Blogs

J.R. Moehringer (2005) The Tender Bar: A Memoir.

Posted by celticman on Sat, 11 Jun 2022

I did this in the wrong order (if there is such a thing) I watched the film of the book, before reading the book. For J.R.Moehringer, books are holy things. And I know where he lives because I’ve read the book. F.Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby Egg territory. J.R’s hometown, Manhasset, Long Island. Sigourney Weaver took her stage name from the guest list of Gatsby’s fictional legendary parties, which the whole of New York’s well-heeled...

My Name is Leon, BBC 2, BBC iPlayer, adapted for television by Shola Amoo, Director Lynette Linton.

Posted by celticman on Sat, 11 Jun 2022

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m00184br/my-name-is-leon Anyone that has been paying attention knows a Tory government that continually takes money from the poor and gives it the rich is where we are now. The worst cost-of-lving crisis in decades. More children taken into care by local authorities grows year on year, while central government takes away funds for caring ( https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/jan/23/the-guardian-...

Judy, BBC 4, BBC iPlayer, written by Tom Edge and Peter Quilter, directed by Rupert Goold.

Posted by celticman on Fri, 10 Jun 2022

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0012y9d/judy The use of the singular name implies the universal. A rose by any other name is still a rose. Judy Garland arrives in swinging London for a number of sell-out performances in The Talk of the Town in the winter of 1968. Six months later she was dead at the age of 47. Renee Zellweger is Judy, with a long chin, white butterfly masquerade mask of a face with bright red lips. Get the spiky black...

Great Scottish Writers, Meg Henderson (1997) The Holy City.

Posted by celticman on Thu, 09 Jun 2022

I loved Meg Henderson’s memoir, Finding Peggy, which gave her a reading audience hoping for more, hoping for better. Ask me about the story and I wouldn’t be able to tell you very much. The leading character in The Holy City, Marion McLeod, around which much of the story of Clydebank winds is Finding Peggy feisty I’d tackled The Holy City before, but lost the plot with it and put it down. I picked it up again and put it down. I’m not sure why I...

So, why do you want to write? A good question...

Posted by Robert Craven on Mon, 06 Jun 2022

It as been a while... I planned to take 2022 off from writing completely. A full break. And here's why - sixteen years of writing, going through the mill of pitching, getting published, watching publishers go bust and retrieving my material back for indie platforms non-stop had taken its toll, I needed to hit the pause button. I needed to stop and take stock of why I write, what compels me to rise every morning and start typing words and...

Story and Poem of the Month

Posted by Insertponceyfrenchnamehere on Sun, 05 Jun 2022

Our Story and Poem of the Month for May have very kindly been chosen by Simon Barget. Here's what he picked: Story was easy with Sean McNulty’s Phantosmia head and shoulders above the rest -- there’s a pun in there somewhere. https://www.abctales.com/ story/sean-mcnulty/phantosmia The lack of stiff competition lends an honorary mention to one more of his Moloney/Elder flights/forays: The Eerie Nerve. https://www.abctales.com/ story/sean-mcnulty/...

Story and Poem of the Week and Inspiration Point

Posted by Insertponceyfrenchnamehere on Fri, 03 Jun 2022

It's a bank holiday so it's raining, but I hope you're enjoying it all the same. Lots of fine writing to choose from, but getting straight to the point: Story of the Week is maddan's 'The Munro Academy Poltergeist'. I've really enjoyed all of maddan's horror stories and this one is another excellent tale. You can read it here: https://www.abctales.com/story/maddan/munro-academy-poltergeist Poem of the Week is Jane Hyphen's brilliant 'If I can...

Scotland 1—3 Ukraine.

Posted by celticman on Wed, 01 Jun 2022

Scotland last played in the World Cup in France, 1998. The qualification campaign wasn’t a matter of life and death. It was just a game of football, which Ukraine won quite comfortably. They play Wales on Sunday to decide who goes to Qatar in November. When there’s no football on Scotland are playing. Lyndon Dykes elbows Stepanenko on the back of the head as they go for a punted high ball, and gets a booking, sums up the first-half. Dykes doesn’...

Jeannette Walls (2005) The Glass Castle.

Posted by celticman on Sat, 28 May 2022

The American Dream and Angela’s Ashes combined. Now a major motion picture (I haven’t seen it). Short chapters on life in rust-bucket America and California and what it means to be poor and smelly. Treated as an outcast. Yet throughout the reader knows Jeannette will rise. ‘One day I was walking down Broadway with another student named Carol when I gave some change to a young homeless guy. ‘You shouldn’t that,’ Carol said. ‘Why!’ ‘It only...

Story and Poem of the Week and Inspiration Point

Posted by Insertponceyfrenchnamehere on Fri, 27 May 2022

We have had some brilliant things this week - please do read our ongoing prose series - esepcially Janus, Ugly Puggly, Legend of the Pah and The Castle. I'm also trying out a new idea for the Inspiration Point so do have a go and let me know if you find it helpful Anyway - Story of the Week is the first part of Kilb50's The Castle which is a fantastic read, and our Poem of the Week goes to Ewan for his wonderful All the Diamonds Raining (but do...

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