Short Story of the Month, June 2020

In the second of our 2020 lockdown series, you are the writer. Have you ever missed a step on the stairs or turned back in fear? Have you ever given someone a piece of your mind? Are you an object of desire or the subject? Stay home. Ed.

The Willesden Herald Short Story of the Month

June 2020: Imagine that this Page is Empty by Nick Holdstock

“As Richard tends the first patient of the evening – a young woman with black eye make-up and an arm wound – he thinks of the pills, safe in their bottle, doubly safe in his jacket, safer still in his locker. The arm wound is self-inflicted. It is too precise.”

Nick Holdstock is the author of The Casualties, a novel, and several books about China.

“Imagine that this Page is Empty” is from his collection, The False River (Unthank Books, 2019).

Jasmine is here

A sunny trellis

Jasmine in the afternoon

The fragrance

--

S.M. 

"Progress" - old shop/new shop. Does London still exist?

This is what became of the Kingsland Cafe in the KIngsland Rd, as depicted by @eleanor_crow https://t.co/yTcQCQko5R pic.twitter.com/CbnKV18PJW

— Spitalfields Life (@thegentleauthor) May 17, 2020

Luka Bloom at the Aloe Tree, 22 March 2020

Perfect lockdown session in a gorgeous empty shop in Ennistimon, County Clare. "Don't be so hard on yourself."

Short Story of the Month, May 2020

Looking for respite from the lockdown? 

You've come to the right place. 

Ed.

The Willesden Herald New Short Stories Story of the Month
May 2020: The Time Capsule by John O’Donoghue

“They all fell silent for a moment. I could see them trying to look into the future, to imagine themselves as adults, married maybe, perhaps with families of their own, working away in jobs like Uncle Tommy in the Post Office, or Auntie Lizzie in the nursing before she was married, or gone to England, like my mother and father, or even further afield.”

John O'Donoghue

John O’Donoghue is the author of Letter To Lord Rochester (Waterloo Press, 2004), The Beach Generation (Pighog Press, 2007), Brunch Poems (Waterloo Press, 2009), Sectioned: A Life Interrupted (John Murray, 2009), Fools & Mad (Waterloo Press, 2014), and The King From Over the Water (The Wild Geese Press, 2019). Sec­tioned was awarded Mind Book of the Year in 2010. His journalism, essays, and reviews have been published in The Observer, The Guardian, The Times Educational Supplement, The London Magazine, PN Review, Acumen, and Orbis. He lives in Brighton and teaches Creative Writing at the Brighton Writers’ Centre.

The Time Capsule comes from The King from Over The Water (The Wild Geese Press, 2019).

Who’s Afraid of the Cold East Wind?

Herb Robert trembles,
not because the wind is strong
but because it's crazy.

Dandelion has wet himself
but won't let it get him down,
he's been through worse.

Rosemary doesn't know where to look,
it's all a bit of a mystery,
why do they bother?

Violet doesn't know why.
Poppy says don't be afraid.
Veronica says you should.

April shivers, a beast
has walked over her grave,
she hides in the chestnut tree.

Primrose lies low.
She sighs, she hopes
that May may come, come May.

--
Stephen Moran

Story of the Month Submissions: Open

Partly as a response to and respite from the 2020 Coronavirus lockdown blues, we've reopened the submissions window for Story of the Month. It would be great to hear from writers who have not been featured before in this online series.

Stories previously published in print but not online will be considered. Please advise details so that acknowledgement of the original publication can be included.

There's a rolling deadline of the second-last Friday of every month but often select the featured short story before then.

There is no reading fee. Recompense is limited to one copy of our latest anthology. Copyright: apart from permission to display it on our website online, you retain all rights in your story.

For full details please visit our Our Submittable page.

Northwick Park Hospital update from local MP - Covid-19

523 people hospitalised with #Covid_19 at Northwick Park (& sister trusts) have been discharged since March 4th. Tragically 364 people have died there. 250 people still being treated as of yesterday. I can only begin to imagine the sense of loss (1/2) https://t.co/Zy2nAFHff1

— Gareth Thomas MP (@GarethThomasMP) April 18, 2020

Source Ref. MyLondon.news

Beckett - a Quinn Martin production starring Sam Beckett

"A short lived detective drama from 1972. Never caught on with the American public."

With Andre the Giant as Little Bim, Jean Paul Sartre as Walleye Molloy and Jean Cocteau as Huggy Bear

"...cut together by playwright Danny Thompson, cofounder of Chicago’s Theater Oobleck." Ref: Open Culture. Via Martin Doyle on Twitter

The Flemings - world's most entertaining video!

"DAY 143 of isolation 😂🤣 ....can ye all do me a favour and just STAY AT HOME please ❤️😭" (Tadhg Fleming)

What a joyful performance and history of rehearsal by a wonderful family group!

Les (Non-)Miserables - "One Day More"

"A family from Kent who shared a video of their living room performance of a lockdown-themed adaptation of a Les Misérables song have become a sensation online. Ben and Danielle Marsh and their four children changed the lyrics of One Day More to reflect common complaints during the Covid-19 lockdown. They say the video, which has gone viral, was intended to give friends and family a laugh during this stressful time" (Guardian News - YouTube)

Test, test, test - explanation and plea (Jeremy Hunt)

Why it is essential we adopt mass community testing as our national strategy: my video today pic.twitter.com/QriHoYAhYa

— Jeremy Hunt (@Jeremy_Hunt) March 31, 2020

Covid-19: We can't move forward till we can see where we are.

COVID19: How can we control it if we don't know where it is? Test everyone. (Jeremy Hunt)

“How can we possibly suppress the virus if we don’t know where it is?”

Former health secretary Jeremy Hunt condemns the government's mismanagement of coronavirus testing. #CoronavirusLockdown pic.twitter.com/zd4jMmfkLr

— PoliticsJOE (@PoliticsJOE_UK) March 24, 2020

Vision, having sight of the problem, is vital in order to solve it. Jeremy Hunt cites other countries who have got control of their outbreaks with intensive testing and contact tracing. Let's hope the government understands this message and acts on it.

Self-isolating? Follow Roo's adventures - therapeutic

This is Roo the pig's interpretation of Christopher Isherwood's "I Am a Camera". It's quite fantastic.

Daffodils are ugly / apology

Daffodils are ugly, egomaniacs
Blowing their own trumpets,
Playing silly buglers, monotonous
"Does my bulb look big in this" bimbos.
Oh but we love them, we love them senseless
Because we know they're better than us.

Apology

For avoidance of all doubt,
daffodils are lovely, hapless
horse-like, handsome flowers.
I apologise to daffodils,
they cannot help themselves,
it's the way they're brought up.

--
Stephen Moran

Hard times in the East End, London 1970s - photo gallery

David Truzzi-Franconi's Photographs of the East End in the 70s published for the first time: https://t.co/QXfJjV1p6g pic.twitter.com/meyZdSgp2L

— Spitalfields Life (@thegentleauthor) March 15, 2020

"If I ever met Jurgen Klopp" by Laura Lexx - hilarious

This is a sort of avant garde short story or flash fiction in a Twitter thread. Follow the link to read to the end.

If I ever met Jurgen Klopp I’d say “omg if we have a baby we should call it Klipp” just so he’d raise an eyebrow at me and tell me I’m a moron and I’d be so naked by the time he’d finished doing that.

— Laura Lexx (@lauralexx) March 13, 2020

20 mph zone implementation

South Vale has been resurfaced, as was badly needed. Additionally speed bumps have been added as part of the new 20 mph zone. (This is a follow-up to our previous report about this area.)

Wood End Road with roadworks roadblock outside Harrow Cricket Club

South Vale newly resurfaced

Example of the new speed bumps

Considering the number of car crashes seen around these back roads, including one where one car ended upside-down on top of another one [Why haven't we got a picture of that?! Ed.], this is a welcome development.

I only came over for a couple of years...

Interviews with London Irish elders.

A film by David Kelly in collaboration with the Irish Studies Centre, London Metropolitan University.

Via: The Archive of the Irish in Britain

Under Fishtail Mountain - Merryn Glover

"Their language – which they call Tamukyui – is from the Tibeto-Burman family and had never been written down." Writing the Way Blog Post: https://t.co/FcYGxLIymm #Nepal #Gurungs #linguistics pic.twitter.com/OhwQpxPJUt

— Merryn Glover (@MerrynGlover) March 9, 2020

An evocative short memoir of a childhood in Nepal with parents working in linguistics and literacy. Illustrated with marvellous photos. Follow this link to learn more about a language that had never previously been written down and more.

No third runway for Heathrow - Appeal Court ruling

We've won our case against the government! The Court of Appeal has judged their plans for Heathrow expansion illegal on climate grounds 🙌. This ruling is an historic and ground-breaking result for climate justice and for future generations. #NoThirdRunway pic.twitter.com/9oAdz0aZuy

— Friends of the Earth 🌍 (@friends_earth) February 27, 2020

Follow the link for more commentary by Friends of the Earth. This is good news for everyone living in West London and, probably, the world.

South Vale has reopened - hallelujah!

New mighty self-draining concrete kerbstones (left) and boundary kerb (right)

Opposite view, showing extent of new drainage system & grass verge relaid

Junction with Wood End Road, Orley Farm Road (private) & bridleway path

Excellent work by Harrow Council on this street, which was regularly subject to flooding near the entrance to John Lyons School playing fields. Note: there is also a planning application in progress to put speed humps on this and neighbouring roads and turn this enclave into a 20 mph zone, which should be welcome.

Cool, sunny interlude between storms Ciara and Dennis

Our favourite view. Chiltern Line from the bridge on Wood End Road.

Corner of South Vale and Wood End Road

South Vale is closed for drainage works. Should reopen soon, a little later than planned. The notice said the work would finish on February 11. South Vale has been subject to flooding and this very extensive and impressive work on the road should help. It's good work but the closure is disrupting traffic locally, especially in rush hours.

Storm Ciara: Mess caused by neglected "Global" billboard

"Global" billboard Sudbury Hill

Detritus from the Global billboard blown around Greenford Road

Many old trees being cut down

Newly cut tree stumps, Harrow Road (Sudbury)

Similar scenes noted all around Harrow and Brent. Has there been any justification given? The near one in this picture looks like it was healthy, fairly straight and not causing upheaval. The further one appeared to be hollow. Could it be that those responsible are taking every opportunity to reduce their workload by reducing the number of large, old trees?

Related story: Tree felling in South Vale (Harrow)