The Twins’ Twins

Rayn, a self-made businesswoman is in infinite danger of being arrested for domestic violence against Nathanial, her partner. She flees Western Australia and ends up in a hastily agreed house swap at the foot of Muckish Mountain in Donegal, Ireland.
Friendless and alone she becomes involved with 20-year-old identical twins, Isaac and Raphael. The twins play a game where they both make love to her.
Rayn is horrified to find she is pregnant. She plans to have an abortion in England.
Both the twins believe they are the father. Isaac wants her to have an abortion.
Raphael cancels her appointment at the London clinic.
Rayn becomes suicidal. She climbs Muckish to end her life under the Whispering Waterfall.
But this is Ireland. Things are not always as they seem.

The Last of the Lucky Childhoods

This is the story of my childhood recollections while growing up in Glasgow. The streets were still for kids and we knew how to make our own fun, though some of the mischiefs we got up to may not be classed as fun nowadays.

If we were poor, we didn’t realise it; if we were ill-treated, we thought of it as normal. Kids didn’t complain in those days (or they got a ‘slap across the lug’). Kids knew their place, we just got on with life and enjoyed it to the fullest.

As Billy Connolly would say: “What I’m about to tell you is true…well mostly.”

If any of my old pals, relatives, or friends recognise themselves on these pages, you’re most likely right…but I have changed the names (in some instances) to protect the guilty!

Thread of Fate

A friendship first made on a 1950s holiday, a document unsigned at the last moment, the suggestion made by a stranger, a photograph taken in Spain, all elements in a chain of events leading to a totally unexpected romantic encounter quite late in life.

This is the story of a childhood in the 1930s, taking us through carefree days at the seaside, when it is never too young to fall in love. An account of wartime on the east coast and day-to-day work behind a pharmacy counter in those long, dark years, is interlaced with notes on severe winters from a daily 80-year record kept by a dedicated amateur weatherman.

Along the way there are accounts of incidents of a supernatural nature, how a smoking habit may have saved a life which it took away in later years, encounters with fire, in one case a little too close for comfort.

Readers can form their own opinion as to whether the happenings set down in these pages are just a matter of random chance, or is there indeed a guiding thread of predestination leading to a totally unexpected change of lifestyle.

Through the Eyes of a Security Operative

The author, T Mogford, after working within the security sector for over 25 years wanted to write this book to give the public an insight into the work and things that they see on a day-to-day basis within this industry. From his time working as a doorman to eventually working as a Crown Court Security Supervisor, it is filled with insights of the author’s years working in this environment and in his opinion how two days are never the same, where one quiet day could turn very volatile on the turn of a sixpence. ‘You just never know who is going to come through the front doors’ is just one of his sayings. How he works on the front line with his staff so they are the first point of contact. The author explains the qualities you need to be able to do this work to the best of your ability. Terry has written this from extracts from his diaries that he has kept over the years as well as from memories.

Thursday’s Child Had Far to Go

Training Indian village children to look after buffaloes, instructing girls to use a sewing machine, running adult literacy classes for rural women – Did Betty Robinson in her Youth Employment Office in Dunfermline in the 1950s and 1960s realise where her application for missionary training with the London Missionary Society would take her? Three years of missionary training did not prepare her for that. A buffalo and a sewing machine can literally save a village and give its children a future.

Then romance and marriage to a fellow Scot, Leslie Robinson, General Surgeon and Medical Superintendent at the Church of South India’s hospital in Chickballapur, Karnataka.

To Cry No More

Can you remember the last time you cried?

Life can take many directions. Each path leads to a different result. Which one you choose is determined by the previous path. 

How do we decide which path to take?

Linda’s paths could have been determined from her birth, her upbringing or the tears that flowed from her falls and tumbles or the joys and jubilations.

This is the true story about Mazie, who demonstrates that no matter what life throws at you, there is always another door to walk through, another path to follow. She shows that strength and willpower can turn any bad experience around and that no matter how hard, sometimes it’s just best to walk away.

Linda’s successes were through pure fight and determination. Her courage allowed her to see through her horrific childhood, her traumatic motherhood and her final moments with her true love.

Follow Linda’s paths entwined with pure emotion. Which path would you have taken? How many tears would you have shed?

What Now

What Now is written to assist people through times of change. It’s particularly relevant in these very trying times of COVID-19. It is not a how-to manual; it’s an entertaining and humbling account of how one person discovered the most powerful transformation force of all! How he recreated himself after being unceremoniously sacked from the job he had dreamed about as a teenager.

What Now tells the story of how a barefoot and frightened little boy from the remote bush of Australia went on to play State of Origin for Queensland, represent Australia and achieve his dream of being a Head Coach, leading the London Broncos alongside Sir Richard Branson onto the hallowed turf of Wembley Stadium. After tragically losing his father at the tender age of three, he unconsciously sought out older people as role models.

In his story, Dan Stains reflects on his quest in search of the most powerful transformational force available. The lessons he uncovered on this journey lead the reader on a path to reveal their own What Now. The rollercoaster ride takes the reader on a sometimes uneasy and humbling path. From the foothills of East Cooyar, to the raucous applause of screaming fans at the best football stadiums in the world, Dan discovers that the ‘open sesame’ to change is by simply loving all of life, including and especially yourself, and the rest is taken care of.

What's The Worst That Can Happen?

In 2006, I was told by a spirit guide that I would write a book. Yes, I see spirits. “That sounds good but what story had I to tell? Tell the story of how you came from the slums of Glasgow, pushed away your gifts of ‘sixth sense’ and rediscovered them as an adult.” Okay, from the slums of Glasgow to discovering that you’re a psychic in your late forties sounds good but the part in between might sound uninteresting. “Think about it,” I was told, “You will soon be given the opportunity to write.” My life was to follow two paths; communicating with spirit and learning to replace fear with love. My guidance came from two sources; spirit and dreams. My childhood had been a ‘lie’ and I came to realise that much of my adult life was a ‘lie’ also. I wasn’t quite the person that I thought I was. During my childhood I had been the victim of abuse from an adult who I trusted. Unfortunately, I continued with this habit as an adult and would have difficulty facing up to anything. I had two options: run, as I had been doing, or face the truth about myself. I opted for the latter. Today I do not acknowledge negativity. I learn from every experience and think positively. It does help somewhat when the guidance that I receive is ‘out of this world!’

Where's Me Teeth

From the mystery of the missing teeth to the urine sample for a goldfish. From the hapless gardener who mows through a power cable, to the debate over fresh or frozen ice to be used in a drink. Why can’t you send an octopus through the post, yet you can take your parrot for a walk?

The frustration caused by the jobsworths of this world and automatic/robotic telephone answering machines.

A humorous and tongue-in-cheek observation of daily life and society. You could not make this up. Life is really stranger and funnier than fiction.

White Socks and Chalk Dust

Proof that truth is often stranger than fiction, this hilarious and poignant account of the unlikely journey of a mobile soft-drink salesman and sometime band member to school headship, is made still more compelling by virtue of the fact that all events leading up to and during this metaphorical mountain climb are entirely true…

Why I Wrote wot I Wrote

As Joanna Lumley notes in her preface, Bruce Denness has always trod a precarious path between serious science and philosophical frivolity. The science reached its peak at the British Geological Survey and Newcastle University in the 1970s but even then – and certainly since – he always looked for the funny side of whatever he was involved in, which may explain why his research has seldom been taken seriously.

Bruce was born in 1942 on a farm in the Isle of Wight, where he grew up. His career then took him to the mainland (or England, as it is known on the Isle of Wight) and several countries in the Caribbean, South America and the Far East before he settled back on the Island again in 1984. Experiences gained during those years have contributed to the many letters that Bruce has since had published, mainly in The Telegraph and New Scientist. Admittedly, some of them may also have been influenced by regular visits to The White Horse Inn at Whitwell, Isle of Wight for invigorating Shiraz treatment.

Writing in Wet Cement

All these years later, nightmares of that marriage wrack my sleep. Heart pounding, I am cowering, running, trying to escape. My whimpers awaken the man now beside me, who loves me with only sweetness, kindness and laughter. He cradles me, dragging me back from the past into the joy and safety of my current life. I stare into the darkness of the night and memories. I wonder, not why did that marriage fail, but why did I allow it to last so long? To the outside world, it looked perfect. Only my mother and closest friends knew the inside reality of my life and how I was caught in the velvet trap of psychological abuse. Jayne Lisbeth was a privileged child, yet death and loss tore apart her world from an early age. The explosion of the free love and feminist movements of the 60s and 70s provided a renaissance, which slipped away during her marriage and motherhood in the 80s. Then, discovering her mother's past secrets illuminated the connections between their generations. Through that she found the courage to escape and create a new future. In deeply personal ways, Ms. Lisbeth reveals the depths of pain and elevation of joy by sharing her most intimate life experiences through sensually evocative words and painterly writing. Writing in Wet Cement is a tale which resonates with all women.