Heart of gold

THE sea at Thornbyon-Sea answered before you’d finished asking. Will Hartley liked that about it. He would lift his eyes, shape a thought, and the tide would already be laying its long, even breaths a

I LIFT my head to the weak sun and give thanks for having survived another winter. It’s good to see the lane is passable, even if there are ruts and puddles. However, I can still see the bones of icy,

VERONICA had only recently moved to the town, so she was surprised to recognise the woman walking towards her. Yet, when their eyes met, 30 years rolled away. “Helen?” Veronica said. “It is you, isn’t

I’D just started work as a nurse and it was my first time living on my own. I managed to rent a tiny flat in Finchley. It came with a window box, a stray cat that hung around mewing for food, plus a n

YOU can’t just throw it all in a skip, Mum!” Bryony’s voice was muffled by a dust mask as she crouched in the loft space, carefully avoiding bumping her head on the beams. She examined a battered trun

THE small wooden sign that read “Kinlochbay Station” swayed in the winter wind. Elspeth MacKenzie hurried along the platform, her father’s pocket watch clutched in her gloved hand. Five minutes to the