Episode 2. Crisis, Fiscal & Cliff

‘It’s all kicking off down in the bar,’ Crisis gushed. ‘Crook, Criminal and Culprit have taken offence to Omnishambles and his entourage. Trending was chatting up both Cutie and Curvaceous when Crook and his cohorts arrived and it looks like it could turn nasty.’

Correspondent shrugged. ‘So what…one of the downsides of being in C-block is proximity to all those low-lifes which the letter C seems to attract but if that bunch of low-lifes send Omnishambles off with a flea in his ear, good. C’mon, Crisis, leave them to it. Join us here.’

Crisis glanced towards the table and closed the door behind him. ‘Don’t mind if I do. I’m entitled to some relaxation every now and then. God knows I have enough to deal with all year round.’

‘That’s the spirit,’ said Clever. ‘No point in making a drama out of yourself. So, has it been busier than normal this year then?’

Episode 1. OEDipuss & Omnishambles

Words: we use them continuously. We speak, read, write, text…all without considering the words themselves. But that’s understandable; words don’t exist, you know, really exist. Or do they?

The black-and-white cat padded along a corridor, otherwise deserted and dimly illuminated by uplighters which cast conical shadows below them on the yellow walls. The cat paused intermittently at various doors for an exploratory sniff and glanced up at the uplighters’ illumination reflected back from windows which showed darkness outside. Darkness arrived early at this time of year – so soon after the winter solstice – and a hush prevailed in the C-block building in Wordsdrow, the sprawling campus which housed the occupants of the Oxford English Dictionary.

Coming to a halt outside a room where light seeped around the frame of the door, the cat tried to wiggle a paw underneath. He seemed to have found his destination and stood on his hind paws to scratch the door until it was opened. A man peered out, frowned at the apparent phantom presence while the cat daintily skipped past him and into the room.

‘OEDipuss! You’ll trip somebody up one of these days,’ the man said, smiling as OEDipuss headed towards a window sill and jumped up on to it.