Someone gave me this book, perhaps knowing I’m never happier than when unhappy and wallowing in the worst of humanity, and it makes a pleasant change from Nazi death camps. Erving Goffman defined a total institution as a place that is isolated and enclosed as Carstairs Hospital obviously is, but a wider reading also acknowledges the secrecy that such places engender. My first attempt at novel writing, Huts , written around eight years ago takes...

My husband died the day before yesterday. I am walking on Saturn in some heavy ass gas having to hold onto the furniture when crossing the room. He is not upstairs sleeping or working in his study. He won't be home at nine. He isnt up in London working or having a curry with his friends. He wont turn over in bed and put a big hand on my hip. I'm going to be a slow learner of "gone" and in between memories of "gone" there will be sattelite moons...

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A really great story and poem for you this week - and an Inspiration Point that could have you scratching your head! Story of the Week is this belter from the ever wonderful Vera Clark. She captures the time and place of the Holiday Camp and gives us a tale with a wicked twist: http://www.abctales.com/story/veraclark/souvenirs The Poem of the Week is one that really made me think. This is an orginal and really quite profound notion: http://www...

It is with great sadness that we have to announce the passing of long term ABCtales member Lisa Hinsley. She was a wonderful writer and a fine member of our community - giving freely of her time and opinions in order to help hundreds of others. Lisa was a fine writer with a number of published books. Her most famous, Plague, is strongly recommended to you. She fought cancer with bravery and stoicisim for three years. Lisa leaves a husband and...

We're just about to begin the difficult task of reading through all the wonderful prose and poetry to find the Picks of the Year, but in the meantime here are this week's picks: Story of the Week goes to Lord of the Flies by Stephen Thom - a fabulously unsettling, disturbing, other-worldly nightmare: http://www.abctales.com/story/stephen-thom/lord-flies Poem of the Week is Elliot C. Mason's For a Son - a finely constructed piece which has struck...

So, where from here? I have a plan. So far, the plan is on track – it has optimism-bias (pessimism) and R&R built in. But the emotional bit can’t be planned for – only dealt with. It’s over two months since I last did any work, and that was a course. The plan says: R&R; socialising; birthdays; improving Spanish to a point where I can understand colleagues, students and speak to them; develop a working knowledge of English grammar (thanks...

Thank you to Bee for her fabulous performance poetry idea last month. It was really successful and a luxury to watch and listen to lots of superb poetry with a cup of tea and a packet of chocolate covered nutty biscuits. Here are three cracking performance pieces, do follow the links to hear the sound bites: londoncalling brings home to life. Dark and brooding with unmistakeable fondness: http://www.abctales.com/story/londoncalling79/home-poetry...

I wasn’t sure how to structure this. I’d a vague idea about explaining the significance of the tax-credit U-turn by George Osborne and the jibes about Mao’s Little Red Book , a joke that backfired and made the Shadow Chancellor seem the more foolish. I also thought about telling you about my visit to the dentist. We are an ageing nation of shrinking gums. So I guess I’ll start there. I’m good on nostalgia. The dentist I go to is the same dentist...

I’m delighted to be able to pass on the news concerning the Poem and Story of the Month award for November 2015: Poem of the Month goes to Johnshade for ‘Autumn.’ A love affair told with startling and visceral beauty, a truly poetic insight into desire, the words arranged with such care and precision that it breathes a life on the page. http://www.abctales.com/story/johnshade/autumn Story of the Month goes to Culturehero for ‘into the grey...