Another year, another letting out, and I’m still squeezed into the bloody costume so tight I can hardly say my lines. Well, it’s been 20 years now since I first appeared, all young and tinkerbellish, and I loved it. But: Nobody loves a fairy when she's forty Nobody loves a fairy when she's old She … Continue reading The Christmas Fairy (2)
It is most disconcerting to discover one’s home being tossed and violently shaken when one least expects it. Even more so to discover that your home is then felled, carried to a ramshackle vehicle, tied onto the roof with rope and whisked away from your home forest… with you still in it! I tried to … Continue reading The Christmas Fairy
I knew it was a special day when my mother bundled me up in my best coat and hat, and announced we were going to town. I enjoyed riding on the blue trolleybuses, looking out of the window seeing cars and tall buildings whizzing by. Town was always busy and crowded; getting lost was a … Continue reading I was there (2)
I was there the day Smelly Smith got suspended for feeling Betty Hardcastle’s bum during morning assembly. It seems a long time ago now but I remember that day quite clearly. He had always been an objectionable chap, given to being decidedly verbose in a way that revealed more his lack of intellect, rather than … Continue reading I was there
‘I’m sorry, James, but I going to have to ask you to find somewhere else to stay. Vanessa’s moving in at the weekend and I’m afraid a ménage à trois is not what we had in mind.’ James cursed under his breath. Since Rachel had kicked him out of ‘her’ flat, he had been relying … Continue reading A Day in the Life
Helen’s stomach was giving alarm signals. She wished she’d never joined ‘Friends Reunited’ all those years ago but at least she’d managed to avoid any face-to-face contact ever since. If the email had been from anyone but Sandy she’d have ignored it but, well, she and Sandy were best friends right up to Uni; it … Continue reading Anniversary
The hill itself is low and massy, flat topped, brooding, disappearing in mists, treacherous with bogs, run through with fast-flowing streams. I grew used to it, and its moods in the autumn. The break of slope part way down shows where hard Cambrian quartzite gives way to Ordovician shale but that’s not nearly enough for … Continue reading Extended Quotation
I shuffle along, carrying meagre possessions in a nylon holdall. My back is aching causing me to stoop slightly, my beard itches and an injured knee is painful to put weight on. Limping along the dirty pavement, crowded with commuters I am jostled and sworn at in their haste, for getting in their way. I … Continue reading Strange Love (2)
I was lying on my right side on a bed in an A&E cubicle, in the foetal position, eyes screwed tight shut against the glaring lights, the gown open to expose my back. The doctor leant over and asked if it was alright for the trainee doctor to carry out the lumbar puncture I needed. … Continue reading Doctors (2)
Mr. Mayhew sat with his files, reviewing his patients progress and treatment at the end of an already long Autumn day. The coffee at his elbow was growing cold and the pool of light from his desk lamp appeared brighter as the daylight at the window, faded. His cardio day clinics were full and work … Continue reading Doctors
