Deer at the Castle is the prompt for this week’s #writephoto flash fiction from KL Caley at New2writing.com. The Christmas lights are going up all around me, and although some are tasteful, and possibly LED on rechargeable batteries, most are just so much tat. I got an email from my garden centre featuring all the plastic rubbish you can buy to enchant your darlings. It’s enough to send me into a rant.

Instead, I saw the lovely photo of deer at the castle that KL had saved for this event, and spotted the start of an opportunity. I suppose it might have turned into a rant, but a practical one, I hope. The story is around 950 words.

deer at the castle #writephoto
the image shows a red male deer light and white female deer light in front of a lit castle, surrounded by darkness

If you’d like to know more about rewilding, check out the Knepp Estate story. I’d like to thank BTO for the presentation by the Knepp project manager [links to YouTube] at their annual conference last week.

Christmas Deer at the Castle

“Well,” the Duke said. “It’s the best we can do, m’dear.”

The Duchess sighed. “I suppose we could suggest it’s the new normal. We’re leading the way on low carbon Christmas decorations.”

“Indeed. Perfect soundbite. And the floodlights are now LED, so that’s all to the good.”

“Surprisingly good, in fact. I doubt anyone can tell the difference.”

“They don’t illuminate the turrets, but that’s a good excuse. Light pollution and all that.”

“What will the guests say, though?”

“We’ll just emphasise the eco-aspects of the whole estate. Low carbon this, recycled that. Rewilding the lower paddocks, the ones great-grandfather ploughed up in the war. In fact, is there anyone who could put an information board together before they arrive?”

“I dare say Matthew could do something amazing for a flyer, or some leaflets in the bedrooms.”

“Perfect.” The Duke started up the stairs to his son’s suite, most of whose rooms were devoted to computers, flying saucers, or something called ‘heavy metal’. That room was soundproofed.

.

The guests started arriving on Christmas Eve afternoon, in the tail end of Storm Fergus, which had at least been less damaging than its predecessors. Storm Arwen had merely been the hors-d’oeuvres for the next four.

“Come in, come in!” The Duke welcomed everyone at the door, once they’d had their soaked coats and hats removed by the bevy of maids and butlers. Most of the villagers relied on earning a little extra at Christmas time by keeping up the pretence of the Estate’s huge staff.

Some of those staying this festive season were genuinely rich, others, fourth generation inheritors of punitive death duties like the Duke, enjoyed his hospitality because their own would have been so meagre. The genuinely rich admired everything, the others looked for tell-tale signs that the Duke’s hardships matched their own. Sadly, they couldn’t find any that were not explained by the lavish leaflets in their rooms.

‘Climate change action at ____shire Estate’ the headline went, and continued outlining all the main features of the Duke’s climate change policy and practice. The pictures of work in progress were carefully cropped by Matthew, who was expert on the newest image-editing software, among many other mysterious talents.

Even the Duke was impressed. “Have we done all that?” he whispered to the Duchess.

“Ask Matthew,” she suggested.

There was no time for that, as the Reception beckoned, to be followed by dinner, then a stroll to the church for midnight mass, then a nightcap, then bed.

The Duke knocked on his son’s door before turning in.

“Hi Dad. All okay?”

“Yes, er, may I come inside?”

“Sure.” Matthew swept away something that looked like the skeleton of a walrus, and invited his father to sit on the easy chair.  “All the guests settled?”

“Indeed. I just wanted to thank you for the leaflets. Truly impressive. Are we actually doing all that?”

“Yes, although some things are more obvious than others. And you can work on those for next year’s events if you like.”

“Like what?”

“Well, do some more rewilding, like the meadowland down by the river that stretches all the way to Folders Wood, and then you should have habitat suitable for a red deer herd. That will complement the fallow deer at the castle already, in the park. And monitor the bird, butterfly and insect population. ___shire Wildlife Trust will probably help with that. And there may be grants. National Trust or Government ones. And invest in some more LED lights around the place, saves a fortune in electricity. And if we can work out where to put a solar array, some of that will be free.”

“Red deer, eh? Don’t want any poaching, though.”

“No. In time you’ll need to do some culling if it’s successful, but then you’ll have some sustainable organic meat for sale.”

“I say, Matthew. You do know a lot about this, don’t you?”

“Well, you did let me sort out my own education dad, estate management and environmental technology go well together.”

“Well, I tell you what, could you sit with the sheik’s son, Asif at dinner tomorrow, and with the retail millionaire, what’s his name…” 

“Kuson.”

“Yes, that’s the chappie… they both want to get into this stuff and advertise their climate change credentials. Might even take you on as a consultant.”

“Will do. Oh, by the way, have a look out of the west window on your way back. The lights for the Christmas deer should be perfect now.”

“It’s two in the morning,” the duke protested.

“Never too early to show the world what well designed Christmas lights should look like, father.”

The Duke left, and did as he was told, as always.

Out in the grounds, not far from the curve in the road, was the glow of a red stag and a white doe, lit by some magic. More impressive than any of the gaudy twinkly lights they’d had in the past.

Shame his guests wouldn’t see them…

But their windows mostly faced west, so maybe they would.

.

The deer were the talking point of the Christmas dinner, laid so lavishly in the huge dining room, kept warm by a roaring log fire (trees grown and dried on site) and subtle hot waterpipes on the other three sides. The heatpump made it all very cosy. 

The Duke basked in the praise of his guests for all the changes he had made, while Matthew worked hard pointing out the details, then turning it to discussions of how the other rich guests could reduce their carbon footprints. 

Starting by measuring them.

Maybe it would be a happy new year after all.

Watch out for more Flash Fiction this week. Check Rhonda Parrish’s website on Tuesday 7th December for the start of a blog hop serial for her Giftmas appeal. My turn comes on Saturday – no book review this week!

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Christmas Deer at the Castle | #writephoto Flash Fiction
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9 thoughts on “Christmas Deer at the Castle | #writephoto Flash Fiction

  • 6 December, 2021 at 2:14 pm
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    Awww wonderful Jemima. Some very good, hopeful points too. I must admit, I am a fan of the sparkly tat – haha, I’m like a magpie for a twinkly light but I do tend to keep most of my decorations for years. I do run them on rechargeable batteries (I’ve just bought 32 AA rechargeale batteries at eye-watering prices, sadly it’s no wonder people opt for the normal ones which are far cheaper). I also do little things like chop up my christmas cards to use for next years gift tags, something I’ve done with my gran since I was a little girl. Thank you for joining in the #writephoto prompt.

    • 6 December, 2021 at 6:26 pm
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      Well done on the reuse and recycle! I have ten rechargeable AA batteries, four of which inhabit the mouse and keyboard. So I have to make sure they’re all well charged before putting the outdoor lights up that I’ve had since the mid-eighties; and remember to charge the solar ones before I put them up, because the best they’ll get by Christmas is about an hour a night. But I’d rather that than mains. 🙂

      Pride of place goes to the Christmas Tree, which is now over 60 years old. I’ve been putting it up for most of its life, as it was my job for the parents 🙂

      And you’ve just reminded me to do gift tags as I sort through last year’s Christmas cards. Cut out suitable tags and put the remains into recycle/compost/bin piles. I’m fairly sure glitter is not a problem in my compost heap, any more than stones are. Metal/foil is another matter.

      I still havent solved my plastic bag problems, though 😉

  • 6 December, 2021 at 4:06 pm
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    It’s funny, how much overlap there is between being economical and being environmentally sound. So many of the little money-saving things I learned from my parents and grandmother I still do, for the sake of the earth (though I’m always happy to save money, too).

    • 6 December, 2021 at 6:32 pm
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      It’s why so many older people get so cross with the younger generation, being told to reuse and recycle. But there are more opportunities for things they didn’t used to be able to recycle, so…

      And it’s surprising what happens when you ask. I took all my tetrapak items (a big sackful) to the dump/Household Waste Centre the weekend before last, to discover they didn’t collect them any more, but they could go in the energy from waste bin. (I’m fine with that, having done lots of investigation into it for my Masters). Then I chatted some more and found I could put them in my recycling bin, along with the clear plastic trays and stuff like that (firm plastic), because they’d sort it into the EFW pile, even though the website says keep them out of home recycling bins.

      But our Council hasn’t told anyone that. They’re just begging us to take a tree and plant it ‘to help climate change’ while they extend the local airport’s runaway through an SSSI (nature protected area).

      Sorry… I’m really on a rant now!

      • 7 December, 2021 at 1:52 pm
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        That’s a great story with lots of sense and straight talking 💜

  • 6 December, 2021 at 4:51 pm
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    Hi Jemima – loved this – really clever … I wrote about Knepp during the A-Z on castles in 2012 … and one day would love to see it. You’ve given us some interesting takes to mull over – wonderful fun family at the Duke’s, Duchess’ and Matthew’s … cheers Hilary

    • 6 December, 2021 at 6:33 pm
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      Do take a look at the Knepp site, Hilary.

      A thought – they run ‘safaris’ to show people around, all through the year. How about we go on the same one? It must be pretty much equidistant for us.

  • Pingback:#Writephoto Round-Up – DEER at the CASTLE – New2Writing

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