Reading
Today I feel more positive. A dear friend invited me over and we ended up in an ice-cream parlour, eating fancy ices. Why didn't I remember that she had a very similar problem a couple of years ago? Yet here she is, looking fit and well. It cheered me up. I made my husband feel better, I can see, just by being brighter.
Read the full story here
Mickey Goes To Woodley
Author:
Trudy Ballard
of Reading
The thing that really galled me about the whole experience was not the "shame" of having discovered vermin pootling along my larder shelves, but the fact that I had spent the previous evening taking everything out of the cupboard - giving it a good clean and rearranging it all.
Read the full story here
Walking Forwards for Christmas
Author:
Judy M Kilford
of Reading
I had already waited 21 years, and had helped pay the mortgage, seen my husband through his professional qualifications and had had two children. It wasn't difficult to decide to take up my place and my husband encouraged me wholeheartedly.
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The Englishman Fiddler
Author:
Juan Carlos Peris
of Reading
First weekend the session took place in our town's main pub, Sauvage's. I sat just beside the musicians' table and could drink as many pints of the famous dark Irish beer as them. Because the more beers the finer the music sounds and is listened.
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Earth Under Nails
Author:
Catherine Turbe
of Reading
She had not had any dreams since she had arrived in England, she had to be practical and resolute, which she had accomplished in the early years of her married life where money was tight and danger lurked around every corner of the street, in a post war smog.
Read the full story here