Category: Stories

Keen on riding

Princess Margaret

As my cherished reader will recall, I once had the affrontery misfortune honour of lunching in the company of One’s sister Margaret at the Ritz, cos my then-employers in the ’70s sponsored one of ‘her’ charities. And a very nice lunch it was too. Except that she hardly touched it, but nipped out at every conceivable opportunity. So I was not surprised this morning to read that: “Princess Margaret prefers meals to be as simple as possible and not to last too long. Three or four courses (including cheese or fruit) for lunch, and five for dinner are quite sufficient….,” according an honourable flunky. I presume her sallies to the powder room were to satisfy the craving for nicotine, although she might possibly have been meeting her young stud, Welsh Roddy, who was occupying much of her time in between meals. Did he lurk in the loos, I wonder?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-22303871

PS Roddy’s dad, Sir Harry, was an Olympic show-jumper

While it’s quiet…..

Despite the weather, it is no longer March, and St George’s Day, the Bard’s day, looms large. Soon we will lie back and think of England again, surrendering to the Missus the Muses once more.

So might one respectfully suggest the Management might update the competition links to reflect our new mood?

Smileys and things.

Results…..

Sorry to be  a little late, but I was called away to lend a hand with a new baby and only returned, rather shattered yesterday : tired but happy.

There were very few entrants to both competitions: in fact only one in the short story section. But what a story, Mr Royal! I’ll never be able to see a giraffe again without thinking of you.
SO, although you had no competitors, you are the worthy winner of the short story competition, and I look forward to a theme set by you for the next round.

There were a few more entrants for the photography side of things – I had expected photographs of little hands clasping larger hands, hands undertaking tasks, such as cooking, knitting, painting…. but no, you had other ideas…

OZ had this contribution: viar amoozing take on the ‘hands’ theme, and viar topical on the equine theme!

Ara posted this a beautifully side lit picture of Alice, Duchess of Suffolk who resides in her resting state in the church where PapaG was Christened, no less!

Christopher posted this, though sadly the hands were not very clear in the size of image.

Last, but not least, JM posted here with a vair amoozing piece, full of puns and several pictures – (the bananas nearly won, hands down, but for the misplaced figure in the background which to my eye spoiled the composition)

But in the end the prize does go to JM for the most unusual take on the theme: the graffiti handwriting of Clarice Cliffe (nee Shorter).

So I  hand the baton to you, John: your turn to set the next photography competition.

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Oxfordshire sunset, tonight

The Beaten Track

The cacophony of passing strangers was wearing me down. Their random snippets of speech jarring my ears as they stride past me. The random fragments of their stories that will be forever unknown to me, unfinished Schubert conversations

“Tomasz Wrzesiński wins Gold for Britain,” howls the newspaper vendor.

Living in an over-populated urban metropolis means that when outdoors there are very few moments for quiet reflection. The bustle of crowds and the usual noises emanating from a big city environment are contributory factors to the dearth of good pastoral poets in this neighbourhood. The only one that made an impact in the literary scene was B. Keeper but he was the exception. Continue reading “The Beaten Track”

Supremacy (a taster)

Occasionally I am given some promotional material from my friends in Hollywood. One such item arrived today. It was the script for the new James Bond movie that is currently in production. The film is called Supremacy. I was told not to show the screenplay to any one or I would not receive any future goodies. Rules are there to be broke so I have copied the opening sequence for Charioteers eyes only.

FADE IN:

1 Close-up of hay. Camera pans out to reveal Bond and a girl getting dressed. They are in a barn. Continue reading “Supremacy (a taster)”

‘All Hands on Deck’ – photo competition and short story competition: – closing 15th February 2013

My challenge for the photo competition this time is to submit photographs of hands – resting or active, aged or very young, or anywhere in between, singly or in pairs, working collaboratively or alone, helping hands or not… do feel free to submit a series, if you wish.

The closing date is midnight (UK) on 15th February, to give you a chance to include romantic Valentine gestures in your submissions. (nothing smutty of course)

And I thought I’d see if anyone wants to take up the challenge of making this the theme for the short story competition too? Same deadline.

Fantasticks – December

That strange book Fantasticks, by Nicholas Breton (1554-1626) is something of a favorite.  Not many people know about it, but those who do seem to like the archaic language and ritual cadence of it.

It is out of print, so since October I’ve been copying bits out, beginning with the section on the months, this is the third.  There are a few chapters on special days, Christmas, Easter etc. so there may be a bonus post a bit later this month.

But for now here is December.

Continue reading “Fantasticks – December”

While the cat’s away

Apart from a white-knuckle landing at Stansted, my sojourn in England was a study in the indulgence of the aged. I was ferried and fêted to my heart’s content and entertained royally by the eight grandchildren, who are already preparing their wish-lists for the upcoming season. One twelve-year-old, engrossed in her maths homework, enquired what I had studied at university because she needed some help! Luckily neither of us was embarrassed by my efforts.

Continue reading “While the cat’s away”