Pete Hartley: sometime dramaturg, perennial scribbler
The word 'academic' is the bane of creative subject teachers' lives, yet it is an unjustified means of establishing a hierarchy of learning. It is usually defined by the proportion of cerebral to practical activity. Subjects with a high practical content are deemed less worthy. That is lazy thinking. The academic is ultimately worthless without practical application.
How an excursion on a veteran steamship and the making of a miniature replica fuelled a perplexing retro-adventure.
“The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million to one,” he repeated. “He’s right,” said Wendy Tyrell, the physics professor. “How can you be sure?” I asked. “Because I’ve measured the trajectory, and they’re not coming from Mars.” “Then where are they coming from?” Wendy re-positioned the telescope and invited me to look through it.
It was a magnificent honour for the terminally ill Mike Airey to see his name emblazoned of the vintage Blackpool Standard Tram 147 less than a month before he died on 12th August 2006. Twelve and a half years later, the tram looks as resplendent as ever. It has recently had a few more buckets … Continue reading Ticket to pride
Fiction, addiction and ostentation.
Dashing through the show; in a three-horse open sleigh. From a Soviet soundtrack to a festive farce.
A seasonal ghost story I am well aware of the dangers of walking alone late at night. I do so by choice, frequently, most nights. This is because I cannot sleep. And I’m looking for someone. If you are tempted to walk home after the bars close my advice is always call a cab, but … Continue reading To whom it may concern
A seasonal excerpt from Will at the Tower, a novel exposing William Shakespeare's secret seventeenth year.
Did the teenage William Shakespeare spend time with England's most wanted religious fundamentalist at Hoghton Tower in Lancashire?
"When fantasy becomes reality, reality becomes fantastic."
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