Chris A

Congratulations to Squidge for winning and to the rest of us simply for being amazing ????

Also thanks to Sandra for shooing me in an unexpected direction ☺️

Thanks for the prompt, Sandra. Enjoyed it this month. And very well done to Squidge. A worthy winner!

There is not the smallest piece of amusement in her confusion as she stands with a knife in one hand, a fork in the other. Which to the right and which to the left? She knows, of course, but in that moment the answer eludes her. So much hangs on the decision. Once, many years ago, she served water in a glass; put it at his place. For her trouble…[Read more]

Don’t get me wrong though, I’m not attacking him. I think it’s great that he doesn’t measure his success the way that some singer/songwriters do. And I do like his songs. He’s also a pretty accomplished guitarist. He seems to have been very successful indeed in other areas he’s chosen to work, pursuing a big career in Radio as a senior producer…[Read more]

Sunshine and Shadow (219 words inc. title)

In a yellow rectangle, in the black façade of a house, a woman is laying a table. Her movements are deft and economical…

Wait.

That’s not right.

For a start, that rectangle isn’t yellow; it’s liquid gold. Or maybe it’s a garden of primroses in spring. No. It’s even more than that. It’s mo…[Read more]

I have had a good listen. I have a feeling he’s somebody to hear live. Perhaps we’ll meet up at his next gig – if he has one.

She seems pretty English to me – although her mother is French and her father’s Maltese. But yes, it’s the French connection that hooked me on Renaud.

I don’t know, but put the speculation aside. Pete Atkin has a smooth confident voice and he holds a note very well. And that’s true right from the first album to the last. The songs hold your…[Read more]

The only writer who I enjoy and where I can see similarities in style with my own, is Kurt Vonnegut. That’s not to say we write in similar ways. Vonnegut was a master of prose and I’m not drawing a comparison. However, he made an effort to keep his writing plain and clear and advised others to do the same. Certainly there are subtleties in…[Read more]

Fabulous blog, Richard. Chanson is so little known outside of France. People think they know it because they’ve heard a recording of Non, je ne regrette rien or maybe they know that Seasons in the Sun is a translation (sort of) of a Jacques Brel number. It’s hugely popular in France. Travel to any town and go out and about on market-day. Every…[Read more]

Brutal

Graham was beside himself. Furious, speechless, incandescent with rage. They had demolished the ancient well in his garden, thrown the centuries old stonework down inside, and constructed a former which showed their intention to pour footings a full twenty metres from where the summerhouse should be. He leaned forward and peered down. All…[Read more]