9 April 2020

The Perfect Wife weaves a near perfect tale

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As one who is forever wary of book cover blurbs, I approached this much-praised offering with even more caution than usual. Look at those blasts from high-status reviewers: Mind-bending, Unputdownable, Masterful. Surely hyperbole gone mad. There are six more pages of them inside, all of them in the same OTT vein. An enormous pinch of… Continue Reading

8 April 2020

The fearsome fantasy of a garden

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Having so far remained  free of the horrendous effects of Covid-19, I will however admit to suffering what might be considered a supplementary impact. Not the sweaty feverish three days with a headache and sore dry throat and the accompanying anxieties; they  lingered a bit too long for comfort but thankfully eventually moved on. Immune… Continue Reading

2 April 2020

It may be just a small point to you …

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WHAT is it about apostrophes that is so difficult to understand? Yes, I am well aware it’s a question that has been asked hundreds of times before. But we remain none the wiser – certainly not those who scatter them hither and thither like seeds on the wind. Nor those who teach them, either, it… Continue Reading

29 March 2020

Sweating on finding a Covid repellent

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You don’t know what you’ve got till it’s gone, sang Joni Mitchell. And right now I am hoping that will be the case. Hoping that when Covid-19 testing eventually filters down to the masses, my current concerns will prove justified. That I was not giving in to hypochondria. That tests provide late confirmation of what… Continue Reading

27 March 2020

Strewth, it’s Strine

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You’ve gotta love what the Aussies can do to the English language. No time was wasted Down Under in adapting linguistically to the present crisis. A sample of the latest OzSpeak: “Me boss tested posi for the ’Rona so now I’m in iso. Popped down to Woollies for some sanny, but it’s been bloody magpie’d.” Continue Reading

20 March 2020

The man, the virus and the nightmare

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THE elderly man flicked through the pages of the newspaper. Back and forth. Flick, flick. Stopping occasionally to re-read an item, perhaps check a headline, looking for meaning, for answers. Finding none, only confusion. What first appeared as imperatives could also be seen merely as advice, open to interpretation. An either/or situation. Toss a coin…. Continue Reading

12 March 2020

In the long run, even the long run has to stop – finally

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“The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner” has hitherto been a joy, a positive. It has now become a negative. Continue Reading

9 March 2020

False names, false steps

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Another extract from Bromo Book #6 – a work in progress: THE Richard Watkins he had just claimed to be had long vacated the address Bromo had given to the cops. Departed this life completely, unmourned and unmissed, as an untidy package Bromo had left in a two-star Shanghai hotel room for the embassy’s removalists… Continue Reading

8 March 2020

Deceptive calm with coffee and cake

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An update. After a bad case of  writer’s block we find our sleuth taking an uneasy interlude over coffee and cake. A brief extract from book #6, as yet untitled, in the ongoing series of crime fiction featuring Bromo Perkins. FINDING the way to Grains, Beans and Leaves needed no help from satnav or Google. A sign… Continue Reading

29 November 2019

Simple pleasures of a plate of sprats

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It is sprats for dinner tonight. How many years has it been since I heard those words? Far too many, sad to say. Such a simple pleasure, and so damned tasty too. And healthy as well, for we are now frequently told that oily fish should be a regular part of our diet – information… Continue Reading

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