“Whats up, son?” he asked, “Did last night not go well? Didn't she have you in?”

John Lewis-Stempel’s Where Poppies Blow is a hotchpot of different things. That’s usually a criticism, but in this case this is the books strength. Pre-war England is the baseline, a kind of Acardia to which the British soldier on the front’s mind often returns. Fuck off I say to that kind of crap. The majority of troops came from slum housing and if they were lucky enough to be in regular employments worked between 12 and 15 hours a day for 364...

Some great pieces on the site this week. Our Story of the Week is a most extraordinary two-parter by LilleDante. It's not an easy read, but you definitely won't regret the effort. Our Poem of the Week is a lilting little beauty from PoetonaHill. Everyone who's read it so far wants to see it set to music. Who knows? Perhaps if he gets more requests he'll have a go! Big congratulations to both: https://www.abctales.com/story/lille-dante/black-book...

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...