Welcome to my portfolio
Below you will find abstracts from, and links to, some of my published and unpublished writing.
Please remember that all my work is copyrighted, so if you are interested in a particular piece, or would like something similar, please contact me.
Published Work
Village People
Every racecourse, of the horse racing variety, that is, in Britain, has an area, formally known as the betting ring, or, more colloquially, the village, where the on-course bookmakers conduct their trade.
Ye Golf
The game of golf is an ancient one; that much is certain. The origins of the game, and of the name, golf, however, are much less certain. The French, the Belgians, the Dutch and, more recently, the Chinese, amongst others, have all laid claim to being the architects of what many consider a purely Scottish invention.
Well Chough-ed
As a youngster, in the 1970s, I was a keen and enthusiastic birdwatcher and member of the Young Ornithologists’ Club, the junior wing of the R.S.P.B.. I vividly remember, on one occasion, my father rescuing a chough (a “Cornish” chough, as I knew it then) from our garden, in South Wales. The poor creature was, as I recall, in a thoroughly deplorable condition, as a result of being blown miles off course by the ensuing bad weather, and evidently in need of urgent attention.
Castles In The Air
It was King Ludwig II, of Germany, known to many, perhaps unkindly, as “Mad King Ludwig”, who rebuilt Castle Neuschwanstein, in the Bavarian Alps, in his own words, “in the authentic style of the old German knights' castles”, and, in doing so, provided the inspiration for the Sleeping Beauty castle at Walt Disney’s Disneyland.
My published website reviews can be located at Sitecritic.
Unpublished Work
Animal Magnetism
Rex Harrison, in the title role, in the 1967 film version of "Doctor Dolittle", had cause to remark, in exasperated fashion, "A man of ill repute is called a weasel or a rat. A woman you dislike becomes a vixen or a cat. A family that is blessed with healthy reproductive habits, Occasions the remark: 'Well you know them, they breed like rabbits!'"
Barefoot Rascal
On 16th September, 2005, by public demand, an unusual, and ancient, standard fluttered above the walls of Cardiff Castle, the first time it had done so for over 600 years. The striking red and gold standard, in strict heraldic terms, "Quarterly Or and Gules four Lions rampant counterchanged", was that adopted by Owain Glyndwr (c.1349 – c.1416), arguably the most famous, influential and inspirational Welshman of all time.
Clothes Make The Man
Robin Williams once observed, comically, that, "Golf is a game where white men can dress up as black pimps and get away with it."
Leaking Oil