Her song lasted less than three minutes – by the epic standards of most folk songs, hardly worth tuning up for. We regulars understood the reason for its brevity. She only really knew two chords, and struggled with the third. It was a song called Life is Beautiful. But this girl, this Sally Thompson, had… Continue reading Young girl with a ukulele
Read moreI’m smoking an agreeably mild cigar. The sun is dipping over the dark blue ocean, but the air is still warm. The sound of a tropical stringed instrument, a man singing along to it, echoes down a narrow street nearby. Before me on the table is a long iced glass of Injaba Slammer, the local… Continue reading Operation Bird of paradise
Read moreLast year Martha Dillon was chosen as the subject for a profile in a local magazine. It was on a page called ‘Retail Ramblings’ and was an irritating piece, placing rather too much emphasis on the amount of time (22 years) the salon had been on the High Street, and describing Martha in the opening… Continue reading And what we can do for you today?
Read moreSometimes I can hear the bird late at night. At least I think I can. Out here, I don’t sleep as well I used to. There’s something about the warm nights, the silence. It’s odd but, back home, there was always a hum of life, day and night – traffic on the main road, I… Continue reading Jacko
Read moreHe was taking his morning walk with the dog. It would be the river walk: through the orchard, into the wood, along the riverside path, then back up the lane, into the field and home. It was early June, a time when the fields and the hedgerows were bursting with renewal. Every year, he would… Continue reading The walk
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