Sunday, October 01, 2017

.

Post 1611. Sunday October 1



Blue sky and a golden sun greet a new day’s dawn. The vulgar extravagance of last night’s opulent Hunt Ball was but a precursor to today’s savage pursuit of an unsuspecting fox. Yesterday spilled wine, today spilled blood.

Dressed in pristine crimson and black they sit astride their magnificent mounts and toast the day with a measure of port wine. An impatient pack of hounds mills and roams twixt the steed's clattering hooves.  A bunch of angry protesters, each holding a scribbled placard high, earns nothing but flagrant disregard from the eager huntsmen and women.

Then, with the wail of a gleaming brass horn, and a yelled tally-ho, the posse led by the Master moves forward then surges, leaping a fence and galloping 'cross the open field with nonchalant dispassion for the hapless objectors who dejectedly slump away.

A vulpine creature crouches in the gently swaying grass, eyes unblinking ears twitching. Awaiting the wail of bugles, the thunderous throbbing of hooves; watching for the vauntlay of hounds the bloody scarlet of huntsmen’s gowns. Should he stay? Should he dash? Should he try to run to ground?

Another day, another hunt, another fox. Another victim.


Word count 194


Today's photo prompt. Taxidermy fox at Natural History Museum, London


27 comments:

  1. I would definitely be one of the noisy protesters

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Keith - I suppose I'm a heathen ... I rather like the old ways - practised humanely though ... and they do more to help the countryside ... I'm not sure foxes should be in our urban environment - cheers Hilary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I used to host the hunt a my village pub near Horam. I was a fan of the hunt then but probably for purely commercial reasons!I guess I have a similar stance to you now Hilary.

      Delete
  3. Another murder.
    Well described tale of barbarianism.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The taking of any life is murder, man or beast. Thanks CE.

      Delete
  4. It depresses me that some, mainly Conservative MPs are in favour of lifting the ban on fox hunting. Surely a tradition we have moved on from as a society. Absurd.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. There are ways to enjoy the spectacle of the hunt without resorting to the barbaric conclusion that many still relish, paticularly some of our right-wing 'lawmakers' as you correctly state. Chers Iain.

      Delete
  5. His mindset is very well described. The fox looks like an angry baby.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think you are right about his expression - can you blame him?! Thanks Reena

      Delete
  6. I'd forgotten all about fox hunts. Reminds me of the climatic scene in the 1963 film "The List of Adrian Messenger. Star-studded cast and an interesting mystery.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hunting with hounds is of course illegal here now, and despite the efforts of the few it's highly unlikely it will return. Thanks James.

      Delete
  7. Beautifully written, Keith. I'm pro-life, so I really can't get the hunting thing ever.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Me neither Varad, but it's a major part of our history in the upper classes and royal circles. It is of course now a thing of he past.

      Delete
  8. Wow! Magnificent language, Descriptive. Good story!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks so much. It was the language rather than the subject I hoped to would gain constructive criticism!

      Delete
  9. This is one reason i am a vegan. People who hunt and put the meat in the freezer and eat it, i am cool with them. They admit they are meat eaters and that their meat doesn't come pre-wrapped from a store. Because i cannot in good conscience distance myself from the fact that if i eat meat, i am simply having someone else do my killing for me, i don't eat meat.

    Just because something is traditional doesn't make it the right thing to do, and i'm saying that about things that are traditional in my country as well.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My daughter is a vegan and I am very familiar with this point of view and fully understand it. Your final sentence is spot on! Thanks Mimi.

      Delete
  10. Looks like you may have opened a can of worms. No, wait, the birds and moles ate them all.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Haha! I'd rather open a can of beer! Cheers Denise.

      Delete
  11. Well portrayed, and killer (no pun intended) last line. I can see why people argue for the tradition of the hunt -- the whole thing sounds very exciting, up to the part where you gang up on a terrified creature and kill it. I wish there was some way to do all the ceremony part without the killing part (er, but that's horse racing, isn't it?).

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. The 'kill' part of the hunt was banned in 2004, and instead they now follow a trail of an artificially laid scent with the horses and hounds. Thanks for your comment Joy.

      Delete
  12. Great story. I love the line "Yesterday spilled wine, today spilled blood."

    ReplyDelete
  13. I think if fox hunting is ever to return, then we should start by renaming all MP's "FOX" and chase them own. It is a barbarism that I hope never returns. You captured the thoughts of the poor fox well.

    ReplyDelete