How does a shy boy overcome his natural reticence and take up a career in public speaking? And what happens when he becomes just a little bit too big for his boots?

Public Speaker

I have been thinking about cosmetic surgery lately.  Nothing too drastic, just a nip and a tuck around the jaw-line to eliminate the jowly look that one acquires in one’s middle years.  In my line of work looks are important. In fact, I never would have got into it in the first place if it hadn’t been for the way people look. That, and Dora Eldritch.

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Memory is a delicate thing. It is also the essence of our being. The story’s protagonist, Tess Atwood, is forced to reach a decision  -  to remember, and thus regain herself no matter how painful this proves to be; or to forget, and lose her identity forever.

Taking Tea with Mr Manilow

I always wore paisley. Ugly, unfashionable paisley. With my fleecy, down-at-heel slippers and grubbily crumpled pinafore, I looked a fright.  To take my mind off my unattractive appearance, I spent my days (housework permitting) smoking Turf cigarettes and reading second-hand copies of Picture Show.

I can recall a few brief moments from a childhood lived in genteel poverty, but my most insistent memories are of the war years: soldiers returned from the front, limping in boots three sizes too large; onions growing where once there were delphiniums; wedding dresses of parachute silk.  Powdered egg.

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