There once was a man who had two sons. The elder one was in line to take over the family business. The younger, disillusioned with his lot, went off to a distant land. Sibling rivalry is nothing new, of course. Neither is parental estrangement or the presence of family conflicts. Read more…
There’s been a falling out – but I never was good at keeping friends. The visitor is outstaying their welcome. Not that they were welcome in the first place, but you know what I mean (if you don’t, you may like to read the previous post). The situation isn’t any Read more…
A friend has come to stay. We first met in 1988 when they wrecked my life. Since then, we’ve met just once, a few years ago. So it was a surprise to meet them again, if I’m honest. But there again, given what happened, perhaps it wasn’t. The very first Read more…
Six years ago I bought a FitBit. A little one that clips on to a pocket. I was finally emerging from a second episode of M.E./Chronic Fatigue. Strangely, that period had been longer (7 years) but less serious than the first time some 20 years previously when it was worse Read more…
‘Your writing is clearly very strong, and I thought it was a compelling novella…I hope you persevere, because I could see this doing well for someone!’ As far as rejections go, that was a very acceptable one. Two manuscripts have been doing the rounds of publishers over the last year. Read more…
When I was a child I enjoyed reading Biggles books by Capt WE Johns. Such was that enjoyment, over the years I have bought and read 89 of the 98 stories penned about the heroic airman. In recent times, I have also come across other works by the same author: Read more…
‘The first stroke of eleven produced a magical effect. The tram cars glided into stillness, motors ceased to cough and fume, and stopped dead, and the mighty-limbed dray horses hunched back upon their loads and stopped also, seeming to do it of their own volition. ‘Someone took off his hat, Read more…
‘I thought you’d have opened up by now,’ the voice said as I unlocked the church door for a Quiet Morning. ‘I’m going to the office.’ ‘The office isn’t open to the public at the moment,’ I explained. ‘Well, I’m not the public. Don’t you know who I am?’ To Read more…
Choosing new frames at the opticians is never easy. Because I’m so short-sighted (-10.75), on a recent visit I had to resort to taking ‘selfies’ so I could see each of the contenders properly. Even then, the photos didn’t really tell me what they looked like. But, after gauging family Read more…
The last couple of decades has seen many changes in the way we live and work. The 2010s saw a significant increase in the number of people working from home. Now, there have always been people who could do elements of their job where they lived (teachers, for example) but Read more…