Author: Chris

  • Gypsy in my blood

    I’ve been researching my family tree again to try and find out more about my Gypsy heritage. We heard after my mother’s death that her real father was a fairground worker and the man my grandmother subsequently married was not my maternal grandfather

  • Taking Time To Read

    Reading a book is always an inspiring thing to do. I find inspiration in the language used, the crafting of each sentence, and the ideas behind the story. I find myself savouring little nuances of language that can convey so much and admiring the plotting that carries the story forward. It is not at all distracting…

  • Secrets And Story

    I was listening to the ‘Infinite Monkey Cage‘ on Radio 4 on my home from work this evening. They were discussing code-breaking and the extraordinary achievements of the team working at Bletchley Park during WWII. There were about 10,000 people working there and all were sworn to secrecy, with something like only 6 people in the…

  • Premonitions or Dreams?

    Last week I had a dream that I met one of my work colleagues carrying a pram with a baby in it. I stopped her and asked where she’d got the baby from and, while were cooing over the baby as if it was the most normal thing in the world, she said, ‘Oh, but…

  • Getting It Writ

    I’m trying to write a short story for the Get it Writ competition as part of the Essex Book Festival 2013. A story in 500 words sounds a bit of a challenge so I thought I’d have a go but I’m not getting very far at the moment. I sit and look at a blank page and then…

  • Questions Only The Birds Can Answer

    The familiar sight of a line of geese flying in a ‘V’ formation led me to thinking about why they do this and whether the birds are aware of what they are doing. The birds behind the leader are flying in the slipstream of the birds in front so making flying easier. On long migrations…