A new production of Hansel and Gretel opened to a full house on Monday night at Regent's Park Open Air Theatre and it was met with rapturous applause by the audience, and with almost universal praise from the press the following day. I certainly thought it was a fantastic evening of opera: the production... Continue Reading →
‘Fairy Tales and Opera: The Perfect Match?’ OR ‘Dispelling the Myths that Fantasy Fiction is Lowbrow; that Opera is Elitist’
Norse mythology came to the fore in a big way a couple of years ago when Neil Gaiman released his celebrated book of the same name, but as of yesterday, Francesca Simon’s book, The Monstrous Child, has it rearing it’s deliciously vile and decidedly grotesque head once again. When the YA novel came out in... Continue Reading →
Baba Yaga and the Ailing Child Published in the Kyanite Press Journal of Speculative Fiction: Fables and Fairy Tales Winter Digest
I was very pleased when my Slavic folklore inspired short story, Baba Yaga and the Ailing Child, was chosen, alongside my guest foreword, for inclusion in the Kyanite Press Journal of Speculative Fiction: Fables and Fairy Tales Winter Digest. It tells the tale of a community, living on the edge of the woodland inhabited by... Continue Reading →
On the Importance of Fairy Tales Published in the Kyanite Press Journal of Speculative Fiction Fairy Tales and Fables Winter Digest
Thrilled that my article, On the Importance of Fairy Tales, was used as the guest foreword in the Kyanite Press Journal of Speculative Fiction Fables and Fairy Tales Winter Digest. In this short foreword I look briefly at the roots of traditional story telling and their inherent shared authorship; at how they act as societal mirrors;... Continue Reading →
Victorian Inventions: A Whistle-Stop Tour Part 1
What better way to celebrate #Inventorsmonth this August then to take a whistle-stop tour of some of the astounding discoveries and marvellous inventions that came out of the Victorian era? The period was awash them, not least because of the technologies that were precipitated by the Industrial Revolution that preceded it and the boom of... Continue Reading →
More Than Just a Bookshop…
A few weeks ago, I blogged about the dwindling number of independent bookshops in Bookshops Vs. The Internet: Is This the Reality? Though, prior to coming to Berlin, I’d read about a fantastic example of one that would be situated just under my feet, a couple of blocks north of our apartment. I’m pleased to... Continue Reading →
When Technology Fails: Pencil & Pen Vs. The Computer
A Microsoft automatic update completely corrupted my computer late last week and I’ve spent the best part of another week trying to reverse the damage. Finally, after a full factory reset I appear to have everything back and yet there was a point when I felt like hurling it from the 7th floor flat we’re... Continue Reading →