Batty Betty

Betty loved her soaps. She’d sit there every evening watching them, driving her husband Barry batty.

The nights when she watched several were the worst. She’d be glued to one, then two or three minutes later became transfixed by the next.

Barry approached her on more than one occasion. "This isn’t healthy. It isn’t normal. People watch things other than soaps. You need to see a psychiatrist."

Betty laughed. "Don’t be silly."

And with those three words, she’d return to staring at her assortment of Carex, Imperial Leather and - she shivered with excitement - her Baylis & Harding collection.

Jonathan Hill Merits