Sometimes Abel scares me. (In an exciting way.) Here, for instance, is a memento I found from one of our recent scenes:
We were just sitting at home one afternoon, when Abel called me from upstairs, and threw down a sealed envelope that contained the notice. I was feeling quite wimpy, but the spontaneity made me smile.
I got to choose the offence myself, and in the half-hour I had before the appointed hour, I’d decided on vandalism (graffiti, I would explain if asked, but I wasn’t asked). Also, unusually, I was asked how many strokes I’d been sentenced to, and foolishly chose eight.
For some odd reason, the cane hurt more that day than it ever had. I burst into tears after stroke three, and sobbed my way through the rest. And yet, in an odd way, it worked, for all its severity.
And I kept the notice. It was scary, but I liked it.
It worked? No more vandalism, eh? You have given up your old ways?
I’m really glad to know that #H G Wus Ere## will no longer deface the walls of Oxforshire!
Oh, I love having things to remember scenes by. You can go back and look at them and remember all the fun that you had.
Aww that’s fab. I love the mementos too – though am not good at keeping them properly!
Haron, if I was the judge. It would be 25 strokes of the cane. 25 hard strokes of the cane. 25 of the very best strokes of the cane.
Bad news, Haron:
That notice is a forgery — there is no “Oxfordshire Crown Court”, only “Oxford Crown Court”.
So you took that flogging for nothing.
Unfortunately, for you, I suspect that if you were to complain to the Disciplinary Office about that “Mr. Jenkins”, they’d find some excuse to impose a legitimate sentence on you. Unless you can find the perpetrator of the forgery? No, thought not!
Malc.
You were asked how many strokes you’d been sentenced to… what if you’d replied “the judge was feeling lenient and only sentenced me to two, sir.” What do you think the response would have been? After all, asking you how many you’ve been sentenced to sounds like maybe the disciplinary officer has lost the paperwork.