Caldwell

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I have 169 stories published in 10 collections on the site.
My stories have been read 170442 times and 173 of my stories have been cherry picked.
32 of my 264 comments have been voted Great Feedback with a total of 33 votes

Caldwell's picture
Christopher Caldwell

I grew up in England and have since made a home in France, on the banks of the Loire. My writing explores how family, place, and history leave their traces on us.

My stories

The Hug Reflex

It was still dark outside. I sleep without the curtains drawn — perhaps inviting anyone to somehow filter through the glass and slip under the covers...
1 likes
Cherry

One last riddle for the week (I promise)

I first saw L’appartement at the cinema in 1996. For the film to work, the protagonist needs to radiate charisma, and I suppose, given its success,...
1 likes
Cherry

The outline

Some dreams never arrive, and yet they leave a trace - the clean-edged hollow of what might have been. We speak of emptiness as if it’s nothing, but...
Cherry

It ain’t where you’re from, it’s where you’re at

We tell ourselves we want change. We stare across the divide at that other life - greener, cleaner, fuller, freer - and we feel the ground beneath us...
1 likes
Cherry

Riddles

In 1984, Nick Kershaw’s The Riddle was in the charts - a mysterious, catchy song full of apparently profound but entirely nonsensical lyrics. It...
1 likes

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32 of my comments have received 33 Great Feedback votes

2 Votes

Reading your reply, I realise

Posted on Mon, 25 Aug 2025

Reading your reply, I realise I’d made light of something much weightier - apologies if my Richard Scarry detour seemed flippant. I suppose as a firstborn I’ve always felt I had enough hardship without taking on the bigger questions too. But you’...

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Posted in Lit

2 Votes

Appreciated

Posted on Thu, 28 Nov 2024

Thank you, feels strange to be bearing all and not hiding behind ideas and jokes and I appreciate this is not a therapy forum, but there's still some worth I think in remembering someone publicly, even if those you're sharing with had no idea of...

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Posted in Adam Hopkins September 1939 - November 2024

2 Votes

It was such an easy read.

Posted on Mon, 18 Nov 2024

It was such an easy read. From the first sentence, I was in your world and got quite upset with the forgiving nature of your narrator and her terrible but probably all-too-common situation. I have always been freaked out by Punch and Judy, never...

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Posted in Cricks Crocodile

1 Vote

Brought back a flood of

Posted on Sun, 05 Oct 2025

Brought back a flood of memories. Scrubbs Lane was guaranteed to land you a puncture, and the roads there, slick with oil from the HGVs trundling along piled high with scrap metal. There's nothing worse than a commute in the encroaching winter...

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Posted in Push a Pedal

1 Vote

Thank you so much Drew. I got

Posted on Sun, 28 Sep 2025

Thank you so much Drew. I got a bit obsessed and couldn't sleep last night until that ethical one was done, and then this one just flowed out this morning. Not so hard to parody this caricature of a man. He sort of does it for you.

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Posted in Trump reads Hansel and Gretel

1 Vote

Thank you for the praise -

Posted on Sat, 27 Sep 2025

Thank you for the praise - and the cherries! It's a really great trigger for inspiration. I think I have a few more attempts before the week is out

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Posted in La Barbe Bleue

1 Vote

The film "Straight Outta

Posted on Tue, 23 Sep 2025

The film "Straight Outta Compton" is really powerful and provided people like me with a real insight, both as a piece of storytelling and as a snapshot of a cultural moment. The casting of O’Shea Jackson Jr. as his father (Ice Cube) adds another...

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Posted in Would the real 'Rap God', please stand up?

1 Vote

I don't want to go back to a

Posted on Tue, 16 Sep 2025

I don't want to go back to a corporate environment. Bleugh. Very well captured. 

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Posted in Kettle Violation

1 Vote

Reminds me of the J G Ballard

Posted on Sun, 14 Sep 2025

Reminds me of the J G Ballard story Concrete Island. What a scary thought.

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Posted in The Last Train

1 Vote

Fair enough. Just to be

Posted on Sat, 13 Sep 2025

Fair enough. Just to be absolutely clear, my response wasn't intended to be critical, but curious, and you led me to make some discoveries for which I thank you. Happy Sunday to you

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Posted in Elephant.

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