Thursday 13 February, 2025
This piece was written for Writers’ Circus on the topic of ‘rings’.
It is a fictionalised version of a meeting with a former choir buddy who deserted us to ring bells.
Wednesday 15 January, 2025
This tale, entirely fictional, is based on a chance meeting with a very chatty lady as we travelled on the link bus from Edinburgh Airport to the city centre. I had been in London the previous day and was heading for our Edinburgh office.
She was from Northern Ireland, born and bred. During the years her daughter had studied at Edinburgh University, my link bus companion had grown fond of the city. When her husband sold their business he took up golf as his new passion, making her a golfing widow.
It was a siutuation she decided to use to her advantage and, to fill her free time, she started taking the short and inexpensive flight from Belfast to Edinburgh, often just for the day, sometimes for several if he was away on a longer golf trip.
These were her secret ‘Blue Moon Days’, she said, visits her husband and family knew nothing about.
Note: I have added a Contents list which enable readers to navigate directly to each chapter by CLICK ing on the heading in this list.
Friday 3 January, 2025
In the autumn of 2012 we visited Soglio to meet up with our Swiss friends Stef and Pia Hagmann.
We stayed at a wonderful family run hotel. Those of you who have been to Switzerland may agree ‘everything there is perfect: scenery, people, food, trains, buses, shops, restaurants - just everything’.
One day during our stay, the peace of the Soglio valley was disturbed by a rescue helicopter. It circled for hours on end. We were advised people had been trapped on the high tops by a landslip.
In a nearby village, we visited a Museum which contained a prison. There was a reference to a Witch Trial.
These two elements provided the core for the story. It is set in the early 1800s. It involves a girl called Hannah Sugli who lives on an isolated farm above the village of Soglio and a man called Edward MacLennan, a Geologist from Glasgow University who makes a series of summer visits reseaching landsides. There is an odd boy called Ivan who is unable to speak. Ivan is clever and has a key role to play as the drama unfolds.
This is a work of fiction. In its first incarnation it was almost completed in 2014 then became in enmeshed in an editing backlog.
Over the last months of 2024 I revisited the 2014 version and that is what you read here.
I would classify this piece as historical, romantic fiction. It is a novella comprising 64,000 words.
This version has been self-edited using the “Read Aloud” feature in Microsoft Word.
Please be forgiving: if you find errors, misspellings, missing words etc, please make your own best judgement about what the story intends and read on.
(Tragically, in August 2017 there was a major landslide near Bondo, a few miles from Soglio, resulting in many deaths. The landslide travelled over 6.5 km.) Here is a YouTube link.
https://youtu.be/ACTfEspuZYc?si=631V0CdreRQg3Qba
Note: The format of the PDF now includes a Table of Contents which allows readers to navigate directly to Chapters.
My grateful thanks to Micael Mackenzie who created my website. He did this for me and hopefully, if I can master the how to do this and be able to amend other longer stories to include this feature.
Thursday 12 December, 2024
Apologies to the several people I told that this story was available to download.
I did circulate it to Writers’ Circus but forgot to follow up by posting it to the website.
It was written in Peurto Pollensa in November in response to a toipc entitled: “A stormy night”.
It’s one of my favorites.
Wednesday 11 December, 2024
I should offer a warning.
This is about teenage sex in the modern era.
Rather graphic and totally immoral.
It was an ‘extra’ story for our Writers’ Circus group sparked by the topic “a bare tree”.
I had to work out where to get that reference into the story.
Self-edited using Read Aloud in Word.
Saturday 23 November, 2024
This is a ‘future fiction’ story which I started around four years ago when my eldest grandson was about eleven.
There was a stage when Matthew used to make excellent sketches of spaceships, rockets, robots and ailiens, all full of fine detail.
I had hoped we might develop Trevvid’s story together and in doing so Matthew might illustrate it.
Like his father, Matthew has a talent for artwork. Maybe one day he will?
This tale is about three young people who use their friendship and special powers to resist the evil forces of Juuster, the demonic leader of the Kembelatti.
You will encounter lots of strange words and odd spellings. To help, there is a Glossary but I think you will soon get the gist of what is meant by these words.
do give it a go, please.
There are lots of little twists and turns which I hope make this tale readable and enjoyable.
And yes, this one has a happy ending!
Note: I have addded a Contents list which allows readers to navigate to each chapter.
Monday 4 November, 2024
This is another tale tapped on my iPad on the veranda in Mallorca last month.
It is a memory of my 14 year old self at a BB Camp in 1962, a mere 62 years ago.
Jump in your Tradis and join me.
Monday 4 November, 2024
This is the final tale tapped into my iPad during our October winter sun break in Mallorca.
Those familiar with my Masie Kaywood stories will recognise some of the characters in this tale.
It is set in the north west of Ireland during The Troubles and features David Abernety aka Biscuit in the role of a sniper armed with a telephoto camera tasked with watching the comings and goings at a remote farm.
Suspend your critical faculties and travel back to the 1980s, long before the advent of digital photography.
Saturday 2 November, 2024
This is a story which came to me on the veranda during our recent winter sun break on Mallorca.
It is based on a recurring vibrant memory of Glasgow Fair Friday in July 1964.
Please do not take offence at the nickname assigned to Sidney Goldman. He accepted it, even welcomed it as it gave him a chance to add his Jewish comedy routines when performing to an audience. And Sid loved and audience - as did Willi.
Put on your time traveller’s bunnet and read on.
For ease of reference, here are the You Tube links which will take you quickly to the songs referred to in the text:
Song of the Clyde
https://youtu.be/iZX0h4X7s1c?si=Cju7wFMJ6vxsj3CP
My Way
https://youtu.be/qQzdAsjWGPg?si=bMJ1rUbRMESk2CP_
Fever
https://youtu.be/JBANWpzsHts
Nice work if you can get it
https://youtu.be/FB1MxIZrmCk?si=0-J9eZfgbeTjb64I
Begin the Beguin
https://youtu.be/sYHXTJxoZqo?si=tFrwnRLfd-uNNK1C
Fly me to the Moon
https://youtu.be/ZEcqHA7dbwM?si=_N4wEdZ5l4kZIiY-
I can’t tell a waltz
https://youtu.be/QI8z5gBNDWk?si=DXiP4S-LJrE2iR9A
Jimmy Shand medley
https://youtu.be/vhxtmqYyI_w?si=0tUl6Exs0Ee0FnxV
The Day we went to Rothesay-O
https://youtu.be/xvHgHxu4cbQ?si=9Zdwb4EQPuozGmhn
Where or When
https://youtu.be/tbnA78ravpY?si=JI2l1NgwHCKZc-ft
Will ye no’come back again
https://youtu.be/JyaCv41-VM8?si=8TzvKmObS66QMVwa
Auld Lang Syne
https://youtu.be/i4pN0zn16jk?si=8mbB5vF9BijRcttg
Monday 28 October, 2024
This is another tale concocted while tapping on my iPad on the veranda during our recent sun seeker holiday in Puerto Pollensa, Mallorca.
In the past we have called this island Majorca but Mallorca seems to be preferred nowadays.
It is a tale which begins in Largo in the East Nuke of Fife, moves to Mallorca then to Tenerife and finally to Gran Canaria.
It is a mystery/thriller/romance.
You may at first think it ‘unlikely’ but perhaps it could be true.
Self-edited using Read Aloud in Word so please forgive typos and use you best judgement.