What the hell was I doing here? Me, Fergus Simpkins, in a Gym! It was preposterous and ridiculous in equal measure. But I had decided that maybe Abby and I needed to do more together. I was now acutely aware of the growing gap between us; I was also equally aware of the closing gap with Beulah and I. The fallout from the Food and Wine Festival had been fairly painless. I had pretty much always kept Abby separate from my w...

I was watching the last of the soap suds disappear down the plug-hole of the kitchen sink, when I heard a knock at the front door. I looked at the clock on the wall, that smug look on its face, proudly telling me it was very late. I sighed to myself because I knew exactly who was behind the knocking. It had to be Jodi. Only she would be found knocking my door at this time of night. And it was only she that I would ever op...

Ginny sat reading the paper as I stared at her. Her cup of tea was well on its way to going cold as she engrossed herself in another Celebrity scandal. I didn’t break my gaze as I sipped at my own cooling brew. I quietly perused her visage, surrounded by her long raven hair. I tried in vain to get a glimpse of those killer blue eyes. But they were fixed solidly on the words she was reading. I wondered how many times I had...

Someone Elses ShoesWhen nothing ever seems to go my way And time gets shorter and the skies turn grey I realise that I can’t pick or choose the chance to be in someone else’s shoes When I never seem to get a chance Taking my time with this life’s sweet dance When all I’m feeling is the bay side blues I’d be better off in someone else’s shoes When you’re ready but you know I’m not When the day comes to and that’s my lot I...

Flames As I gazed at the flames of the fire Smouldering embers pulled me away To my never land where I could dream Of all the things that I wanted to say Of all the things I ever wanted to do Of all the things I could ever aspire But dreaming dreams meant little to you As I gazed at the flames of the fire As I gazed at the flames of the fire I fought with reason and its sensible step Forgiving sin and its bastard sons I w...

JasperWell this was a fine state of affairs. I had seen some states of affairs in the past, but none to top this particular one; I was quite speechless in fact. I looked at Jasper in despair. ‘What are you staring at? Staring’s not going to help to me!’ he shouted through the glass window. I was still speechless. Amazement and astonishment washed over me as I perched myself against the lamp-post and stared back at him. Th...

The elderly woman over the road was painting her front door green. I thought it a bit stupid as it was trying to rain. But I admired her determination and obvious optimism that the rain wouldn’t come to much. She had carefully placed an old sheet on the pavement to protect it and had precariously perched a mug with a hot drink in it on the windowsill. She was known to the neighbours as a bit of a firebrand. ‘Never cross M...

Walking through this square mile Through the taxi ranks and lamps Among the city slickers Behind the lady and the tramp I see all their progress All the concrete greyish brown Nothing really changes Down here in Temperance Town Waifs and strays are begging Call girls hide away A homeless guy behind me Begs the price of another day A young girl cries 'please help me! My love lies lost unfound' Another lamplight blinking Do...

‘Is this seat taken?’ asked a quietly spoken man whom Veronica had never seen before. She shook her head, ‘no, go ahead’. The elderly man took his seat and placed a shopping bag between his feet. His hands unfolded a newspaper in front of him as the train began to pull out of the station. He then began to ingest the day’s news. Veronica looked at the Paper’s headline from the corner of her eye. It read ‘Missing Girl found...

Ride Across the River I heard her start to cry as soon as the door closed behind me. It didn’t make me feel any better. Maybe I didn’t know what all this was doing to her? What I did know was that whilst I was waiting in the middle of Tiger Bay for Eddie, Mary-Anne was crying behind the closed door. Nevertheless, she had to understand that this was the only way for me, I knew nothing else now. And so here I was, still wai...