This is a story written in response to a Writers’ Circus challenge: “She’s not like that.”
It is a rather dark story about a famous person who ends her days in a nursing home.
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This is another Maisie Kaywood romp.
It introduces David Abernethy (aka Biscuit aka The Ferret) and other members of Maisie’s XCD Team.
It is set in Scotland, near Aberdeen.
Give it a try for a few pages, you my get hooked!
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This is a compilation piece, written in part by my son Stuart when he was a schoolboy.
As a teenager Stuart interviewed my Dad as part of a school history project.
There is also a wonderful chap called Mike Kemble who is an amateur naval historian.
The additional material in this piece is from his website:
May I suggest that you also read “Sybil’s War” which is based on the ‘facts’ of what the submarine HMS Sybil did during WW2.
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This is a fictional account of a real incident involving the WW2 Submarine HMS Sybil.
From what we know about my father, Ordinary Submariner Jack Bonthron, he must have been aboard.
Like many who survived WW2 my father found it difficult to talk of his experiences but, as he got older, they did dribble out, piecemeal.
He did mention to me that most of what the Sybil did was drop off and pick up spies. The phrases “Black Ops or Special Ops” were not mentioned.
This story is accompanied by another piece called “An Ordinary Submariner” which gives some ‘factual’ information about Jack Bonthron’s War.
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At The Writers’ Circus we were asked to write about “a Dream”.
Louisa, our oldest member, normally writes poetry, very brilliantly!
Tragically Louisa lost her husband prematurely to asbestosis.
She wrote a piece called “Home”, a very poignant short story.
For our next assignment we were tasked to write a “sequel” to one of these stories.
Assignments were allocated by lot: I was lucky enough to choose “Home”.
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This is a tale about elderly men trout fishing on the Island of North Uist.
I have hoped to catch the Hebridean ‘lilt’ in my words.
It is suitable for older children of all ages.
It complements another tale called “Murphy’s Midnight Manuevers” about two dogs.
If you find yourself on North Uist do try “Langass Lodge” for excellent food and comfortable friendly accommodation.
Click here to download the PDF.
This is a simple tale of a Labrador called Murphy.
Murphy is led astray, by another dog called The Corgi, who is his brother.
It is set on the Island of North Uist, where I go fishing each June.
It complements another different tale, also set on North Uist, called “Three Men and a Minnow”.
Both stories are suitable for children of all ages.
I unreservedly recommend “Langass Lodge” as the place to stay/eat, if you are in this area.
Click here to download the PDF.
This a classic People’s Friend type short story.
I still love it! It makes me feeling ‘gooey’
Go on, try it!
It’s only a ten minute read!
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This is a revised version of the original Trumped story.
My apologies. There was a silly typo on page 40, now corrected.
Thank you Margery of the Choir!
Louisa at our Writers Circus set us the challenge of “Betrayal”.
The idea of setting this story against a background of Greyhound Racing came at once. My Dad was a weekend gambler, not addicted, but he did enjoy Friday nights at Shawfield Stadium, which still exists as a Greyhound Racing venue.
The ambiance I am trying for is post-war Glasgow, seeking to contrast the gulf between the lives of rich (living in the grand mansions of Pollokshields) and poor (living in the Oatlands district, where my Dad was born).
There is a possible Part Two to this story, competing in my head with other imperatives.
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This is a re-working of a previous story. ‘Re-working’ is a dangerous thing!
This version is steamier, and contains a few naughty words, so be warned!
Its genesis was a combination of two encounters.
The first was in the wake of the second Icelandic Volcanic Ash airline disruption.
Ryanair cancelled our flight.We were stranded in Bordeaux.
Irina at Customer Services was charming, beautiful and efficient.
I promised her a story!
The second encounter was on the early morning commuter train from Bearsden to Glasgow.
Our friends Ian and Linda overheard a lady asking for a First Class Ticket to Copenhagen.
I did read a short clip of 50 Shades, in Asda, at the bookstand.
I am confident that my offering is better, much better, I modestly declaim.
And I read an excerpt of Kirtsy Wark’s steamy novel, courtesy of the (Glasgow) Herald.
Unlike the critics I thought the sex scene was very well written.
What disturbed me was that I thought I knew Kirsty, from our intermittent ‘meetings’ on TV.
So before you read this, if you know me, think of someone else.
Think of the author as, say, Gina Bontroni.
Click here to download the PDF.