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What the Well-dressed Witch is Wearing

The latest news from the catwalks … um … doorsteps of South London, where the fashions of the night come to your door for a minimal payment of handfuls of jellied eyes, chocolate bites and the occasional satsuma is… dayglo is the new black. Of course you can’t just assume that the show will come…
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BBC short story cuts
I’ll admit to an ambition shall I? I’d really like one of my short stories read on BBC Radio 4. What’s more I’d like it read by Emma Thompson. How likely is that? Not very, perhaps, but the chances are decreasing since the Beeb decided to cut its output of readings. Of course they do…
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market research, test trading and marketing
It was in my mind to post this on my other blog, but in the true spirit of being aware of my market, I’m putting it where it will be seen by the people I want to see it! If you are thinking, what, no Opera? be patient, I’ll get there. I’ve been supporting my…
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A Night Off from the Opera

It feels really weird not being in Onegin-land for a day. I actually go to work, and talk about something other than music, very strange!And despite not getting to bed until 1am and being awake again at 5, I decide I do have the energy for writing group.I have a completed story about Cretan bull…
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What’s folk got to do with it?
I was brought up on a diet of Beatles, Blues and Ballads. (I once had a cat who loved to be sung to, and the sadder the song the better: he was very partial to John Dowland, but his favourites were Bruton Town and Waly, Waly . Morph used to scream in terror on the way…
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London Particular
Sometimes I hate living in London, and sometimes I love it. In January rain it can feel as though it has turned its back and doesn’t want to know you, but it doesn’t take much to find a way through the cracks and into its secrets. We walked, A & I and three friends from…
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Why Homer?
I do not speak or read Greek, I have never been to Greece, but I have grown up with, and still read retellings of the 2,500 year old story of the Trojan War. From a picture book given me for Christmas when I was five, right through the Adele Geras’ excellent Troy, the Iliad has…
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One Finger Typing
Family history has a bit of a geeky image, and I won’t pretend it doesn’t have its fair share of anoraks, but it is also a deep and rich mine for good stories. I first got interested when my partner’s father died and we came across his genealogy research, which infuriated me because it only…
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Dark and Stormy
Dark & Stormy A Halloween piece … Winter, spicy gingerbread, slavery and marriage to an insanely jealous man … another exercise from WOOA, sparked off by not having got around to submitting anything on the Dark & Stormy theme to Liars’ League, and for once I didn’t come up with a story. I keep dark…
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Many Merry Mermaids
This is just a bit of nonsense, based on a writing exercise in which every word in a sentence must start with the same letter. Stops you using ‘the’ and ‘and’ and ‘I’ unless you are very clever, which I’m not… perhaps with a bit of practice! Many Merry Mermaids Many merry mermaids making mischief…
