Little Danny was excited as he stood and stared at the locomotive and its rake of nine carriages. He thought it looked like a dragon with the plume of steam rising from its chimney and from the cylinders either side of the front wheels. Suddenly, there was a loud hiss as another blast of pressurised steam shot upwards from the safety valve on top of the long boiler. Danny turned and ran, hiding behind his father. To a thr...

The water flowed swiftly beneath my feet as I looked down from the parapet. There is something utterly mesmerising about the River Thames at night. The lights of the city reflected in the fast-flowing water have a beauty all of their own. Even on a wet night such as this. No, especially on such a wet night. The reflections are brighter, more widespread, somehow. When darkness falls, the city comes alive. Standing in the c...

The music pounded in his ears, vibrating through his head. “Oh no,” he thought. I've got to go home.” He closed his eyes, the flashing of the disco lights made his eyes hurt. He could hear the guests shouting above the throbbing rhythm. He vowed that he would never drink so much again. A glaring white flashed across his face and then it was gone leaving the disco lighting flashing blue and red, yellow and white. He felt h...

Hartland Quay, North Devon. A place of absolute beauty. On a sunny summers day, with the tide gently splashing over the rocks, it is hard to imagine anything but a tranquil, restful scene. At low tide, however, there is much evidence of the destruction that can be wreaked by the ever-powerful ocean. It was on one such day that I found myself driving through the narrow streets of Hartland village. I hadn't been here for ma...

“Oh no, Harriet, no! Come on now. Please don't. I've asked you nicely, so please, stop it! I really don't like it. It makes me feel kind of weird. Oh! Come on. Please, just stop! It's not funny, you know! If you don't stop I'll... Oh, Oh my gosh! No, no, don't stop! Oh, I... I like that. Oh yes, just there, yes. That's it, yes. A little higher, just a little... Ohh my goodness yes... Oh wow! Ohhh... Oh yes. A little harde...

Pictures tell a thousand stories, If only that were true. An eternity have I tried, To take a picture of you. For your beauty is incomparable, You are my heart's desire But a picture is not possible, My darling vampire.        

On the twenty-eighth of October nineteen-sixty-five, the Llyn Celyn reservoir in North Wales was officially opened. Its primary purpose was to supply water for the city of Liverpool. The whole project had been steeped in controversy. To create the lake, the small village of Capel Celyn, which included twelve houses and farms, a post office, a school, and a chapel with cemetery, was to be drowned under the floodwater. The...

I awoke with a start but didn't dare move. Was it a dream? Had I heard a door creaking open? After a moment, I opened my eyes but remained still. In the half-light of the moon, filtering through thin curtains, I saw it and froze! It was hideous! I couldn't see it clearly. All I could make out was the wild hair and pale face with wide, staring eyes. I screamed with terror! Suddenly, the room was bathed in light. “What's wr...

Not so very many years ago, I decided it was time for a change of holiday destination. Every December, for the past fifteen years, we had flown to Munich for the Christmas markets. How I love those visits. For the summer holidays, however, we always stayed on home territory. The problem was that I had never driven on the 'wrong' side of the road and it worried me! This particular year, we had discovered a theme park in th...

I had plans for my time in lock-down, today. First, breakfast and then the usual ablutions. After some dusting and cleaning, I had decided to sit down and get to grips with some writing but, the best-laid plans and all that...   I was in no hurry. I didn't get up early and ambled slowly through the preparation of the first planned task.   My house is situated at the top of a hillside above a small Yorkshire village and, f...

I knew he was there, he always was. Every morning when I awoke he would be there, watching me through my bedroom window. He lived next door and from his vantage point, he could see directly into my bedroom window. I didn't mind, in fact, I liked it. I didn't close my curtains for that very reason. I wanted to see him watching me, it made me happy. After all, what could be a nicer start to the day than the summer sun strea...

You could give me roses, the most beautiful of flowers, Or take me out to dinner and sit for several hours.   You could buy a fancy card, filled with words of love, Perhaps a gilded cage with a single white dove.   You could get a diamond ring, the one I have is old, It sits upon my finger, beside the band of gold.   You could whisper in my ear, sweet words of love and more, But they really would be nothing that I hadn't...

Sunday morning, cold, damp and miserable. The dark rain-clouds which had, less than an hour previously, let fall a deluge of freezing rain upon the fields and hills surrounding the small Pennine village, were beginning to break. Their stark edges becoming wisps of pale grey. For the men and women who had gathered around the well-kept war memorial, the weather was a mere inconvenience. Nothing would keep them from remember...

Back in the spring, my husband and I went to visit a 1940s Weekend. There were many people there dressed in the fashions and uniforms of those days. There were vehicles and stalls and it really was a wonderful weekend. An escape from the humdrum repetitiveness of my daily life. As I walked, arm in arm with my husband, Philip, I took in the sights, sounds and even tastes of the Forties. The corned beef hash was delicious!...

“Morrison!” “Yes, Sister?” “Your skirt is too short. Kneel on the desk!” Sister Bernadette, The Carmelite Nun who was head of discipline and religious studies for the girls of St. Mary Magdalene Roman Catholic High School, tapped the desk in front of me with her wooden ruler. Obediently, I climbed onto my chair and knelt upon the flat wooden surface of the desk as commanded. Without another word she set the end of the rul...