A Break in the Country
Janine couldn’t understand why anyone liked the country. It looked pretty enough from a distance. Okay from a car with the windows shut and the air con on; even better from a plane. Yesterday her mother had pointed out a…
Katya Marsh
The Knife
I don’t know why the knife caught my eye in the first place, other than the fact that it was so beautiful. A silver cake knife. The sort of thing you used to be presented with on your twenty first.…
Good Taste
Sally had always hated the ‘small house’ or doll’s house as anyone else would call it. It was an exact replica of the rectory that had been in George’s family for generations. The last person to live there had been…
The Necklace
BBC News:- ‘A necklace with an estimated value of two and a half million pounds has been moved today from the lost property office of British Rail, to a more secure destination. As yet unclaimed, MI5 are investigating its origins…
The Village
Such a lovely village, with its stream, thatched and ancient stone cottages, village green, pub, and just enough shops and cafes to cater for locals and visitors alike. The main road diverts the bulk of the traffic, leaving the heart…
Mistaken Identities
Kelle didn’t scare easily. Brought up on a rough council estate in Leeds, she’d fought her way through school taking instruction from her elder brother who’d taught her how to handle herself. Here in Whitby for a week with her…
Scarborough Heights
Mark was going over his plans. It was something to concentrate on, it calmed him down and diluted that feeling of worthlessness, and the guilt that followed. What right did he have to feel depressed or even sad? He had…
Carols by Candlelight
The church* is hard to spot even in daylight. There’s no spire, just what looks like a fat chimney housing a single bell. I love it for its lack of pretension. Far from perching on a hill, looking down on…
Strange Land
What am I doing in this strange land, where ‘bar’ means gate and ‘gate’ means street? There’s a funny floating ‘t’ that I think means ‘the’, as in t’poet or t’pub, and I’m assured that ‘thou’ and ‘thee’ are alive…
The Invitation
It sat on the mantelpiece, pride of place where everyone could see. The royal crest was the important part. Impossible to ignore with its gleaming gold insignia. Esme found herself sitting on the couch opposite, eyes glued to that oblong…