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Carnaby St Boutique by Steve Goodlad

29/3/2021

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A gaggle of giggling young women enter the boutique and inspect the wares on display. In the dim light, Dave makes out their pixie hairstyles, dark eye-liner, blusher and over-glossed lips. The most brazen, to show what she thinks she knows shouts: “Dave, you got the new flares in yet?”
Dave hasn’t a clue who she is or what she’s talking about but leaves the counter to point out the most hideous tangerine loons he can find as a joke and is surprised to hear appreciation and admiration. He leaves them to keep looking and brazen-mouth lays on her back to pull the trousers up under her mini-skirt. They have purple paisley inserts, patch pockets, studs and novelty exterior fly buttons. She is helped to her feet as she’s unable to bend, to admire herself in the full-length mirror giving confidence to the others to search for items in the same vein.
Dave is soon ringing up the till for 3-storey snakeskin platform shoes, a yellow T-shirt with a half-peeled banana batiked on the back; an afghan coat with an embroidered cannabis leaf that smelled of wet dog; a wide-brimmed purple leather hat with a pink flower growing out of the hat-band and pair of dark John Lennon style glasses.
He watches them leave. It is Saturday afternoon and they will want to be seen by the in-crowd at the Chelsea Drugstore. She with the flares trailing a year or two behind, flapping like loose yacht sails in the wind, the afghan wondering why she is given such a wide berth by other shoppers, and one aided to walk as though on stilts until spectacles walks smack into a lamp-post.
“New stock required; I think. If that was fashion” wondered Dave, “They killed it”.
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    Issue 8 & 9

    January 2021
    February 2021



    The Stories

    All
    A Blanket Of Stars By Georgia Cook
    A Chance By Liz Breen
    A Close Shave By Cindy Pereira
    A Compromise By Caitlin Magnall-Kearns
    A Drink After Work By Graham Crisp
    A Furtive Conversation By Sammi McSporran
    A Letter By Joe Bedford
    A Moment Of Introspection By Madelaine Taylor
    An Easy Mistake By Rachel Smith
    An Unfortunate Incident By Hilary Taylor
    Author Author! By Andrew Ball
    Bat Chat By Elaine Peters
    Bat Woman By Niall McKenna
    Beads Of Gold By Eva Bell
    Bearly Dry By Madelaine Taylor
    Bell Bottoms And Beer By Cindy Pereira
    Bench Mark By Jennifer Patsalidou
    Bride To Be By R.T. Hardwick
    Carnaby St Boutique By Steve Goodlad
    Caroline And Steven By Graham Crisp
    Cash Or Claret By Colin Ward
    Caught In The Act By Hilary Taylor
    Chance Encounter By Jeff Jones
    Change Matters By C.R. Berry
    Command By Ian Tew
    Crocodile Tears By Felicity Edwards
    Crossed Wires By Jeff Jones
    Ding Dong Dung By Cindy Pereira
    Dreaming Of You By Steve Goodlad
    Friederike By Mark Harbinger
    Global Architects By Rachel Smith
    Happy To Chat By Elaine Peters
    Holiday Of A Lifetime By Elaine Peters
    Horror Scope By Cindy Pereira
    Hotel Kasbah By Beverley Byrne
    Hunger By Caitlin Magnall-Kearns
    Lend Us A Tenner By Graham Crisp
    Love And Sparkles By Hilary Taylor
    Mistaken Identity By Madelaine Taylor
    Molly-Dolly’s New Clothes By Elaine Peters
    Mountain By Soren Petrek
    Mr. Patel’s Shop By Graham Crisp
    Out On The Town By Caitlin M Kearns
    Peter By R.T. Hardwick
    Plenty By Miriam H Harrison
    Pocket Money By Felicity Edwards
    Raisins And Rum By Cindy Pereira
    Reality
    Room 12 By Graham Crisp
    She Thinks I'm Stupid By Steve Goodlad
    Siesta By Elaine Peters
    Taking The Floor By Claire Barnard
    Tangle By Miriam H. Harrison
    Teacher By Madelaine Taylor
    The Book Of Revelations By R.T. Hardwick
    The Choice By Hilary Taylor
    The Death Of An Actor By Steve Goodlad
    The Ending By Liz Breen
    The Incidentals Table By Liz Breen
    The Inheritance By Graham Crisp
    The Neighbour By Lynne Couzins
    The New Guy By Felicity Edwards
    The Oasis By Tanvi Nagar
    The Present By Peter Hankins
    There Once By Miriam H. Harrison
    The Rescue By Hilary Taylor
    The Returners By Liz Breen
    The Stone By Felicity Edwards
    The Surprise By Jeff Jones
    Tough Cookie By Liz Breen
    Waiting Words By Madelaine Taylor
    Weakender By JP Seabright
    Werewolves By Jessica Brown
    What A Concept By Bud Scott
    When To Err Is Not Human By Dipayan Chakrabarti


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Secret Attic - Founded March 2020