A forever work in progress

“Is it alright if I use your toilet?” “ What day of the week is it? “What? Erm … Tuesday. Why do you want to know what day of the week it is?” “Oh I'm sorry I thought we were asking each other stupid questions.”  “Dick head.” “Well you know what they say…” and they both said it in unison “it takes one to know one!” And then they both laughed.  Joe scuttled off to do whatever it was he needed to do. In his absence Davey picked up his phone from the coffee table and checked it for the umpteenth time in the last twenty minutes just in case he'd missed a message from his girlfriend Anna even though he had the ringer on full. Nothing. The disappointment hit him again. They'd had a silly argument earlier in the day and now she was making him pay with the silent treatment. They'll work it out though, they always do. He then checks the football scores, makes a mental note to tell Joe that Arsenal are a goal down to West Ham when he gets back in the room. He's taking his tim...

There was a knock at the front door. I lambasted myself for having stupidly lulled myself into a false sense of security that I was about to enjoy some alone time. That was an odd knock I thought to myself as I half heartedly detached myself from the sofa. It wasn't a knock with conviction, more a knock that suggested maybe they were hoping that it wouldn't be answered as much as I didn't want to answer it. Hmmm I wonder, had I been seen through the window by the person knocking? I'd not seen anyone in my peripheral vision. If they'd come down the road from the way behind where I'd just sat down then maybe I could hide and get away with it? Jesus man you're a grown adult, go answer the fucking door. I sighed heavily with disdain at myself. At some point maybe we try to become a better version of ourselves? Not today though. Today we've booked in some me time . Or at least we thought we had. I could see a shadow through the door, whoever it was that had h...

All of us at one time or another are visited by echoes of our past. I don't want you to confuse that for nostalgia, like when a song comes onto the radio that reminds you of a certain point in time or maybe of a person you'd long since forgotten ever existed. Life as Shirley Bassey once sang is always just a little bit of history repeating. OK maybe I'm paraphrasing there a little but the point stands nevertheless.  I saw a family of four walking down the middle of a road, the mother flanked by two lads who've long since outgrown their her height wise and who was now walking dwarfed in the centre. The husband, or father depending on the person's point of view, walking on behind. The woman was once a primary school teacher. Maybe she still is, although most likely a Head teacher or a Deputy Head at the very least. I first encountered her when I was doing a project at the school when I was in sixth form. That would be a few months shy of 30 years ago now. She was beau...

If anyone asks me what my favourite city in the world is to visit, my answer without hesitation is Paris. ‘I didn't know you were a romantic,’ is the usual riposte. Sometimes said sarcastically, sometimes posed as a question depending on the person asking. Oh Mon Dieu, Paris, the city renowned for L’amour, a city misunderstood, mislabeled and one which has to be explored for you to find its true beauty. For every kilometer out from the centre you go the more you get to discover the true Paris, the city which you don't find in any of the tourist brochures. The parts where it becomes a melting pot of cultures and styles all blended into creating this surreal backdrop for daily life to pass through. A city where if you sit still for long enough you'll be offered every type of illicit goods you could ever hope for if you were that way inclined. Where groups of young men bowl past you in large masses as a means of survival, stray fish become too easy a target and are picked off...