A total gem from Maggy van Eijk makes it a no brainer for Poem of the Week: http://www.abctales.com/story/maggyvaneijk/trifecta A bit of fun on Happy Island is the pick of the Stories: http://www.abctales.com/story/other-terrence-oblong/nudism-problem And an IP that should make you shout at the dog/cat in your life: http://www.abctales.com/inspiration-point-ip Cheers, Tony

Watching Celtic is like going to chapel, but you want to be there and you’re a believer- even though, secretly, after getting humped 7-0 by Barcelona and facing another squad worth a quarter billion pounds, that’s won ten on the bounce, you don’t really expect miracles. Yet, you do, otherwise you’d be ffafing about watching Coronation Street. Belief isn’t optional, it’s part of the tapestry of football, against all the odds (or even 10/1) your...

Lily Poole is the first novel by ABCtales Editor Jack O’Donnell, better known here as celticman. Many of us may be accustomed to his writing but prepare to be surprised. Lily Poole is a two gears up from anything he has written beforehand. It has wit, style, surprise, insight into the human character, extraordinary description of life on the seamy side of Glasgow and a writing style that delights. The book begins with our hero, John, coming...

http://www.channel5.com/show/secrets-of-the-sas-in-their-own-words As Eric, my mate, often parrots, when pissed, ‘I can’t tell you if I’ve been in the SAS or I’ll need to kill you afterwards.’ Usually by that time he can’t zip up his fly and Liz is dragging him up the road. I could probably reconstruct the whole thing, with an idling taxi and two actors and an actress, playing Liz, in a dramatic reconstruction, with the sound of gunfire zipping...

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,...