When I mentioned Thaddan previously I hadn’t thought to follow his career further. For those who have never met him, he is a handsome young man-at-arms in the service of Lord Cartin. He was also blessed by having a much younger sister, Sofina. Now thanks to Sofina’s careful work, Thaddan stood higher in the estimation … More Tread carefully
Sofina had all the advantages that accrue to an only child, but with the advantage of having an older sibling who could be relied upon to spoil her. Her mother had been widowed young and had married again some years later. Thus her son, Thaddan, was (as Sofina so wisely put it) blessed with the … More Behind every successful man…
I have written previously about the Rattlestone Sisters of Philanthropy. But perhaps I ought to delve more deeply into the impact they inadvertently had on Rattlestone. This collection of perfectly sensible and modestly well-to-do ladies effectively recreated Rattlestone. But not necessarily as they would have hoped to. One of the early impacts was on the … More Life on the beach
It is some years since I last performed in Rattlestone. Frankly I am not in good odour with the Sisters of Philanthropy. I will insist, to my dying day, that it was not my fault, but so be it. Rattlestone is not a fashionable resort. It isn’t far from Port Naain, you can walk there … More The Rattlestone Sisters of Philanthropy.
A wretched hive of scum and villainy during the summer season. I don’t know how well you know the coast south of Port Naain? I don’t mean Saskadil and Roskadil which are in all but name large suburbs of the city. If it were not for the fact that they are separated from us by … More A wretched hive of scum and villainy during the summer season
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.
