The Reviews Continue to Come In!

Had another couple of reviews of ‘An Excess Of…’ so far this month. As writers and readers will know, reviews are never easy to get, unless you’re willing to spend a fortune on them, but paid for reviews have never struck me as a genuine way to discover the true value of a book.I’ve copied …

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#Words and #PictureOfTheDay: 12/Mar/22

To reach this place we take a path diversion leading to a valley carrying the brook that forms this pool above a small waterfall. We cross a bridge, a slab of solid stone, across what once was a small stream but now is no more than a depression leading to a dry, steep sided former …

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#Words and #PictureOfTheDay: 11/Mar/22

Serried rows was how they planted usbut time and wind and mishapinterrupted their impositionand now we grow more naturallythough it’s true our origincan still be seen by those who see *****…*****A few of my pictures appear in the Gallery.And you’ll find many more here for use on book covers, calendars, greetings cards, jigsaws, advertising, or …

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#Words and #PictureOfTheDay: 10/Mar/22

There are days of magic, when the light and clear air throw everything into stark focus. Such days beg commemoration, demand recording, present opportunities for spectacular creation. This was taken on such a day. The brook that tumbles in its rocky course flowed only gently into the swollen river, water levels overriding the normal obstruction …

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#Words and #PictureOfTheDay: 09/Mar/22

Tall they standrising to meet the sunlightno shade of pridein their struggle to surviveonly the lifeforcethe drive to livebut oh what talesthey might tell usif we would only hear them *****…*****A few of my pictures appear in the Gallery.And you’ll find many more here for use in book covers, calendars, greetings cards, jigsaws, advertising, or …

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#Words and #PictureOfTheDay: 08/Mar/22

Coal in the making: this small area of the forest is permanently wet, acting as a pool for several tiny streams and springs, before they overflow to join the larger brook that drains the valley. Fallen trees will eventually be preserved in oxygen-deprived mud and lie to await the geological millennia it will take for …

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#Words and #PictureOfTheDay: 07/Mar/22

To climb or stay on the flat?It’s a dry day, so the path following the fence to the left will be free of the sometime, shallow, flowing stream it harbours after heavy rain. Down there is the nearest route home, and now, after much work has been completed, that rough fence has been replaced by …

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#Words and #PictureOfTheDay: 06/Mar/22

Just a pair of pretend bunnies posing in the snow as lovers. Here specially for those who like a bit of the cute. *****…*****A few of my pictures appear in the Gallery.And you’ll find many more here for use in book covers, calendars, greetings cards, jigsaws, advertising, or anything else you fancy in print or …

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#Words and #PictureOfTheDay: 05/Mar/22

Sunlight dapples the trackand the hillside centuriesof carting and feethave worn into ittrees tall and straightrise in welcome to theirwilder wandering cousinswho spread out their limbsin search of lifegiving light. *****…*****A few of my pictures appear in the Gallery.And you’ll find many more here for use in book covers, calendars, greetings cards, jigsaws, advertising, or …

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#Words and #PictureOfTheDay: 04/Mar/22

The ground here is rarely dry, as witnessed by the growth of juncus. A little used track carries walkers, and the occasional mountain biker, to a wild plateau that overlooks a railway cutting last used over 60 years ago, and now seasonally swamped by a small stream that flows from the tunnel that leads from …

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Lessons from our Peers.

Short Stories in Print As writers, we often rely on our peers for advice, comment, even insight relating to our output. I suspect there are few other occupations as mutually supportive as the writing community. I recently submitted a short story, written some years earlier, to a small print magazine, Scribble, that publishes quarterly. The …

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#Words and #PictureOfTheDay: 03/Mar/22

Graffiti is so personal, and sometimes a little inexplicable. This piece, found inside a deserted and damaged home in a spot difficult to access on a Greek island, can only be seen by anyone adventurous enough, and curious enough to venture inside a building that is far from welcoming from the outside. So, who sprayed …

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The Imposition of Restrictions

Published on Medium here.

#Words and #PictureOfTheDay: 02/Mar/22

These ancient mature beeches are protected, safe from damage and destruction by humanity. Will the small, colourful, beech sapling gain the same status, or will it be removed as a nuisance lying too close to the path beside it? *****…*****A few of my pictures appear in the Gallery.And you’ll find many more here for use …

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#Words and #PictureOfTheDay: 01/Mar/22

The 1st of March is the beginning of meteorological spring here in the UK. Where I live, in the Forest of Dean, we see snow only rarely, and even less frequently in March. In fact, this winter we’ve had no more than a few flurries. The shot above is from the middle of March 2018, …

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