Shorter posts, links, or thoughts. No schedule, not heavily considered.
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2020
A new decade lies before us. And I have a resolution for this coming year (and goals for the next three). Let’s start with that resolution: I resolve to limit my time on social media. I acknowledge that I won’t ever be fully off-line but I’m determined to step away from the mindless scrolling and…
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Literature
The post is written in response to a prompt from Genre Scribes: Friday Fiction Writing Challenge #26 — Literature. “Please, just give it a quick read.” “Look, I’ve told you before it’s not going to happen, how many times do we have to tell you?” “Because the sign on the door says ‘Purveyors of fine…
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Charity
The post is written in response to a prompt from Genre Scribes: Friday Fiction Writing Challenge #25 — Charity. I had a good life, a steady job, family, kids, a nice home. No-one tells you how it’ll be, how the cold invades and never leaves, the background thrum from your gnawingly empty stomach. No-one tells…
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Walking Dave
Picture the scene. I’m sitting on the sofa watching TV. There is a small brindle dog lying next to me, gently snoring. At my feet a small black dog lies on a rug, knawing on a chew toy. He stops, stands up, and turns around to face me. He whines pathetically, his bottom lip petted.…
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In nature
The air is cool as it moves around us. Under foot, crimson leaves lie fallen, their work done, and far above our heads the empty branches whisper in the wind. Decades of stories are whispered back and forth above our heads, as we stand below them, looking up as they sway and talk. On we…
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The Lake Keeper
I’m trying something new, I’ve dabbled with fiction here and there on this blog, and the recent November Blogging challenge made me realise that I enjoyed the freedom a simple prompt can bring. So, let’s see how it goes. The post is written in response to a prompt from Genre Scribes: Friday Fiction Writing Challenge…
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The Blip
I’m standing in the room. It’s a room I’ve heard described by many others but here I am, finally. I can’t quite believe what’s happening, it feels surreal, like I’m still in a dream, which is oddly apt I suppose. The message was waiting for me when I woke, as I rose from my bed…
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Deck the halls
It is December, let the festive season begin! There are many parts of this time of year that I enjoy, the sparkly lights that make the darkness a little more bearable, the abundance of hot chocolate options, stodgy foods, and the fact that for many of us it’s a holiday and a chance to have…
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November challenges
November is over and I no longer need to write a new post every day. It’s finished, done, finito. Looking back at what I’ve published and there are some posts in there that I’m pretty proud of, and others that I’m well aware I cobbled together even though I didn’t really have the motivation. But…
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Politics
The UK is facing a general election, driven by a vote two years ago that saw the UK vote for something they didn’t understand, that wasn’t defined, and still isn’t. In the US, the President is facing impeachment, having lied, blustered, and stoked hatred at every turn. And today I’ve to write about politics? Back…
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Religion
Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. I can still recite this prayer, word for word, despite not having actively set foot inside a church for the best part of 30 years. I’m not sure if that is awe-inspiring (the power of the human mind!) or terrifying (mind washed chanting), but there…
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Hope
Isn’t the world a wonderful place? Aren’t these trees, that grass, those bushes and flowers, amazing in so many ways? Is there anything better than a baby smiling at you? Or the perpetual joy with which your dog greets you when you get home, every night? It’s very easy to look at the world we…
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Loss
The hurt of loss, the longing of one, the distance from those, the untouchable. I wrote those words a long time ago. Time is a great healer yet those who have lost loved ones will know, all too well, that it only takes a tiny moment to bring memories snapping back into vivid view in…
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Shoes
There is an old joke that goes: “Before you judge a person, walk a mile in their shoes. After that who cares? They’re a mile away and you’ve got their shoes.” Badummtshhh! It is, of course, a riff on the idiom that is typically stated as “Before you judge a person, walk a mile in…
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Money
I don’t like talking about money. I find it similar to discussing religion or politics, it’s can be a very divisive topic and you can soon find yourself dragged into the long grass as emotions start to kick in. I mostly don’t like talking about it because I’ve not been that great with money for…
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Infrastructure
Invariably I find myself looking for ways to streamline things. I seem to be wired that way, and if I can find a quicker and better way to do something, even if it means bending a rule or two then that’s fine by me. Of course, sometimes better means slower, and that’s fine too, it’s…
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Toast
It’s the simplest of things. Take a slice of bread, put it in the slot, drop the lever and wait. After a short time the lever POPS! and there you have it, perfectly browned toast, yours to adorn it however you wish, and ohhhh the choices are myriad. My usual toppings for a breakfast slice…
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Sport
I blame my Dad. He was a P.E. teacher so I guess it’s understandable, and natural, that his job seeped into his home life and gave me a love of sport. Correction, a love of watching sport. My earliest memories are rugby, likely the Five Nations, with cricket and Formula 1 a close second (the…
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Unrequited
I wrote on love the other day and I guess I’ve been lucky that my life has been filled with people who love me as much as I love them. Of course it wasn’t always so and there were some very angsty teenage years where I confused the emotions when I had a crush on…
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Fight
I can remember the jeering, the cajoling and the pushing, a cacophony of noise and blurs as we got pushed together in the long grass. I can’t see the faces but I know I recognised most of them, I was first to get to the agreed place and then all of a sudden more faces…