Category Archives: Uncategorized

I was lent a copy of Eduardo Galeano’s Football in Sun and Shadow by a friend. She attempted to convey its profundity but I accepted it only out of politeness. It entered my library as one of those books I never intended to steal, but knew that I was probably never returning. These thefts chewContinue reading “World in Motion—Matthew Stewart’s ‘Whatever you do, just don’t’”

Hitherto, charity shops were simply places to bag bargains but, of late, I have discovered their knack for landing painful blows of nostalgia. On a frowsy shelf down Norwich’s Magdalen Street, I spied a Donald Duck Scrooge money box just like one my granny’s. Two of these severe looking Scrooges—one dressed in blue, the otherContinue reading “Over the Rainbow—Claire Booker’s ‘A Pocketful of Chalk’”

Here’s a link to the first edition of Fenacular, creative writing in response to fen art. The submissions window is closed currently but, as soon as I have the dates for submissions to the second edition, I’ll post them here. The concept puts location centre stage: the featured flash fiction, non-fiction and poetry all respondsContinue reading “Fenacular: creative writing in response to fen art”

At primary school, confession, or, in Catholic parlance, the sacrament of reconciliation, was little more than our means to obtain an interesting drink and a biscuit. Coralled in the assembly hall, battered gym horse and climbing bars pushed to the side, we waited in line for our turn behind the curtain to tell our ‘sins’.Continue reading “Love Crimes – Kevin Reid's Androgny”

This evening, I stood shoulder to shoulder at the sink with my father as we cleaned up after dinner. I’d cooked. He washed and I dried. The drying / washing arrangement was ever thus and, as a child, I longed to usurp him – chiefly because this meant that another unfortunate soul would be taskedContinue reading “Chrissie Gittins’ Sharp Hills”

Social media, we are told, defines who girls want to be – or at least who they want to look like. Earlier this year, The Telegraph reported that ‘6% of girls aged 13 to 16 – equivalent to more than 100,000 – said they had undergone cosmetic surgery to improve their looks for non-medical reasons.’Continue reading “Pure Heroine – Rachel Piercey’s Disappointing Alice”

I want a dogA ChihuahuaWhen I get back To my small flatI want to hear somebody bark When Pet Shop Boys released Introspective, the emptiness of ‘I Want a Dog’ was a challenge. At the tender age of 14, I associated drum machines and keyboards with the feel-good flummery of Stock, Aitken and Waterman but,Continue reading “I Want a Dog – Sophie Robinson’s Rabbit”

When exploring a vocation to the priesthood in my early twenties, the Society of Jesus was of great personal interest. Their promotional literature was hazy about the number of Jesuit priests active around the world: some were presumed dead, or incarcerated in places where proselytising was illegal. Others were working undercover. As I contemplated aContinue reading “Bullet the Blue Sky – Carolyn Forché’s ‘What You Have Heard Is True’ and ‘The Country Between Us’”

On Friday the 21st August, 1829, The Times reported on the case of Jean Sabathé. His child was gravely ill. Conventional medicine had failed and he engaged the services of Rose Péres, sorceress. Her rites were suitably theatrical: nine red-hot flints were plunged into a cauldron, filling the room with a mysterious vapour. Candles wereContinue reading “Rebecca Tamás – Witch”

Sadly, the lube applied to my intimate area was not recreational but medical. Following numbness, blood, a phone call, I found myself sporting a knee-high backless number, cheeks sticking to a vinyl seat, and queuing along a corridor at the local hospital instead of registering my form before their morning lessons. Unexpected physical contact isContinue reading “Great balls of fire – Keith Chandler’s The Goldsmith’s Apprentice”