Blog

Martin tutted and looked at the map of the Christmas market stalls. “It’s all higgledy piggledy, Ann. There’s no rhyme or reason to any of it! A handmade wooden gifts stall next to a raclette stall selling smelly cheese, a local artist selling paintings next to a stall with handmade hats…” He sighed. “The food should be in one section, handicrafts in another, fine art in another. That would allow us to make the most of our time here.” Ann smiled her patient smile. “I like the

Sandra looked out over the beach at the waves and the horizon. Beryl licked her ice cream cone and sat down on a bench. “It’s hardly Torremolinos, is it?” Beryl complained. “Oh, Beryl, there’s a whole world out there that isn’t Torremolinos…” Beryl snorted: “Nice, Cannes, Rio de Janeiro…Rhyl…” She waved her hands around: “The last time we were here Edward Heath was Prime Minister. They got a new Sun Centre but the rain hasn’t changed much.” Sandra adjusted her rain hat: “It’s

Sally winced as she said: “Now we go live to Damien Day on the touch line at the FA Cup Final. Who do you have with you, Damien?” Damien looked earnestly into the camera and replied: “Ted Bennett, the Chief Executive of Berkhampton FC is with us. Ted, what a journey it’s been for your team! The giant killers who got all the way to the final. How are you feeling?” Ted stared blankly: “Yeah. Good.” Damien coughed and added: “You’re up against one of the biggest teams in world f

Victor glared at Pippa. “It’s all the noise and disruption! We’ve had two vans blocking the cul de sac for hours now, and I can’t hear Gardener’s Question Time above the inane chatter about EastEnders…,” he said, barely pausing for breath. “Then, there was the unfortunate incident with the wheelbarrow and Mrs Warboys. She was traumatised by falling in it and it careering off down the close like that. They simply shouldn’t have left it where they did…” Pippa sighed: “Well, the

Philomena Cunk looked blankly at Professor Brian Cox. “You’ve just told me the world’s going to end but you’re smiling. What’s wrong with you, Brian Cox?” she asked. Professor Cox laughed: “It’s a long time in the future. Neither of us will see it happen.” Cunk shrugged: “You don’t know that. They’re making amazing scientific discoveries all the time, aren’t they?” “Yeees,” Professor Cox replied, hesitantly. “They could find some AI-powered bot we could all get downloaded int

Dan put down his large mug of tea, pushed away his fried eggs, and glared across the cafe table at Jo and Brian. “You two just don’t understand! I need to get this risk assessment done to impress Emma! She’ll never go out with me if I don’t, and she’ll get into the headteacher’s bad books too…it’s not easy being a deputy head…” Dan sighed and stood up. “It’s all to do with the new Martyn’s Law that’s going through parliament now and how it will affect the running of the s

Louisa looked across the table at her husband. He was gripping the newspaper and hiding behind it. "Martin…I asked what we're doing for Valentine's Day!" She sighed and shook her head. "I don't know why I bother…" she muttered. Martin coughed: "Umm, haven't had time to think about it. Taking the GP practice back on has meant a lot of paperwork. Staff training records need to be updated, patient records need refiling properly, and no one has cleaned the instruments in months."

Jenny looked glumly at Adam over the top of her cocktail. "Yes, the job's going well…so well that I hardly ever see Pete or little Adam…and Pete's threatening to cancel Valentine's Day…" she said, sighing. "Well, little Adam's not so little now, is he? Even if you were at home all day, I suspect you'd barely see him. Maybe a grunt as he leaves the house in the morning," Adam said, cheerily. "And Pete's too much of an old softy to cancel Valentine's Day. He'll have bought the

Shona smiled coldly at Sebastian. “Well, some of us have already had extensive experience of filming instructional videos for Air Scotia, so it’s no surprise that I was chosen to front this latest staff training film,” she said, stomping off to the cockpit with Captain Duff’s coffee. “Oh dearie me!” said Sebastian and Steve in unison. Sebastian huffed: “She’s been swanning about Prestwick Airport like Catherine Zeta Jones in The Terminal. It’s all ‘how’s this lighting on my s

Jim Hacker looked around at his new department. “So this is what the Ministry of Transport looks like,” he said, sighing. One minute you’re riding high in Number 10, the next you’re back to the coal face after a series of unfortunate scandals and a resignation letter that pledges loyalty to the party while stepping down as Prime Minister. His oily replacement had sent Bernard to tell him he’d been given the departmental poison chalice. “It’s a fantastic opportunity, minister,

Blakey flashed Stan and Jack a filthy look. “You pair had better start taking this seriously,” he snapped. “The Luxton and District Motor Traction Company has to comply with all environmental legislation and we’re going for an ISO 14001 in environmental management, which is why we’re switching to electric vehicles. We need to reduce our pollution, improve the company’s reputation, and attract the right sort of contracts from organisations that expect us to do our bit to comba

Pete closed the lid of his laptop and looked glumly at Sue. “I thought we’d get some peace and quiet now they’ve all moved out, but they’re ALL coming back for Christmas…,” he said. “Lovely!” Sue replied. “Lovely? Where are they all going to sleep?” Pete asked. “They’ll have to stay in their old bedrooms,” Sue said, stirring the pot of pasta sauce on the stove. “In those single beds? With their partners? And Jake has the baby…and there’s your sister…,” Pete put his head in hi

Ernie strode through the theatre and stood in front of the stage. He turned around to face Eric. “This is the perfect place for the play what I wrote!” he said, beaming. Eric pushed up his glasses. “Technically, it’s the pantomime what you wrote…oh yes it is!” he replied. Ernie nodded: “Glenda Jackson’s signed on to play the Wicked Stepmother, and I’ve asked Andre Previn to play Buttons…” Eric laughed: “Mr Preview! And Angela Rippon is a high-kicking Fairy Godmother…all your

Crowley sighed and looked at all the piles of books in Aziraphale’s book shop. “How can you work like this? There’s paper everywhere!” Crowley said, gesturing around him. Aziraphale smiled weakly. “It’s my business!” he replied. Crowley snorted. “When was the last time you sold a book?” Aziraphale shifted uncomfortably. “1942,” he replied. Crowley laughed. “More book collection storage than shop, then!” Aziraphale sighed. “Now we’ve prevented the Apocalypse, I have no excuse,

PC Reg Deadman ran into the pub and shouted: “Put that light out!” Phoebe ran to the window and adjusted the blackout. “Sorry Reg! It slipped. Won’t happen again!” Reg smiled. “I know, but I’ve got to treat you and Gary like everyone else. Being an ARP warden in the evenings is such a responsibility!” Gary looked up from his newspaper. “It is, Reg. It would help if buildings had better fire precautions, wouldn’t it?” Reg smiled: “It would, Gary! What sort of precautions do th

Having been a Mango partner since 2016, we have seen several updates to the software over the years. Mango is now part of the Global...

The headteacher stared across his desk and smiled. “No, Mr Wickers, I don’t think my cousin’s computer support company is failing Abbey Grove School,” he said. “It’s just teething problems!” Alfie Wickers sighed. “We’ve had no internet access for three weeks! How am I supposed to teach Class K history if I can’t access Wikipedia?” he said. Mr Fraser replied: “Books?” Alfie snorted: “Do you think the pupils of Class K read books?” Mr Fraser sighed: “OK, fair point, but I’ve g

Pat beamed: “I just love the Olympics! The opening ceremony, the athletics, the swimming, the volleyball…” He turned to Alison and asked: “Can we watch all of it?” Alison laughed and nodded: “We’ll leave two TVs on day and night for you. Whatever you want to watch.” Julian snorted: “Bet he won’t want to watch the archery!” Pat sighed: “Actually, I will. I was always fond of it. I won’t be put off just because one scout shot an arrow through my neck and killed me.” Alison rais

Jim looked confused. “No, no, no, no, no…yes,” he said. Geraldine smiled. “Brilliant! The village sports day wouldn’t be the same without...

Julia stomped over to the Green Man car park. Liz and Kevin were waiting with their children. “I don’t have much time,” she told them. “This events organiser role has me running around site all day, putting out fires and solving problems. I’m exhausted. ”She pulled out a plastic folder and handed it to Kevin. “Here are the VIP passes and an itinerary for you,” she added. Kevin gushed: “That’s brilliant, Julia. You’re just so good at this!” Julia shook her head. “If it wasn’t