Pete Hartley: sometime dramaturg, perennial scribbler
A parody Dick’s mobility scooter raced at full power. Anne caught him up because her scooter was newer and had been more recently charged. “Where are you going?” she yelled. “To the cliff top,” said Dick. “Why the hurry?” protested Anne. “George is in a funny mood,” said Dick. “I’m worried she’s going to do … Continue reading Five rebuff literary snobbery together
You are what someone else drank Today you will swallow at least 500 molecules of water that passed through Napoleon. Strange but true. Oh, and you’ll swallow a similar amount from Hitler. And from Boadicea, Cleopatra, Napoleon’s lover Josephine, and anyone else you care to name who has been dead for some time. People dismiss … Continue reading Ah Oui! Tonight and every night Josephine!
An appreciation of an unsung heroine and a review of her biography Imagine that, as a female secret agent in Nazi-occupied France, your three closest colleagues have been arrested and are due to face the firing squad tonight. Your one chance of saving them is to present yourself to the Gestapo interpreter, confess who you … Continue reading From Warsaw with love
Uneasy parenting As a babe in arms she stopped breathing at least twice. The memories are very clear. She suddenly jolted forwards and went very stiff. She was locked like that for a few interminable seconds and then she flopped completely limp and lay apparently lifeless in my arms. For more terrible seconds her chest … Continue reading Outside of the thinking box
A ramble through tumbled trees The so-cold ‘Beast from the East’ has left its mark on the woods of Beacon Fell. That bitter airflow, along with recent storms, has toppled a number of trees that crown the much-loved Lancashire landmark. The culling was by airborne natural selection, with the easterly wind finding weaknesses and slicing … Continue reading Beacons Felled
Researching, rehearsing and staging the reconstructing of an icon of evil The most unsettling moment was when Andrew stopped the car. We asked why he had done so. He said it was the place. Which place? The one where Myra Hindley had stopped her car and picked up the first victim of the infamous moors … Continue reading Making Making Myra
Elena Ferrante A review This seems to be a strongly autobiographical novel, which is especially interesting in the context of the author having expressed robust feelings regarding the necessary dichotomy between the writer and the written.[1] All fiction is autobiographical to the extent that the writer only has their own life on which to draw. … Continue reading My Brilliant Friend
Hard Times by Lubaina Himid An appreciation Walking into the Hard Times exhibition brought to mind the ignorant tirade of forty years ago when the tabloid press had a field day over the Tate Gallery’s £2,297 purchase of Equivalent VIII by the American minimalist Carl Andre. Ridiculed as ‘a pile of bricks’ and a waste of … Continue reading To help with a handcart
Say it like it was. These days we are all contemporary historians. Like it or not, most of us leave our virtual marks on the annals of antiquity. We document our days by tapping out our texts, instagramming, whatsapping, chirping twitter, elevating our selfie-status on Facebook, or even blogging! We petrify our monograms in digital … Continue reading Mehistoric Times
An appreciation A few rock aficionados will be familiar with the sixties / seventies / eighties group Renaissance. Fewer still will be au fait with their reclusive, self-effacing, lyricist Betty Thatcher. The band, perhaps best known for their 1977 single Northern Lights, cited folk, classical, and jazz influences, on their musical compositions. For the uninitiated, … Continue reading Betty Thatcher
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