As the nights draw in and we reach the end of October, we will once again be able to enjoy that newly-imported pastime of ‘trick or treat’ which, at any other time of the year, would be more accurately termed ‘demanding money with menaces’. I know this instantly brands me as an old curmudgeon, desperately out of touch with the times, but I think it’s a shame that we seem to have embraced the U.S. version of Hallowe’en, with its practical jokes,...

Jean Faley (2008 [1990]) Up Oor Close. Memories of Tenements 1910 – 1945 Helen Clark and Elizabeth Carnegie (2006 [2003]) She Was Aye Workin’. Memories of Tenement Women in Edinburgh and Glasgow. I’ve just finished Helen Clark and Elizabeth Carnegie’s book, but I read Jean Farley’s Up Oor Close a while ago but didn’t bother reviewing it. This has a bit to do with time and opportunity cost. If you’re reading you’re not writing about tenement life...

As usual I was trying to remember if I’d read Bernard MacLaverty’s work before. I’m a great reader but not very good at it. His work Cal strikes a note, but what kind of note I’m not very sure. Memory wise, nothing. Midwinter Break is quite a simple story that follows that clichéd pattern of nothing happens twice. An elderly couple Gerry and Stella Gilmore go on a short break from their home in Glasgow to Amsterdam. They’re Irish enough to split...

It started on time (!) and this year the route went from the bottom end of town to the top. Our predictably surprising Exmouth Carnival. Floats, walking groups, individuals, three towns of glitz and twirl majorettes. If only majorettes had been around when I was nine. It's about rhythm, and dancy pop and baton twirling and showing off in little seaside town carnivals. It's 'we' not 'I', winning trophies as a troupe, not straining to notch up...

Another Day. Another day and another night. The mobile radio station are parked next too, or seem to be and at about.

What is it about Owls? They fascinate with their mystery…They dart between trees nearly invisible in the darkening night…and if you chance to see one… you hold your breath not wanting the moment to end...for they are amazing to watch. There is an owl that lives behind my house in a small wooded area…and late at night or actually just into sunset…he or she hoots its lone call into the night…and stops me in whatever I am doing…frozen with ear...

I sped read through the 309 pages of this book in two sittings. It didn’t take me long. I’m good at that kind of thing, but I’m not sure if good is the right word. I read lots, but remember very little. M. Scott Peck is of course better known for his ten-million bestseller, The Road Less Travelled . Yep, read that too. Writing this now I can’t remember a word of it, but I’m guessing it’s full of folksy wisdom. Americans love that kinda shit. As...

Posted by airyfairy on Fri, 13 Oct 2017 Two very different pieces for this week's picks. Poem of the Week is PoetonaHill's 'In Cardiff Jail'. Undoubtedly bleak, it's brilliantly written and makes the reader go on to think about all sorts of things other than the original subject: https://www.abctales.com/story/poetonahill/cardiff-jail Story of the Week is 'The St Trinian's Problem', by The Other Terrence Oblong. Those already acquainted with...

Two very different pieces for this week's picks. Poem of the Week is PoetonaHill's 'In Cardiff Jail'. Undoubtedly bleak, it's brilliantly written and makes the reader go on to think about all sorts of things other than the original subject: https://www.abctales.com/story/poetonahill/cardiff-jail Story of the Week is 'The St Trinian's Problem', by The Other Terrence Oblong. Those already acquainted with Happy Island will know that its residents...

This book is a delight to read. I’m not really sure why, I guess it’s because the author is honest. No waffle. He doesn’t believe in dyslexia even though he and his son have been given that moniker by earnest professionals. Early in life he wanted to be an artist, and went to among others, the Slade Art School in London. It’s not so much as he pissed the chance away, he realised early that he didn’t have what it takes. He was at the first Sex...