Languorous, lingering, luxuriant and self-indulgent. I never could have dreamed of such a day, before the other night, when he called me: ‘Ingrid?’ ‘Yes?’ ‘Are we still on for tomorrow?’ ‘Why ever not?’ I asked: ‘What was the plan again?’ ‘A picnic,’ he said, ‘by the lake: I’ll bring the sandwiches, if you’ll bring the... Continue Reading →
He picks up the bottle, pours out of it a stream of bitter and slanderous lies. I stand for truth: I am bombarded, yet I stand, embattled, battle-hardened. The tirade of abuse hits like a hurricane, but my limbs are seasoned timber: I have weathered many storms. Where there is hatred, let me bring love…... Continue Reading →
Sometimes, we’re not given a chance to come to terms with the imminence of our death. Something unexpected happens, and before we know it, it’s all over. I’d parked the car at the sea shore. The waves were getting wilder, and my son pointed out a particularly high one on the horizon. In a panic,... Continue Reading →
All those close to the President would be lined up outside the Palace and told to run, but they wouldn’t get far. I was in the airport. They were coming for us there too, but there were no guns, only razor blades. I escaped down the service lift and hid in the luggage conveyor. I’d... Continue Reading →
There was a fireplace in my old bedroom, or rather, an empty space where a fireplace used to be. Except that the empty space had now been filled by a blue-and-white chest of drawers. Every night, I'd wait until the grown-ups were asleep and then I'd move them. Because only I knew that behind that... Continue Reading →
I went out to the hazel wood, because a fire was in my head. And how. What a fire. It wasn't the first time I'd gone out somewhere because of a fire in my head. In the Old Days, I was constantly walking out somewhere or other to put out some fire or other that... Continue Reading →
Reading what I have just written, I now believe that I’m a coward. ‘Let them shoot me,’ I thought as they marched me in, ‘I will not talk.’ But as soon as they showed me the knives, I crumbled. All my bravery evaporated like the breath of winter. One piece of paper, five names: the... Continue Reading →
I had my consultation today, with Dr D’Earth. I tried not to take the name as an ill-omen. I sat outside the waiting room, nervously but patiently waiting my turn: twiddling my thumbs. Looking down at my hands thinking ‘how long?’ or was it ‘how much longer?’ He called my name. I steeled myself. I... Continue Reading →
The sky, for the whole of that period in my life was painted the colour of love. Love taints the sky. I cant describe the colour. An infra-red mixed with an ultraviolet; a sunny autumn day in Catalunya; a sunset over Montserrat. Love paints the sky.A colour like no other. Have you ever driven through... Continue Reading →
It was a day to be borne.Sometimes days are like that:Got to be borne,Born to be got through.Sometimes whole stretches of time are like that:One day, then the next dayThen the next day after thatOn and on'Keep on keepin' on'Because they can’t go on without youIn the sweltering heat whichWouldn’t rainComplaints, always and Nothing was good... Continue Reading →
