Queer Writing for a Queer World
//At his first swimming lesson, Eric comes face to face with a man he calls The Gorilla. He didn’t catch his name so gave him the nickname. The Gorilla is teaching the older boys to be lifeguards. He is gruff and hairy. As we learn towrds the end of the story, he is called Hermann Straub and is originally from Germany. For those wonder where I get my names from, Straub is a Germanic surname that literally means “one with bushy or bristly hair”.
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I am pleased to introduce you to a new family and their experiences in Cockaigne. The Ashworths have two sons, Billy and Eric. Billy is sixteen, and Eric is fourteen. While Billy learnt to swim at age twelve, Eric still needs to learn. The family have saved up for his lessons at The Cockaigne Young Men’s Association, CYMA. Eric is excited and reluctantly accepts that he has to be naked in the pool. While there, he makes a new friend, Ross.
//You may recognise the name because Morgan has appeared as a minor character in my first story set in Cockaigne about the Walker family. Morgan is a PE teacher at Cockaigne Academy and volunteers at the CYMA some evenings. He is Eric’s swimming teacher; like all the boys, Morgan must be naked poolside.
//Ross is fourteen years old and is the other boy at the beginners’ swimming lessons, the same age as Eric Ashworth. Naturally, they gravitate to each other and become friends. Ross shows Eric some of the advantages of living in Cockaigne.
//I know that there has been nothing new from me since mid-December, but I have been busy editing ‘Three Tears’ (still not finished) and re-publishing it on Screeve. I have also been busy in writing a new series. And now I’m preparing to publish it. “The Chronicles of the Ashworth Family’ is a ten-part series that centres on a family living outside Cockaigne in Suddene.
Eric Ashworth
Eric is the main protagonist of the story. He is fourteen years old and still can’t swim. His father has finally saved enough to take him to learn at “The Cockaigne Young Men’s Association”, or CYMA. The first rule of the CYMA is that everybody swims naked. Eric is learning with a lot of other young boys. But there is one other boy his age learning with him.
Billy Ashworth
Billy is Eric’s sixteen-year-old brother. He learnt to swim at a much younger age and had no problem learning at the CYMA, but he wasn’t going through puberty at the time. Now he is older, he is very body-conscious and unwilling to let anyone see him naked.
Ken Ashworth
Ken is Billy and Eric’s father. He takes Eric to Cockaigne each week for his swimming lesson. Eric wants him to watch, but that means Ken must be naked once he’s poolside. Father and son spend every Monday evening naked together.
I shall be introducing more characters in the story in the coming days. I hope you enjoy these tantalising glimpses into the forthcoming story and the new AI videos of the characters I have created.
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The youngest brother, Tony, is the third tear in the story. He is not a main character like Martin or James, but this chapter illustrates, that despite the age gap between the Tony and his elder brothers, they still love him. This chapter has some lovely moments between Martin and Tony. Meanwhile, James writes in his diary about his time with Tom at the swimming pool.
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Martin and James are left alone for the morning, and they take the opportunity to work on the painting without the risk of being disturbed.
Later that afternoon, James meets Tom outside the swimming pool, where Tom shows off his swimming and diving skills.
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While Martin is on his second date with Phil, James meets his new friend, Tom. They go into town, and Tom buys some new clothes to wear for the filming of the television programme. Tom needs new swimming trunks and tries on a pair of black swim briefs. He calls James into the changing room to see how he looks in them.
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Phil takes Martin on a second date. This time, Phil drives Martin to the countryside and takes him to a special spot where Phil went as a boy. They have a picnic, and Martin sketches the landscape. He thinks Phil is also drawing the view, but when Martin looks at the sketch, he is surprised to see his portrait.
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Martin goes into town for his date with Phil. But Phil is late! Martin becomes even more nervous, hoping Phil hasn’t changed his mind. Finally, he arrives, and the two young men have a pleasant date in the pub.
James is left alone for the evening and receives a phone call from a new friend he met while on the ‘orientation day’ for the television programme. They live close to each other and have arranged to meet up.