Stories from all categories

pessimist the point
Pessimists (cynics) invariably believe they are 'realists' and therefore can smugly feel that optimists must sooner or later knuckle down ~ that is, be beaten down by 'reality' & 'experience' ~ and join them. I've ...read more
kingship vs kinship
2
I hated twitter for a long time before I realised I knew nothing about it. What a snob. I had pictured a whole lot of people chatting about nothing - but had no personal experience ...read more
mind your peas & queue
9
I realise it is an insufferable habit to peer into other people's shopping trolleys and make guesses about their state of torpor and poor little stolid fat inactive kids as a result. And many people ...read more
waste land wastes us
6
In a sense it is true that every inch of every block of every city centre we have is wasted. As we've made a lot of cities - that's a lot of real estate. That's ...read more
built from junk
4
I wonder if the reason we are all so fascinated by vampires is that we are vampires, slowly draining the blood from our land.  By our habits we suck the life out of the soil, ...read more
praying mantlepiece
overheard
1
Girl on the tram, to her friend: "It made me wanna throw up. And not in a good way."
shaped like a fish
2
Pouring out dry biscuits for the cat I wonder: why are they fish-shaped?  It can't be for her sake.  She's not thinking, Hey, this reminds me of a fish!  Cats don't abstract.  So though she ...read more
sex as a spectator sport
11
There are two sex shops nearby amid the shoes, discounted make up, flimsy summer dresses and cheap suits. Assuming they don't sell sex itself any more than garage sales sell garages, I am guessing they ...read more