Solving the Gordon Brown Problem From alecweston ^Pro in Too Much To Declare (5 minutes old)

Gordon Brown has many dreadful things since he became Prime Minister - and, less we forget, before, when he was Tony Blair Chabcellor of the Exchequer. But writing a partly illegible letter and mis… more

novel lack From alecweston ^Pro in Too Much To Declare (19 hours old)

For only the seond time this year, I find I have no unread novel to read. How can I fall asleep? How can I guide my dreams, my life awake with no characters to live through, no invented world to inh… more

CHURLISH to ignore From alecweston ^Pro in Too Much To Declare (20 hours old)

While you have been looking the other way (judging by the abysmal pageview figures, lol) I have launched, on my second blog, a new Private Investigator eries , starring Peter Churlish, with 5 episodes… more

CHURLISH P.I./part 5: The Plot Thins From alecweston ^Pro in Where the Rainbow Begins (21 hours old)

The story so far: Peter Churlish needs to track down his supposedly drug-dealer brother Geoffrey and betray him to the police so Peter doesn't get get flung in jail himself on trumped up charges, whic… more

Berlin, Madrid From alecweston ^Pro in Too Much To Declare (23 hours old)

Twenty years ago I was in a hotel lobby, watching in awe as the wall come down, on television. Watching history. It was about a year later that some fool called it the end of history.… more

Is it something in the water? From alecweston ^Pro in Too Much To Declare (1 day old)

Several of my favourite bloggers are not blogging much at the moment. If at all. What's (not) going on? Maybe I shall join them in their absence.… more

Press Complaints Commission From alecweston ^Pro in Too Much To Declare (1 day old)

PCC: Are you guilty? Journalist: No. PCC: Are you guilty? Editor: No. So there you have it. We find both parties innocent. Long live the Free Press! Long live Self-Regulation! … more

flat spin From alecweston ^Pro in Too Much To Declare (1 day old)

Maybe if I write it down here it will go away. As soon as I put the light out to sleep, I fell into a blind, short breath, panic - fear of dying (specifically drowning), claustopobia, abandonment,… more

Trivial Announcement From alecweston ^Pro in Too Much To Declare (1 day old)

I am not having my head shaved.… more

CHURLISH PI/part 4: The Police Raid From alecweston ^Pro in Where the Rainbow Begins (1 day old)

A policeman treads on our hero's big toe as he rushes past towards crowd standing round the bar. Before he can say "ow" another police, with very large feet, storms pass, stamping on the whole of his… more

That was then From alecweston ^Pro in Too Much To Declare (1 day old)

As so often, my Sunday depression evaporates into the evening air. What was that all about? Want to rush to finish the novel I'm reading, though. I will be murdering the main character if he does… more

CHURLISH PI/part 3 From alecweston ^Pro in Where the Rainbow Begins (2 days old)

"Cheryl-Chiswick + murder "already has 231,000 google entries, most of them mistakes. "A Halloween Prank Gone Horribly Wrong?" asks one newspaper about an entirely unrelated murder in Preston Lancs, … more

Sunday Depression From alecweston ^Pro in Too Much To Declare (2 days old)

That full-on Reproach that beats me up from the inside. Beats too fast by the heart. Not false consciouness - but False Conscience, deep guilt for non existent crimes. Daddy's little enforcer, … more

CHURLISH PI/part 2 From alecweston ^Pro in Where the Rainbow Begins (2 days old)

He can't bear it any longer. Abruptly he starts hacking at the bits that stick out with a pair of culed nail scissors. "Good luck with the rest of your life," she shouts up the stairs. "You'll ne… more

Home is where... From alecweston ^Pro in Too Much To Declare (2 days old)

It struck me this evening, coming up the hill in the rain from a meal in my friendly French cafe, a present to myself after a long day at my mother's... it struck that, after more than 20 months livin… more

CHURLISH From alecweston ^Pro in Where the Rainbow Begins (3 days old)

Today's word is CHURLISH. Not every day has a word. Saturday 7th November should count itself lucky. A star is born. Peter Churlish, Private Investigator. He has a brother Geoffrey. And … more

are we alone? From alecweston ^Pro in Too Much To Declare (3 days old)

… more

The joy of a woman's passive smoke From alecweston ^Pro in Too Much To Declare (4 days old)

I have never smoked a straight cigarette in my life. (And I gave up smoking anything more interesting eighteen months ago.) As I've made clear on this blog, sometimes quite pompously, I hate stran… more

A Fly for Europe? From alecweston ^Pro in Too Much To Declare (4 days old)

Following the demise of Tony Blair's chances of becoming President of Europe (the job is not so glamorous or powerful that the title may sound), it looks as if they may job may go to Herman von Rompuy… more

They have started drilling again From alecweston ^Pro in Too Much To Declare (4 days old)

one of my back teeth in the basement next to my bedroom (I live on a hill)… more

A Nightmare. From alecweston ^Pro in Too Much To Declare (4 days old)

I had a nightmare. Don't want to want to tell you about it.… more

Different shades of Blues From alecweston ^Pro in Too Much To Declare (4 days old)

I have been feeling so much fear these last few nights - once in the form of financial panic, another time the fear of letting go of the familiar, another time terror of death (a nightmare of drowning… more

Dog on Bus From alecweston ^Pro in Too Much To Declare (4 days old)

Bus stops. Dog ambles on and down the aisle. A determined amble. Pad, pad, pad, pad. "It doesn't belong to anybody!" someone exclaims. It looks quite dignified. Smooth skinned non-barking mongrel,… more

Missing From alecweston ^Pro in Too Much To Declare (5 days old)

I miss you. Your presence can be enfuriating, too, but I can engage with that. Besides, your absence isn't fun.… more

Words can never hurt you From alecweston ^Pro in Too Much To Declare (5 days old)

Scoundrel. I love the sound of the word. I would have liked to have been a scoundrel at least once in my life, but I think the concept is a but too Terry-Thomas for me. In my thirties, I thought… more

A tall neck story From alecweston ^Pro in Too Much To Declare (5 days old)

Anyway there were these two ostriches, A and B. Of course I could give them cuddly names, but that would be a wee bit anthropomorphic, don't you think? And, as far as I know, nobody has an ostrich… more

So, Goodbye "Featured Blog" page From alecweston ^Pro in Too Much To Declare (5 days old)

Or not? Will we be told? Can't say I wil be sorry - the algorithm chosing them seemed to be so perverse. It niether tracked the blogs more the most visitors (check any internet analytics site and… more

Tags that are lost forever From alecweston ^Pro in Too Much To Declare (6 days old)

Hello alecweston, in order to use your tags to improve the searchability of your blog posts, it has been necessary to make a few changes to the tag system. (Blah, blah - most BCUK bloggers amy … more

It's not fair! From alecweston ^Pro in Too Much To Declare (6 days old)

But if everything in the world were fair, we would all be living just above the poverty line.… more

Tell me something I don't know From alecweston ^Pro in Too Much To Declare (6 days old)

please… more