Fate decrees that certain things only happen in winter. I was minding my own business. I was sitting in the cabin of the barge working on a few ideas I had for a poem. Shena, my lady wife, was working on her accounts. In the past hour I had moved only to make coffee for … More Walking in darkness
Rumour insists that Maljie has a chequered history when it comes to vehicles. Currently she doesn’t command sole use of a sedan chair, but then few do. The bearers take a lot of feeding. Her sister, Margarita, travels at a fair pace in the dog cart but for longer journeys you need something more robust. … More A minor incident
Jiggy was only ever known as Jiggy. Obviously I cannot vouch for the fact that he was never, in his youth, known as ‘Young Jiggy’ because that is well before my time. But in his old age he was never ‘Old Jiggy’, there was no other Jiggy. Now Jiggy played the fiddle. Admittedly the only … More On the fiddle
There are all sorts of trades, some better thought of than others. Take jewellers for example, highly skilled and respectable. Except of course for the ones who aren’t. It was Mythrin Calpon who made the less respectable part of the trade her own.She never really served her time as such, but she worked for old … More Well it’s a trade
Elsin Fairdragan is an essayist. Now I confess that I have been quoted as saying harsh things about essayists. Indeed the phrase ‘over-entitled self-proclaimed geniuses’ may well have been credited to me. Still, Elsin is most definitely not in that category. Whilst she is an essayist, she concentrates as much on her craft as a … More The Problems of a Rural Landlord.
Tallis Steelyard 