Blogs

Every year, since we've been able to do so, my wife and I have bought Senior Citizen Railcards with the intention of "seeing a bit more of this country, this year", and, every year, just like clockwork, we realise that we're coming to the end of the Railcard's natural life and that we haven't done anything with it. Panic sets in and we hunt about for possible locations for a day out, which will go some way toward justifying the expense of the...

Prison, Channel 4, 9pm, produced and directed by Paddy Wivell. https://www.channel4.com/programmes/prison/on-demand/66913-001 https://www.channel4.com/programmes/prison/on-demand/66913-002 Durham Prison in the North East of England holds around 950 inmates on any given day. In the first episode there were no real surprises, apart from the prisoner that managed to smuggle a phone inside up his arse. He freely admitted to it on camera. There’s a...

This is the beginning of the big one. This is my greatest story because it's true. I've told this story hundreds of times but I've never written it. Other writers have taken a shot at ti and done allright but no one can tell it like I can because I was there for every second of it. I've been holding off on the writing because I wanted to keep growning my writing skills before I even attempted it. The problem is, I'm starting to lose some of my...

If you've got children of a certain age around the house, then you'll know about Bing! If not, his work may have passed you by, particularly if you don't happen to be an avid fan of CBeebies. Bing! (and he always comes with his own exclamation mark) is a charming black rabbit dressed in a colourful set of dungarees (which people my age would have called a romper suit in the dark ages). He has a series of adventures with his friends Sula (an...

David Halberstam was killed in a car crash in 2007, clichéd as it is, his memory lives on here. This is a book all American citizens need to read before saluting the flag. Old Glory, American Presidents should be handed it when they are sworn in and take office. The Korean War began on 25 th June 1950 and lasted three years. The forgotten war, a stepping stone into Vietnam. Military historian S.L.A Marshall described it as ‘the century’s...

Our Story of the Week is london_calling79's introduction to his series 'I'm Not Disappointed, I'm Just Angry'. It's funny, it's touching, and it's shot through with rage at the state of things in the UK education system. Do read it, and the chapters so far, if you haven't already: https://www.abctales.com/story/londoncalling79/im-not-disappointed-im-ju... Poem of the Week is ralph's 'Going Out for Cigarettes', which gives us a whole novel's...

Steven tells a story through linked facts. A tale of theft, lies and violence. Land where coal is discovered, it's there for grabs. Who wins - the bosses. Who loses - the miners and their families who lose their health hacking the coal out, who lose their homes migrating from one mining shanty town to the next and who get cheated out of their pay by having to pay high rents for rotten housing and worse plots to grow their vegatables than if they...

Story and Poem for the month of June very kindly selected by Sean McNulty: Mirror World by Poetonahill https://www.abctales.com/ story/poetonahill/mirror-world I am usually wary of overtly sentimental poetry. I think it’s because I find it a very difficult thing to achieve: to write a poem, a lovely poem, a lovely sentimental poem. It takes some skill to produce something like that without the weight of artifice hanging. Luckily, here at...