(prompt: 'slip' 23/10/2020)

'There's many a slip 'twixt the cup and the lip' were the words apparently overheard by some innocent bystanders when Aulus Gellius, Roman author and grammarian of some renown, was waxing lyrical (and being his usual smart aleck self, 'tis said). Unfortunately, this bold pronouncement having been made in the 2nd century A.D., little (if any) evidence remains.

But as this has almost nothing to do with the story about to unfold, we won't pursue verification. In my specific revelation, the slip had nothing to do with cups OR lips, mostly because the protagonist was far too young to be rendered wonky by much at all of her regular liquid intake. Milk, orange juice and rainwater tend to remain blameless... on their own!

Once upon an extremely long time ago, our protagonist was the star of her school-end-of-year-play-for-parents, in the heroic role of Florence Nightingale. Although she had to wear a great hoop petticoat beneath each of her outfits, she was standing or walking and her billowing skirts presented no problems. But there was this one time she had to sit down... and disaster awaited.

In a deadly serious scene of great tragedy and melodrama, Florence was to sit alongside the bed of a grievously wounded soldier of the appalling Crimean War and hold the doomed young man's hand as he s-l-o-w-l-y passed on to a better place (or so the priest promised).

Unfortunately for Florence (alias young Christine), the tension and angst of the moment was relieved in a most unexpected fashion, when she accidentally sat on one of the hoops of the petticoat, causing dress and all to flip up and cover her face whilst revealing her undergarments in graphic detail. Little did it matter to her that she was clad in the waist-to-ankle bloomers of that faraway day... when she hastily stood up to an avalanche of splutters and giggles from the audience, her face was as red as a killer tomato.

Must you really know that it took two more attempts before she could achieve a successful 'set-down'?

Against all odds, the production of 'The Lady of the Lamp' was a runaway success in that small suburban school, most certainly attracting massive applause — and tears. Copious tears. Not sure the intention was for that excess of moisture to be from laughter.

Christine surely 'broke a leg' that night, but not in reality, thankfully! That one would come decades later!