If I am strictly honest, Filbran Autichan is a difficult person to write about. There are ‘issues.’ A fair proportion of his exploits cannot be committed to paper because no respectable publication would print them. Indeed I have known scandal sheets turn away true tales of his exploits. On the other hand, even if the … More Only a short walk at dawn
It is many years since I last saw Eltan Door, Lord of the Golden Keep. It is strange, I only met him by accident. I was very young and had just started trying to support myself as a poet. When I look back at the things I did, the work I produced, I astound myself … More The long arm of the past
I was going to start this by saying that there are two types of librarians. Mind you, last time I said that we ended up with a brawl. Somebody immediately leapt up and shouted that there were are least four types, male, female, shy, and intimidating. Another listener told him he was an idiot. He … More Well it’s a plan
People do ask me how one becomes a temple warden. It is at times like this that I put on my most learned expression and hint that it involves not merely moral excellence but also deep theological insights and the achievement of a higher spiritual level of existence. In all candour this is not entirely … More A mountain to climb
Quiet into the night The winter solstice is a major festival, a coming together for festivity, gift giving, over-eating, and in some cases, drinking more than is entirely wise. So children give presents to their parents. Normally husband and wife give each other presents as working out who is the head of the household can … More Quiet into the night
I spend a lot of my time working in the houses of other people. It’s an inevitable side effect of my position as the finest poet of my generation. But my position is anomalous. I am not a tradesman to be restricted to certain rooms. Nor do I expect the housekeeper to assign an officious … More Never beneath notice?
I confess to being constantly surprised as to the various hobbies that usurers take up as a form of relaxation. I have known one who made the barrels for barrel organs. I have known usurers who turned to fishing, poetry, adultery, and strong drink. Sometimes all of them in the same evening. But Grievous Tap … More The Chronicler of small gifts
You can sometimes see them at the very lowest tides. You’ve got to walk a long way out into the Estuary and frankly I’d rather take a boat down the main channel and view them from there. To the shore combers who’re the only people to ever see them now, they’re known as, ‘The Old … More The Foundations of Our Prosperity
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…
