Tag Archives: short story

La Savante

The view from the field is spectacular. Behind us rises the mountain, Round Seefin: domed, treeless, majestic. At the very top it is grey with scree, descending into dark brown scrubby heather, and then green patches of grass dotted with … Continue reading

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Service with a Frown

The Asia Supermarket on the corner of Agincourt Avenue and the Ormeau Road is an Aladdin’s Cave of delights. It is a hulking, windowless, rectangular block, which is partially obscured on the Ormeau side by dusty Rowan trees, and thick … Continue reading

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Racial Prejudice

Gate D, at Belfast International Airport, is drab, and cheap-looking. The shabby grey carpet and beige walls are brashly lit by fluorescent tubes set into the polystyrene-tiled ceiling. In a far corner of the room, one of the lights flickers … Continue reading

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Good Question

I’m tired this morning; not sleeping well these days. The sunshine glaring through the kitchen window hurts my eyes, and I blink repeatedly as I fill the kettle. The wee man is calm at the moment, watching a DVD. I … Continue reading

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Dirty Bomb

A short radio drama. The Cast: David: a trainee Environmental Health Officer. Jeremy: Senior Environmental Health Officer. David’s manager. The Scene: The interior of  the Environmental Health Protection Unit office, Linenhall Street, Belfast, July 2003. It is a Monday morning. … Continue reading

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Drumbeat

Pawel still hasn’t fully grasped the complexities of Belfast’s sectarian society. He is lying on the cold concrete of the entry. Yellow-edged, purple bruises are blossoming unseen on his body. Each breath stabs like a knife. He doesn’t know it … Continue reading

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Lessons in Love

My ten-year-old daughter is home from school bursting with excitement: Conor James – CJ – from her class wrote a letter to Joanne McCaffrey and it had a big heart on the envelope! He sneaked into the classroom in the … Continue reading

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Lost in Translation

The crash of the front door being slammed with great force jarred Jim uneasily awake from a pleasant and peacefully-stoned sleep. There followed the sound of running footsteps in the hall and then the thud of the back door; curious. … Continue reading

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Model Customer

269 Monrovia Street                                                 Augusto Maiale Uomo Belfast                                                                          Viale Primavera 354                                   BT7 3AR                                                                      00172 Roma                 … Continue reading

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Occupy

My 6 year-old daughter’s birthday present is a new bike. It is pink, of course, with Disney Princess decorations on it, and I have added shiny new stabiliser wheels. She is excited and can’t wait to go out on it, … Continue reading

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