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all the news that's unfit to print
Bookmovie from Fonoteca de Poesia - Stephen Moran
I love a story where you have to ask yourself "What is happening here?" And by the end you think you might know. (Ed.)
The Willesden Herald Story of the Month
March 2024: Outlaws by Neil Brosnan
It’s bizarre; four women travelling together and not a single word being exchanged between us. It’s not as if we’re not all acquainted: his sister is driving, my sister is the front-seat passenger, and the driver’s daughter is sitting beside me in the back – doing something on her iPhone.
Neil Brosnan |
"NHS Health Review - Make Every Contact Count Worried about your health? Come and talk to us." |
"NHS Covid-19 Vaccination Service Walk-in vaccines available here today ..." |
Two parking spaces have been reserved for the mobile NHS vaccine van, seen here. Greenford Road, North Greenford, next to Sudbury Hill station, outside Iceland supermarket. |
For February we have a story that touches on respect for local history and traditions and aspects of behaviour at home and abroad and people who are wonderful. So for once I have nothing funny to say in this intro. But I can assure you that it has nothing to do with interior design. (Ed.)
The Willesden Herald Story of the Month
February 2024: "My Yellow" by Amanda Huggins
... Avril shakes her head. ‘I understand the thinking behind it – I know they don’t want Davy to be frightened of the sea – but sending the young bairn out there in this weather isn’t quite the same thing as getting back on a horse after being thrown. And the clothes? He’ll catch his own death dressed like that.’
I turn away from her for a moment, clenching and unclenching my fists as I try to hide my irritation. ...
Amanda Huggins |
She has won several awards, including the Kyoto City Mayoral Prize, the Colm Tóibín Short Story Award, the BGTW New Travel Writer of the Year, and three Saboteur Awards. She has also placed in the Harper’s Bazaar Short Story Com-petition, the Costa Short Story Award and the Fish Short Story Prize, and been shortlisted for the Bridport Prize.
Three shop window mannequins dressed somewhat bizarrely |
Wider view of TRAID shopfront |
Visit TRAID Shepherd's Bush for more details and how to donate or arrange a collection.
Monday afternoon |
Our first Story of the Year 2024 is about a quest, a journey in a narrowboat over days and months, meeting a cat and people known and unknown along the way and asking them a question. Not the cat, the people. (Ed.)
The Willesden Herald Story of the Month
January 2024: Cranes by Alex Barr
Fidler took early retirement and spent a year restoring a narrowboat, but when the year ended was filled with emptiness and horror.
His daughter came to stay and was shocked.
‘You look terrible, Father. You’re not yourself.’
‘Who am I then?’
‘Why aren’t you out on the boat on the canal? Why restore a boat if not to use it?’
Alex Barr |
CakeCo "Honestly Delicious Cakes" cakeco.co.uk |
"Abandoned car notice" stuck on burnt-out car |
This was reported to Harrow Council on 3 December. They've now stuck a notice on the burnt-out car. "To the owner of the car with registration number PE18*: This car appears to have been abandoned." No kidding!?
* I've been trying to tell them it's "PE18 UXS" but I can't get through to them. (Ed.)
Burnt-out car, a black Toyota CH-R reg PE18 UXS, Cavendish Avenue, HA1 |
Fulham Palace Road, Tuesday |
Street art signed KOHLSEN, possibly Kai Ohlsen (signs the same way anyway see kohlsen.uk ), paper poster on metal utility connection box today. Also written on by someone else "SY was here". But whether it's genuine/original/a print is open to question. Saatchi Art online lists some paintings by Kai Ohlsen.
Fallen tree resting on a fence and overhanging a footpath and the road. It's been like that for more than a year. Whitton Avenue West, North Greenford, London Borough of Ealing.
Badly burned out car viewed from the front, parked in an un-overlooked part of the street |
Interior snapped through open side window |
From another angle it's seen that the engine and front are burned but the rear is not. |
From the rear it is seen to be a Toyota CH-R Hybrid. The Reg plate has partly torn off. "PE18 ----". |
I reported this to Harrow Council today through their online abandoned car reports form. (Ed.)
Update 7/12/2023
The car is still there today. Noticed in the following photos that the missing part of the registration number plate is in the interior. It's possible to deduce from the photos that the reg is PE18 UXS and a check on the DVLA website shows that this car matches, i.e. a black Toyota hybrid etc. Harrow abandoned car reference: 723333.
Another view of the interior today (front) |
Having personally had a sad experience among the delirious people who speak in tongues that sound a lot like jazz scatting and are big into the laying on of hands, I can relate to this gripping tale of sex, mass hysteria, hallucination and snake oil. Oh, and love. (Ed.)
The Willesden Herald Story of the Month
December 2023: Shimmer by Alan McCormick
… I’d just dropped out of university – thankfully no question of ever going back home after that – when shag-a-rent landlord Nick spoke to me in my bed and hooked me in: ‘You ought to come and hear him speak. He’ll make you feel good about who you are, and help you do things you never thought possible.’ …
Alan McCormick |
Just a reminder that we're always in need of new Short Story of the Month stories. There's no set deadline and when each month's story is selected, others in the inbox are released. Some may be carried over as possibles for a future month but generally turnaround is pretty quick, especially when compared to other publishers online.
There's no reading fee but we give a copy of one of our New Short Stories anthologies as sort of payment in kind. So although that's not cash, it's also not nothing - which is what many online publishers offer. At present we are out of copies of #12 but have a few #11 and some other back numbers.
Steve with mock-up WH in Gigi's. Photo by Vanessa Gebbie |
Please send your best wild or semi-tamed or even nice polite stories your parents would be pleased for you to marry to Willesden Herald Submittable and make my day. (Ed.)
Tuesday afternoon: A few moments with hardly any traffic on a wet overcast street lined with trees, including magnificent old oaks with the leaves turned their autumn colour and a few other sorts still green. On the left side of the street, which has no footpath, are the trees and fence that form the southern boundary of Sir John Lyon School's playing fields known as Sudbury Fields. To the right on a little slope down from the road are some 1930s Metroland semi-detached houses. The verge in front of the houses is planted with newish Italian alders, some much older tall ash trees and further along some winter cherry. (South Vale, Harrow, HA1)
The Green Cabin - café Greenford Road, HA1 |
Sign outside The Green Cabin |
"NOTICE
FREE MEALS FACILITY FOR PEOPLE WHO ARE UNABLE TO AFFORD THEIR MEALS.
TIME - 3 PM - 6PM
ALL NATIONALITIES ARE WELCOME (STUDENTS/HOMELESS/OTHER)
THE MANAGEMENT GREEN CABIN"
The Green Cabin is on the same block as Sudbury Hill underground station, Greenford Road.
Shopfront in the process of transformation from The Flower Nest to CakeCo* |
Ladbroke Grove, Canal Way roundabout, North Kensington |