Today was a foraging day. The garden was well in hand, the bees content, and the Holmeshallow Farm children both away on school camps (for which I think their teachers should be given medals, and a week away at the most relaxing country spa you can find). My foraging basket sits by the back door, …
Pauline stared at the red jelly on the plate in front of her, in the shape of a slowly melting star, what were the strange cubes inside? She wasn’t curious enough to pick up her spoon and find out. Around her, people were talking, laughing, and pretending to eat their desserts. The man sitting next …
“He’s the Global Head of Finance for Midas Private Bank, and went to Rugby and Oxford and turned down a place on the Olympic team to build houses in Africa…” Gretel tuned out. Sondra’s new boyfriend sounded too good to be true, literally. He was either a fabulously skilled and plausible liar, or Sondra was …
Matt stared at the periodic table of elements pinned to the wall. He'd put it there at the start of term, a symbol of his new life, his new focus. It wasn't working. He was supposed to be exploring the mysteries of atoms and reactions. Instead, he was collapsed on the creaky, lumpy single bed …
It's been unseasonably warm this week and someone (or something) has been using my garden sprinklers to cool off. I'd not normally be bothered but whoever it is as no concept of moderation and has all but drowned the herb beds, not to mention leaving the hydrangeas wet, in the full glare of the sun. …
Marie was baking. Nothing unusual there. Jamie had never known her big, cosy kitchen to not smell of fresh bread, or chocolate cake, or crisp, buttery biscuits. It felt different though - tense - with a threat of burnt sugar. He stayed by the door, watching Marie stir a dark, lumpy mixture, her brows creased …
Sunlight shone off polished copper pots, hanging from racks along one wall of the kitchen, warming the cool, solid grey of the old stones making up the wall. Together with the big, slightly battered wooden table in the middle, and the scent of coffee and baking, the room felt like a hug and a listening …
It was a crude approximation of a sculpture, but that added to its charm. An uneven tree stump chopped and chain sawed into a shape Melanie could only describe as a rough but sweet tree troll. Did they even have trolls in Australia? They certainly had all manner of amazing creatures, invisible to most. It …
I, in a weak moment, had agreed to keep an eye on both the Holmeshallow Farm kids for the day. Not that I should be referring to Sarah as a child, she'd be mortally offended. Ben, on the other hand, is a textbook example of a boisterous, curious boy-child, who leaps into trouble like it's …
“We need the best concealer you have, and the foundation with the most coverage.” Becky had towed Joanna into the space in the middle of all the make-up counters in their local department store. The floor was refusing to open up for Joanna to sink into. That was Sarah Wyndham behind the pastel pink counter. …
The DNA of Stories 