An open letter to my children – again. My darlings I feel I must share this with you, if only so that you will avoid such marital confrontations in your life. Wisdom is hard won and must be shared. You might not know but your old father is on a rather large dose of steroids … Continue reading A stain on my character.
In the soup …..
We stared at each other across the dining table. Her dear face impossible to read, inscrutable; those hazel eyes that have so often melted my heart suddenly opaque and hooded like a poker player. I could read no emotion from her expression. This was a side of the woman I have shared my life with … Continue reading In the soup …..
The Silk Road
It was a jest, OK? Nothing to set the world on fire, or even to cause such a fuss. A joke, a merry quip, nothing more, and certainly no malice aforethought. Right. Then why did I get into so much trouble? In those far off days when the world was young and I guarded the … Continue reading The Silk Road
Living off the land
“Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen, nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery. The blossom is blighted, the leaf is withered, the god of day goes down upon the dreary scene, and—and, in short, you are for ever floored. As I am!” ~ Mr. … Continue reading Living off the land
confined to barracks
Dear reader I have been laid up for a while now and confined to barracks. Age has wearied and the years condemned and as Isobel says as she lathers my parts with a mixture of horse lineament and medicinal creosote, 'none of us are getting any younger' This means me being tucked upstairs in the … Continue reading confined to barracks
The Vault
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. However, if you think the situations I describe could never happen, then you may be right – or maybe . . There are lots of horror stories based on the entombment of some poor sod in … Continue reading The Vault
FLOWERS ON A GRAVE
When I was first a village copper there were few street lights. The big house in the square had a rather grand lantern mounted in wrought iron above the gate and the dim light somehow darkened rather than illuminated the doorway. Lights from house windows cast a welcome glow onto the pavement until midnight or … Continue reading FLOWERS ON A GRAVE
The felonious pie
I spied with my little eye a wonderful, toothsome small porcine pie. It sat on the table alone and forlorn the shopping it came with was mostly now gone. All put away neatly in cupboards or fridges this little pork pie was a gift beyond riches. For I in my hand had a pint of … Continue reading The felonious pie
The Floating Dutchman
All characters appearing in this work are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental. However if you think that the situations I describe could never happen. then you could be right – or maybe.......... What is truth? Memory isn’t truth. Memory is edited almost as soon as the moment passes, … Continue reading The Floating Dutchman