Sunday Photo Fiction is a weekly challenge presented by my old friend Al Forbes.
The idea is to write a short story (200 word max) inspired by what you see in the picture (below).
Al’s photo this week makes me think of armies on the march, so my thought process evolved fairly naturally.
Click on this link to enter your tale, and to see what others have written.
© Al Forbes
Click here to hear the story read aloud by the author:
Wedding Reception
Weddings are great fun.
Not the church rubbish, or the boring speeches and stuff.
No, the bit after that, when the dancing starts.
And the fighting.
Actually I have been told that this doesn’t happen everywhere, but in Scotland it is kind of a tradition.
Especially in small towns, where everybody knows everybody.
Grudges are held, so old scores get settled.
By this time there have been a few toasts.
That really helps.
Then somebody looks at somebody else’s girl, or a comment is made, and they’re off.
Like the Wild West, sometimes.
Or large parts of Europe when old Julius Caesar was having a tantrum.
So I’m down here in darkest Ayrshire.
And it’s a mixed marriage*, so a battle is guaranteed.
I look around for a bit, and I am glad I brought the Uzi.
*In Scotland this means that one of the combatants is Protestant, the other a Roman Catholic.
Sound Bite Fiction 
Haha. You’d be surprised at the ‘Wild Canadians’ in Canada. You only have to see our hockey fans. I was just thinking in this day and age, women who are close to the bride would be upset at a groom who was like this too. I would be and my friends would be. We may not often throw punches but we can throw words as good as any sailor 🙂 And now and then well, I’ve seen it happen. Thankfully last weekends wedding was wonderful and the groom and his groomsmen were great guys. My bestie picked a good one 🙂
Hugs again 🙂
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I saw your photos on Facebook, it did look surprisingly civilised.
And you, of course, looked delightful.
Hugs
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Thanks CE, it was somewhat civilized lol. The bride was good at keeping that in check. The groom could’ve been another story lol. Thank you for the compliment as well 🙂
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I enjoyed this as well. It sounds like a very interesting wedding to be attending. I’m pretty sure the bridesmaids would get in there drunk and upset if they saw the groom checking out other women, other than the bride, or their husbands/boyfriends checking out other women. They can be just as vicious as those fighting guts or worse 🙂 The Uzi is excellent ‘thinking ahead.’ Hugs again 🙂
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I had not realised that you are such a wild lady, Amanda, this is not very Canadian of you! Hugs
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Squabbling at wedding- how very Indian of you 😂 Although the Uzi is taking it a bit far!
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Laughing. Squabbling is a very mild word for what goes on far too often.
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Leave me out of any wedding where one of the guests brings an Uzi. Although I’ve never to been to one like that, I’ve heard some Irish weddings are like what you describe also. Good writing, C.E. 😀 — Suzanne
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The Irish are our cousins, Patricia, the ones with their brains missing!
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I liked this slice of Scottish life. Very well written, Ceayr.
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Thanks, Neel, I do try to show the positive side of my country’s heritage!
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So are you suggesting that the fight I got into with my new husband at our (small town) wedding was due to my Scottish heritage? Eh, I’ll buy it. Although I could have sworn it was because we weren’t actually compatible. 😉
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Nah, Joy, didn’t you see the way he looked at the lass in the short dress? Doomed to failure, m’dear, the man was a numpty.
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Funny you should go there — I don’t think he ever even glanced at another woman after seeing me in my short dress. 🙂 No, we had completely other problems, but just as deadly.
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Dear CE,
Everyone has their own way of settling the score, don’t they? Darkly funny and subtly well told.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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We all need a little chuckle sometimes, m’lady, and black humour is what we do best.
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We don’t do that kind of thing in Sussex! Mind you, that sounded fun.
Click to visit Keith’s Ramblings
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Sussex is too posh to have fun like this, I reckon
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And a great time was had by all.
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Well, yes and no, Michael…
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As one half of a mixed marriage (technically, both lapsed), I’m glad our wedding didn’t end this way! Sadly that religious separation does afflict the West of Scotland far too much. An Uzi may be the best solution, if a bit extreme! Loved this little snippet of home 🙂
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I do miss the old country sometimes, Iain, and then this sort of nostalgia kicks in.
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Scottish weddings sound like a lot more fun than all the weddings I’ve been to, if I’m being perfectly honest. Awesome story today!
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Thank you, Sydney. If blood and gore is your cup of tea, then go for the toast!
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Hello! Ooo, I loved that! Serious smile on my face 😀 Seems like Scotland weddings are the place to be to resolve old scores, create a few new ones and have a bloody good time… Until the’next’ wedding to do it all over again! … Great read 😃😃😃
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You know what they say, Victoria, till death us do part…
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I can see that being a tradition in Scotland! Great piece 🙂
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Not exactly sure that tradition is the right word, Angie, maybe more of a hobby?
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Maybe!
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Hahaha This was a great piece. Thanks for the laugh!
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Glad you liked, Mandie, Ayrshire is a strange place, y’know.
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Thanks for that peek into (at least some) weddings in Scotland.
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Some are less upmarket, James. this one had speeches and dancing
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Welcome back CE. So glad you brought your Uzi hehe. There’s a few grudges that will be sorted permanent like.
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Life in the slow lane, Al. Sometimes a man’s gotta do…
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