Blogs

Two stunning pieces take this week's honours: Stephen Thom's 'Lighthouse' and Rosa Cruz's 'Last Night I Became An Emperor Moth'. Big congratulations to both and please do read them - they're both wonderful: http://www.abctales.com/story/stephen-thom/lakehouse http://www.abctales.com/story/rosa-cruz/last-night-i-became-emperor-moth I hope you enjoy the Inspiration Point which is here: http://www.abctales.com/inspiration-point-ip And finally a...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b07w532p/the-doctor-who-gave-up-drugs-episode-1 http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b07wwd9d/the-doctor-who-gave-up-drugs-episode-2 I’ve invested almost two hours of my life in these two programmes presented by Dr Chris van Tullaken, with a side-line in epidemiology. He’s evangelical in his belief that too many people are being prescribed drugs they don’t need that don’t work and the side-effects are harmful...

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/national-treasure/on-demand/61953-001 ‘They think I’m fucking Jimmy Saville,’ says Paul Finchley (Robbie Coltrane) when he’s arrested for rape. A writer could have a lot of fun with this four-part series, as I’m sure Jack Thorne does. The litmus test for National Treasure is whether the named and shamed celebrity such as Jimmy Saville, Rolf Harris or indeed our very own Cliff (although the tabloids are playing...

I believe that the abolition of Grammar Schools in the 60s was the most regressive step in the history of education in this country. It resulted in the levelling down of education in general, and ensured that the old Public School system of election and promotion in politics, banking, media, Civil Service, business etc. would continue for generations to come. In all walks of life we see people ruling over us whose only qualification for office...

I’m lost in the magic tonight. When a writer has to leave a story for too long they have to reacquaint themselves with the characters. So I am living in ‘A Wizard’s Magic’ and getting to know my hero and heroine again and actually liking them. And like a reader, I am wondering where this story will lead them and how will it end? It is so easy to lose the thread of a story when you can’t sit and write 24/7 and that’s what happened to me…I couldn’...

Maslow’s hammer – if you have a hammer, everything looks like a nail . I don’t believe in a market for healthcare. I don’t believe in a market for schools. And I don’t believe in trickledown economics, the belief that giving money to the rich helps the poor. When I see the innocence of children I can believe in God. As Dr Benjamin Spock wrote for post- Second World War baby-boomers: ‘Each child is retracing the whole history of mankind,...

A couple of gems for you this week from Terrence Oblong and OverTheTop1 via Seashore plus a relatively easy Inspiration Point to get your creative juices flowing: http://www.abctales.com/story/terrence-oblong/rock-broken http://www.abctales.com/story/seashore/infectious http://www.abctales.com/inspiration-point-ip Have fun!

Where's the ba? In the net... I must admit I’d a fiver on Celtic to win at 33/1. You know it’s not going to happen, but think it might. And at those odds, you can’t really lose, although you did. We all know how it works. Barcelona need to have an off day as they did on Saturday against a newly promoted team. The Celtic goalkeeper has got to have the game of his life, as David Marshal once did, or even Frazer Foster. Here De Vries came in to...

It has come to my attention this week via the Official Fan Club that it was 58 years since Cliff released his first hit single Move It!, on 29 th August 1958. It rose to number 2 in the charts, sadly pipped at the post by the Kalin Twins’ rendition of an undeniably catchy little ditty ‘When’, which is still occasionally given air time, although their name has more or less been forgotten, whereas Cliff’s fame and popularity appears to be...

‘Dear Brother, here where the doors are closed I have learned to walk through brick walls A copper-pot spider was my good friend and many lizards fed my heart Now every dream I see assumes the shape of a skeleton key. Once I heard Grandfather’s voice calling me back through the trees but I can’t go home that way I will remain by an older path over the plains on the river My offerings as I travel through the city of temples will be bones and...