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
raised to the birth cries of every child ever born
times the sobs of every unrequited lover since Eden
plus 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."

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.