The peace at home never lasted long, though. Quite often now, it seemed, Tom would wake up to hear something going on upstairs - loud voices, crying...
Tom returned to school on the Monday, and Miss Newman was back again. But things weren't the same. As soon as he arrived in the playground he noticed...
A silly piece of nonsense, inspired by Hilaire Belloc. Not for the faint-hearted or easily-offended! (my image) Hilda Doyle had a boil growing in her...
You have! Innocent times. I'd left school, hadn't started work yet. I naively thought that leaving school meant I knew all I ever needed to know about everything. Reality a few years later was a big shock. I haven't quite recovered!
I well remember when I was finally found out. Actually, the teacher was outraged and it caused more of a fuss than depicted. And the ten shilling note! That happened in the back road. We'd just found it when this chap came along and asked us. A...
Thanks, Tom. I sincerely hope I don't judge, and can't really see any element of judgment here. Perhaps I'm overlooking something. If Harry's judgment (a fictional narrator) is that he couldn't make anything of the story ideas, then that just...
With you on that, Turlough. It was behind my decision not to have children, in the end. With AI being predicted to wipe out many white-collar jobs soon, too, children today face a future more uncertain than at any time in our lifetimes. We...
I genuinely think her heart's in the right place. She uses her wealth to good social ends. I find her music and her presence quite bland, uninspiring and forgettable - Joni Mitchell or Patti Smith she ain't - but am glad if she can make some...
“No, it’s a tediously nasal-sounding middle-aged white man in a cape.”
Brilliant. I retire next year on only the state pension. And as I've worked for fifty years, I'll get the full state pension. Which'll make me £12 a month above...
I'm also glad you decided to
Posted on Mon, 08 Jun 2026
I'm also glad you decided to post this, Jenny. Very powerful. It's always the waiting that does it.
My thoughts are with you.
x
Read full commentPosted in Torment
You have! Innocent times. I'd
Posted on Sat, 06 Jun 2026
You have! Innocent times. I'd left school, hadn't started work yet. I naively thought that leaving school meant I knew all I ever needed to know about everything. Reality a few years later was a big shock. I haven't quite recovered!
Thanks...
Read full commentPosted in Blue
I well remember when I was
Posted on Tue, 26 May 2026
I well remember when I was finally found out. Actually, the teacher was outraged and it caused more of a fuss than depicted. And the ten shilling note! That happened in the back road. We'd just found it when this chap came along and asked us. A...
Read full commentPosted in Tom All Alone 16 (ii)
Thanks, Tom. I don't judge.
Posted on Wed, 25 Feb 2026
Thanks, Tom. I sincerely hope I don't judge, and can't really see any element of judgment here. Perhaps I'm overlooking something. If Harry's judgment (a fictional narrator) is that he couldn't make anything of the story ideas, then that just...
Read full commentPosted in 5. Secondhand Prose
I'm not sure it's a pastiche.
Posted on Thu, 19 Feb 2026
I'm not sure it's a pastiche. In spite of resonances, I think it's highly original. Congratulations. Well-deserved.
Read full commentPosted in Courtesy Calls: The Fire Lane (1)
Duly noted, Claudine. Sorry.
Posted on Sun, 01 Feb 2026
Duly noted, Claudine. Sorry. Comments edited.
Read full commentPosted in I’ve Got a Gal in Tiramisu
With you on that, Turlough.
Posted on Mon, 02 Jun 2025
With you on that, Turlough. It was behind my decision not to have children, in the end. With AI being predicted to wipe out many white-collar jobs soon, too, children today face a future more uncertain than at any time in our lifetimes. We...
Read full commentPosted in Population decline
I genuinely think her heart's
Posted on Thu, 26 Sep 2024
I genuinely think her heart's in the right place. She uses her wealth to good social ends. I find her music and her presence quite bland, uninspiring and forgettable - Joni Mitchell or Patti Smith she ain't - but am glad if she can make some...
Read full commentPosted in On the Wind
“No, it’s a tediously nasal
Posted on Sat, 14 Sep 2024
“No, it’s a tediously nasal-sounding middle-aged white man in a cape.”
Brilliant. I retire next year on only the state pension. And as I've worked for fifty years, I'll get the full state pension. Which'll make me £12 a month above...
Read full commentPosted in Sir Kier Starmer Superhero – Sir Kier and the energy crisis
I heard a joke recently:
Posted on Sun, 08 Sep 2024
I heard a joke recently:
'How do you know if someone's autistic?'
'They'll tell you.'
Hm.
One of the biggest laughs I had was at a comedy night where one of the comedians was disabled. He used his metal crutches to...
Read full commentPosted in A hundred moments in autism - Autistic Comedy Night
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