Did you know? We're on Duotrope.com

For many years, the Willesden Herald has been listed by Duotrope, for which we are very grateful as it has greatly helped in bringing writers from around the world to our submissions page. Why not take a look at their features for writers? You won’t see a more impressive resource for writers seeking opportunities to place their work. And while you’re there, you might like to take a look at their listing for New Short Stories 11. You can see the basic listing, which is excellent, and if you sign up you can get even more info.

"Raft of the Twats" masterpiece by Cold War Steve

Raft of the Twats pic.twitter.com/Opws4hnUPP

— Cold War Steve (@Coldwar_Steve) May 13, 2019

A parody of Théodore Géricault's painting "The Raft of the Medusa" is one of Cold War Steve's masterpieces.

Now reading for New Short Stories 11

We are open till September 30 for submissions to the latest in our series of short story anthologies, featuring the best new writing from around the world.

You can find plentiful examples of what we like in our back issues and also in our Story of the Month features, as well as in the periodicals listed under Links. We’re generally looking for literary fiction not genre stories.

The only payment we can offer at this time is two copies of the book when it is published.  Full details are set out in the submission form area.

“Willesden Herald: New Short Stories 11” will be published simultaneously in the US and UK in early 2020 and will be available from the main online booksellers by print on demand. We can also do print runs on favourable terms when bulk orders are requested.

See our New Short Stories blog and The Willesden Herald for updates and features that may be of interest. (Link: Submit)

New Short Stories 11 on the horizon

London, July 2: In that too rare spirit of international cooperation, the team behind the New Short Stories book series is getting together again to create another issue with the best short stories we can find. There won't be a competition this time, it will be a good old submit/accept/reject process with arbitrary editorial decisions completely unaccountable to the world. Yes, traditional, if you like. Details to follow. (Ed.)

Spiritual Wellbeing

Holloway Road

Short Story of the Month, July 2019

The Willesden Herald New Short Stories Story of the Month

June 2019: "Curtains" by Charles Lambert

"When Helen gets back from the hospital the house is empty. She leaves her weekend bag by the door and wanders from room to room, the kitchen, the hall, the living room, and then upstairs, pausing for breath on the halfway landing, her hands folded over her stomach. She rests her hand on the door to David’s study..."

Charles Lambert was born in the United Kingdom but has lived in Italy for most of his adult life. His most recent novel is Prodigal, recently longlisted for the Polari Prize 2019. His previous novel, The Children's Home, was praised by Kirkus Reviews as ‘a one-of-a-kind literary horror story’, while Two Dark Tales, published in October 2017, was described by Owen King as the work of a ‘terrific devious story teller’. Earlier books include three novels, a collection of prize-winning short stories and a memoir, With a Zero at its Heart, selected by the Guardian as one of its top ten books from 2014.

Continuing our retrospective series, "Curtains" is included in Willesden Herald: New Short Stories 6 together with stories by Eliza Robertson, Virginia Gilbert, Nick Holdstock, Geraldine Mills and others.

Visit Charles Lambert's blog on WordPress.

On reading "The Empty Promise of Boris Johnson"

The Empty Promise of Boris Johnson (Sam Knight, The New Yorker)

This is a very interesting and educational article, containing a potted biography of Boris Johnson, charting and explaining his political aims, which can be summed up nicely in his own words as "I have nothing." In short, he has no fixed beliefs and doesn't believe in the perfectibility of people or systems and treats life, journalism and elections as a rambunctious game of King of the Castle, which he is determined to win.

His main virtue, if you can isolate any, is that he cheers people up. I think that is very fair, the life and soul of the party but in more ways than one, "not the man you want driving you home afterwards," as Amber Rudd famously quipped. It is hard to be cheered up in the face of an oncoming juggernaut or cliff edge and a driver full of Pimms.

Johnson is portrayed as a real-life version of PG Wodehouse's Bertie Wooster. If the final two in the Tory leadership ballot turn out to be Gove v Johnson, it will be like a contest between Jeeves and Wooster, which does indeed happen from time to time in the books. Hunt, Javid or Stewart as the opponent would merely be one of Wodehouse's frequent unsatisfactory stand-in butlers. When it comes to Wooster v Jeeves, it's always Jeeves who wins but he lets Wooster think he's won. Johnson would be a figurehead and Gove the man with the plan:- and that's where the analogy breaks down.

Pressure-washing the pavements

Greenford Road

Harrow Council workers were out last night cleaning the pavements near Sudbury Hill station. This paving is relatively new, having just been redesigned and renewed over the last two years. If you want to see another couple of photos like this, see this post on Twitter.

Impressive happy birthday sign

Spotted on the corner of Greenford Road and South Vale, Harrow

Whoever Pat is, here's hoping he had a happy birthday.

Short Story of the Month, June 2019

The Willesden Herald New Short Stories Story of the Month

June 2019: Set Dance by Angela Sherlock

“Suddenly, very precisely placing the oddity of individual lives in the perspective of a bigger, slower rural pattern where everything can be accepted…Angela Sherlock’s Set Dance, a very unusual story, a very interesting story.” (Maggie Gee)

Angela Sherlock has worked in engineering and in education, but now lives in Devon where she writes full time. She has published reviews and articles but now concentrates on fiction. ‘Set Dance’ comes from her collection, To know they dreamed, which explores the Irish diaspora. She is currently working on a collection that takes its themes from elements of the periodic table. Her stories have appeared in literary journals and anthologies, the most recent online in Virtual Zine.

“Set Dance” is also available in Willesden Herald: New Short Stories 5 together with stories by eleven other outstanding writers.

Visit AngelaSherlock.com

Advice for Rylan!

It's feels like a long time since we had a music video.



"Rylan you should try to get some sun" (The National)
Must be a different Rylan.

Short Story of the Month, May 2019

The Willesden Herald New Short Stories Story of the Month

May 2019: Rash by Megan Taylor

“The ancient hinged mirror reflected back three Frans, each one streaked. Beyond her, the walls of her bedroom were a faded peach, her teenage posters removed long ago, but in the lamp’s glow, the walls appeared duskier than usual and Fran also looked muted, almost satiny, despite the rash.”

Megan Taylor is the author of three novels, ‘How We Were Lost’ (Flame Books, 2007), ‘The Dawning’ (Weathervane Press, 2010) and ‘The Lives of Ghosts’ (Weathervane Press, 2012), as well as a collection, ‘The Woman Under the Ground and Other Stories’ (Weathervane Press, 2014), which includes her Willesden Herald’s shortlisted ‘Rash’.

Recent short stories have been placed in several competitions, and appeared in a variety of publications, including Dark Lane’s 6th and 7th anthologies and Neon.  A fourth novel, ‘We Wait’, is due out from Eyrie Press in 2019. (www.megantaylor.info)

"Rash" is also available in Willesden Herald: New Short Stories 8 together with stories by nine other outstanding writers.

Be clear. Vote LibDem to say "Remain!" on May 23rd 2019

Theresa, Boris, Trump, Farage, Corbyn.... they want Brexit.

Liberal Democrats are fighting for Remainers across Britain who want to #StopBrexit.
Vote Liberal Democrat on 23 May > https://t.co/IppSIisDi9 pic.twitter.com/0NizfOYs3m

— Liberal Democrats (@LibDems) May 12, 2019

Register to vote by post by Tuesday 7th, impossible?

The registration service offered by RegisterToVote.eu, as reported earlier this week, which offered to submit details for people who filled in a form online, has been closed down by the Electoral Commission.

The Electoral Commission said: “We urge EU citizens that [sic] want to vote in the European parliamentary elections in the UK to only apply to register to vote through their local council or official websites. We welcome efforts by campaigners to encourage eligible electors to register to vote. However, our advice to anyone not yet registered is to only apply directly at www.gov.uk/registertovote.” (From: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/may/04/site-claiming-to-help-eu-citizens-register-to-vote-is-shut-down)

Postal applications must be received by Tuesday 7th, which is difficult at the time of writing, as it's now Saturday May 4th, and Monday is a bank holiday. It is believed that very few of the over 3 million EU citizens in the UK who need to register to vote in the European Parliament elections have done so.

There is still a possibility that the elections scheduled for May 23rd might be cancelled but that becomes ever more unlikely as days go by.

The thoughts of E. Redmond Woodward

A selection of "spokes", as he would probably call them, uttered by our legendary proprietor Eddie "Red" Woodward and shared among staff of the Willy in a long-running in-house email discussion.

1. Never trust anybody honest.

2. This everybody dying malarkey has got beyond a joke.

3. What a person says a lot about says a lot about a person.

4. Minimalism is the biggest load of crap ever.

5. There's no such thing as waiting. You are either doing something useful or you are doing something useless.

6. Meditation? It's a racket.

7. You can put me in a box when I pop my clogs but not before.

8. Evidently I'm past my sell by-date but not my use-by date.

9. In life, you either do something and feel guilty about it, or do nothing and feel guilty about it. There is no in-between.

10. You can't put everything right in the fourth act of a three-act play.

11. The only review worth a damn is written on a cheque.

12. We're not about to go bang.

Feargal Mooney

South Vale, Harrow this morning

Chestnut tree in bloom at the corner of South Vale and Wood End Road

EU elections: 96% of over 65s can vote, only 60% young

Register to vote: https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote. Deadline 7 May 2019.

If the elections to the European Parliament go ahead next month, it will very likely be the last chance to vote to say "Stop Brexit."

The neo-fascist sympathiser Farage and his fellow-travellers in parliament are out to seal Britain's fate of isolation from our European hinterland, at the mercy of ruthless grabbers in the Kremlin and the White House and at the cost of disruption and misery in Ireland.

Grove Farm, Local Nature Reserve, Ealing today

First view of Grove Farm beside David Lloyd sports centre

What has the ECHR ever done for us?

Re-publishing this as a little reminder about the craziness the UK is subject to under the government of Theresa May. It owes something to Monty Python's "What have the Romans ever done for us?" sketch in The Life of Brian.

* ECHR = European Convention on Human Rights

Need a laugh these days, by any chance?

The best bit about this is the last cat who does the Scooby Doo 'run on the spot for a split second before actually moving' pic.twitter.com/ltQhF2HDCl

— Olaf Falafel (@OFalafel) April 11, 2019

Bee fly hovering on forget-me-nots

Spotted in the jungle behind Herald House today

Indicative votes: Results in sequence and plan for Monday

Analysis of Wednesday's "indicative votes" on the way forward for Brexit.

Results in the order voted on and announced, For-Against:
160-400 No Deal
188-283 Common Market 2.0 (aka Norway+)
65-377 EFTA & EEA (single market without customs union)
264-272 Customs Union (basic permanent customs union for starters)
237-307 Labour's Plan ("a" customs union and strong single market links, rights etc.)
184-293 Revoke Article 50 (if necessary to avoid No Deal)
268-295 Public Vote
139-422 WTO Terms

Arguably, Speaker Bercow made a mistake in declaring after each verdict "The Noes have it" because no one option "has it" yet. Instead, if you take account of the difference between Yes and No, you get this sequence:

Results in order by "goal difference" (all negative):
1. Customs Union: -8
2. Public Vote: -27
3. Labour's Plan: -70
4. Common Market 2.0: -95
5. Revoke to avoid No Deal: -109
6. No Deal: -240
7. WTO Terms: -283
8. EFTA & EEA: -312

However, it's simpler to forego "goal difference", and you get almost the same sequence by taking number of Yeses for each option, though the top two options swap places, which clearly could be significant*.

By focussing on the number of Yeses, it's easy to see how many votes are to be redistributed, each time the option with the least votes is eliminated. More importantly, the Noes are irrelevant for these purposes, since what we want to discover is the option of which most MPs are in favour. If someone doesn't put a Yes beside an option, that's effectively a No anyway. Therefore let's just count the Yeses from now on.

Results in order by number of Yeses:
1. Public Vote: 268
2. Customs Union: 264
3. Labour's Plan: 237
4. Common Market 2.0: 188
5. Revoke to avoid No Deal: 184
6. No Deal: 160
7. WTO Terms: 139
8. EFTA & EEA: 65

So on Monday, eliminate number 8 (EFTA &EEA) and ask its 65 supporters to vote again for one of the remaining seven options (eight if Mrs May's Deal is added). The next option to be eliminated would be whichever one ended up last out of the remaining options, probably either WTO Terms or No Deal - but we will only know when the votes are recast.

The process of elimination should be repeated, preferably discounting the Noes as irrelevant, till only two options remain. At that point the top one is the most favoured compromise option and should be adopted by the government.

Rearrangement of the ballot paper to separate two procedural options

1. In Wednesday's selected options, the Public Vote option was an anomaly, as it doesn't describe a future relationship. This can be resolved by moving it to a separate section of the ballot paper, to apply irrespective of which option is selected.

2. The same can be said for the Revoke to Avoid No Deal option, as that is not a way forward, simply an emergency brake in the event of no other plan being agreed. That too could have its own separate section on the ballot.


Suggested ballot paper layout & possible wording for Monday's vote

The option "EFTA and EEA" has been eliminated, having received the fewest votes. Additionally, the options "Public Vote" and "Revoke to Avoid No Deal" have been separated from the rest as they are procedural matters, which apply regardless of the other results."

Vote for one only of the following options. The option with the fewest votes will be eliminated and the voting procedure repeated with the remaining options:

1. The government's recommended withdrawal agreement and future arrangement
2. Customs Union basic foundation for a new deal as proposed by Kenneth Clarke
3. Labour's Plan for a form of Customs Union, close single market arrangement, rights etc.
4. Common Market 2.0 aka Norway+ which joins EFTA but not necessarily indefinitely
5. Leave with No Deal
6. Leave on WTO Terms

Answer Yes or No to the following questions:
a) In the event of no deal agreed with two days to go, revoke Article 50?: Yes or No
b) Should the eventual deal agreed be put back to the people with an option to Remain?: Yes or No

* 29/3/2019: Correction: Changed text to show that you don't get the same sequence by taking only the Yeses, rather the top two options swap places. Also added a mock-up of the possible ballot paper as a basis for Monday's votes.

Vehicle fire, Greenford Road

Phonecam screenshot

The aftermath

Short Story of the Month, April 2019

The Willesden Herald New Short Stories Story of the Month

April 2019: Name by Sergey Bolmat

He looks at Anne with marked indifference, as if expecting her to introduce herself and explain the purpose of her visit, and then, after a second, makes a little twitch with the left corner of his lips indicating a smile.

‘Well,’ he says, ‘look who’s here.’ 

Photo by Natalia Nikitin (detail)

Sergey Bolmat published his first novel in Russia to great critical acclaim. To date, he has published three novels, two collections of short stories, many articles and essays in various periodicals, and a biography of Nikolay Chernyshevsky. Some of these books were shortlisted for literary awards, translated into many European languages, adapted for radio, and optioned and developed for film. His first short story written in English appeared in The Higgs Weldon.

The old dead tree has fallen

Willesden Herald Exclusive (tada!)

Fallen tree at the corner of South Vale and Wood End Road, Harrow

The old dead tree has fallen in the recent gales (Wednesday night, I think.) It's lying across the path that starts the walk along this small section of the Capital Ring. pic.twitter.com/Yz6dkBIBqp

— SJ Moran (@storyofthemonth) March 15, 2019

End of the line for the Water Poet pub

The Water Poet in Folgate Street closes thanks to British Land's redevelopment of Norton Folgate for a hideous corporate plaza! pic.twitter.com/ftCTwjfWU2

— Spitalfields Life (@thegentleauthor) March 12, 2019

According to this, the Water Poet corner pub in Folgate Street is closing to make way for "a corporate plaza." London is disappearing, welcome to nowhere.

Got that?

New signs have appeared near Sudbury Hill, Harrow

The sign says:
NO

• spitting
• urination
• defecation

in  a public place. [Plus details of fines applicable]

And it has three graphic illustrations in case we were in any doubt.

EU Settlement Scheme sign

Bus shelter, Greenford Road

The sign says, "I'm an EU citizen, how can I find out more about staying in the UK? To find out more about the EU Settlement Scheme, including how and when you need to apply, visit http://gov.uk/euexit".

Car wreck on Wood End Road

Car wreck on Wood End Road, Harrow today. Let's hope no one was badly hurt.

Plankton: Minemizu "Black Water Dive"

Japanese Underwater Photographer Ryo Minemizu (@ryo_minemizu) captures the beauty of plankton. Minemizu developed the Black Water Dive, a night dive with underwater lighting to bring out the best of larval plankton pic.twitter.com/TbV1VuRKKz

— 41 Strange (@41Strange) February 26, 2019

Keep Saturday March 23rd free! #PutItToThePeople

#PutItToThePeople March.

Join us in London on March 23rd for the ‘Put It To The People March’ to make the calls for a #PeoplesVote too loud to ignore. Please RT:https://t.co/z4hWRpcCPT pic.twitter.com/ey8kWVMEhK

— People's Vote UK (@peoplesvote_uk) February 16, 2019

Seagull

Sudbury Hill, Harrow this afternoon

Storm Erik - a timely warning

This is the moment a man fell from a promenade into the water in 2018. Passers-by naturally rushed to help. They too found themselves in difficulty. All escaped with their lives. If you see someone else in trouble, call 999 or 112 and ask for the Coastguard. #ThrowbackThursday pic.twitter.com/GrFc265HIu

— RNLI (@RNLI) February 7, 2019

Don't get near the waves in a dangerous place like this (above, from 2018). I was nearly swept off my feet into the sea from some huge rocks many years ago. You just don't know when a bigger wave will crash in. (Ed.)

A walk through Grove Farm, North Greenford

"The road not taken" (took the right hand one, left goes west)

The not very narrow path to the not very deep north

Not much of a path here. Go up left towards exit or right to follow the stream. 

View towards the landmark Kellogg Tower (now flats) across the stream

Another view from the railway bridge today

Midday, and snow from last night has not melted yet.

Views from the rail bridge on a cold but sunny day

Chiltern Line going west away from Sudbury Hill Harrow

Chiltern Line going east towards Sudbury Hill Harrow

Update:  Later in the afternoon, the sky became completely overcast and it rained steadily with some sleet and snow at times, till nightfall.

Spare poems going cheap

Breda Rainey


Breda Rainey you would
hammock in the rainy box
chaps sodden from the night dew.

Breda Rainey you wear
tiny leaves of the hedgerow
in your hair.

Breda Rainey you are,
though you heave a pushchair,
forever garlanded in box.

.

The Weight of Words


The number of all the raindrops that have ever fallen on England
times all the flakes of snow that ever fell on Japan,
in words,
would not outweigh a pinch of cotton
as would make a pillow for a dormouse.

.

Canal of Days

Life is a canal, on which we are narrow boats

with no reverse gear.

Each night, each sleep, is a lock.

We enter the lock and the water of yesterday is released,

till we emerge into tomorrow, to another gated day.

Behind us and above that again,

lie the days gone by. Ahead only today,

its prospect, its gate, its fall.

Gone the hundreds, hail the one.

Oh lucky swans!

.

Superb John Prine session w/ Gordon Lightfoot in the room

Great atmosphere, anecdotes, wonderful songs and a brilliant performance.
And it must be said, "not a dry eye in the house." "Laughter through tears" is another stock phrase that comes to mind.

Ebikery redux

Once again, an ebike partially blocking the path, near a junction in the Sudbury Hill area #ebikes #LimeE pic.twitter.com/v1z9CQ2k9d

— Willesden Herald | New Short Stories (@storyofthemonth) January 4, 2019

Police appeal: Murder of Jason Isaacs

Seen suspicious-looking two mopeds with pillion passengers not wearing helmets?: read this. The photo is of a poster on Whitton Avenue near Oldfield Circus: it's been damaged. "Appeal to find Jason Isaacs' killer: police re-visit murder scene in Northolt" https://t.co/dvAQAdPkgq pic.twitter.com/jEyvRMnyGm

— Willesden Herald | New Short Stories (@storyofthemonth) January 1, 2019

Short Story of the Month, January 2019

The Willesden Herald New Short Stories Story of the Month

January 2019: Disappearing by Barbara Robinson

… Later, John places the kettle on the hob. I’m sitting at his kitchen

table again, rolling another joint. My eyes are level with his waistband

as he leans across me to take cups from a shelf, the tip of his tan-coloured

leather belt close to my face. I yank it …

Barbara Robinson has an MA in Creative Writing from MMU and reads at literary events in Manchester. Her short story Supersum was short-listed for the 2016 Willesden Herald prize and her novel Elbow Street shortlisted for the 2018 Andrea Badenoch Fiction Award and longlisted for the Grindstone Literary 2018 Novel Prize. She has had short stories published in Ellipsis Zine and Fictive Dream.

Ebikes in a heap

Uh-oh. Lime-E ebikes in a heap beside the pedestrian crossing in front of Sudbury Hill tube station. They are a safety hazard and an obstruction. #ebikes pic.twitter.com/XxhEYkCRE3

— Willesden Herald | New Short Stories (@storyofthemonth) December 28, 2018

eBikes for Christmas

Lime-E eBikes outside Sudbury Hill tube station, Christmas Eve

It says "£1 to start" on them. There's an app.

Beside a pelican crossing (Greenford Road). Safety from children's viewpoint?

One e-thing leads to another

Following on from the appearance of electric bikes (ebikes, Lime-E brand) outside the two Sudbury Hill stations earlier this week, sure enough on a walk around the area today, two paths are partially blocked for those carrying large shopping bags and or pushing prams or in wheelchairs.

E-bike blocking the path, South Vale

Ebike blocking the path, Wood End Road

Another view of the ebike, Wood End Road. The path slopes here.

Irish language in Kilburn station

"Tá Londain ar oscailt" (London is open) 

Mayor of London "#LondonIsOpen" campaign sign as Gaeilge. It looks like it's been there a while. Kilburn is known for its large Irish population.

E-bikes hit London

Lime-E electronic bikes next to Sudbury Hill Harrow station today

Friday 14 December, update: There are many more, about ten, outside Sudbury Hill underground station this morning, in two ranks. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to take a photo of them. They are pristine and I doubt anyone has tried to use one as yet. [Ed.]

Short Story of the Month, December 2018

The Willesden Herald New Short Stories Story of the Month

December 2018: Mackerel Point by Richard Lakin

Brenda stood at the top of the stairs.
‘He’s missed us then,’ Colin said.
‘He’ll be back.’ Her role, as always, was to deal with reality, to face up to truth. One of them had too.
‘There’s nothing for us then, love. What did I tell you?’
Brenda gripped the banister and sighed.

Richard Lakin studied chemistry and has worked as a labourer, a journalist, and a policeman on the London Underground. He has published short stories in journals including Londonist, Structo and The Oxonian Review. He has won the Guardian family travel writing prize and Daily Telegraph’s Just Back, travel piece of the year. He lives in Staffordshire and blogs at www.richlakin.wordpress.com

Autumn snaps

Wood End Road

Chiltern Line

More of the differently same

Looking towards the little Sudbury Hill Harrow station in the distance

The other side, where there is no footpath and you look like a freak if you go there

From the roadbridge over the Chiltern Line on Wood End Road today

Brexit endgame flowchart

Short Story of the Month, November 2018

The Willesden Herald New Short Stories Story of the Month

November 2018: That New Girl by Brian Kirk

Well, what’s she like then?’

I asked again. She ignored me as she tipped soy sauce into a clean bowl. I turned and stood like a fool with my hands by my sides looking out the front window where I could see the tops of some trees across the street. Our apartment is on the third floor and, even though we’ve been here for over a year, I’m still not used to living above ground level. 

Eventually Sara finished juicing a lime and mixing it into the sauce. She turned to me then.

Brian Kirk is a poet and short story writer from Dublin. He was shortlisted twice for Hennessy Awards for fiction. His first poetry collection “After The Fall” was published by Salmon Poetry in November 2017. Recent stories have appeared in The Lonely Crowd Issue 7 and online at Fictive Dream and Cold Coffee Stand. His story “Festival” was long-listed for the Galley Beggar Press Short Story Prize 2017/8. Blog: www.briankirkwriter.com.

Refugees

They are young, whole lives ahead of them,
And take their chances on a rusty hulk.
Terrified at last to be locked below deck,
Wouldn't have wanted so many to push on board.

The Mediterranean is calm, so they say, but
With bodies crushed together, no provisions
And no facilities, death is never far away.
All long for Lampedusa, tolerance, a new life.

It is night now and a patrol is sighted,
A hubbub arises and the old tub lists.
Before you can think about home, here or there,
The sea is upon us all, this is our tomb.

In villages and towns, the old are bereft,
Some wives too and youngsters. Will they ever
Hear, or will they be left to surmise,
When no call from Europe ever comes?

(2016)

Who's hacking whom?

Seen in North Greenford

In view of the recent Russian Hacking story, we thought we'd wheel out this photo of one of the many Russia Today adverts seen around London. It says, "Watch RT and find out who we're planning to hack next."

Wheelie pooch

MUM, THAT DOG IS DOING A WHEELIE!

In Memoriam - Chas Hodges (1943 - 2018)

Chas and Dave "Wonder Where He Is Now?" on Later with Jools Holland, June 2018

Short Story of the Month, October 2018

The Willesden Herald New Short Stories Story of the Month

October 2018: Everything Comes Together by Frank Haberle

“In your trailer, it’s colder and darker than outside. You pull the wad of bills out and smooth them out in your frozen red palms. There’s a twenty, a ten, and eight singles. For one flashing moment you think of your rent, now ten days late. Then you get up and start walking back to town.”

Frank Haberle

Frank Haberle’s short stories have won the 2011 Pen Parentis Award, the 2013 Sustainable Arts Foundation Award, and the 2017 Beautiful Losers Magazine Award. They have appeared in magazines including the Stockholm Literary Review, Inwood Indiana, Necessary Fiction, the Adirondack Review, Smokelong Quarterly, Melic Review, Wilderness House Literary Review, Cantaraville and Hot Metal Press. A professional grantwriter with nonprofit organizations, Frank is also a volunteer workshop leader for the NY Writers Coalition. He lives in Brooklyn, New York with his wife and three children.

Short Story of the Month, September 2018

The Willesden Herald New Short Stories Story of the Month

September 2018: The Almost-Widow by Carina Buckley

“If I had known, then, that a dull night’s companionable reading would prove on reflection to be a moment of perfect bliss, it’s hard to say what I would have done. Is the horror past or present? All I know is that right now, today, I am greedy for those days, and all the ones I had are not enough. It was their timelessness that made them worth having.”

Carina Buckley grew up in Margate, Kent, and now lives in Salisbury. She works in higher education and has recently completed her first novel, THE TRANSPARENCY OF WATER. She is working on a collection of short stories as well as a full-length play, SINCE I LAST SAW MY SISTER. She has had two short plays performed at the Salisbury Fringe festival.

Things were different back now

If you're doing anything shockingly brutal, cruel and inhuman, it might be understandable because things were different back now.

— New Short Stories (@storyofthemonth) August 18, 2018

I'm trying to be bookish and keep out of the argy-bargy but in the swim on Twitter, at https://twitter.com/storyofthemonth. (I give it six months.) By the way, if you have stories and would sell one for a free book, please submit to Story of the Month. (Steve)

Laser removal of rust (video)

This is how laser cleaning works to remove rust pic.twitter.com/XfXtBXF5KC

— How Things Work (@ThingsWork) August 16, 2018

Fascinating. Brave for the guy to run the thing over his hand?

The earliest colour film of London - 1924

Beautiful, evocative and moving: This is the earliest known original colour film of London, taken in 1924 - only 5 years after Armistice. pic.twitter.com/En0GGNKNZL

— BabelColour 🎞 (@StuartHumphryes) August 16, 2018

"Home at last! A personal study of Claude Friese-Green, inventor of the Friese-Green colour process"

Taken in 1924. Note the people around the Cenotaph in Whitehall. And so many people, in what looks like Petticoat Lane market, probably not one of them left alive today.

R.i.p. Aretha Franklin

Many pleasant, sometimes blissful hours, owed. The video is of a special performance with guests including the Obamas and Carole King.

Aretha Franklin, 'the queen of soul', dies aged 76 (from The Guardian)

British visa hell

So, Twitter. In light of the ongoing clusterfuck that is #brexit, let me tell you a little about my white, Australian experience of dealing with the UK visa authority, a complete shitshow of a bureaucracy that is in no way prepared to handle what's coming.

— Foz Meadows (@fozmeadows) August 9, 2018

It's worth reading this thread of 34 tweets, to get a picture of the rotten heart of British bureaucracy, under Theresa May.

"But how are you going to pay for it?"

When the Tories ask 'How are you gonna pay for it?', here is their answer. 🙌🙌🙌 pic.twitter.com/AreCSJaprQ

— Momentum (@PeoplesMomentum) August 9, 2018

Here is the answer from a rising US Democratic Party star, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the candidate who turned out many times more voters than is usual to win a primary in New York against a leading and long-term Democratic incumbent.

Short Story of the Month, August 2018

The Willesden Herald New Short Stories Story of the Month

August 2018: Independence Day by John Califano

In 1960s Brooklyn, New York, sensitive and empathetic Johnny Boy struggles to navigate adolescence. Here his worldview is shaped by the trauma inflicted by the violent and competitive relationship between his father and his older brother, who despises their father’s closed-mindedness and is the only one willing to stand up to “the old man.”

John Califano grew up in Brooklyn, New York and lives in Manhattan. He’s worked as a writer, actor, visual artist and musician and has performed in clubs, art galleries, feature films and Off-Broadway productions. He recently completed his debut novel, JOHNNY BOY, and is currently working on a second book and a collection of short stories. His work was recently featured in The Broadkill Review.

Life is a holiday from non-existence.

There's lots to see and do,
And when it's time to go,
you wish you could stay
another week. But oh
in the end, you may say
we're tired and, after all,
we'll need another holiday
when we get home.

Unguarded Moments

If you walk without thinking how you're walking,
   that's the way you walk.
If you think without thinking where you're going,
   that's the way you think.
If you talk without thinking what you're saying,
   that's the way you talk.

Say my name.

Short Story of the Month, July 2018

The Willesden Herald New Short Stories Story of the Month

July 2018: Lily by M.E. Proctor

“Some of us remember places better than we remember people. With time, we even start wondering if these people existed at all. As kids the difference between reality and fantasy didn’t matter that much. Lily lives in that in-between, somewhere.”

M.E. Proctor worked as a communication professional and a freelance journalist for many years. After forays into SF, she’s currently working on a series of contemporary detective novels. Her short stories have been published, both in Europe and in the U.S. She lives in Livingston, Texas.

March for a People's Vote on the Brexit deal

Rees-Mogg, Gove, Farage and Johnson as seen by the March for a People's Vote
Credit: https://twitter.com/clairehewlett62/status/1010499282212937729

"Do you really want to be left alone on a small island with these men?"

The Brexit clown car honks and sputters its way into the circus ring, and out they stumble as, with a final bang, it falls to pieces. They fall about laughing, while their band plays the only tune it knows.

TV hacks fawn over Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un

Comparing ludicrous and mindless propaganda by Fox News and North Korean TV commentators

Short Story of the Month, June 2018

Announcing the inaugural New Short Stories Story of the Month

The series kicks off with Con Chapman’s engrossing account of a relationship in trouble, and what can you do but go for a run? Let's see how that goes. 

June 2018: The Woman Who Listened to Britten by Con Chapman

Con Chapman is a Boston (USA) based-writer, author of two novels. His short fiction has appeared in The Atlantic Monthly and other print publications. He is currently writing a biography of Johnny Hodges, Duke Ellington’s long-time alto sax player, for Oxford University Press.

New Short Stories - Story of the Month

Announcing a new single item magazine. “What is a single item magazine?” I hear you shout. It only has one item, the story of the month. When another story of the month comes along, that will replace the previous one. There will be a list of all the previous stories of the month. Simple as that. Each successive story of the month takes over the Story of the Month page and gets added to the list.

No submission fee, no recompense, all for love of the short story genre. There are no obligations or restrictions, except for permission to publish on the Story of the Month page here on this website. Aside from that, copyright remains entirely with the author. Note, the story will only remain online till another story of the month replaces it. That might take more than a month sometimes.

To ensure quality, and also to make things easier for me, there will not necessarily be a new story every month. It will be treated like a magazine with rolling submissions, no deadline, and stories accepted or rejected ad hoc.

All the details are on the Submittable submissions form. Please read carefully before submitting. Word limit 4500*. Generally literary, not keen on generics. Only one submission at a time, please, and wait for the response to that before making another submission. (Steve)



* Updated 16/6/2018

Grenfell Tower inquiry day six – watch live

Relatives and friends of the victims share their testimony, all very moving. This is the sixth day.

Live stream the 2018 Champions League final on YouTube

6 pm: Watch Liverpool versus Real Madrid in the 2018 Champions League final, courtesy of BTSport on this YouTube link.

It seems you can also watch free on Virgin cable channel 100. Here is more info about the game and channels etc, from the Bristol Post.

Ain't Got No, I Got Life

Magnificent

Mississippi Goddam

The anger

To be young, gifted and black (Nina Simone - live)

The black orchid

Penny Arcade

And then there may be a moment
When you look into the eyes of the other
And realise they have always known.
She or he is ahead of you. They always
Cared. Or never cared at all.

Like those old mechanical horserace games.
In one race, she's ahead of you,
Everyone's ahead of you.
Yet in another game, you're far ahead
And can't be caught.

Love has its reasons

Love has its reasons. Not all kisses
Are the same. Not all eyes say Mystery.
Not all hands say Wrestle me,
I want to wrestle you, leg-wrestle me.

No, Love has its reasons. It's not all
Spring has sprung, needs must. It's not all
Pardon my hormones, did I spray you? I've
A head like a stone, heart like a sieve.

Yes, Love has its reasons, and so
Have I. My eyes are wide open, and so
Are yours. And that is blindness by two
When reasons make way for whoop-de-doo.

Any Deal Will Do

From: Farage and his Amazing Velvet-Collared Scream Coat

I closed my eyes
To vote for Brexit
Head for the exit
From the damned EU
Far, far away
Syria was weeping
Cameron was sleeping
Any deal will do

I wore my coat
With velvet collar
Cost me top dollar
Well I've got a few
And in the east
Fake news was breaking
And the bear was waking
Any deal will do

A flash of gun
An MP fell
My covert coat
Was looking swell
The black shirt underneath
Was open
I was number one

May we return
To twenty-sixteen?
The fervour's dimming
And the screams are too
Rees-Mogg and Gove
Are adumbrating
Johnson's masturbating
Any deal will do

Architectural joke?

Trusting and hoping this is only an alarmingly real-looking architectural joke (Fulham Palace Road)

Missing anti skid

Odd road sign, Fulham Palace Road. "Missing anti skid"