Sharks Are Scary Aren't They?


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 First published in Great Britain in 2023 by
 The Book Guild Ltd
 Unit E2 Airfield Business Park,
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 Leicestershire. LE16 7UL
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 Copyright © 2023 Christine Edwards
 
 The right of Christine Edwards to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by them in accordance with the Copyright, Design and Patents Act 1988.
 
 
 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in a retrieval system, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher, nor be otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other than that in which it is published and without a similar condition being imposed on the subsequent purchaser. 
 
 
 This work is entirely fictitious and bears no resemblance to any persons living or dead. 
 
 
 ISBN 978 1915853 202
 
 
 British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data. 
 A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.
 
 
 For Gareth
 and 
 all those who seek to protect sharks and our oceans.
 
 
 Contents
 Prologue
 Anytime, Anywhere
 Charlie Parker
 Jane Jones
 The Rock Pool Meeting
 Sharks Are Scary Aren’t They?
 The Hook That Reeled Me In
 Sandals, Socks And Sunburnt Shins
 Passport To Freedom
 Hammerhead
 Bull
 Tiger
 Maelstrom Madness
 A Feast Of Surprises
 Hook, Line And Sinker
 The Island That Time Forgot
 Reflections
 Dancing To A Different Tune
 Water Of Life
 Not Anytime, Anywhere
 Epilogue
 
 
 Prologue
 Words. There are thousands of them. Over 172,000 according to The Oxford English Dictionary. We all use them. I do. You do. When we are alone. When we are silent. Our heads are full of them. Eyes open. Eyes shut. Words swirl in and out of our minds. Our days, dreams and daydreams are filled with them.
 So, let’s take a word. Any word. Like pizza. Yes, pizza. That’s a word. What thoughts does this word evoke? What feelings? What images pop into your head? A whole pizza? One slice? Maybe a pizza with your favourite topping. Cheese. Tomato. Mushroom. Ham. Pineapple. Yuk! Pineapple. I know how I feel when I think about that revolting fruit. So, do you like pizza or hate it? Reading the word, can you smell it? Can you remember the taste it makes when you pop it in your mouth, and it melts on your tongue? Are you hungry by any chance and craving a slice? You might feel the need to pop this book down and go and have some. If you do, do.
 The point I’m trying to make is that words are powerful. They shape our thoughts and our feelings.
 Let’s take another word. Night. Reading that word, is your night a sky full of stars? Twinkling. Sparkly. Light. Exciting night. Or dark? Full of fear. Black. Midnight. Scary night. Do you relish the night-time or are you fearful of it?
 Another word. Clown. Now what can you see? What are you thinking? How do you feel? Are clowns funny? Do their face paint and coloured clothing fill you with joy or fear? When clowns chase each other with buckets of confetti pretending it’s water before inevitably tripping, tipping the contents over an unsuspecting victim, is that hilarious? Does it make you smile? Or are you as nervous and wary of these colourful entertainers as I am? Actually, it’s more than that, they terrify me. My head fills with words, with questions. Who is under the make-up? Why the huge red smiley mouth? Who does that? Clowns. I know what I’d like to do if one ran at me with a bucket. I’d turn the hose on them and spray them from head to toe with freezing cold water! Yes, I would! That would teach them.
 Pizza. Night. Clowns. Three words. Words make us think thoughts and feel feelings. When your eyes first fell on this book, you may have noticed the word sharks running down the spine. Sharks. Now that’s a word guaranteed to conjure emotion. How does the word make you feel? Do you like sharks? Do they scare you? Have you seen one swimming in depressing circles in a dreaded aquarium or in a documentary or film? I have, many times. Then there’s the music. Music accompanies the shark, always, without exception, intense, powerful music. The relentless rhythm serves to embellish atmosphere, an unstoppable pulse beating beneath the melody reminiscent of an imminent attack by the shark itself. There was a time when I’d never seen a shark with my own eyes, in the flesh, always through someone else’s fearful, fault-finding eyes. Let’s investigate the word a little deeper. Shark. It has a sharp, cutting, deadly ring to it. Look the word up in a dictionary and it suggests attack. Shark. Fish. A large fish that has sharp teeth and a pointed fin on its back. A great white shark. A man-eating shark. Look it up in a thesaurus. Shark: A person who preys on others. A dishonest person, someone who persuades other people to pay inflated prices for an item or service. People needing a place to live can often find themselves at the mercy of local property sharks. Sharks. Even bad people are described as sharks! A group of sharks is called a herd, gam, school, frenzy, or shiver. Do those last two words sound pleasant? Frenzy suggests attack and shiver suggests scared. They must have been chosen by someone harbouring an intense dislike for this fish, maybe the same person who coined murder for crows.
 I never used to fear sharks. No. Not back then. Nervous maybe but not scared. I remember my dad taking Greg and I to Connah’s Quay swimming baths on Friday evenings. Younger brothers can be extremely annoying! I’m left with two memories from those nights, the first is