The Union of South Africa and East Lancashire

As filmed by a man with eight legs I have to confess it was a stalking. I looked her up on Facebook and drove across the moors to where I’d worked out she would be. Rawtenstall. I parked the car and unleashed my camera. I was by myself but not alone. My viewfinder located lusty … Continue reading The Union of South Africa and East Lancashire

Edisford Bridge

Painted by Turner One drawback of my father’s occupation as a self-employed milk deliveryman was that we never went on holiday in a conventional sense. A compensatory benefit was that, because he finished his round by about one p.m., half-day trips were possible whenever the weather was benevolent.  He’d give me the choice: we could … Continue reading Edisford Bridge

Cotton tithes matter

Preston, and scores of other Lancashire towns, prospered exponentially from the first wave of the Industrial Revolution. Their streets were paved with gold (for a few) because their sheets were plied with cotton.  The cotton was cheap because the labourers who produced it were not paid.  They were purchased. How should we declare our debt and pay our dues?

Pillion

A ghost story for Christmas The bike growled as if in warning as he released his grip on the throttle. He braked gently expecting ice on the high moorland road. Freezing fog that night, the weatherman had said, and fog there was, and Mike was too wise to doubt the other part of the prophesy. … Continue reading Pillion

Around the World in 80s Days

A review (Blackpool Grand Theatre, Friday 9th August 2019) For seven consecutive years in the 1960s my childhood holidays were spent in Lytham St. Annes just sixteen miles from home.  It may seem a raw deal when schoolmates would traverse the country, or set out on the first of the popular package holidays to that … Continue reading Around the World in 80s Days

Sigh no more

(Extracted from Will at the Tower) Will rubbed the ache from his eyes.  He could remember nothing of the night. The mattress beneath him was coarse and sank sharp shards into his naked back. The sunlight seared across the ceiling rebounding off the lime wash. There were no familiar scents in the air, but the … Continue reading Sigh no more