Can a person be kitsch? He's sweet, but he wears trouser braces with a garish shirt and hat and brightly coloured cords. I give him a chance, but then he invites me back to his and I see the living room... 1970s mustard-orange decor and chintzy lamps, and I'm out. 'I'll be off,' I say. … Continue reading KITSCH
I follow her into the house. I grip the axe tightly with both hands. The door bangs behind me and the cold night air evaporates. It is claustrophobic and dusty and dark. With each step, old floorboards creak. I hear the laughter of a small child. It sounds like my Jasmine, dead these last ten … Continue reading DELIRIOUS
The jagged edge of a smashed decorative glass hangs in the doorway. A gust catches it, sending it swinging into the wall. Another piece of blue shatters. Progress through the dark house, flashlight highlights: furniture upturned, crockery smashed, cupboards ripped open. Had they found it? Move upstairs, lift the floorboard. Still there, safe and sound. … Continue reading HIDDEN GEM
A glorious morning. Clear blue sky, the water still, the grass fresh. It was exactly the sort of scene that had convinced them to buy the house. But the spring colours and sun-kissed fields hid the tumult of the previous night. The storm had raged across the whole country for twenty four hours. The deluge … Continue reading STILL
'Oh, what a tangled web we weave When first we practise to deceive!' The quote from Walter Scott ran around his head. He was trapped in a web of his own making. He had lied, deceived, obfuscated. All in an attempt to extricate himself from the situation. There was only one way out: create more … Continue reading A TANGLED WEB
