A dialogue Carefully settling his steaming cup of extremely hot coffee and throwing his knapsack under the desk, he signs into the computer and turns to the freelancer who’s been working in the office for about a week-or-so now. “Good morning,” she says before he’s able to offer the same. “Good morning,” he gives…
Tag: story
Good to be back in the old neighbourhood
Putting a pin through the past. The welcoming scene to greet me as I arrived at Camden Road Overground Station last night was that of a drunken old tramp relieving himself against a tree. It was good to be back in the old neighbourhood and to see that so little had changed since I finished working here almost six months ago….
The truth isn’t always an uplifting business
Hang around the Irish pubs of West London for long enough and you’re sure to hear some harsh political opinions. If you don’t watch out, you might even get to holding some of them yourself. The truth isn’t always an uplifting business, but there are no lies in Big Tom, the out of work steel fixer…
The gift that keeps on giving
You know how it is, you’re in a second-hand bookshop on a Saturday afternoon, indifferently leafing through anything that comes to hand and, for whatever reason, you suddenly fix on something that catches you’re attention. I picked up a copy of Content Provider: Selected Short Prose Pieces 2011-2016(2016, Faber & Faber) by the comedian Stewart Lee and noticed…
Ask David Attenborough a question
I was only going to post once today (a satirical notion I’ve had kicking around my head for a while), however, I just remembered that I will be attending a presentation on the highly successful BBC nature documentary series Planet Earth II tomorrow and Sir David Attenborough is set to appear as a special guest and speaker. As far as I know, there…
How are ya getting’ on?
A lot has been going on since my lachrymose little article from last week. At the time, I was rather on the despondent side, fearing I would no longer have time or opportunity to hunt-down and photograph London’s ever-changing street art offerings. As it happens, my sorrows were somewhat unfounded as I started a new job in East London’s Shoreditch area…
The story of last night
“Maybe we’ll find a little adventure,” joked Herself as we headed out for a walk in the neighbourhood after dinner last night. We live in one of London’s quieter districts and the evenings tend to be tame on this side of town. We’re low-key people. We like it that way. Nearing the end of our…
Do what you can
Herself is in Greece, so I’m home alone for the next week until I join her over there for Greek Easter. I’ll have to find something to keep myself occupied for the weekend, though I fear my efforts may amount to little more that sitting on the couch and watching Sergei Bondarchuk’s incredible 8 hour…
I am Ayman and I am a refugee from Syria
Ayman Hirh was a successful marble and granite trader in the Jobar district of Syria’s capital, Damascus, before the escalating political situation in his country drove him and his family into exile. Because of his involvement as an activist in the 2011 uprising and President Al-Assad’s subsequent crackdown on any and all dissent, Ayman was…
A Very Quick Story
I’ll tell you a quick story while you’re here and I have the time to spare. I have a good friend who worked as a barman for the years he was seeing his way through his tertiary educational commitments. No-one who knows an honest day of work would ever challenge you in saying that tending…
A Rural Idyll in Steady Decline
The people of that plainly built farming town led simple lives and were proud of the hardship and forfeiture rural existence assumed of them. They knew their place in that world and – as is customary in such isolated surroundings – they conducted themselves with the same sheltered constancy as so many of their forebears had done for generations before.
Even More Street Art in Camden Town
Opinion may differ as to whether this kind of work should be considered Art, but if you ever happen to spend some time down the grim backstreets of North London, then I am sure will agree that the place could do with a bit of colour.
A Long Walk Through The City
Soon we found ourselves in Bloomsbury where around every corner you half expect to find T.S Eliot or Virginia Woolf stood in discussion with one of their literary acquaintances from that little bourgeois social circle of theirs. When Americans see London in their movies, says my old man, this is the London they are seeing.
Some Time Off On Achill Island
The good people of Achill will always ask how you are fixed for a drink, be it a water, a jar of stout, or a whiskey to warm you after a walk in the rain. There’s always a relation or a friend visiting from abroad and the people who live here want to show a…
50 word story – Untitled
And that time she fell, the care they took to get her up again. Those old bones are softer than chalk, they said, but they had held through harder times. With what that man had put her through, at least we were gentle when we lowered her into the ground.