Fiction
Those Who Play With Fire, Chapter Three
At 08.30 there was a knock at the door. Dave got up from the table in the kitchen to open the front door. “David Stretton?” “Yes.” The caller wanted ID. He was shown the drivers [more…]
Literature
Arts
Book Review: The Shortest History of England
‘The Shortest History of England’ by James Hawes is not too short and tops the scales at 272 pages. A bright chap, the 64-year-old writer graduated in German from Hertford College, Oxford, and studied for [more…]
Arts
Jinnie’s Story – Book Seven, Chapter Six
As Britannia headed west across the Atlantic, the weather began to change. The wind got up a bit, and the sea got a little choppy, but Britannia was a big ship and rode it easily. [more…]
21st Century
Kenya Is Not Asleep Anymore
Weeks of anti-government demonstrations demand an end to bad governance, corruption and for President Ruto to step down. 24 July 2024 Nairobi, Kenya – Daniel Wambua did not flinch, even as police fired tear gas [more…]
Biography
The Political Civil Servant
On one of AWS’s recent informative pieces on Scotland, he mentioned Waverley Station in Edinburgh and I mentioned in the comments (which nobody reads) that perhaps the most versatile civil servant ever, John Anderson, took [more…]
20th Century
Report From Kenya, 1955 – Part Six
In 1955, at the height of the Mau Mau Rebellion, my uncle John Alldridge produced a series of reports from Kenya for the Birmingham Mail and the Manchester Evening News – Jerry F Nairobi With [more…]
Animals
Larry’s Diary, Week Two Hundred And Forty-Two
Monday Good morning everyone and hello from No. 10. Another nice quiet weekend here in the street, no sign of JoJo cat yet, and Legohead only seems to come in during the day and even [more…]
Fiction
Those Who Play With Fire, Chapter Two
The train was on time, Dave had hoped to grab a coffee at the station, but the cafe was closed, on the train there was no buffet or trolley service. At St. Pancras he headed [more…]
America
An Honest Biography of Kamala Harris
The 20th of October 1964 saw the birth of Kamala Iyer Harris at Kaiser Foundation Hospital in Oakland, California, a daughter to accomplished academics Shyamala and Donald Harris. Shyamala was already a PhD in nutrition [more…]