Monthly Archives: June 2021

Short stories are not making a comeback, they’re still unpopular, but being a great fan of all things unpopular I still write them. A few years ago I wrote this amuse-bouche, and have since discovered that there may be more of a back-story to it than I realised. I’ve added a postscript.          The Scent […]

To the Victoria & Albert museum for their highly praised ‘Alice in Wonderland’ exhibition, I decide that if anyone can do it the V&A can. These days it is a money-making concern with more rapacious officers than the East India Company, but they put on a great show. A confession; it is not a favourite […]

Blast From The Past Back in a Soho studio today for the first time in ages – subterranean, chilly, scruffy and a bit wonderful – for a radio show about books and old Soho with producer/writer Des Burkinshaw, who also whipped up a terrific theme for an imagined Bryant & May series. I’d forgotten how […]

  Example No.1: How writing works. I’ve just returned to writing proper (powered by the miracle of medication). I make no excuses for this. Fantasy world building is exhausting, and it was late. Example No. 2: Observational Detective Work Sitting opposite this theatrical ticket agency having coffee with a friend, something bothered me. I’ve seen […]

Sorry about delays and omissions in your usually fine service – I was meant to tackle various site issues but I was back in the hospital, which is not terribly conducive to posting, or for that matter thinking. One of the problems was the loss of my image bank, a collection of thousands of photos […]

The sun is making a rare appearance. Covid deaths fell to zero yesterday. If you’re feeling a little happier, a bit more upbeat, this should drag you down. Another selection of gruesomely depressing news stories I gathered over the last 30 years… As the credit crunch hit home, an article appeared in The Observer about […]