Does it come from within or without us? — Many years ago at one of those interminable work conferences with a three line whip on attendance, the facilitator asked us to put up our hands if we considered ourselves as being creative. No one responded. Although I was into creative writing, my hand stayed firmly down. Okay, it was…

British Blunders: From Crimea to Brexit — The other day I found a second hand copy of The Reason Why (1953) by Cecil Woodham-Smith. It’s the definitive account of the charge of the Light Brigade that took place during the Crimean War (Oct 1853-Feb1856). In her book she highlights the rigid class system that developed bone headed…

Going back to my childhood — I have a dream. But unlike Martin Luther King’s mine is a little more material, less elevated. And considerably less noble. Or maybe I should try another less political, more literary line: Last night I dreamt I went to… 16 Bridge St… again. Okay, let’s skip the pretensions. Forget Daphne…

Says the Stoic Philosophers — and Shakespeare — We live in an age that if we feel something it must be true. And there we have our truth — ‘This is my truth,’ we say indulgently. Consequently, we need to make it plural. We all have our truths, if powered by our fleeting and ephemeral emotions. And if…

A guideline to writing fiction — There are no rules when it comes to writing fiction. At least, there shouldn’t be. And any that attempt to be imposed need to be broken at same stage. Providing the writer is aware he is breaking them. But as always there are better of doings things than others. …

An Episode in How the West was Won This month’s anniversaries include the India Removal Act, the legitimation of ethic cleansing and forced displacement, that was signed into law by President Andrew Jackson on 28th May 1830. This kick started what later became known as the ‘trail of tears,’ a…

A time’s tale — He pushed up the narrow flight of concrete steps, as if scaling a foreboding summit, and stopped short outside the squat building: a monument to brutalism. Despite any necessity he gazed at the opening times then looked longingly back down the steps. What was the point? He didn’t need to…

Is this the lost masterpiece of occult literature? — One of the most talked about occult books of the last century is an ancient text called The Necronomicon. It is purported to have been written by the ‘Mad Arab’ named Abdul Alhazred and was described as being a grimoire or book of magic. The original name in Arabic was…

Time stretches in the moment of physical crisis — I had a little mishap on Friday. In the quiet torpor of domesticity came a brief and sudden moment of blood and mayhem that sent me scurrying to casualty. It was in the warm hush of late afternoon. I was upstairs in my study, editing my manuscript on my desktop…