Postcards from Kronk - the second collection of daily stories. (2025)

They laughed when he announced his intention to become a sailor. If you drew a pirate and then changed every detail to its opposite it would look like more or less like Walter Harkness. His skin smelt of Lenor and his stubble too sparse to form a goatee let alone a full blown beard, Walt was no Richard Dreyfus and Hemington on Sea was no Amity Island. But he had a dream and nothing it seemed, would stop him. The boat had looked out of place behind the Citroen C5 saloon, like seeing Neil Armstrong leaving Apollo waving a Zulu spear above his head : only much faster. As it sat outside on his block paving Walt's first worry was how it could stay afloat: there were more repairs than original timber but after three months hard work the rough edges had been sanded, the gaps plugged and the rust removed. Over a hundred people had turned out to see him set sail on his maiden voyage. Walt already had an order with the local restaurant for all the prawns he could catch. He'd becom...

The rule on detaining people for terror offences has today been widened to include inciting peril, sheep worrying, advertising 'crazy' sales and beginning any telephone conversation with the words ' is this a convenient time ?'

Edward Hopper painted pictures of dislocation, human beings failing to communicate, locked in their own thought, the moments before or after an event. Dennis Hopper showed what it looks like to be on the outside and not want entry to the inside, his eyes, his very being struggling to cage the emotions inside. Marlon Hopper has been identified as the seventh victim of Roxanne LeClerc, the coroner currently being investigated for unseemly photographic tableaus. The image showing Hopper leaning forwards in a chair dressed as Whistlers mother was found three weeks after the photograph commonly referred to as Seven Brides for Seven Hoppers was leaked to the Daily Express. Speculation is rife but LeClerc isn't talking.

The hoover felt awkward at being named as an accomplice, hadn't he always done his best in the circumstances and wasn't the fact that the dust was airborne most of the time being conveniently ignored ?

Interior of modern convenience store, towards the front of the stage is an angry woman, skin the colour of a peach on the turn, she punctuates her words by poking a cigarette in the face of a younger woman. 'That's the fifteenth box we've had to throw out today, I'm glad he's gone, I hope they get someone in who knows how to grow things this time: will you just look at the shape of that?' The younger woman nods meekly and tries to avoid an eye full of smoke.

A debate has been held in the council chambers questioning the recent banning of commercial aircraft from flying after darkness. The Mayor reiterated his claim that the recent disappearance of two planes has been down to the old ones returning, plucking the aircraft from the sky. The airport chief again stated the planes had flown to Marrakesh and would return in five days. The argument to overturn the ban was defeated but will be looked at again when the airport chief can make contact with the pilots.

We sit each night sending paper boats out to sea, sending empty planes to Tunisia. Someday, one morning in the distant future we're told we will stop remembering; until then we send out our hope and hope our love seeks her out.