We will begin and end this collection with fictional women who are in late middle age, like me. Ernestine and Kit are “in their sixties”, respectable and judgemental, with wittily well-observed dialogue.
“The skirt’s barely down past her modesty, are you watching?”
They are taking a drive on a summer’s day through County Sligo in Ireland, visiting some tourist attractions.
“As the engine cut the car filled with the sound of anxious birds and the nearby chatter of the castle visitors. For a moment, the ladies pleasantly listened – they did love a summer-afternoon crowd.”
But the reason why they love a crowd is not what the reader might expect. What opens as a light read with a little social commentary, soon takes a turn which makes it much funnier and much darker. ‘Ernestine and Kit’ greatly rewards a reread, when phrases which might have seemed ordinary will take on more meaning.
Researching for this anthology, I discovered that there is a ten-minute film of ‘Ernestine and Kit’ directed by Simon Bird, starring Pauline Collins. Unfortunately I couldn’t find it available to watch anywhere, but I have high hopes for it when I do.
First published in Columbia Journal Issue No. 49, 2011. Collected in Dark Lies The Island, Jonathan Cape, 2012
A Personal Anthology 