Wednesday 16 December 2015


Does psychology help writing?


see my views on whether psychology has helped or hindered my life as a writer: 



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Wednesday 9 December 2015

"Diaoraphragm"


The storyteller recounts the titanic struggle between arch enemies Fred Glover and John Loggarforth in a "Call My Bluff" pub quiz. A thrilling tale of psychological insight.

read my story in
"Making Waves"
2015 anthology by
Scarborough Writers Circle.

A compendium of fiction, flash fiction, and poetry from the members.


Diaoraphragm

Let’s sit here in the corner, out of the way of the darts board. I like a nice log fire in a pub, don’t you? Faint smell of smoke, like campfires of the past. Feel the warmth on you on a winter’s night like this. Dark beer with bitter hops. Cheers. Ah, that hits the spot. Beautiful.
So, you’re writing an obituary on Fred Glover for the paper, and you want a personal angle. What can I tell you about him? I suppose you’ve got all that stuff about him being a champion fell-runner, his services to charity, and his medal? That’s why it came as a shock to us all. Fit bloke like that. Sudden, just as he was breasting the tape. Makes you think.
Fred was a freelance survival expert, trained in the army. He had appeared on TV a few times. Shaven-headed, extremely fit. Forty-eight years old. He was away for long periods leading training courses, and his motto was ‘Always to the end.’
I went out for a short walk in the country with him once, just from one pub down to the next. By goodness, he had a fast stride on him. After only a dozen yards, I was struggling to keep up. He said, ‘There’s probably a mountain rescue jeep round this bend that can give you a lift.’
I thought he was joking. I asked him how he knew, and whether it was a usual parking space for them.
‘No. Something’s just run over a rabbit round there and it’s probably the rescue jeep.’
 I was amazed. How did he know there was a dead rabbit round a bend a hundred yards away out of sight? Had he been there earlier this morning? 
..........................................
read the whole of my story in
"Making Waves"
2015 anthology by
Scarborough Writers Circle.

A compendium of fiction, flash fiction, and poetry from the members.