Today's Love Letter is written in honour of the Lake District's second longest lake, Ullswater. Situated in the east of the National Park, below the mighty slopes of the Helvellyn massif, it offers a world of wonder to the walker. It is 9 miles (14 km) long and 0.75 miles (1 km) wide, with a maximum depth... Continue Reading →
“They seem sad,” he said“like trees in November,like early snowfallupon Wetherlam: "Bent in the wind they are,limbs taut and twistedwiry and strong,how they bend but never break."Are they inspired by the fireon the hillside, where the bracken diedto bronze, lit into copperjust where the sun hits? "Are they enlivened by the crimson combe-heartto which they... Continue Reading →
I should have been writingglued to my desk in darkness butthe Sun calledjust to say‘Can we steal away now:over the mountainsI’ll lead youand nothing more you’ll have to dothan follow your heart’s desire say, wouldn’t you just love to?’ And what was I to do:I, who am so much a fool for winter sunlightthat I’ll brave... Continue Reading →
Exciting news! Experiments in Fiction is now no longer just your favourite poetry and fiction website 🙂 it is also my own small business. This means I have taken a further step towards my dream of making a living from my writing. Of course, the main reason we write is because we love it, but... Continue Reading →
Back when I lived in Catalunya the people bemoaned the plague of them:Els mosquits - the mosquitoes which had invaded the townin such large numbers thatyou couldn’t go out at middayas within a few minutes, your armsand legs would be full of enough weltsto leave you itching for a month.‘There were never so many,’ one woman told... Continue Reading →
Returning to London after 5 yearsnot the passing, but the standstill of timehits like a double-decker busup front and personalthe past is presenteverywhere. What's past is prologueChristmas lights adorn Trafalgar Square:where are you now?Where were you then?Already gone, too soonsister Alison. The sparkle and glitter of the gaudy baublesdid not warm but chilled my heartas... Continue Reading →
I was delighted and really quite bowled over to learn that my poem, 'Event Horizon,' had placed second in the poetry competition hosted by Gabriela Marie Milton to celebrate her poetry collection Woman: Splendor and Sorrow. The poem was inspired by Gabriela's poem 'You in Another Life.' Here is a taster: Event Horizon In another... Continue Reading →
If you want to know more about Postojna and Predjamski Grad, you can find individual postcards on these destinations in my archives. Today, I just want to share some of the delightful autumn colours we saw when we visited in October. Postojna Cave The area around the world-famous Postojna cave has some delightful deciduous woodland... Continue Reading →
We should listen to the quiet peoplethough it seems they don’t have very much to sayin this world obsessed with who can shout the loudestperhaps the quiet people know the way. We should listen to the dreamers:we have lost capacity for abstract thoughtthinking only in terms of profit marginswhich in the end will lead to... Continue Reading →
I. Cold light at the bus stationspills into the portcrisps leaves to autumn gold II. Fairy lights in primary coloursfade to silverfashions change III. Upon the slate-grey seathe yearning wavesupend a tanker IV. Yellow for danger?or simply a warning sign:red is for danger V. All the colours of my heartblend into this November lightwindblown, standing,... Continue Reading →
