There comes a time in life when some people discover that they can no longer continue in the career that has supported them so far. The rooftop burglar finds that his knees have taken too much damage from ridge tiles and tilting fillets. The man-at-arms discovers that he can no longer vault onto the back … More Retiring to somewhere quiet in the country
It has to be said that I have always enjoyed immersing myself in the great bath at the Goldclaw baths. The water is heated by the next door Goldclaw Foundry and Metal Works so there’s plenty of it. Now one reason I specifically like this establishment is that they have a ‘washing baths’ that everybody … More Coming Clean
There is a time and a place for household economy. There have been times when I had so little money that I knew each sadly debased copper coin personally. I was familiar with their little foibles, the scars that a long lifetime of close proximity to other coins had left on their surfaces. Indeed the … More Every last penny
I have noticed over the years that young ladies who are brought up with a litter of older brothers tend to exhibit certain masculine traits. Prominent among them are a casual attitude to mindless violence and the ability to rapidly come up with a scathing riposte when they feel they are being mocked. Girls with … More The danger of losing one’s shirt
It’s strange when you think about it. One would expect a gentleman to have a fine residence. But alas property does not devolve naturally upon those of breeding and good manners. Indeed it has been commented (mainly by punsters more interested in displaying their grasp of archaisms than they are in provoking mirth) that a … More A fine residence
Port Naain has its share of prophets. I’ve mentioned Mistress Mollina previously; she was appointed Prophet of Aea in her Aspect as the personification of Hypocrisy. For those who never heard the story it’s at: https://tallissteelyard.wordpress.com/2018/02/18/telling-it-like-it-is/ But these prophets concentrate on ‘forthtelling’ rather than ‘foretelling’. Any prophecy they come up with is the sort your mother was fond … More An eye to the future
I have in the past mentioned the ‘Society of Minor Poets’. Every year we put on an entertainment for the elderly and the children in the Ropewalk area. Yet whilst we might do our bit to feed these folk once a year, for some, the rest of the year can be a hungry time. So … More A Significant Gesture
Today we are at the blog of Sue Vincent. Belique Drane is a natural artist. As a child she’d used a burnt stick to draw on the white painted walls of the parlour. Her mother, Taffetia, had been entirely unimpressed. Still as Belique grew older she allowed her artistic energies to be channelled to … More A touch more colour
And today we’re inspired by Robbie’s inspiration Shardee Golumbine Drane was the second son of Taffetia and Garrant Drane. Whilst he was still little more than a child it was realised that young Shardee was gifted when it came to cooking. Now had his parents been people of wealth and influence, their better natures would have prevailed … More Do you want crispy honey roasted grubs with that?
Garrat Drane was, in my opinion at least, a man who took dullness to the point of eccentricity. He was so dull that those who got to know him were fascinated by him. For his entire working life he was a clerk for Thallawell Thallawell, and Thallawell. In the course of the nearly fifty years … More Garrat Drane and the case of the petty cash.
Tallis Steelyard 