The metal detector lay against the garage door gathering dust. A Christmas present that had scarcely been used. I felt guilt at my negligence but it did not outweigh my laziness when it came to doing the requisite research and finding more experienced metal detectorists who could mentor me. Outside of a few exploratory scans […]
When I was a young rascal, runny nosed and dirty from playing out in the back street, I’d run into the kitchen and lunge for the bottom drawer. My gran usually kept it stocked with sweets: sometimes softmints, sometimes chocolates, other times fudges. Grabbing a handful of whatever was going, I’d head to the fridge […]
Anyone who mentions Christmas before December is sure to draw my ire. The fists clench and the jaw tightens as the premature ‘countdown’ begins. The season of advent begins on the first of December and that is long enough. By this time the days are short and the nights are long, the temperature has dropped […]
A pair of small yellow eyes greet me as I awake. Confidently, Bubble, my cat, plants his paws upon my chest. I feel a slight tingle as his claws pinch my skin ever so slightly. He wants out into the morning sun having chomped his way through the cat biscuits and wet food I left […]
As a kid, the summer started when school ended. That final bell was, and still is, a joy to the ears of every child. As an adult, you realise summer has usurped spring well before the final weeks of July. This year, summer is having something of a renaissance as the sunshine has been not […]
I woke up in paradise. An afternoon nap in the heat of the Italian summer was bought to an abrupt end by the hourly ringing of church bells. I felt disorientated , fatigued by the heat and the infernal mosquitoes (I had been warned) but after swilling my face and stepping out into an evening […]
I meet George regularly when I’m out walking. He’s a lot older than me but he has a purpose and surety of stride. He monitors his patch carefully and when our paths cross, he imparts his knowledge. He is an enthusiastic, passionate advocate of our locality and someone I like to bump for a chat. […]
I was sweating profusely. It was a scorching day and I’d just picked my way across a wasteland strewn with glass and empty beer cans. I’d sidestepped an enormous, lifeless rat, its brown fur bleached blonde by the sun. Now I found myself in a dense woodland offering merciful shade. But I was not alone. […]
I don’t know Colin. I never have and never will because he’s not living anymore. He is remembered by the seat I’m sitting on. It’s not one of the wooden benches with the commemorative plaques that have become a popular memorial to lost loved ones. Colin’s seat is a black metal frame with his name […]
