I begin tunnelling, through rock, clay and gravel, cutting through the streets of London. A link from the King to his Knights of St. John. Covered over with arches of bricks. Down the line two dummy house fronts act as camouflage. Engines grind through the bowels of commerce, rattle homes, disturb lives. Yesterday travel around the city was on foot… Read it
Tubeline - Hammersmith & City line
Blood-orange
Your latest orchestral piece is a limestone cliff that you want me to throw myself off. Instead I jumpstart the Cortina and drive it slap bang into the space between notation and stave, but not before taking your Zippo out of the glove box and setting fire to the house. Later you’ll pull back your cuff like some inky conjuror,… Read it
The Pick Up
The magician was lost in thought as he shuffled his cards, his hands machines, natural to the motions and the flow. It was a habit, I realised, one that revealed something more complex whirring beneath the grin and the wink. He fascinated me, had done for weeks. Quick glimpses, hurried catching of the eye, never stare directly, never commit; today… Read it
Storms Ahead
When I arrive there are crowds of early risers waiting out the countdown to cancellations of service in mute pockets of steam from polymer cups. The young guy behind the counter of Pret-a-Manger rubs his eye with the heel of his hand and asks me if I want a bag. My tongue is morning numb so I nod and try… Read it
Up the Hammers!
“Mind the gap Grandad.” My underground announcer’s voice is a little rusty despite holding my nose so tightly my glasses steam up when I speak. I hold my Grandad firmly as we take our exaggerated step from the carriage. This is the kind of thing that would send him sprawling and I didn’t want to remember today for picking him… Read it
Values Laid Bear
I alighted at Paddington station and bought a cookie from the stand. White chocolate and raspberry, crunchy and crumbly and casting delightful smells from its snug paper bag. Before I could walk and enjoy my treat I spied a teddy bear sitting alone and forgotten against a pillar and decided I would do my good deed and take him to… Read it
Silent Greeting
He saw her inside the Station, with a golden ribbon in her hair. He swept her a bow; she curtseyed in acknowledgment. Every day they passed one another in the same place. He bowed, she curtseyed, but they never spoke. They shared nothing but a smile. At an antique fair one day, he found a brooch, a little gold bow… Read it
Farewell Note
I love my work. I own the magician’s magic and uncanniness, the surgeon’s artistry and dexterity, the butcher’s rapaciousness. It’s about skill, fearlessness, muscle, a sparkling eye, a shining knife. Be systematic, it’s also about control. This is how it is done. Smack the chestbone to rob the heart of its breath, it quietens the voice. Use the Sleeper hold,… Read it
Josephine & the Detective
At first, Josephine had suspected her pretty young dresser Maxine. Who could have blamed her? They were such beautiful creations; any girl might be tempted. But Maxine had beat her fists against the dressing room mirror and sobbed, protesting her innocence. A month later, three more exotic costumes went missing, including her famous banana outfit. Something had to be done.… Read it
Hark, Hark, Hear Roland bark! The Barking Abbey Dog!
Look! There’s the Abbess, starlight giving an edge to the white crispness of her vaulted wimple shaped like the Abbey’s Gothic archway. Do you see another Abbess behind her and another, beyond? Endless Abbesses and arches, stretching through time? This place was already four centuries old when the Conqueror came. 1066. William has invaded, burning and sacking Saxon England. London… Read it