8
Jul
2020
Common Sense (or lack of it)
Reading the Independent on Monday, I was struck by a couple of items bizarre enough for me to wonder whether April 1st had been moved to mid-July and I just hadn’t heard. (You’re kidding me? Right?) A stag party of young men, celebrating in an Alpine hut, discovered a snake (or it discovered them) and... Read More
20
Jun
2020
Internet Woes.
I’ve had it with Zoom. It’s slow to connect, there’s no synchronisation, the sound’s poor and the heads that pop up on the screen are all at funny angles. If they look at the camera when they speak, that’s a blessing, but you have to take your eyes off your own screen to do that... Read More
13
Jun
2020
Foundlings
I’ve been fascinated by the Long Lost Family TV programmes on people abandoned as babies – one was found in a wooden box with two tins of corned beef – who grew up in loving foster or adoption homes and yet were troubled by not knowing the circumstances of their births. Rejection as your first... Read More
24
May
2020
Writing Short Stories
I was asked to write some notes recently on short story writing. Having thought long and hard about what are generally considered to be successful short stories, I thought I’d share my thoughts with you. I’ve written the notes under different headings. There are some stories of mine on other pages. Length. Short story competitions... Read More
27
Apr
2020
The Marsh People
THE MARSH PEOPLE published by Victorina Press, is based on an experiment with dogs about learned helplessness.It’s a well known experiment conducted by Seligman, in which dogs are kept in wire cages with electrified walls, but are fed at regular intervals. After several weeks, the tops of the cages are removed. One or two of... Read More