Friday Fictioneers is a weekly blog link-up based on a photo prompt. The Challenge – write a one hundred word story that has a beginning, middle, and end. (No one will be ostracized for going a few words over the count.) The Key – make every word count.
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“You know,” he said after a period of silence, “he was a shit-disturber.”
“Who?” she asked.
“Vanbrugh.”
“He didn’t have much to do with this place, and nothing to do with the gardens. That was Bridgeman and Brown.”
“And Kent, but since when do you know anything about any of that?”
“Since I paid £10 for the booklet.” He looked quizzically at her. She continued, “I have to keep up with your breadth of useless information somehow.”
“It hasn’t been so useless this trip.”
“Nor on trivia night either, my love.”
They kissed, then continued along The Path of Virtue.
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100 words. Factual Fiction. When I saw this picture, I thought I recognized it, and thankfully Claire revealed the location of the photograph, which led to my ah-ha moment. I’ve been to The Stowe House and Gardens, and several other English Garden landscapes (my all-time favorite being Blenheim Palace). I don’t remember exactly where in the gardens this particular statue is (my photo album is in Atlanta and I’m in St. Louis this week), so I picked “The Path of Virtue” for the story, though it could be along “The Path of Vice” or “The Path of Liberty”.
Five architects contributed to the design of The Stowe House, and three garden designers and one sculptor created the surrounding gardens. This isn’t uncommon for construction projects in England, prior to the advent of modern materials and equipment. Projects often took longer than a lifetime, and allegiances and politics contributed to staff changes as well.
What story comes to mind when you see that picture? Join in!
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*Featured and Post Image Copyright – Claire Fuller
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This Is My Corn 
Actually knowing where the statue is gave you an advantage over the rest of us! Should we complain? Perhaps not as you wrote your piece so well!
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Thank you Luz!
I don’t know if it was an advantage necessarily. It left me in the land of literal with little room for imagination. And I was much more focused on remembering where I might have seen it than what I could do with it. I’m glad it turned out though.
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Love the line about the breadth of useless information! Well done. (PS where IS the statue?)
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Thank you!! I had a friend in mind with that one. He knows more nothing than anyone I know.
I’m not sure what specific part, but it’s somewhere in the gardens of The Stowe House in Buckinghamshire, England.
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Ah I have been there. Thanks for the extra info!
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Melanie, Good story. I always like to check in a guide book or brochure if I have one. I checked the link you provided and it looks like a lovely place. Well written. 🙂 —Susan
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Thank you Susan.
When I studied in England, I went with a guide book, and then bought one pretty much everywhere I went. I wanted to know everything I could.
It is a lovely place. English gardens are lovely, and so different from what I see here in the US. They’re so perfect, and so many tell a story. It’s wonderful!
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Oh wow, you’ve been to this place! I saw a map of it on a link from Claire’s log. It looks absolutely amazing. You are so lucky. Great take on the prompt. I can see this conversation happening.
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Thank you!
I did two study abroads in college and the package came with some generous transportation amenities, so I went all over England, and spent a weekend each in Scotland and Wales. It was a fantastic experience.
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Wow! That sounds amazing. No wonder this looked familiar. 🙂
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It was amazing. Best experience ever. I’m a huge fan if study abroad and spent my college years promoting it on campus. Even still, as friends’ kids are heading off to college I tell them to look into it. It’s expensive, but no where near as much as that kind of trip as a tourist. Plus, now I get to say I’m Oxford educated. 😉
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I tried to go to France when I was a college student. I didn’t speak the language well enough. I should have tried for England. I think traveling when you’re a student would be the best time definitely!
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We had some programs that required language proficiency, and others that didn’t. One of my friends went to Italy without knowing the language. Another went to Spain because she did. I was grateful we had so many options.
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