I WOKE up after a vivid dream of Eleanor. I’d had quite a few recently. Eleanor was my half-sister. She was older than me – the daughter of Dad’s first wife, Dorrie. My mum only found out he had a fir

THE bell above the door jingled as Freya screwed the top on a big glass jar. “Be right with you!” she called, efficiently using the wooden steps to reach the top shelf and stow the aniseed twists wher

My only commandment is ‘Thou shalt not bore’

HAVE you seen the latest from Down Under?” Kelly wandered into the kitchen one Tuesday morning, hair all over the place and eyes still full of sleep. Lynne glanced up from her notebook, where she was

WASN’T it you who used to work behind the bar at the Frog and Lettuce?” Susan Tallboys looked up. She’d been fastening the buttons of her overcoat, suppressing her dislike of its worn fabric and its m

The house next door had stood empty for many months and the weeds in the overgrown garden were spreading into my flower borders, becoming a nuisance. I’d taken early retirement when Jack became too il