: Please don’t put me on hold I know the score I hang on for fifteen minutes and then the line goes dead You don’t want to deal with me I hear those messages about going to the website But I’ve been there already I know the answer to my query is not there I … Read more
Do you sigh with relief when you flush your pee and poo down the toilet? Or do you take it for granted? I urge you to think! Every time we hear the comforting sound of whooshing water, we should give thanks to the civil engineers who designed the sewerage systems that take our waste away. … Read more
This was a title set for a writers’ group exercise. It may inspire many stories or aspects of stories over time, but my immediate response to it was quite literal – what is the cost of writing? : The Cost Maybe it’s the business academic in me. I can’t see this title without seeing numbers … Read more
The BBC conducted a poll at the time of the Millennium, to find out who Britons thought were the top 100 Britons of all time. Oliver Cromwell earned a place in the top ten. He was, after all, the only commoner to have been Head of State in the United Kingdom. Although we Brits like … Read more
I went to Lord’s, the “home of cricket”, on Saturday. I picked the wrong Saturday. It was the start of the school holidays. Just as I remember from the start of the school holidays in my youth, it was heaving down with rain. The rain was forecast to pass through, and fortunately, it did. I … Read more
With shocking irregularity, after vows were exchanged, the Yerallan threw up Queen Esta’s veil and kissed her on the lips, causing some of the guests to cover their eyes. Ah, she was a beauty! Even when one could see so little of her! The glory of summer was in her eyes. Onfri forced himself to … Read more
Nurse Tansi woke up suddenly, feeling troubled. There was a little gasp in baby Merri’s cry that was different. Beyond the thick stone walls of Bankside, the city was quiet. The dreary rain that marked Kimalloa’s winter had been heavier than usual. The Binar frothed and rippled rapidly between the banks, lapping over them in … Read more
Rubin Aldor sat in Onfri’s beautiful garden, where red roses were blooming and the fruit on the trees was ripening. It was a perfect evening for watching the sunset cascading a red-and-pink radiance across the sky, promising more warmth tomorrow. Instead of thanking the weather gods, he felt like chiding them. They had given the … Read more
On arrival at the barn, Seemo’s helpers set up a makeshift stage from some barrels and boards. The barn had been patched up after years of decay, cleared, and cleaned, ready for new hay and straw. Today, it would shelter the cropped heads of a few hundred army veterans from the sun. This was his … Read more
Yonnis wondered whether he was now supposed to start some small talk about the weather. Squire Clayhills came to his rescue, asking him about his first official engagement—a visit to the craft sheds on the south coast that were building new nimble fighting ships for the navy. Yonnis was happily recounting his observations when he … Read more
