Being able to fly
A line of steel bollards protected the pavement on either side of the entrance to the car park. Between two of the bollards, a wooden bench on steel legs offered a place for weary shoppers to stop to catch their breath, before continuing their way up the street. The bollards had been painted green at some point in the past, … [continue reading …]
Breadsaws and thumbprints
“What an ingenious idea,” I thought when I saw the bread saw, it seemed the sort of knife that would allow bread to be cut without too much pressure being necessary. It brought memories of a friend’s story of hospitality he received. The friend used to visit the lady and recounts tales of her life and ways: “She cooked on … [continue reading …]
Captain Vimes and solar panels
Apparently, something called an energy performance certificate was necessary for the house. This involved an inspection by someone who knew something about saving energy and an estimate of how much money someone thought might be saved if something was done to save energy. The details that came with the certificate explained how the energy rating might be improved by taking … [continue reading …]
TELEGRAPHIC TRANSFER NOTICE ,
This was spammed by Google. It is very amateurish. Zenith Bank (UK) Ltd 39 Cornhill London EC3V 3ND United Kingdom tel: +44 70 8646 8527 Fax:+447043071539 Dear Esteemed Customer, TELEGRAPHIC TRANSFER NOTICE. We are hereby officially notify you concerning your fund Telegraphic Transfer through our bank, Zenith Bank (UK) Ltd United Kingdom, to your bank account, which has been officially … [continue reading …]
A people who neither “dreaded God nor lived by Holy Church”
Independent thought in Fifteenth Century England was a dangerous activity, to express doubt, or, worse, to question the teachings of the church could lead to a trial for heresy, and, for those who refused to deny their own conscience, could lead to being burned at the stake. Reading through a history of Langport brought a discovery of a tradition of independent … [continue reading …]
Sermon thoughts for Sunday, 18th August 2019
“I came to bring fire to the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!” Luke 12:34 There was a time when artists preached sermons far more powerful than any words a poor cleric might manage. The medieval pictures of Jesus bringing fire on the earth, the Last Day, the Dies Irae, the Day of Wrath, the great judgment day, … [continue reading …]
Still forgetting those who fought the Japanese
Dr Mayne would weigh each word carefully. A reflective and undemonstrative man, who was unafraid to sit in silence; a quizzical look from him was sufficient to convey the suggestion that he might not agree with something that had been said. A Dubliner who had been born during the First World War, he would recount with passion and anger stories … [continue reading …]
Woodstock was always a piece of mythology
It seems apt that the attempt to create a music event to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the Woodstock music festival ended in shambolic disorder: the venue being changed to a different state, the musicians withdrawing, the tickets then being advertised free of charge, and the whole event then being cancelled. The 1969 festival was marked by chaotic disorder and … [continue reading …]
Settling the account
This story was expanded from a piece of flash fiction. It was entered for this year’s RTÉ Francis McManus Short Story Competition. The evening classes at the college gave her the opportunity. It was a computing class that had taught her to use the Internet, something of which she had been frightened. It had been the stories in the papers … [continue reading …]