It’s funny how some stories just jump into your head and almost write themselves. That’s what happened when I saw the prompt for this week. Thanks to our Tour Guide Rochelle for never leading us astray and to Melanie Greenwood for supplying the photo this week. So pleased to have posted earlier this week in at Number 10 – wow.
Genre: Historical Fiction
Word Count: 100
Keep Turning Right
‘Ladies and gentlemen, your attention please’
The assembled group fell silent, listening intently as Harris read the remainder of their itinerary.
‘I’ll lead you into the maze, although it is absurd to call it a maze, but you’ll be able to tell everyone that you have been.’
‘Why absurd sir?’
‘Not a proper maze, you just keep taking the first turning to the right. We’ll walk around for ten minutes, then go and get some lunch. After lunch, we’ll take a short walk back to the river, where you will board the boat that will take you back to London.’
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If you have read Jerome K. Jerome’s ‘Three Men in a Boat’ you will know that the tourists Harris led into the maze at Hampton Court got lost for hours.
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40again's Blog 
Dear Dee,
I love it when a story just downloads. Every so often that happens to me, other times it’s a wrestling match. I enjoyed your tour.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Dear Rochelle
Yes it is good when that happens, even though it was quite a light touch this week.
Thank you
Dee
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Fun story. It had me googling Hampton Court.
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Excellent, glad you liked it, Patrick
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Thanks for the explanation. I haven’t read the book, so I wouldn’t have gotten your story. Well done though!
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Thank you for reading Caerlynn, pleased the explanation helped.
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Somehow I feel that even if I only had t turn right I would still get lost in a maze. This sounds like and incredibly boring maze! (I think the guide thinks so as well.)
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The guide thought he knew everything and was wrong. I’ve never been a fan of mazes, never seen the attraction, but a few hundred years ago there wan’t much in the way of entertainment…
Thanks for reading
Dee
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Oh I have never read three men in a boat.. but somehow I think that even the simplest of mazes could be a source of getting lost.
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I think it’s a great book Bjorn. It was meant to be a travel guide but by the time it was finished, so many humourous tales had been included, it sold as a novel.
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When a story just flows from the pen (figuratively speaking) it shows in the finished product. Well done. Like you, I’ve never seen the attraction in mazes – I think I’d have to be bored to the point of near insanity before I’d spend an afternoon in that way.
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Thanks Sandra, I entirely agree. I suppose at the time they were all the rage there was precious little else on offer.
Dee
PS – Nothing in the magazine this month, will keep you posted.
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Well, I can guarantee you that if I ever get to London, I’ll never accept the ministrations of a guide named Harris. A cute take on this one, Dee.
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Thanks Sandra, could’t have put it better 🙂
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I am glad you added the footnote or I would not have understood what you were conveying. Ten minutes turned into 2 hours and I guess they missed their boat. 😀
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…and their lunch. Not very happy tourists I bet. Thanks for reading Joy.
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Sod’s law. Thanks for the giggle.
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You’re very welcome.
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Dear Dee,
Looks like I have some reading to do. Thanks for introducing this to me with a fine short story this week.
All my best,
Marie Gail
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Dear Marie Gail
Thank you and I hope you enjoy the book, i revisited it a while ago and it is still a good read.
Best wishes
Dee
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rub-a-dub-dub, three men in a tub,
then got lost and went for grub.
Randy
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Perfect!
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It sounds like the tour guide’s discovered a good way to get a couple of extra hours off duty. Fun story.
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Thanks Margaret glad you liked it 😊
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Underestimated the difficulty of the maze, me thinks.
Ten minutes, hours. What‘s the difference? 😉
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Me thinks you’re right. Thanks for reading
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It’s always nice when a story happens like that! Getting stuck in a maze would be scary to me. I hope they weren’t too late for lunch.
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Yes it is, felt good, then I worried that I could have done something better … There’s always next week. Wouldn’t fancy that either and I think they missed lunch. Thanks for reading Kirsten.
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Oh to be lost! I prefer the left turns in life.
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Something to be said for left turns… Thank you for reading 😊
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I enjoyed the literary reference. Wonderful!
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Thank you. Pleased you liked the story.
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This is amazing! (Pun intended.)
Long ago I did the Hampton Court maze with two mathematicians.
One algorithm for solving a maze is to turn right, right etc. BUT if you then go into a dead end you go back to the last right and turn left – perhaps the rogue guide forgot this tiny but important detail in 3 men in a boat.
The Hampton Court maze indeed turned out to be all right turns, except for one vital left.
Not sure where you’re writing from but Hampton Court is 500 this year I think – worth a visit.
If you visit my story you’ll find another real maze-solving algorithm in a fairy story. (A little plug there!)
Thanks for the reminder of that wonderful story of those 3 men. Humorously retold.
(PS What happened to the two Mathematicians in the maze? Reader I married one of them.)
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Thank you for sharing your story, it’s great to hear from you. I live in Wales and have visited Hampton Court quite a few times, it’s getting a showing on TV at the moment with the screening of ‘Wolf Hall’.
I’ll certainly pop over to read your fairy story, thanks for leaving your little plug!
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Thanks Dee for the links. That’s a funny story. 😀 I have to laugh when I think of people wandering in a maze for hours. I don’t suppose it’s funny for them though. I enjoyed reading about the castle and seeing the photos on the literature about it. Well done. 🙂 — Suzanne
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Thanks for reading Suzanne, pleased you enjoyed the story and the links. 😊
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