Forests of the night
“The cut worm forgives the plow,” said Blake. I’m not sure that’s true, but it’s worth thinking about. I keep a copy of The Nonesuch on the bookcase at the bottom of my bed. Occasionally I’ll lift it as I walk past and hold it in my hands. It’s a big, thick book with a [...]
The complicated bridge part
I still don’t know all the words. But when my little bear was born, I thought I’d learn them. I believed then, as an eager new parent, that bedtime songs and nap time melodies would be sought out and memorised. Perhaps there was a Top 100 recommended list. It was how I imagined the structure [...]
The harsh edges of crayon boxes
I SPENT every day of my childhood hating school. It started in nursery, with Mrs Moth. The big, soft-edged, kind woman with a Scandinavian pudding bowl hairstyle would chase me in a loop through the art room, the lunch room, the cloakroom and the playground, before doing it all over again, to take my mind off [...]
Do you like vampires?
LUTKA had often thought about how life might be as a vampire. To her, days spent in childhood suspiciously checking out other kids on swings were hours well spent. And there were many days like this. Her best friend, Lutyana, had a garden shed that served as an ample headquarters for their supernatural investigations. For [...]
It’s okay
SOMETIMES I get to a state of thinking I’m wasting a lot of time. Particularly if a car almost sideswipes me off my bike on an uneventful Tuesday. Rather than gathering myself, as someone might, and continuing on the daily trajectory, the near-death encounter will send me on an inward spiral of self-analysis. What are [...]
