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Wonderland VIII: Conclusion

it feels good to escape
with authors and poets
and dream up new places
with tales that are spun

but sometimes what's real
and sometimes what isn't
encroach on each other
and read just as one

such are the worlds
of rhyme but no reason
that question the answers
we thought we once had

and such are the worlds
where nonsense is standard
so all the sane people 
are deemed to be mad.


Wonderland: Parts I - VIII: What Really Happened - Please Note: Major Spoilers!

Alice (the hairdresser) and her husband (an ex jeweller and friend of the watchmaker) had a history of alcoholism although Alice was undergoing rehabilitation and told people she was managing well. She struggled at work in the hair salon during the day but in the evenings when she helped out at The Tabard Inn (of all places!) she coped by drinking water.

Alice's husband had gone to The Tabard Inn to swap a bottle of whisky he kept at home in exchange for a small piece of gold belonging to his friend - the watchmaker - who was out celebrating.

He wanted the gold - so he claimed - to make a ring for his wife as a surprise. The gold the watchmaker had in his possession that night had come from a pocket watch he had 'fixed’ that morning.

Alice’s husband knew that Alice would be at The Tabard so was careful keeping himself out of sight from her. It would ruin the surprise and besides, he’d promised his wife he would never frequent The Tabard Inn on account of his drinking.

Once the gold / whisky swap had taken place with the watchmaker, Alice’s husband noticed the preacher playing chess with his wife.

The preacher got up from his chair at the very same moment Alice's husband caught sight of him. 

Alice's husband deduced that the preacher's actions of getting up and leaving The Tabard was proof that the preacher had a guilty conscience and that that he was having an affair with his wife. There were rumours circulating at the time. 

It hadn't helped that Alice's husband saw his wife smile at the preacher. Alice liked the preacher and he liked her.

Alice may not have noticed that her husband was at The Tabard that night and may have only found out he'd been there later when he arrived home and told her. 

It's unclear if the preacher - an animal lover -  had noticed Alice’s husband or had got up from his chair simply because he was worried for the wellbeing of the Tabard's cat, Duchess who had been scared by the storm and had run outside. 

Duchess, a stray, lived most of its time at The Tabard where she was fed by the chef. The innkeeper didn't mind as long as the chef kept working for him and besides, he felt some guilt due to the affair he was having with the chef's wife. With the chef incapacitated, no one had been feeding Duchess.

As the preacher ran out of the Tabard he bumped into the sailor who was on his way in. The sailor had made plans to 'end it all' but was going to have several drinks first. 

Alice's husband ran out after the preacher. He appeared livid. It was never going to end well.

The hatter, drunk and on his way home from The Tabard that night thinks he saw ‘dark shadows on a very high wall and possibly a cat."

The preacher may have located Duchess on a high wall outside and climbed up it. Despite having a false leg he was very fit and strong. 

Perhaps the preacher had slipped and fallen by accident head first onto concrete? Perhaps Duchess the cat had pushed past him on the wall causing him to fall? Had Alice’s husband climbed the wall after the preacher? It had been a dark and stormy night.

The full details aren't clear but the powers that be deduced that the preacher had no reason to commit suicide so jumping off the wall to end his own life was ruled out - yet some who knew him well felt he may have had reason.

Alice's husband - on returning home - was to meet his own demise later that night - stabbed by Alice who claimed she did it in self defence.

Update:

The immediate events that led up to the preacher's death are still a mystery. 

The hatter was considered to be an unreliable witness. He was confused. Inhaling chemical fumes at his work place over the years had come at a cost to his wellbeing. Physically his skin had turned orange and mentally he believed Alice was his daughter and that his wife had left him for royalty. 

He didn't have any children and he had never married and became further confused on the night of the storm after falling down stairs at home.

Alice is now serving a jail sentence for the murder of her husband although she maintains that he hit her on a regular basis.

As for me..well, I'm the nurse who was given the task of keeping an eye on the suicidal sailor's movements that night. I followed him everywhere as requested by the doctor and it was a good job I did. 

I was in the street as the sailor entered The Tabard. At that same moment I saw the preacher and then, seconds later,  Alice's angry looking husband exit The Tabard.

Have I mentioned yet that I pulled the sailor from the sea later that night as he tried to drown himself? The doctor's assessment of him had proved to be correct.

I rang emergency services and accompanied the sailor to the hospital in an ambulance and while he was being assessed I noticed The Tabard Inn's chef outside having a cigarette. Slurring his words he told me that he'd quit working at The Tabard and now works in the hospital kitchens.  He added that his ex-wife plans to move in with the innkeeper at The Tabard and take charge of all the cooking there! 

There’s more: walking home from the hospital I called the emergency services (again) for a guy lying unresponsive under a tree. I later found out he was the watchmaker! The coroner deduced he had fallen or tripped over something while drunk and hit his head.

Duchess the cat was 'smiling' next to an empty whisky bottle a short distance away. 

I took Duchess home and she lives with me now!

..Sheesh!..You couldn't make any of this up!  :)

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Terry Flood Date: 4/5/2024 3:42:00 PM Gary, in your comments on my Terror Bugs saga, you mentioned your own epic ‘Wonderland’ series. I could not recall those writes, so thought I’d take a look-see. I was astounded to see a comment from our late friend, Milton… indicating that these were far from recent writes… apologies. Alas, I have, merely, a passing acquaintance with Alice In Wonderland and nought but an awareness that Canterbury Tales exists… however… your whole darned series reads so well. Each, published in isolation would not feel incomplete. Yet, each succesive part has its claws in preceding or ensuing parts to provide an entirely satisfying whole. And just when I think I have it all sussed… your ‘conclusion - spoilers’ shed a light that made me say, ‘Aha!’ More times than I think I ever said , ‘Aha’. Thoroughly enjoyed. Terry Login to Reply Gary Radice Date: 4/6/2024 7:10:00 AM Thanks for the read Terry. Tbh I was forced to study The Canterbury Tales at A Level..and hated the book. 40 odd years later it still plays with my brain..so I thought I'd get my own back and play around with it. Sometimes I like this Wonderland series and sometimes I don't. My favourite section is The Sailor's Tale but it's the poem that has the least views. What do I know? :) Cheers - Gary

John Watt Date: 8/8/2022 1:01:00 PM (2/2) So many very real human emotions were explored in this series. And of course, it weaves in and around the Carroll, Chaucer, and Christie spheres of influence. Your gift of creating such an intricate spider's web of intrigue is immense, leading me to wonder if you have ever tried writing novels or short stories? I am in great admiration (awe, really) of your mental capacity to put this together, pull it off, and entertain throughout. Bravo and top hats off for this entire series! Cheers ~ John Login to Reply John Watt Date: 8/11/2022 10:41:00 PM BTW, I loved your humour in "weirdly may dot the I's"... great clue! John Watt Date: 8/9/2022 10:46:00 AM I going to surmise the "With eyes that stared back and looked weird" is the salient clue to the preacher's demise... having been pushed off the wall by the drunk watchmaker who was insanely jealous due to his misinterpretation of Alice's smile at the preacher and the preacher coincidentally (but suspiciously) leaving the tavern at the very moment Alice's husband arrived? Gary Radice Date: 8/9/2022 3:04:00 AM John, I can't tell you how thrilled I am with your comments and the fact that you read every part. I've said it before but I'll say it again that you are a master of the English language. Your summary of Wonderland: ".. a brilliant examination of fiction vs. non-fiction..etc" sums up perfectly everything I aimed for when writing the poems. I know I've left the death of The Preacher open but there is a line in The Hairdresser's Tale that also appears in The Preacher's Tale that "weirdly may dot the I's" :) Thanks again John. Cheers - Gary

John Watt Date: 8/8/2022 12:55:00 PM (1/2) Gary, your denouement and synopsis to this adventure/mystery is very satisfying in so many ways. Your "What Really Happened" is a thorough summary of all the action and helps the reader connect all the dots of your poem series. The "Update" adds an element of realism to the story. The poem itself is a brilliant examination of fiction vs. non-fiction, sense vs. nonsense, sanity vs. madness, reality vs. imagination (elements crucial to understanding and appreciating Lewis Carroll). Of course, alcohol tangles the knot, as do darkness, infidelity, and anger. Login to Reply John Watt Date: 8/10/2022 11:17:00 AM Oh, I see that now. You're right, I had conflated Alice's husband and the watchmaker into one character. Thanks again for this highly entertaining series. I'll be first in line for purchase if you ever publish a novel! Gary Radice Date: 8/9/2022 11:09:00 AM John, spot on with all but the culprit was Alice's husband (who met The Watchmaker at The Tabard) To be fair I had nightmares trying to piece it all together and had watchmaker mixed up with Alice's husband a couple of times myself at The Tabard when writing. :) Again thanks so much for sticking with it all. Cheers - Gary

Christopher Flaherty Date: 12/18/2020 3:21:00 PM Brilliant brilliant ending final stanza Absolutely love this Gary Such was this world Standard nonsense Mad deemed sane Login to Reply Christopher Flaherty Date: 12/21/2020 9:50:00 AM I would definitely not appologis or give up on your Wonderland series. I say if it works stick with it my friend as each individual one is incredibly brilliant in its own right Gary Radice Date: 12/19/2020 12:52:00 AM The stanzas are my way of summing up Alice's worlds, The Canterbury Tales' world..and perhaps our own world too. :)