Author Archives: Ian

No need for statements

Posted on 16th September 2023 by Ian

He seemed to need to make a statement. Someone had mocked him for being suburban, from Camberley or some such place, and he had assumed it to be an implication that he had come from somewhere that was not significant. … Continue reading →

Posted in Unreliable memories | Leave a comment

Two smoking barrels

Posted on 24th August 2023 by Ian

Darkness had fallen around the isolated farmhouse and the young single woman who lived there felt a sense of menace. Already there had been a prowler and the headlights she saw stopped outside created a growing sense of anxiety. When … Continue reading →

Posted in This sceptred isle | Leave a comment

Dead man’s handle

Posted on 9th August 2023 by Ian

The rain relented and the grass had dried sufficiently to allow for an attempt to cut it. For years, the garden would have been attacked with a rotary mower that had a 325 cc Briggs and Stratton engine. It was … Continue reading →

Posted in The stuff of daily life | 1 Comment

There’s no ghost in my house

Posted on 7th August 2023 by Ian

It was February 1967 when we moved to High Ham. I was six years old. The memories of the move remain vivid. Moving away from the family farm on which I had spent my early years was something I dreaded. … Continue reading →

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Burying Max

Posted on 2nd August 2023 by Ian

In thirty years of parish minisry there were people about whom I came to be increasingly cynical and others who remained a constant cause for admiration, among the latter were gravediggers. A fascination with gravediggers probably began with reading William … Continue reading →

Posted in The stuff of daily life | 6 Comments