Common courtesy. What is it? Well, for one thing, it certainly isn’t as common as it used to be (I now realise that statement makes me sound about a hundred years old, and you may now be picturing me smoking a pipe, squinting into the middle distance and chuntering about ‘the good old days’). In…
Tag: blog
T is for Thief. There’s no such thing as an original idea.
“It’s not where you take things from . . . it’s where you take them to.” The above is a quote from ground-breaking French film maker, Jean-Luc Godard. Godard wasn’t afraid to take influences from his favourite works – be that in film, literature or music – and put them in to his own work….
S is for Satisfied and why you shouldn’t be.
In a recent interview with the BBC, eccentric and brilliant actress, Miriam Morgolyes was asked a very simple question: “Are you satisfied?” Miriam has had a very successful career, gaining critical and public acclaim, including winning several prestigious awards. She has a wealth of experience in radio, TV, stage and film as well as completing…
R is for Red, White and Blue – a song about War.
I wrote this song a few years ago, not long after Tony Blair left office as UK Prime Minister. At the time it was becoming increasingly clear that he may have greatly exaggerated the truth to ensure that the UK entered the war in Iraq. Like many people, I was angry and shocked at his…
Q is for Quiet. It’s Always The Quiet Ones . . . Being a Writer
As a writer we need to have the ability to disappear in to the background. To observe. To extract meaning from body language, action and reaction. To study human relationships. To unearth great dialogue. To ask the ‘what-if’ questions and let our imaginations run free. All in the pursuit of the story. Which means, we…
O is for On My Own – Why we all need time alone
As Greta Garbo once famously said, “I want to be alone!” Cue sharp intake of breath from those around you as they stare in stunned silence like you’ve just told them Lassie is dead. Ok, maybe a slight exaggeration, but why is wanting a little quality time for yourself seen as being just a little…
N is for Night Time of The Soul
Ever have that ‘wake up in the middle of the night, searching-the-soul’ type moment? I’m sure you have – it’s part of the human condition. There’s just something about the dark and the quiet that can do that to a person. It was during one such moment, when staying in London as part of my…
Flash Fiction – The Bank Job
This week’s piece was 200 words around the following prompt: My Worst Job Ever. Here is what I came up with . . . ———————————- The Bank Job Big Ray’s face darkened, cheek muscles twitching with barely contained rage as he prowled the small cell the two men now occupied. Len tried once more to…
L is for Lies. Go Home and Tell Some Lies (song)
The video clip is myself and fellow songwriter, George Odom, playing a song we wrote a couple of years ago called ‘Go Home and Tell Some Lies’. The song began life as nothing more than a title which popped in to my head one day on the way to work. Suitably inspired, George came up…
J is for Jokes – Being funny is no laughing matter
“From the moment I picked up your book until I laid it down, I was convulsed with laughter. Some day I intend reading it.” Groucho Marx Just one example of the genius of Groucho Marx, a master of the one-liner. Like all good comedians and comic writers, he made humour look effortless. Indeed, great…