Keren Wilde was a magnificent specimen of a woman. She exuded power from every pore and everything about her said control. With her incredible power-dressing which was both sexy and professionally formidable. She never wore her flaming red hair up, never tied back to appear stern and strict but instead allowed it to flow freely… Read More 18 – A Life Lived Through Stories: The Head
She was, quite possibly, my first love. She was certainly the first good thing that came into my life as a teenager. Oh, of course, I’d had girlfriends before – a stack of them, if I’m honest but that sounds like boasting, doesn’t it? I’m not really. It might be better to say I was… Read More 17 – A Life Lived Through Stories: Insignificant woman no. 3
Terry Harvey is dead. They’re all saying it. He died last night. “A Car ‘it ‘im,” Matty Murter is delighted to spill the beans, “an’ then another ‘it ‘im again on t’other side o’ road. ‘Is brains were spread everywhere like.” The girls gape and cringe at the thought, pleasing Murter no end. He’s the… Read More 16 – A Life Lived Through Stories: Terry Harvey is Dead
View image | gettyimages.com The Church hall stands empty, dusty, unused except by the very few who crowd into the tiny room on a Sunday after squeezing into a church barely any bigger. Chairs are stacked to one side and it is completely silent bar the occasional squeak and a scuttle from a rat under… Read More 15 – A Life Lived Through Stories: The Circle
I’ve had the privilege of working with Bangladeshis for many years but one thing I never did, until very recently, was actually live with any. This was a special wish I’d harboured for a long time but really didn’t think the opportunity would arise. When it did, I took it with both hands though now,… Read More Day 14 – A Life Lived Through Stories: A Good Match
Sometimes a personality comes into your life, touches you in a way you can barely describe and then leaves, never to be seen again. You’re left with an indelible mark on your soul which the years cannot touch and you simply can’t deny, even if you wanted to, though words might fail. Angie was just… Read More Day 13 – A Life Lived Through Stories: Insignificant Woman No. 2
Daniel Fort looked at the great wrought-iron gates looming in front of him and stared through the bars. He could see them all milling around, some in packs, others alone or in twos. Some had already noticed him and were watching carefully. Once again, Daniel wondered to himself: did he really want to do this?… Read More Day 12 – A Life Lived Through Stories: Daniel in the Den
Aleyn held the coregonus albula in his hands and looked down at it in amazement. The young boy couldn’t believe his luck. Although he’d never caught one before, he’d seen this fish many times in his books on fishing and fishes. He knew that this fish – known more commonly as a vendace – was… Read More Day 11 – A Life Lived Through Stories: Fish
The end of the Seventies was a difficult and confused period – not just for myself having moved from the north of England to the Midlands – but for the country. Ordinary people were both delighted and dismayed with Margaret Thatcher’s rise to power as the first female Prime Minister of Great Britain for all… Read More Day 10 – A Life Lived Through Stories: Insignificant Woman no. 1
Babu looks out over the green fields from high up in the Mango tree and grins. She can see for miles around: green fields with men working hard to harvest the rice from the paddy fields. The Bengali sun is beating down hard and the leaves of the mango tree are keeping her shaded. Babu… Read More Day 9 – A Life Lived Through Stories: Babu
Write Out Loud 