Schrödinger’s Cat by Chris Green (no cats were harmed in the writing of this story) The train doesn’t stop. There are no stations, no visible settlements. No landmarks, no buildings, no farms, nothing. I don’t know where the train is heading. The terrain comprises miles upon miles of wilderness, woodland and barren scrub. I can’t … Continue reading Schrödinger’s Cat
Tag: music
The Start of Something Big
The Start of Something Big by Chris Green ‘There was no before the beginning of the universe, because once upon a time, there was no time. Big bang or no big bang, it makes no difference. Even if God created everything, the argument still stands. There, that solves that one, Vincent. That will save needless … Continue reading The Start of Something Big
All About Jazz
All About Jazz by Chris Green After the lunchtime rush, All About Jazz tends to be quiet in the afternoon. Things don’t pick up again until the evening. We are a small establishment down a side street on the edge of town. If you were driving along the main road out of town, unless you … Continue reading All About Jazz
Pub
Pub by Chris Green ‘You’re probably wondering why the pub is called The Skydog Slaver, aren’t you?’ Nigel Slough says. I am not. I have been coming here for several weeks. At first, I may have been curious about the name, but now I take it for granted. ‘I’m just going to take Murphy for … Continue reading Pub
Dingly Dell
Dingly Dell by Chris Green She strolls up the path between the floral borders and sits down on the bench next to mine. She says, hello, as if I am expecting her, or at least as if we know each other. She seems to be dressed for an occasion. She is wearing a carnation in … Continue reading Dingly Dell
Wipeout
Wipeout by Chris Green Most people in the UK associate surfing with Newquay, but Widemouth in North Cornwall was its original home. Widemouth is where the Australian pioneers of the sport came when they first arrived in the country to test the waters. Surfers will tell you that the bay has an easy paddle and … Continue reading Wipeout
Friday
Friday by Chris Green I am walking through a churchyard in rural Devon when I come across a plain gravestone which simply reads, Mark Friday, 1952- 2020. While you do not often get a lot of detail on headstones, it strikes me that although Mark Friday seems an interesting name, here we are told nothing … Continue reading Friday
The Crooning
The Crooning by Chris Green It first occurs to Merv McCann that he might be getting old when he hears a mournful ballad by Leo Sayer on the radio, the one about his love leaving in the morning on the early train, and turns it up to listen. Had this happened in isolation, he might … Continue reading The Crooning
A Saucerful of Secrets
A Saucerful of Secrets by Chris Green Having missed the campus coach to the free concert in Hyde Park, Mojo, Lenny and I were in Spike’s flat listening to the new Pink Floyd album, A Saucerful of Secrets. Spike had gone off to buy hash. Supplies had been getting low. Afghani Black, he said he … Continue reading A Saucerful of Secrets
Abracadabra
Abracadabra by Chris Green I have just pulled into the DIY superstore car park when I catch a snatch of Abracadabra on the new radio station I have found. Blitz plays nothing but rock, which is fine, as none of the other stations will touch it. I have not heard the Steve Miller Band recently … Continue reading Abracadabra
Nobody Home
Nobody Home by Chris Green I first met Floyd Singer when we moved to Darkbridge and I started at St Dominic's Junior School. This was a big move for my family and I did not know anyone there. Naturally, I was worried about how I was going to fit in at a strange new school … Continue reading Nobody Home
Dog Day Discs
Dog Day Discs by Chris Green I don’t know whose idea it was to come up with the ill-fated Dog Day Discs. I could have predicted the idea of someone picking their selection of the worst eight tunes of all time was never destined to be a winner. But G.O.O.D Radio went ahead with … Continue reading Dog Day Discs
Cor Anglais
Cor Anglais by Chris Green Sea mists have been building in strength over the last few weeks, and this is the worst one we’ve had. It’s a solid sheet of dense grey. Visibility is down a matter of feet. It is foolhardy to be walking along the narrow path. But the dogs next door were … Continue reading Cor Anglais
Now You See It, Now You Don’t
Now You See It, Now You Don’t by Chris Green The arbiters of taste are notoriously fickle. While The Moody Blues were cool in 1968, if you listened to their music a few years later, you would be considered a bit sad. But if anything their musical powers had grown. Their tunes became even better. … Continue reading Now You See It, Now You Don’t
Bunny Boiler
Bunny Boiler by Chris Green I hadn’t seen Guy Manson for nearly twenty years, so to find him in front of me at the checkout at Sainsbury’s was a bolt out of the blue. When I had last seen him, he and Sadie were moving to the Medoc in France. They had inherited some land. … Continue reading Bunny Boiler
Could Have Tripped Out Easy
Could Have Tripped Out Easy by Chris Green July 1966: Sunny Afternoon We are in the midst of a heatwave, there are smiles on people’s faces and Sunny Afternoon is Number One. It seems that the gloom and austerity of the post-war years, which in my nineteen years is all I have known, have finally … Continue reading Could Have Tripped Out Easy
It Takes a Train to Cry
It Takes a Train to Cry by Chris Green It is pitch black. I can make out no shapes at all. The bruising I can feel pretty much all over and the throbbing lump on the back of my head suggests I may have taken a savage beating. I am dressed in ripped jeans … Continue reading It Takes a Train to Cry
Blonde on Blonde
Blonde on Blonde by Chris Green How many roads must a man walk down, Dylan Song wonders? He has been trudging around the streets of Dalmouth for ages, yet he still can’t find the café where he is due to meet Frankie Lee. This is his fourth time around the shopping centre. His going round … Continue reading Blonde on Blonde
James Brown – The Godfather of Soil
James Brown – The Godfather of Soil by Chris Green Susanna and I were having a lunchtime glass of Chardonnay at Café Rouge. She had called me earlier at work. She had sounded a little distraught, so I had rearranged my diary for us to meet up. She suspected Charlie was seeing a younger woman. … Continue reading James Brown – The Godfather of Soil
Ki
Ki by Chris Green I have just taken a photo of the blue sea with the bank of cloud over the dark headland, when the stranger with the mirror sunglasses appears out of nowhere. He asks me if I am a professional photographer. ‘Not at all,’ I say. ‘It’s only a Canon PowerShot. But there … Continue reading Ki
Light
Light by Chris Green ‘Purple Haze was never Number 1,’ the girl at the bar says. ‘Nor was Strawberry Fields Forever. Odd for two such famous tunes, don’t you think?’ Matt is taken aback. It’s a strange way to open a conversation. Is she talking to him? He does not know her. He looks around … Continue reading Light
When I Was Older
When I Was Older by Chris Green When I was older, I was a saxophonist. I was one of the last living saxophonists before the instrument was banned and all saxophones were melted down to help the war effort. The trumpet suffered a similar fate. Brass instrument detection squads with sophisticated detection equipment were deployed … Continue reading When I Was Older
The Hurdy Gurdy Man
The Hurdy Gurdy Man by Chris Green It is after midnight. Lois and I are watching a nail-biting episode of Bad Break on Horizon when the old man in the threadbare purple duffle coat calls round. He is selling violins. In these uncertain times, traders are likely to call round at any time of day … Continue reading The Hurdy Gurdy Man
Nevermind
Nevermind by Chris Green Growing up was never going to be easy for me. I could see from an early age that my parents were simply too distracted to put effort into raising a family. In the circles in which they moved, parenting was not fashionable. They immersed themselves in a series of leisure interests, … Continue reading Nevermind
Concerto
Concerto by Chris Green 1: Allegretto con moto There are not many famous Spanish concert pianists, fewer still from Cantabria, that rainy green strip in the north of the country. Nia Buendía might have joined this small elite, if only she had had larger hands. She mastered Mozart’s Piano Sonatas before she was ten and … Continue reading Concerto
The Food of Love
The Food of Love by Chris Green 1: I’m Clinton Stroud. Some of you will have heard of me but for those of you who have not, I am composer, multi-instrumentalist and musical coach. A long-standing one to boot. I will be one hundred and twenty three next birthday. This is a little longer than … Continue reading The Food of Love
Earworm
Earworm by Chris Green I wake up for the third morning in a row with the chorus of Dominique going round in my head. I don’t understand where this can have come from. I have not heard The Singing Nun’s tiresome tune for fifty years. You have probably never heard The Singing Nun in which … Continue reading Earworm
Legend Bemusement
Legend Bemusement by Chris Green Charlotte walks in on me packing a travelling bag. She suspects, quite rightly, that I am off on a mission. I have not told her. I was leaving this until later. 'Going somewhere?' she asks. It is not a polite enquiry, more like the opening salvo of a pitched battle. … Continue reading Legend Bemusement
The Sadness of the Post-Truth Pianist
The Sadness of the Post-Truth Pianist by Chris Green You don’t hear Mozart a lot on the radio these days. While his music isn’t officially banned like that of Beethoven and Bach, playing it is strongly discouraged. You can no longer buy decadent European music in the shops. No Fauré, No Debussy, no Chopin and … Continue reading The Sadness of the Post-Truth Pianist
Hat Band
Hat Band by Chris Green A jazz musician making his way down an Exeter street on a Wednesday morning with a charity shop bag full of bargain books can hardly be blamed for failing to notice that he is being tailed by a tall, thin man in a dark overcoat. Musicians are more accustomed to … Continue reading Hat Band
Light Fandango
LIGHT FANDANGO by Chris Green July 1966: Sunny Afternoon We are in the midst of a heatwave, there are smiles on people's faces and Sunny Afternoon is at Number One. It seems that the gloom and austerity of the post-war years, which in my nineteen years is all I have known, have finally been stripped … Continue reading Light Fandango
CAT
CAT by Chris Green Ralph is at least nineteen years old. He is what's known as a mackerel tabby. My ex-partner's friend, Junko found him as a kitten at Catbrain Quarry and brought him round to the house. 'I've got a new cat for you,' Junko said. She knew our old cat had run away … Continue reading CAT
Chris Green Stories 