Flobits

When the parents get someone (i.e. grandma)  to baby sit their child, two deep thoughts penetrate their minds. The first one is how could they make themselves scarce together and the second one is how to maximise that, to avoid any forms of dead times. Needless to say, at least one day off is compulsory and it should be used to go to the land no nappy, no toy under 19.99 euros that goes on and on and could drive a monk crazy, and so forth and so forth. In short, one should go to a place of utter serenity and complete oblivion. And, for the utter oblivion and complete serenity, nothing beats a whole, full, entire day at the sauna. For those who are not familiar to the Dutch way of sauna-ing, allow me a very short introduction. A sauna is an umbrella term for a place that comprises a few saunas (yes, I know you got that, but lemme go further). It's not only saunas (or steam/Turkish baths), there are lots of small pools, hot, warm, cold, damn cold, whirling, salty or not, etc, in wh...

'Twas the seventh year in a row, seventh year without a decent crop. The disease showed no mercy again. For the seventh time. It was in the autumn of 1852, the west coast of Ireland. People reached the edge of their patience, many of them had already set sail overseas. Those who chose to stay were facing one of the worst periods of that century: the famine. The crop that all relied upon, the potatoes, went bad again and the disease struck fiercely. The blight was everywhere. The stench of rotten potatoes could give very precise hints to everyone who'd pass along a potato field, even if outside was pitch black.

"Hello, dear, I'm Penny! Don't be shy, come closer! How are you?" I was about to say that I was fine, thanks! but she clearly wasn't interested in my answer. She went on as if we'd known each other for a long time and she'd kept some secrets from me, which she intended to reveal now. "I was born in '69", she whispered, "Eighteen sixty nine to be precise. He he, don't run away yet, I am still attractive, aren't I?. I have two fathers: one biological - a French man, who registered me when I was born and the second one, an English gentleman, who took me over the channel, bought me some nice dresses and, to be perfectly honest, offered me a lovely childhood.

They declared him the horse of the year and showed him on the telly. He had a rough night, didn't sleep that well. Lots of thoughts were roaming through his head and when he was about to finally fall asleep Rochester began to snore his muzzle off, fine for everyone who'd been dreaming already, but not for him. "We'll see the Queen tomorrow, rumours have it", thought Sefton, but he wasn't actually very convinced about that. He looked to his left, a few yards away, and saw Zara, sound asleep. He'd known her for years, they met right after he came from Germany. Memories come rushing up to meet me now... She was Arabian, one of the finest ones, shiny black with a lovely mane, which she wore with great pride. "She's so beautiful", he said to himself for the millionth time, "today must be the day".  He'd have to tell her everything, there's no way out.