A little Friend

Apologies for image quality...

The Exercise
First choose an object of some kind and place it in front of you. It can be the blue vase you bought in Greece, full of Greek sea and sky, or it might be the pink pebble you found on the beach at Llandudno, or something as simple as an item of clothing.

Once you have the object, describe it in as close detail as possible, including all the five senses without forcing it. Taste might just be the remnants of that morning’s toothpaste, rather than anything directly associated with your object. And that leads me to the important part. As you write, let your mind wander and call up any associations at all, then write those down, too. You might include the weather outside as well. Try, after a while, to bring yourself back to the object.
Bell & Magrs 2019*

I have a very good friend, Phil, or to give him his proper name Phil O’Sopher. He stands tall in the world, all of four centimetres (appx). He is a very gentle, rueful little chap, even though he is only made of some sort of plastic. He has a sort of sardonic grin, with his left trotter raised to his mouth as if he has thought of something quite funny. He has travelled extensively with me, given his propensity to hide in my bag. When not travelling he sits on my desk, and is a great aid to reminiscence. I see him sitting there grinning and I am reminded  of many shared experiences, i.e.

The smell of drains in Florence
People watching on Las Ramblas in Barcelona
The taste of home produced Limoncella at a restaurant in Lamole
The sounds of a traffic jam in Istanbul
The feel of sensuous fabric when helping SWMBO choose a dress in Helsinki

All of these memories, and many, many more are brought back into my mind when having conversations with my best friend Phil.

* Bell J., Magrs P. eds, The creative Writing Coursebook, Macmillan, 2019