#2915 – Rot
Worthing, January 2020.
However it had happened, the rot had gotten in. Begun to seep its way into the structure, refusing to leave, just expanding every outwards, quietly, endlessly, constantly. Nobody would know it was there, not from the outside. The stone and concrete structure held as firm as it had for the last hundred years. But inside, oh, inside, it was a different matter.
The fungus spread, the mould slowly, steadily creeping in from the damp windows down the walls, across the floorboards, attacking plaster, wood and lungs alike. The sleepers had no choice – in fact the sleepers liked the scruffiness, the edginess of the building. The mould, the fungus, the spores being breathed in, numbing the lungs and heightening the impact of the combination of alcohol, drugs and tobacco they were much more used to taking. Candles surrounded them, taking the edge off the darkness, providing an element of warmth, a hint of better things to come.
The world was one of endless possibilities. Well, that’s what everybody told them, but from the depths of a cold, dark, mould-ridden room, when even their stomachs had given up grumbling and moaning for a scrap or two of food, this brave new world about which every spoke could have been in an alternative universe, for all the good it was likely to do them.
Don’t forget to get involved in the new January Blues Mass Observation Project! It’s really simple to take part. If you’re interested, just:
- Take a photo that represents the January Blues to you
- Email the image to adayinphotographs@outlook.com by Wednesday 29th January
- Include your name and location and a short note about the photograph
- Visit CKPonderingsToo.photo.blog on Saturday 1st February to see the Mass Observation Results!
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