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Week 138 – Peas, Classification And Funny Tasting Orange Juice.

Yet again I start with our wishes going to innocents caught up in madness!

Barcelona has become another victim of a sickness we are struggling to cure or even cope with.

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Week 137 – Characters, Truths And A few Lies.

This is a bit of a follow on from last week. I mentioned how great the character of Tom Thorne was. That got me thinking about other great characters. Rebus made me read so many of Ian Rankin’s books. And to be fair some of the ones that dealt with politics or corporate matters weren’t always my thing but John Rebus made me read on.

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Week 136 – Novels, Shorts And Accomplished Acting

Here we are again. Another seven days have flown by and we are into Week 136.

Gwen gave me my inspiration this week when she bought me a Mark Billingham novel. I’ve read most of them. ‘Scaredy Cat’ was a superb book and Tom Thorne is a brilliant character! But I’m finding it very difficult to read a full novel at the moment. I reckon it’s all to do with the vast amount of short stories that we’ve read. (Nik is the man for the sites statistics!)

It is a totally different discipline. Not only writing but reading. Shorts have to grab you quicker than an enthusiastic lady of the night. Novels on the other hand need to groom you…Well you know where I was going with that!

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Week 135 – England, Monsters And Ronnie Shagging Thatcher.

It won’t be long until I’m taking the road to the long dark tunnel to nothingness. The eternal journal with uncertainty and purgatory beckons.

…I’m going to England for a Wedding at the weekend. Oh, the darkness is nothing to do with our rivalry / harmless teasing / hatred of England…It has all to do with marriage!!

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Week 134 – An Appeal, Kathryn Toolan And No Punctuation.

I get a bit of a break this week as we have another one of those now and again Saturday Posts.

I’ll get the reviews done first and then I’ll introduce our special posting.

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Week 133 – Principle, Discipline And Lactic Acid

Before I begin, I would like to welcome Nik back from his holiday. He was in Wales doing all things Welsh. As is my understanding he would be eating really, really, roasting, hot loaves, taming a roaming dragon, drinking Merlyn, seeking out a Max Boyce CD and trying to win a chair. They are a mystical race the Welsh.

It is great to have you back my friend!!

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Week 132 – Coco-Pops, Stationers And Challenges

I read this week that the average Britain would eat ½ tonne of breakfast cereal in their lifetime. You may think that’s excessive but when you realise what a drug problem we have and how your average chemically dependant person can only really digest cereal, it all begins to make sense. But to be fair, with what they spend on cereal, they save on toilet paper as smack bungs them up. If you can overlook the blood-spray on the walls, you normally find that an addicts toilet is surprisingly clean!

We once were a hardy nation who started the day with porridge, we now have a heroin nation who starts the day with Coco-Pops.

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Week 131 – Pride, Cathedrals And 100 % Proof Gin.

Hi folks, here we are at Week 131.

In the words of the legend that is Ed O’Neill as ‘Al Bundy’, ‘I just wish the world would curl up and die!!’

I have had a shit few days! My pride took a dent this week and that got me thinking.

Many Scottish people really do only have pride in being proud and it serves no purpose except to be very destructive when something chips away at it.

What I don’t understand is why I worry about pride when as a writer, my pride gets decimated with every refusal. I suppose when I think on it, it’s different. Once you have went through the first few rejections you need to realise that this is part of it, it is a process and nothing else.

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Week 129 – Territory, Boundaries And A Bruised Penis.

I have to thank Nik for his exemplary job in standing in for me last week. He was witty, intelligent and articulate. I hate him! I bet he doesn’t even hold grudges!!

Now folks, I want to explain something, we don’t have any hierarchy at Literally Stories, we all have our roles which to be truthful, we have just sort of fallen into.

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Week 127 – Insignificance, Velvet Jackets And John Lennon.

Before I begin this weeks round-up we have a couple of comments that we wish to make.

Our thoughts go out to our wonderful friend and fellow editor Tobias who sadly lost his father recently.

We all send Tobias our love and condolences.

And unfortunately, we yet again have to say that our prayers are with all those innocents who were caught up in the despicable events in London.

Continue reading “Week 127 – Insignificance, Velvet Jackets And John Lennon.”