Daedalus

Apologies in advance, Sandra. I won’t be doing a story this month. I do enjoy these poetry prompts but a combination of holidays and life admin is swallowing the time.

Mention of plain-looking pubs reminds me of another pub with a heart-warming story, the Hope in Carshalton, near where I used to live and even nearer to where I grew up. In appearance a nondescript 1930s local, it was going to close down until a bunch of its customers got together and bought the lease, and then a few years later the pub outright.…[Read more]

Sounds glorious.

Just had a short break in France where nearly all the draft beer is lager style, with the exception of a few unpleasantly-sweet dark beers. To be fair, some of the lighter ones are drinkable, especially if it’s a hot day – which it usually is.

All this talk of real ale reminds me of that magical moment when you enter a…[Read more]

Actually there was a bit of a wobbly phase on the ale front for the first year or two of the new regime, while Nils, who is not himself a real ale drinker, was finding out by trial and error what would sell. There was a heavy emphasis on those light golden bitters that are fashionable these days, but are not much to my taste (unless it’s hot…[Read more]

Oh for a decent pub nearby. There used to be a decent pub only a few hundred yards away from me. It was always The George as it stood by a roundabout on Worthing’s George V Avenue. A couple of years ago it was acquired by the Toby Carvery group. I see that they claim to serve real ale now, but I did try to beers they offered a few times and I…[Read more]

The Woman Whose Nose Pointed North

I had already met my mother-in-law, years earlier, not that I could have known. We had moved onto a still-being-built estate, the house across from ours taken by a large family. So many children were a draw for a five-year-old girl and her brother.

The children, I remember, seemed friendly. Not so the…[Read more]

Well done, Sandra! And thank you for the prompt, Seagreen. As ever, some fine entries.

Thank you, Sea, for the challenge and for the kind words. Congratulations, Sandra, your words clearly came from the heart and made you a worthy winner.

Foolishly, I thought I’d have time on my nightshift to absorb the stories and choose a winner. Ha! The salt mine overlords had other ideas.

I promise it’ll be done today…

A great prompt, Sea – I just haven’t had time to write a story this month. Very enjoyable entries from everyone.

I’m sorry to hear about the cardiologist.

Teabreak tells it straight

I have been known to buff the truth a little, just to get a sparkle when a story is recounted. And if that helps somebody see the finer details a little more clearly, then who am I to deny them the opportunity? However, just as experts say we should resist the call of Mr. Sheen and microfibre when rare treasures are at…[Read more]

Okay Sea, that ‘honesty snagged my conscience:

The  last time I cried was as I attempted to sleep,  having earlier been admitted to hospital after my husband Steve correctly diagnosed the oddness of my being unable to control my fingers, while doing the Saturday General Knowledge as potentially a stroke. Quoting ‘FAST’, he did everything right…[Read more]