“The tiger that stalked Paris”.Yes that story really appeals to my worldview. The “tiger” that was spotted running wild outside Paris was a story with legs on it and it was quite prepared to run and run on those striped shanks for another while .Everyone wanted this tiger-hunt to go on and keep the public […]
Politics-free Zone
As I’ve said in the main section, I’d like to use this part of the site for stuff that’s not got a political bent – more concerned with creative writing. I’ll put up stuff of my own from time to time and invite comment. If you’re interested in giving something you’ve written – non-political, remember, or at least with creativity the main element – then by all means put it up and let’s have a bit of discussion around it. I know people feel tentative about exposing creative stuff, especially if you haven’t done much of it yet, but believe me, it’s the only way. An un-audienced piece makes the sound of one hand clapping…
RECYCLE FOR LIFE OR DEATH by Harry McAvinchey
Now , that ‘s what I’d call taking recycling to its logical conclusion. It seems that all the metal from cremations is being harvested and re-used. My father used to say to me, with a chuckle, that one day the graveyards will be so full that they’d be sharpening the corpses’ feet and hammering […]
LOST IN TRANSLATION by Harry McAvinchey
It’s just being reported on the radio that Roy Keane , the footballer has just been in an altercation with a fan in some hotel .Did I hear that right? Does that mean he has inadvertently walked backwards into a spinning electrical device used for forcing air around a humid room or has he smacked […]
One Man Show and Tell – Randall Stephen Hall
The Songs, poems and stories of Randall Stephen Hall. With guest musicians Rohan Young And Aodán MacShéafraidh. Crescent Arts Centre. University Road, Belfast. Tel: 02890 242338. Saturday 15th of November Doors Open 7.30 p.m. Show 8.00-10.00 p.m. Tickets £7.00 Concession £5.00 Crescent Arts TICKETS link. http://crescentarts.ticketsolve.com/shows/873523443/events?TSLVq=7117356d-c33e-41b6-b103-dccffe4adc74&TSLVp=6e59e519-9f91-4a1c-a9a1-119a6495c939&TSLVts=1414666122&TSLVc=ticketsolve&TSLVe=crescentarts&TSLVrt=Safetynet&TSLVh=d521a8e357455abfe6fff47bb56df65c SONGS: […]
WASPS , BUTTERFLIES AND NOLAN, IN WINTER by Harry McAvinchey
There’s an oddness about it…. First off I saw a wasp landing on a leaf in the garden. That’s not so strange except that we are now a few days into November and the wasps are usually long -gone by the end of September . Nobody told the bees either because here they are pulling […]
HALLOWEEN by Harry McAvinchey
Halloween . The Eve of all Hallows.That time of the year when we gather to laugh loudly in the face of death: cock a snook of ridicule at our collective fears of the great unknown.It is upon us on the mildest October I can remember . The days of face-painting my girls’ faces and helping […]
WHERE WAS THE LOVE IN ‘I LOVE LARNE’? by Randall Stephen Hall
I was out visiting my daughter recently when she said to me “Here Daddy, watch this. It’s called “I Love Larne”, everyone’s talking about it on Face Book, because it’s so bad. “ Then she smiled. I know that smile well. It’s always an indicator of something to follow . . . So I sat down […]
Randall Stephen Hall: Songs, Poems and Stories
The Songs, poems and stories of Randall Stephen Hall. Crescent Arts Centre. University Road, Belfast. Tel: 02890 242338. Saturday 15th of November Doors Open 7.30 p.m. Show 8.00-10.00 p.m. www.randallstephenhall.com Stephen Hall has been doing his thing for a few years now. First appearing on the Gerry Anderson Show Radio […]
PADDY’S STONE by Randall Stephen Hall
Back in 1989 I moved with my wife and young family to Whitehead. We moved for a number of reasons. We needed more space. At the time I was working mainly as a freelance illustrator, producing pictures, for advertising. I still illustrate, but not in that particular field. When we moved away from North Belfast and the big […]
LARNE’S PLACE IN THE UNIVERSE by Harry McAvinchey
I had to watch the programme “True North” about the town of Larne on the i- Player. I missed it on live television but it appears to have stirred up some controversy so I watched it to see what had annoyed some of its citizens. I also watched “Human Universe ” about the possibility of […]