14 minute read
SHORT STORY Scenes From a Return Journey
Creative Awards poetry prize 2020 WINNER
Congratulations to Julian Vignoles, winner of the Anthology Magazine Short Story Award 2021
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Scenes From a Return Journey
words julian vignoles
The sky to the west was clear blue, but the cloudiness in Con’s head was back with a vengeance. He felt passive – the holiday was confusing him. Why were they standing in a ruined building on a headland? He could see islands in the distance and beyond them a horizon that had no line. Inland, the dark mass of Mount Brandon looked brooding, mysterious – scary, even – as its peak reached into the clouds.
Fiona had driven them from Killarney to the Dingle Peninsula, the most westerly part of County Kerry. Dingle town was bustling, not that he really noticed. When they watched a boat full of excited kids chug away from the pier, Fiona reminded him of their own family excursion to see Fungi, the once famous resident of the bay. Then she took the road west to Slea Head, before turning off and stopping on a narrow lane. All was quiet, except for Atlantic waves breaking nearby and the crack of the car’s central locking as they began their stroll across a field.
They came to an abandoned building, where one wall had a stone carved, ‘Kirrary National School 1893’, a legend to cinema buffs. Only one or two roof timbers remained, the classroom exposed to the elements since its fictional inhabitants and their huge entourage departed, weary and massively overbudget, in 1970, leaving legends to grow in the area. Fiona was on the trail of Ryan’s Daughter, a sucker for the romance, the scenery. And Con used to be a great admirer of David Lean, fascinated by the ambition and the folly of that era of film-making, the outrageous budgets, the hangers-on, the waste. But that was part of
his old life, filled with ambitions and professional struggles. Now that was disappearing slowly into the distance, like a character departing a Lean film.
‘This is where Robert Mitchum and Sarah Miles, Charles and Rosie in the film, lived, before they were run out by the cruel mob, remember?’ she said.
Con was watching a seagull land on a gable and look around, before continuing its journey with a squeal.
‘Why do you still like that film so much?’ he asked her.
She looked quizzically at him now. He’d forgotten they’d been here before.
‘It’s just … the ambition of it, magnificent and flawed, overwrought and compelling, at the same time. You don’t remember?’
She reminded him of the plot: Rosie Ryan, a dreamer and spoilt child, whose romantic impulse leads to tragedy. Loved in different ways, by five different men: her husband, her lover, her father, the priest, a simpleton she refuses to kiss till the last scene.
‘And she has all these expensive parasols representing her folly. They could get blown away easily.’
Con was starting to recall something of the drama. He used to be able to summon his favourite Lean moments at will. But the celebrated shots of the Russian steppes, the endless birch trees or the Arabian desert were reduced now to flickers in his brain, the films’ characters’ fleeting faces.
‘Like so many of us, she clings to the promise of passion, reads cheap fiction. The village can’t offer her much but marriage to the school teacher.’
Fiona stepped carefully on broken pieces of slate.
‘Do you remember how Shaughnessy, the teacher who likes Beethoven and flower pressing, lives with Rosie’s infidelity, but at the end of the film shows real backbone as everything breaks down?’
Con thought of something. ‘Mitchum cast against type, wasn’t it?’ He giggled, but Fiona had gone exploring. He looked out to sea, at the Blasket Island known as the sleeping giant, Inis Tuaisceart. The sun appeared through clouds on the horizon, to shine a spotlight on the humanlooking figure in repose on the ocean.
‘Fiona, look,’ he pointed, stumbling a little.
She came and put a protective arm round him. ‘You can see it in several scenes in the film,’ she said.
He felt like a passenger in her little odyssey. ‘What about some early Christianity now?’ she said, trying to be provocative, when they were back in the car and moving again.
‘Oh, no,’ said Con.
She drove with determination inland to Kilmalkedar, a ruined seventh century church complex. At the Romanesque church, she pointed out the alphabet stone and a carved lintel. He thought she was looking particularly reverential as she stood in the chancel.
‘What is it about ancient Christianity you like so much?’ he asked.
‘It’s the evidence of belief, and its endurance,’ Fiona said slowly, her eyes twinkling.
Con was silent as Fiona drove back through Dingle and started to climb towards the Conor Pass. Con saw scraggy-looking sheep, then a sign in German and English on the mountain road. ‘It says TURN BACK NOW,’ he shouted.
‘Con, that’s only for trucks and buses.’
She changed down gear again, the mechanism grinding noisily.
‘You know, Sarah Miles was driven over this road many times to the locations,’ she said. Con felt nervous as they kept gaining height. He found it hard to gaze over the edge; it looked like hundreds of feet of a drop.
‘Did she think about Robert Mitchum?’ he asked.
‘What made you think of that?’
‘Didn’t they get together that time?’
‘Con, she was married to the man who wrote the screenplay, Robert Bolt.’
‘Would that stop her?’
‘Actually, they did get together, but it was years later.’
Fiona stopped the car.
‘What’s wrong?’ Con said. He hadn’t noticed that she was pulling in to wait for an oncoming vehicle, the code of driving on the mountain pass. Then a rock tumbled from somewhere above them, bounced on the road, then descended to what seemed like the bottomless valley.
‘It’s scary,’ he said.
‘Con, don’t be silly,’ she said as she waved at the oncoming driver and put the car into gear again.
‘She was a fine-looking woman,’ he said.
‘Who?’
‘Sarah.’
‘You don’t say.’ There was silence, then she said, ‘Strange that you’d remember a bit of gossip, but not the plot of the film.’
He didn’t answer, his head was now preoccupied with an
image of a twenty-something actress, and the love-lives and infidelities of two pampered film stars from another era. It didn’t stop there; he thought of his own past liaison, illicit nights in his lover’s arms. Wasn’t that all over, now? He glanced at Fiona, her hands firmly on the steering wheel, her eyes looking assuredly at the road ahead. This was stability, contentment even.
Fiona slowed to allow another car to pass. Con could see kids in holiday mode. The family dog had its head out the window, panting as it surveyed the scenery. The children made faces – Con stared back as they laughed – but his brain was gone on overdrive.
‘Do you remember those days?’ he said.
‘What days? I’m concentrating on the road.’
Voices – the kids in the car, his own children’s cries from distant, happy holidays – and the engine’s hum started to echo round his brain, like a film’s sound effect.
But nostalgia gave way to a chill as he remembered what the doctor told him the previous month, the day he was asked to draw a clock and made a total mess of it. How had a simple clock confused him? The doctor looked solemn, Fiona anxious. If only the mulch he sensed in his brain would somehow melt away, and his normal, busy mind return. Something told him that wasn’t going to happen. Julian Vignoles worked in RTÉ in various roles as radio producer, TV producer and commissioning executive. He is a Co. Wicklow native and lives in Dublin. Between 2005 and 2012, he managed the selection process and the preparation of Ireland’s Eurovision Song Contest entries, and served on the board of directors of the Contest, the Reference Group, for two terms, from 2006 to 2010.
From 2003 to 2008 he was Deputy Commissioning Editor, Entertainment, involved in the development and commissioning of some highly successful TV series: Naked Camera and Celebrity Jigs and Reels.
He is the author of three published non-fiction titles since leaving his broadcasting career: A Delicate Wildness: The Life and Loves of David Thomson Lilliput Press 2014; Inside the Eurovision Song Contest, Liffey Press 2015; Rory Gallagher- the Man Behind the Guitar Collins Press 2018 (Gill Books 2021)
Since 2012, as well as writing he has worked in tourism, co-founding a bike tour business in Dublin and now as a driver/guide with a private tour company.
Anthology Short Story Competition 2021
Thank you to all who participated in the competition
Highly Commended
Kathleen Macadam (Ireland) – Running Away Steven Sousa Jr (USA) – First Day of School Tony Hunter-Craig (Spain) – Losing It Catherine Kavanagh (Ireland) – My Singer
Shortlisted
Anamaria Martinez (Germany) – Uncles and Wolfhounds • Andrew Segal (USA) – The Loving Guide • Anne Byrne (Ireland) – Leaving • Catherine Kavanagh (Ireland) – My Singer • Fergal Greene (Belgium) – Oranges And Lemons • Joan Treacy (Ireland) – Canal Bank • Julian Vignoles (Ireland) – Scenes from a Return Journey • Kathleen Macadam (Ireland) – Running away • Lakshmy A. Krishnan (Singapore) – The Happiest Place in the World • Marguerite Doyle (Ireland) – The Gift • Max McCoubrey (Ireland) – Eventual Forgiveness • Steven Sousa Jr (USA) – First Day of school • Tony Hunter-Craig (Spain) – Losing It
We would like to thank our hardworking independent panel of judges, who carefully read and assessed each entry to select the shortlist, highly commended writers and overall winner.
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BOOKS
Mind Yourself
By Niamh Donnellan
Winner of the Anthology Short
Story Award 2020 has her first novel published.
I always knew I had a book in me. How many people say that and never put pen to paper?
I worried that would be my fate too. I began writing my book Mind Yourself over ten years ago. In fits and starts I wrote a few chapters here and there over the years until it was nearly complete. Then I left it to gather metaphorical dust, languishing in a folder on my laptop. Nobody but me had ever read it. I never mentioned my writing even to my closest friends. Calling myself a writer? That felt far too presumptuous.
Winning the Anthology Short Story Award in 2020 was a real turning point for me. It gave me the encouragement I needed to proudly call myself a writer. The warm feedback for my short story, Islands, gave me a new sense of confidence in my abilities. It also spurred me on to finally finish my book.
I devoted every spare minute to the book for three months, editing and refining it late into the night. Then I reluctantly handed it over to friends and family to proofread. It came back heaped with praise but covered in red ink. Just before my fortieth birthday I was finally ready to publish. Holding the first print copy in my hands, seeing it on a shelf in my local bookshop, reading the first five-star review from a stranger on Amazon were incredible moments.
Now, writing is a part of my daily routine. There is so much I want to get down on paper. It is daunting and exciting in equal measure.
Niamh Donnellan is a writer from County Meath. Her debut book Mind Yourself, an Irish crime thriller, is available now on Amazon and in selected bookshops.
Follow her on instagram @niamhdonnellanwrites www.niamhdonnellan. com
Miss Polly and the Crocodile
By Felicia Thomas
Well–known for her whimsical artwork and for her ‘Polly Dolly’ characters, Felicia Thomas has recently written and illustrated a children’s book, Miss Polly and the Crocodile.
Whilst recovering from a life-changing injury, Felicia started to write this story as a form of rehabilitation. Based in a magical town, the characters face real world problems. Miss Polly explores themes of peer pressure, forgiveness and the power of kindness.
There seems little hope for a spoilt princess whose behaviour causes nothing but trouble for her kingdom. That is, until the very special Miss Polly Dolly and her close friend Mrs Adams set about changing things for the better.
The book is recommended for children aged five to ten. But if you love fairy stories and imaginary lands where kindness, love and magic can save the day, then this book is for you, no matter how old your inner child is!
Published by Child’s Eye – Libri Publishing. Available at www. feliciathomas.ie or from your local independent bookshop.
In the shadow of the Olive Tree By Orna O’Reilly
Reviewed by Cathan O’Loughlin
Orna O’Reilly, who is a regular contributor to Anthology, recently released her second novel that takes place in Italy, where the two main characters Claudia and Janet experience heartbreak, revenge and find themselves in spine-chilling scenarios.
In the Shadow of the Olive Tree, is a contemporary adult romance story of two recently divorced young women. Two strangers, Claudia and Janet, move from Dublin to Italy where they meet handsome Italian men and make new friends. But along the way, as their paths cross, the two women are met with alarming truths that tie in with their past lives.
At the beginning of this book, both women have to face upsetting and enraging situations. Janet leaves her husband who has been cheating on her with a neighbour, and Claudia decides to end a very toxic and abusive relationship.
The writing style is engaging, as the author sometimes broke the fourth wall, allowing the reader to become even more invested in the story.
The book is fast-paced with no dull or drawn-out moments. The characters were led down unreliable paths and had to make tough decisions in every chapter, which made the story thrilling.
Claudia and Janet are constantly left in shock and disillusionment as the story progresses, and this made me sympathise with the two women who were clearly going through great personal upset and trauma. The story had many dark aspects to it that made it unsettling, but in a good way. The author created a sense of discomfort and unease with riveting twists in the plot.
This is certainly darker and more thrilling than Orna’s first novel. Although this book is a stand-alone and doesn’t necessarily need to be read in line with the first, it would make more sense as there are some mild spoilers from The Blonde in The Gondola.
Overall, In the Shadow of the Olive Tree was a great second novel and definitely lived up to Orna’s debut. I really enjoyed the storyline, the plot was intense and it had an ending that I didn’t predict. The descriptions of Italy are vivid which drew me in, feeling that I knew that part of the world really well, almost as if I was part of the scene or event being described.
The Shadow in the Olive Tree is published by Pegasus Elliot Mackenzie Publishers, and is available directly from the publishers, from Amazon and all good bookshops.
Self-editing for Self-Publishers
Richard Bradburn, copyeditor for Anthology magazine, has published a book on the subject of self-editing.
What is self-editing? Self-editing is the vital stage in the process of writing that many books on the craft of writing either overlook or ignore. Self-editing requires a completely different mind-set to the creative process of drafting a manuscript, and confusing the two tasks often leads to the twin horrors of ‘writer’s block’ and ‘going round in circles’.
The author explains why this happens and how to avoid it happening in your own work, and sets out a very simple three-stage process in self-editing your manuscript that mirrors the editing that a traditionally published book undergoes.
Broken down into structural, sentence-level and proofreading stages, each section is copiously illustrated with before-and-after edited examples. In the comprehensive appendices are useful chapters on how to write a synopsis, how to use beta readers and how to hire a professional editor.
The book is widely recommended by professional editors worldwide. It was published by Reen Press and is available on all online platforms (Amazon, Kobo, iBooks etc) as well as to order in your local bookshop.
