Monday, 21 January 2019

The Kraken Awakes

(To the tune of Mary Hopkins' "Those were the Days")Once upon a time there was a blogger...

I used to be heavily into this blogging malarkey but small matters like living life and writing a book got in the way. I was, however, slightly shocked to discover that it's been five long years since I last wrote anything here. Time to put that right, I feel.

It seems vanishingly unlikely that anyone will read this as, apart from anything else, I have changed the blog's address but it's my attempt to get back into the swing of things. My new year's resolution (anyone else have one of those?) is to post more frequently.

The impetus for this is that, after a long hiatus, I have finally finished the next novel. No predictions of publication date yet, but I shall be keeping you posted here. This new book is a major new direction for me. Not a comedy and not for children (at least, not small ones). It's for the Middle Grade and Young Adult markets. Dark, some quite adult themes and thought provoking. Maybe there will be some teasers in time but not yet.

Watch this space.

Tuesday, 12 February 2013

BBC TV Pointless - game show or social comment

It has finally dawned on me, in a flash of inspiration, the purpose behind BBC TV's "Pointless" TV show...

Read full article...

Monday, 11 June 2012

Moroccatoulle

I'm sometimes a bit stuck for side dishes to go with tagines (in addition to the mandatory cous-cous). This week, I think I've just invented moroccatouille. A perfect accompaniment for tagine, b'steeya or any spicy dish (I'm all in favour of multi-cultural cooking). I thought I'd have my first attempt at writing out a recipe to share. The recipe below serves four as a side dish and can be made in about 20 minutes.

Read full article...

Sunday, 15 April 2012

A poem for Titanic week

A slight deviation from my usual comic style for a more serious subject...

It was April the tenth in the year of our Lord
Nineteen hundred and twelve, that’s the day
That with over one thousand eight hundred on board
Titanic set off on her way.

Read full article...

A poem for Titanic week

A slight deviation from my usual comic style for a more serious subject...

It was April the tenth in the year of our Lord
Nineteen hundred and twelve, that’s the day
That with over one thousand eight hundred on board
Titanic set off on her way.

Read full article...