{"id":2017,"date":"2024-04-25T19:08:46","date_gmt":"2024-04-25T19:08:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/?p=2017"},"modified":"2024-04-25T19:10:11","modified_gmt":"2024-04-25T19:10:11","slug":"the-triangle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/the-triangle\/2017\/","title":{"rendered":"The Triangle"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThree ruins at an older ruin.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 At Jane\u2019s gesticulation, Shelley lifted her gaze to the hilltop. The forlorn skeleton of the banqueting hall had once pulsated with bacchanalian pleasures. Then rescanning the high-tide line, \u201cAt least we\u2019re more than these empty shells\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSome of us not much more\u201d Jane batted back acidly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Chloe, watching, marvelled at the continuation of their monthly sociabilities. We don\u2019t have much in common or even like each other that much now.<\/em> A diversionary tactic was called for. \u201cLet\u2019s explore nearer the riverbed for conches\u201d she suggested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhy not,- exchange them for chips and ice cream on the way back!\u201d Shelley\u2019s wisecrack ended in a splutter; Chloe saw the red specks as the froth sank into the sand like evaporating lugworm casts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFingers crossed the buses will still be running.\u201d Jane was determined to prove she was up to it despite the double hip replacement and had pushed ahead on her trekking poles at the word \u201cbuses.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chloe and Shelley struggled to keep up. Clouds curtained the sun and the midday darkened to a winter\u2019s chilling twilight. Had it been wise to ignore the \u201cessential travel only\u201d advisories?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Triangle to Eternity.\u201d Chloe punched the air as she struggled to keep the mood light. \u201cRemember us chanting at school?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shelley rose to the challenge. \u201cYes,- not that we were ever equilateral. Jane was always the cleverest yet we all three pulled-off A1 Maths grades at A Level.\u201d Shelley\u2019s voice almost broke with incredulity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDidn\u2019t we do well?\u201d Chloe put a supportive arm around Shelley\u2019s shoulder, palpably wasted through layers of designer clothing and outer storm wear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shelley had always made a point of dressing appropriately – and expensively. Her Maths PhD and impeccable sartorial style impressed at interview. She secured that position at UK Aerospace and Defence, acquired a \u00a33.5 million manor house, an Afghan Hound, a husband and a couple of paramours along the way. Plus the diagnostically baffling consumptive condition.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chloe mused on. Should they ever discuss anything as crude as money matters (they never did!)in order of personal wealth, Jane as Head Of Mathematical Sciences at a red brick university, would most likely come second to Shelley. She an unemployed statistical meteorologists, single, living in a terraced house, a financially ruined but healthy third and last.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A silvery orb, the sun, broke through, struggling with them against the gusty dominance of Storm Henrik. Jane had disappeared from sight around the headland; it took some time to catch her up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHow many have you got?\u201d  Jane opened her hand  to reveal 13 conches.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cNone for us!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A flash as the lightning struck.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPossible even though statistically improbable. An irrefutable bolt from the blue,\u201d said Chloe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe Triangle to Eternity,\u201d they chanted in unison.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Storm Henrik raged for three days. Helicopter and land searches were impossible due to the gale force winds<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They were found, arranged as a triangle, head to foot, 13 conch shells at the centroid.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cThree ruins at an older ruin.\u201d  At Jane\u2019s gesticulation, Shelley lifted her gaze to the hilltop. The forlorn skeleton of the banqueting hall had once pulsated with bacchanalian pleasures. Then rescanning the high-tide line, \u201cAt least we\u2019re more than these empty shells\u201d \u201cSome of us not much more\u201d Jane batted back acidly.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_10158782359051062_103813597863211":"","twitter_1225722811282530305_1225722811282530305":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1129,1202],"tags":[302,1262,1261,95,7,141,116,157,766,14,1260,174,672,11,301],"class_list":["post-2017","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-1129","category-april-2024-ruin","tag-back","tag-buses","tag-chloe","tag-had","tag-her","tag-jane","tag-like","tag-more","tag-much","tag-she","tag-shelley","tag-three","tag-us","tag-was","tag-way"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pbrNJE-wx","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2017","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2017"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2017\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2019,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2017\/revisions\/2019"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2017"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2017"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.swanseawriterscircle.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2017"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}