Swallow

Lottie had an open gaze and her lips and eyes smiled together. Her eyes were incredibly large and curious, like a cartoon princess’s, over-scored by delicate, arched eyebrows, like most of her patients' on the Children's Ward. Her level of trust the result, no doubt, of a cherished upbringing by doting parents and starting life …

Faceless (Blush re-visited)

Lottie had an unguarded gaze and her lips and eyes smiled simultaneously. You couldn't help but believe that she was truly happy to see you. I had heard her call patients 'gorgeous' but the one time she had called me this, I had blushed from the inside out and understood what it must feel like, …

Blush

Lottie always smiled like she was truly happy to see you and would call you 'gorgeous,' like you were the first person she had ever said that to. The one time she said it to me, made me blush from the inside out and I believed it for a moment. . Lottie seemed quite bouncy …

Faces in the crowd: Cool in Venice

A Face in the Crowd

Tim…nice but dim

He knew the nickname they used for him. It could have been alot worse and had been in the past. He ignored their patronising glances at each other, behind his back. He focussed on his job. Eyes forward. Like a blinkered Shire horse. One foot in front of the other. He would stock the shelves, …

Conversant Sleb

She spotted him in the bar at the Soho Theatre whilst waiting for her drink. Their eyes met for a faint moment. He seemed to catch her gaze rather than the other way round. Did she know him? Or had he recognised her from somewhere. Was he a distant relative? Her being the wrong side …

Let Him in Constancy.

Constant Kiran remembered the drive to the country as if it was yesterday, not four decades ago, in the mid-seventies. They had all bundled into the family Nissan Sunny and sped off to a discounted-furniture store in the countryside that smelled of lavender and hay. Her younger brother, Dev, and sister, Leela, had initially been …

Waiting for the Present

Present I spotted these Gondoliers killing time in Venice last month. The scene reminded me of a saying from my school days about the child who was asked by his teacher to 'sit and wait for the present' and was then surprised that nothing came of the promise and he was then told it was …

Rube

Rube He could see the disdain in people's eyes. 'You rube' was what he saw reflected in their body language as they turned away, blocking him with a broad back. It was true he was from the country but country-bumpkin he was not.  His shoes had been stolen whilst he slept, as had his few …

Costumery

She didn't like having to put on the costume in the street. Macie had scurried  to swap places with Celia, who spotting her in the distance, had immediately starting pulling off the bits of the outfit and flinging them onto the green shopper in a hurry to get away for her overdue break. This parading …