Proclaiming the triumph of the unspoken flowers.
Author: Pete Hartley
Tick-Wok
The Talents of Mr McGarrigle There's the unique; then there's the resplendently unique; and then there's the regeneratively unique. The latter kind of uniqueness is one that continuously reforms itself without losing the integrity of its unparalleled state. The Talents, a work of literature by Carl McGarrigle, is one such creation. Here's the elevator pitch … Continue reading Tick-Wok
Midsummer Murthers
Summer solstice: a natural crime story.
A View with a Room
A balcony and the best breakfast in Brixham.
Psyche Gate
Last September, just before the Harris Museum in Preston closed for three years for renovations, I slipped in for a private rendezvous with a woman with whom I have secretly communed for many years. She never looks a day older. She says nothing, but imparts a great deal. I can't see her any more, and … Continue reading Psyche Gate
Beltane
Horticultural heat, hammock-time again. Flies that hover and can carpet-bomb, hedgehogs braving the road, frogs inside a goblin; and those dusky lips.
That’s me in the corner; with Judas, My Brother
The book that changed my afterlife; plus some thoughts on truth and belief and how to break the chains that link Putin, the pandemic and Pontius Pilate.
Fame, Fat and Flatulence
A brief review of a substantial memoir.
Unbalanced Equinox
The man with the missile is masturbating His shadow splats onto the garden He thinks he is making history Heaven knows he's making a mess The equinox will re-stock the garden It won't be easy this year The east reheats the cold war There are sentries in spades at the lych-gate When a man without … Continue reading Unbalanced Equinox
Bracken
Bracken rules the carrion roost. He’ll hide any cadaver. He’ll launder immoral earnings. He’ll raise an army. He’ll muster rebels. He’ll occupy territory.






