This is the eighth part of a fiction serial, in 751 words. Nancy Zeigler was a girl from working-class parents in East London who owed her surname to a short-lived marriage to the multi-millionaire octogenarian, Otto Zeigler. A man she met working as a stewardess on transatlantic … | Continue reading
Today is Father’s Day in England. I have never had any of my own children, but I have been a step-father to Julie’s four children for a very long time now. I am also the closest thing to a dad that Ollie recognises. So it is not unusual for Julie to sometimes buy me a … Continue … | Continue reading
The weather dominates my report from Beetley once again, with the record June temperatures bringing heatwave conditions to much of the UK. That dropped considerably by Saturday afternoon, with heavy rain predicted for later on Sunday. ————————————————————————————— The second aspe … | Continue reading
This is the seventh part of a fiction serial, in 818 words. If Sheila had some idyllic vision of life in London, she was soon disappointed. Her job was in the new IT department of a small publishing company in Soho, central London. That meant a crowded commute for her from Willes … | Continue reading
Everyone knows how much I love my dog, Ollie. But I like all dogs, and was able to find these historical photos of dogs showing off their talents. Horse riding dog. Dog serving coffee. Tightrope-walking dogs. Tricycle-riding dog. Two dogs enjoying a bicycle ride with their owner. … | Continue reading
I have not had a great deal of contact with Catholic Nuns during my life. Those I met were generally quite stern, or in some cases not allowed to speak to outsiders. I have also heard stories of them being cruel to children they taught, as well as some showing great kindness to t … | Continue reading
This is the sixth part of a fiction serial, in 806 words. For the rest of the college course, Sloan and Sheila were an item. She made sure to keep him away from any other girls attracted to his looks, and believed she was keeping him happy with regular sex sessions. They were mos … | Continue reading
This is the fifth part of a fiction serial, in 808 words. With little hope of the right sort of qualifications to get into university, Sloan set his sights on a Technical College place instead. Two years of electronics and computing, with a diploma at the end. He officially left … | Continue reading
It’s a first for this blog, but I have a car-cleaning tip that actually works! Even better, it requires no chemicals, and is completely free! Both of our cars are parked on the driveway under the canopy of the large Oak Tree on the front of the propery. This means they are consta … | Continue reading
Thanks to Gavin Marriott for sending me this strange-but-true story. Belgian man fakes his own death to teach family a ‘life lesson’, arrives at funeral in helicopter. A Belgian TikToker faked his own death to teach his family a “life lesson” about valuing people while they’re al … | Continue reading
This is the fourth part of a fiction serial, in 740 words. Getting Mister Allison off his back turned out to be easier than expected. Sloan told him he wouldn’t be able to go to his house again, because his mother had started to question why he was there so regularly. Afraid for … | Continue reading
A circus elephant being fed by a tram triver. A policeman watching the back of a herd of sheep being taken to St James’s Park to eat the grass. A man cleaning the clock face of the iconic ‘Big Ben’ at Westminster. (Big Ben is the name of the bell inside the tower.) Boys diving … … | Continue reading
Many years ago, there were some photographers who were fascinated by identical twins, and there are many photos of them to be found online. Also 1920s pin-ups that seem tame by modern standards, animals dressed in human clothes, and children smoking. Here is a selection of those … | Continue reading
This is the third part of a fiction serial, in 768 words. With her son at secondary school, Elizabeth absolved herself of all responsibility for his care and plunged into her two abiding interests in life. Politics, and ballroom dancing. She had decided that the country was falli … | Continue reading
This is the second part of a fiction serial, in 760 words. Elizabeth Sloan had only had sex with a man once in her life. She was twenty-four years old, a committed virgin, and a member of the Conservative Party. Her father had deserted her mum when he found out she was pregnant, … | Continue reading
Due to being occupied with our family yesterday, I only had time to quickly publish two posts already in draft, and reply to a handful of comments. Today, I am trying to reply to all the comments left yesterday, but as I also have had to take Ollie out and soon head off for the … … | Continue reading
This is the first part of a fiction serial, in 775 words. “Did you hear what I said, Mr Sloan?” The doctor sounded exasperated, presumably expecting a more dramatic reaction. He repeated his prognosis. “It is terminal lung cancer, I’m afraid. Inoperable, and no doubt a legacy of … | Continue reading
Very late today as we have had our grandchildren for the day, and took them to a farm open day. Later, we will all go to a local restaurant before taking them home. ————————————————————————————– Summer finally arrived late on Thursday. By Friday we had blue skies and a warm day, … | Continue reading
This is all 30 parts of my recent fiction serial in one complete story. The story was prompted by the photo above, taken by Sue Judd. https://suejudd.com/ It is a long read, at 22,915 words. Norma was picking me up at ten. It was going to be twenty-six years. Hard to imagine, yet … | Continue reading
I rarely post photos of myself on this blog, but Antony took one of me behind the wheel of the car yesterday so I thought it was a good time to update my ‘image’. Definitely looking my age now, but not bothered about that. (I wear glasses when driving, reading, or blogging but no … | Continue reading
My friend Antony drove up from London on Thursday, making a trip to Suffolk to take photographs. Last night, he stayed in a hotel near Norwich. I went to meet him for dinner there, and we had a good chat and catch-up. This morning, he came down to Beetley after breakfast and was … | Continue reading
Jane Bown worked for The Observer newspaper in Britain from 1949. She continued well into her 80s, before her death in 2014. As well as photographing the great and the good, she also liked to capture scenes of ordinary life, mostly in black and white. (All of the photos can be en … | Continue reading
My friend Antony sent me a short film (6 minutes) set in Ireland. In Britain and Ireland ‘Double Yellow’ lines painted on the road indicate no stopping or parking, at any time. Two brothers are set on robbing a bank. Parking on the double yellows is not a good idea… Watch it unti … | Continue reading
This is the final part of a fiction serial, in 758 words. My thanks to Sue Judd for the use of her photo. https://suejudd.com/ After parking in the large car park, Norma and I took the short walk to the spot we had never forgotten. The trees were mature now, and there were new sh … | Continue reading
This is the anniversary of the first day that signalled the end of WW2 in Europe, starting in 1944. June the sixth, 1944. | Continue reading
This is the twenty-ninth part of a fiction serial, in 857 words. My thanks to Sue Judd for the use of her photo. https://suejudd.com/ I spent the next ten days worrying about a knock on the door, sure that they would have found Gregg’s body. Other than our work environment, I kep … | Continue reading
I found this on Helen Warlow’s Twitter account, and it is SO true! | Continue reading
This is the twenty-eighth part of a fiction serial, in 862 words. My thanks to Sue Judd for the use of her photo. https://suejudd.com/ That was the longest day of my life. Norma put a pillow over Gregg’s head so we didn’t have to look at his face, but I couldn’t even stand to be … | Continue reading
Away from the main tourist spots, London hides some little-known secrets. I found photos of some of them. The Flat House. Thurloe Square, Kensington. To squeeze the square against the railway line, but keep the architecture consistent, the builders had to make this last house in … | Continue reading
This is the twenty-seventh part of a fiction serial, in 806 words. My thanks to Sue Judd, for the use of her photo. https://suejudd.com/ Sharing my bed with Norma felt strange. She slept like a log, but I had an unsettled night. Part of that was worrying that Gregg might wake up … | Continue reading
The weather has dominated the week, and not in a good way. The eastern side of Britain was stuck under a cloudy low poressure system, with chilly winds coming from the north. As a result, we had overcast days that felt decidedly cold, with temperatures rarely getting above 10C ev … | Continue reading
I found some more! A platform shelter on the London Underground System. The 1930s Abbey National Building. Brighton, Sussex. Hotel Monico. Southend-On-Sea, Essex. An Art Deco Cinema in Dudley, West Midlands. (Shortly before demolition) Smart Art Deco apartments in Leigh-On-Sea, E … | Continue reading
This is the twenty-sixth part of a fiction serial, in 791 words. My thanks to Sue Judd for the use of her photo. https://suejudd.com/ Gregg handed me the flowers and tried to lean in and kiss me. I turned my face away and his kiss glanced across my cheek. Norma handed me one of t … | Continue reading
Thanks to da-Al at https://happinessbetweentails.com/ for featuring this painting on her blog. I love naive art, and had never seen this painting before. The Family by Fernando Botero: By Cumbia del Rio – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=132 … | Continue reading
This is the twenty-fifth part of a fiction serial, in 760 words. My thanks to Sue Judd for the use of her photo. https://suejudd.com/ At the time, I thought Norma’s plan was pretty lame, and couldn’t see it working. But then I had no idea about the ace up her sleeve that she didn … | Continue reading
Anyone who has known me all my life will tell you that I am not a great fan of Elton John. I don’t like to watch him perform, as he always seems rather creepy to me. However, there was a time when I liked him quite a lot, a time before he was as hugely … Continue reading Retro Mu … | Continue reading
This is the twenty-fourth part of a fiction serial, in 760 words. My thanks to Sue Judd for the use of her photo. https://suejudd.com/ Norma refused to tell me what her idea was, but gave me a hint. “I have a plan, but it involves us meeting Gregg. You have to trust me on this, … … | Continue reading
This is the twenty-third part of a fiction serial, in 760 words. My thanks to Sue Judd for the use of her photo. https://suejudd.com/ The man from the garage told me that the tyres on my car had been let down without being damaged. They put air in them and returned the car to wor … | Continue reading
Most of you will have heard of Nina Simone. Singing Gospel, Jazz, Blues, or Pop, she covered every genre in her long career. One of the first of her records I remember hearing was ‘My Baby Just Cares For Me’. I was around 8 years old when the jazzy song was released in Britain, a … | Continue reading
This is the twenty-second part of a fiction serial, in 775 words. My thanks to Sue Judd for the use of her photo. https://suejudd.com/ I could smell the alcohol on him even as he approached me from behind. Instinctively, I got into the driver’s seat and locked the door from the i … | Continue reading
Life overtook me today, so there is no episode of ‘Branscombe Hall’. Apologies for anyone waiting on the cliffhanger, but it just cannot happen today. Hopefully, Tuesday will be quieter. | Continue reading
Today, Gavin has sent me something humorous. God, she is marvellous. God created Seniors. Most seniors never get enough exercise. In His wisdom, God decreed that seniors become forgetful so they would have to search for their glasses, keys, and other things, thus doing more walki … | Continue reading
Away from the large cities and depressing housing estates of modern England, the ‘Olde World’ still exists in small market towns and villages all over this country. A delight for the tourist who is prepared to explore, there is living history in every county of England. Here are … | Continue reading
This is the twenty-first part of a fiction serial, in 804 words. My thanks to Sue Judd for the use of her photo. https://suejudd.com/ As I was feeling worse two days after being pushed against the bath, I took the rest of the week off as arranged. Norma checked up on me daily, an … | Continue reading
I am happy to announce a new book by poet, writer, and blogger, Kevin Morris. Something to help raise a smile, which we can all do with these days. Kevin has sent me some sample verses. There Once Was a Policeman Named Warner There once was a policeman named Warner Who raided a r … | Continue reading
This is the twentieth part of a fiction serial, in 800 words. My thanks to Sue Judd for the use of her photo. https://suejudd.com/ Norma convinced me that I had to end it with Gregg. To save my dad getting really angry and making himself ill, I phoned him and told him I had falle … | Continue reading
Camberley Kate, (Kate Ward) and her stray dogs in England, 1962. She never turned a stray dog away, taking care of more than 600 dogs in her lifetime. Miss America winner, 1924. Times Square, New York City, 1945. Crowds celebrate VE Day. The Mercury Streamliner, an Art-Deco inspi … | Continue reading
This is the nineteenth part of a fiction serial, in 780 words. My thanks to Sue Judd for the use of her photo. https://suejudd.com/ The move to the new house went off easily. All we had to take were our clothes and a few personal items, and we had waited until everything else was … | Continue reading