I don’t know about anybody else, but I am certainly left struggling when somebody tells me to act my age. Given that I have never been this age before, I don’t know how I ought to behave. Thus I am always ‘acting’ my age. If by some means I could discover how I was supposed … More Acting your age.
The events chronicled in this story happened some time ago. Thus the people mentioned were, by definition, younger and perhaps more prone to impulsive acts. I hope you will keep this in mind. This is perhaps not the place to be too judgemental. It appears that in Port Naain there was something of a … More Sleigh ride?
There are some who claim that Maljie has, in her time, been a celebrated leader of fashion. Others, less generous, have asked just when this time was. Indeed they hint that it might have been about the time we stopped wearing poorly tanned hides or garments of woven grass. To be fair, I don’t remember … More Wearing the trousers
I was about to start this anecdote by commenting that people have told me that Bartrum Keelhow is mad. Then it occurred to me that it is an introduction I have used rather more often that perhaps I ought to. But that has set me thinking, do I know a lot of mad people? To … More The making of great art
I have known Stanlan Needleborne for virtually all of my life. He was the tough kid on the street, the rough boy we were all a bit nervous of. Looking back I cannot imagine why, I don’t remember him ever being anything but a friend to the rest of us street children. As we … More A very occasional poet.
Let it be admitted that Maljie has her informal side. There are times when she unbends slightly. Mind you this unbending is reserved for a select group, sometimes known as the lesser mendicants. Let us be clear, at the shrine of Aea in Her Aspect as the Personification of Tempered Enthusiasm, we don’t encourage children … More Gone fishing
I was always told, by somebody older and wiser than me, that a grey hair you spot when shaving is to remind you of an old friend you no longer see. Certainly this morning I remembered, for no obvious reason, Jan Wandad. He was old when I knew him. A poet and philosopher who in … More Just one more dance
I once asked young mistress Mona Quinrohan how she came to write as she did, and I felt her explanation was worth recording. Whilst her father was adequately remunerated, she had sought employment. Her father regarded this with favour and suggested that rather than asking her to contribute to the family income from her wages, … More Tribute paid to virtue
The duties of a Temple Warden are many and exacting. Mouldering in decaying libraries and forgotten storerooms there are tomes which list these duties in excessive detail. One aspect of this that has always intrigued me is that whilst each tome will share some of the duties with other tomes, none have the same list. … More Keeping one step ahead of the nefarious.
I heard a rather bitter comment that whilst there are disadvantages to living to a ripe old age, the alternative isn’t actually all that tempting either. There are issues with growing old, which are perhaps too obvious to labour here. One problem is that your nearest and dearest try to take control of your life. … More We could just elope.
