Stiff Upper Lip – Friday Fictioneers

Posted on April 22, 2015 by EagleAye

Photo by: Douglas M. MacIlroy

Stiff Upper Lip

The Antarctic scientific team was in deep trouble. Roger hid his worry. Sitting at the base in New Zealand, he spoke into the vid phone. “How are you lads getting on?”

Milton Hanson wore his cold weather gear even inside the Antarctic habitat. “Another heater failed, but we’re making do.”

“Sorry to say this: that bloody arctic storm is blocking our food resupply attempts.”

“No bangers and mash, then?” He grinned.

Roger grinned back. Brave lad. “I saw you hopping. Leg alright?”

“Not really. Had to lose it.”

Roger cringed. “Was it awful?”

“Not really. A little mushroom gravy, and it tasted quite good.”
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Okay, so I went with dark humor this week. Each week, the Friday Fictioneers join for fun, frolic, freezing temperatures, and flash fiction. No really, but we do write the flash fiction part based upon a photo prompt. This week, Douglas MacIlory donated a great one. Look here for more pics based upon the photo above: http://new.inlinkz.com/view.php?id=517538

About EagleAye

I like looking at the serious subjects in the news and seeking the lighter side of the issue. I love satire and spoofs. I see the ridiculous side of things all the time, and my goal is to share that light-hearted view.
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69 Responses to Stiff Upper Lip – Friday Fictioneers

  1. Austin says:
    April 22, 2015 at 7:02 PM

    Made me happy that winter was finally over. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  2. storydivamg says:
    April 22, 2015 at 7:53 PM

    Oh boy! It seems this photo is bringing out the cannibal in many Fictioneers. At least this young man managed to stay alive (thus far). Good writing, even if it is a bit dark for my tastes.

    All my best,
    MG

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • EagleAye says:
      April 22, 2015 at 8:49 PM

      I think it’s the “Donner Party Effect.” People see a driving snowstorm and the Donner Party immediately comes to mind. Glad you enjoyed this, despite the topic. Thank you kindly! 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
  3. Danny James says:
    April 22, 2015 at 9:00 PM

    Ewe! And I just got back from the UK where I had bangers and mash. Now I’ll have to think of your darn story every time I have them again. Thanks for that my friend!

    DJ

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  4. alphabetstory says:
    April 22, 2015 at 10:52 PM

    Eat it all in one sitting or hold some back for another day?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  5. Jan Brown says:
    April 23, 2015 at 1:04 AM

    That’s one way of dealing with a food shortage😊 Good story!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  6. micklively says:
    April 23, 2015 at 1:19 AM

    Couldn’t they catch any penguin? 😉
    Good piece.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  7. gahlearner says:
    April 23, 2015 at 2:15 AM

    Is there such a word as Ewe-LOL? Is it cannibalism if you only eat parts and the victim gets a slice, too? I love it.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  8. Francesca Smith says:
    April 23, 2015 at 3:39 AM

    Auto cannibalism is not the nicest subject in the world. I enjoyed the dark humour, and I hope help comes soon.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  9. Lyn says:
    April 23, 2015 at 4:29 AM

    So, no fish fingers then? 😀

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  10. rochellewisoff says:
    April 23, 2015 at 6:00 AM

    Dear Eric,

    Guess who’s coming to dinner? Oh we’re having friends for dinner. Roast leg of Milton. Ugh. Dark humor indeed.

    Shalom,

    Rochelle

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • EagleAye says:
      April 23, 2015 at 9:25 AM

      Ah-haha! Yeah, “We’re having ‘friends’ for dinner.”

      “Milton Party? For 3 and 3/4?”

      Occasionally, I have to go to that dark place and pick up dark squishy things and laugh at them. The sun will shine tomorrow. 😉 Thanks Rochelle!

      Like

      Reply
  11. Shey says:
    April 23, 2015 at 9:39 AM

    Yikes! Very hard times indeed.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  12. ansumani says:
    April 23, 2015 at 9:58 AM

    Now that’s a man with a great attitude..his cup is always half full of gravy 🙂 LOL . Good humorous story.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  13. babso2you says:
    April 23, 2015 at 10:57 AM

    I wonder if the leg of Milton was seasoned with a little bit of garlic and thyme?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  14. Caerlynn Nash says:
    April 23, 2015 at 11:11 AM

    Yikes! I don’t know whether to laugh or cringe! Good one.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  15. BrainRants says:
    April 23, 2015 at 11:44 AM

    This reminded me of a short story about an island castaway. Nice job.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  16. Dave says:
    April 23, 2015 at 4:12 PM

    Nom nom nom. Legs are impractical, though, too heavy and awkward. Forearm please. Garçon.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  17. patrickprinsloo says:
    April 24, 2015 at 4:39 AM

    Lovely lovely lovely. That is funny. I enjoyed the matter-of-factness of it all; so normal to serve up your leg (not sure about mushroom gravy here – I would have thought onion sauce with maybe a splash of cream and maybe some molten snow on the side).

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • EagleAye says:
      April 24, 2015 at 8:22 AM

      Hehe. Glad you enjoyed that. Perhaps mint sauce would’ve been better, like something you’d serve with leg of lamb. Maybe a salad on the side. 😉 Thanks much Patrick! 🙂

      Like

      Reply
  18. Priceless Joy says:
    April 24, 2015 at 12:32 PM

    Oh dear! They say when you start having to eat yourself you don’t have much time left. Even though this was dark, I thoroughly enjoyed it.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  19. Lorna's Voice says:
    April 24, 2015 at 1:28 PM

    Ick! Double ick, since I’m vegan! 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  20. Matthew Wright says:
    April 24, 2015 at 5:46 PM

    Excellent story with a rather unexpected twist! (I had to say that…Also, “ewwwwwwww!”). The NZ presence down there, Scott Base, has been constantly operating since 1957, run from Christchurch. A scientist friend of mine spent some time on the ice a while back – a pretty awesome experience. Fortunately they didn’t run out of food…

    Here’s the webcam – http://antarcticanz.govt.nz/scott-base/current-conditions

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
    • EagleAye says:
      April 24, 2015 at 7:30 PM

      I thought you might enjoy this one. I didn’t know for sure how much NZ would have to do with Antarctic operations. I just guessed. Seems logical to me given the proximity. I’ll bet exploring there would be awesome, but scary too. Cool webcams. I enjoyed that.

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply
      • Matthew Wright says:
        April 24, 2015 at 10:29 PM

        It’s a great story! We have a pretty major scientific operation down there. A large part of the southern ocean, down to Antarctica, is also protected water and under our administration: our navy is required to patrol it by international arrangement, mostly against poaching. There was a standoff a few weeks back in which one of our big ocean patrol vessels tried to stop a foreign fishing boat. The fishermen refused to play by the rules, leading to an outcry in the NZ media to the effect that the RNZN commander should have opened fire. Actually, he did the right thing – both in terms of his rules of engagement and of international law – by not doing so! What worries me is that there is a very high chance of oil reserves existing inside our protectorate, in the Ross Sea. Technically, they’d belong to New Zealand, but the key word is ‘technically’…

        Liked by 1 person

      • EagleAye says:
        April 25, 2015 at 9:46 AM

        Yeah, it sets a bad precedence when warships start firing on fishing boats. If he had, there might’ve been outcry in the media that he fired! If there’s oil reserves in that area, what do you wanna bet that was no fishing boat? You’d better be careful. China may claim that those are Chinese waters along with the entirety of the South China Sea. They’ll say, “Hey! We drew it on a map first, and we’ve been fishing there for like, ‘forever!'”

        Liked by 1 person

  21. Margaret says:
    April 25, 2015 at 4:20 AM

    I love how you led us along, unsuspecting, and then hit us with the sticky end. Gruesome but clever.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  22. The Writer's Village says:
    April 25, 2015 at 7:39 AM

    Wry bitter funny (though not fun) story.

    Having a little thigh on your wry, I see.

    Randy

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  23. Emily Livingstone says:
    April 26, 2015 at 5:04 PM

    Dark humor is right! The “stiff upper lip” might be next on the menu! : )

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  24. Snow's Fissures and Fractures says:
    April 28, 2015 at 12:09 AM

    Oh, this made me laugh. Is that a bad thing?

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  25. Nan Falkner says:
    April 28, 2015 at 12:52 AM

    Dear Eric, I think this is a good time to start a diet – Not going to eat anything that walks on two legs. Yikes! Good story, Nan

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  26. Indira says:
    April 29, 2015 at 7:34 AM

    A bit too dark for my digestion but your style i good as usual. Good word ‘ autocannibalism’.

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

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