I confess to being a citizen of Port Naain. Not merely do I live here, I was born here, my parents were born here, and so were my ancestors for many years before that. Thus I imbibed the culture and mores of the city with my mother’s milk. I also imbibed the little foibles of … More The celebrated Hootchy-Kootchy dancers of the north.
Sakes was one of those lady’s dress shops which nobody really talked about. No lady in Port Naain ever swept into a room in a new gown and announced, “This is what I got from Sakes.” On the other hand many ladies would whisper to a friend, “Nip into Sakes with that, he’ll get it … More Shopping at Sakes
The Arcade Market in the Commercial district is not the most prestigious of the markets in Port Naain. One will not find the truly exotic, but there again one will not find the grossly overpriced either. It provides decent quality produce. The price is higher than I would expect to pay, but if one uses … More Vegetating
There are disasters that can strike even the most well organised entertainment. Some you can plan for and seek to avoid. Some you can watch out for and step in immediately to nip trouble in the bud. Others seem to strike out of the blue. If I was apportioning blame, the temptation would be to … More Unfashionably Tired …
I cannot be sure now when I first met Wilam Charmwater. He’s just one of the people I got to know over the years. I probably met him at some event I was to host. But he’s a pleasant enough chap. People would say ‘there’s to him,’ and he was generally liked. I know people … More The Civilising Influence of Betta Thrang
I suppose I ought to just call her Lotti, if only because that was the name she ‘worked’ under and inadvertently ended up with. I’m trying to be tactful here because I always liked Lotti, but it has to be admitted that her occupation was perhaps not the one her mother would have hoped she’d … More Something of the night?
No strutting or fretting I’ve known and respected old Tallan Wynfeather for many years. He is, in my humble opinion, one of the great actor-managers. Admittedly you’ll rarely see him or his troupe grace a Port Naain stage. But over the last forty years he has kept on the move. By his own account … More No strutting or fretting.
Mother mine It has to be said that as a gentleman who works with many ladies of mature years, I have discovered more than I really want to know about the relationship a woman has with her mother. Some of these relationships are good. As daughter grows older she comes to recognise the mother … More Mother mine
Salina Toldeck was, to be honest, an incurable romantic. It wasn’t merely that she read those slim volumes of romance where love finds a way and the story ends tactfully at the bedroom door, she even wrote them. Now please don’t think I’m mocking another genre. Whilst I may hold strong opinions on the subject … More Matchmaker
Perla and Mayla were sisters. Born a year apart, they were the daughters of Tilford Wheelboom, a man of some means. They tended to divide their time between Port Naain, where the family lived in a delightful house in Dilbrook, and their summer villa on the coast south of the Estuary. They were, to put … More Love letters
Tallis Steelyard 