137 – an odd space essay by Chris Green Victor Malpas and his associate Leon Dusk made a killing in the initial dot-com boom. While many others had been working on it, they were the ones who came up with the encryption required to make secure financial transactions on the internet a reality. At least … Continue reading 137- an odd space essay
Tag: unreliable narrator
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
A Day at the Camel Races with Queen Cleopatra
A Day at the Camel Races with Queen Cleopatra by Chris Green They no longer race camels at Blue Anchor Bay. There are not even donkeys on the beach these days, and to be fair, not very much sand left. But back in the day, you would have been able to enjoy a day out … Continue reading A Day at the Camel Races with Queen Cleopatra
Gone Fishing
Gone Fishing by Chris Green I have no recollection of how I arrived at this remote place or where it might be. I have lost my phone, and have no means of checking my location. I have trudged several miles through dense wild scrub. The only feature I have come across was an old pickup … Continue reading Gone Fishing
Bob Marley’s Surfboard
Bob Marley’s Surfboard by Chris Green I don't have Bob Marley down as a surfer. To me, surfing conjures up images of blond hair, VW campers, and The Beach Boys. Although I have never been to Jamaica, it is hard to imagine the tough Trenchtown environment Bob grew up in would have offered many opportunities … Continue reading Bob Marley’s Surfboard
On the Origin of On the Origin of Species
On the Origin of On The Origin of Species by Chris Green The port of Falmouth boasts a rich maritime history. It has all the right features for seafaring. The River Fal has a wide estuary and Falmouth has the deepest natural harbour in Europe. It was turned from a sleepy village where Cornish fishermen … Continue reading On the Origin of On the Origin of Species
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 years … Continue reading The Start of Something Big
Back in Time for Tea
Back in Time for Tea by Chris Green It was Monday morning, but I was not pressed for time. I was off work. An old Tai Chi injury had flared up, and I had been told to rest. I was sorting out things that in my busy schedule at the kite repair workshop, I never … Continue reading Back in Time for Tea
Ceci n’est pas Une Batte
Ceçi n’est pas une batte by Chris Green Not many people realise that the surrealist painter, René Magritte was a big fan of English cricket. He discovered cricket by accident in a newspaper article in the 1930s. Although he had a reasonable command of English, the unfamiliar language baffled him. Innings, runs, overs, wickets, stumps, … Continue reading Ceci n’est pas Une Batte
The Startling Discovery of Phlogiston
The Startling Discovery Of Phlogiston by Chris Green Things started getting weird around here some time ago, following the startling discovery of phlogiston. The previous belief, kept alive for many years by charlatans, was that everything was made up of 118 elements, all arranged neatly by the number of protons, electron configurations and recurring chemical … Continue reading The Startling Discovery of Phlogiston
Sven of Halmstad
Sven of Halmstad by Chris Green Church attendance had been dropping for years. In the age of science and discovery, it seemed no one was able to swallow the fantastic tales of strife and salvation in the middle east as the basis for their belief. Stories like this might be OK for a fantasy novel, … Continue reading Sven of Halmstad
DNA
DNA by Chris Green ‘Your blood pressure is a little on the high side this morning, Max,’ says Dee. ‘You have remembered to take your beta-blockers, haven’t you?’ ‘Yes, Dee,’ I say. ‘I took them twenty minutes ago, and I even washed them down with the blueberry biojuice you recommended. I should be OK now, … Continue reading DNA
The Life and Times of Roy Saxx
The Life and Times of Roy Saxx by Chris Green I'd better start at the end. Roy Saxx is dead. He met his maker in September 2011 when he lost control of his Triumph motorcycle on a blind bend in a freak thunderstorm near the aptly named village of Kilve in the Quantock Hills. He … Continue reading The Life and Times of Roy Saxx
FIFTY – five vignettes
FIFTY – five vignettes by Chris Green Fifteen: It is May 1967. I am fifteen years old. I am walking through Wellesley Park with my friends, Dave, and Keith. I should be at school but I’m not. Dave is two years older than me and should be at college but he’s not, and Keith has … Continue reading FIFTY – five vignettes
YODEL
Yodel by Chris Green I took up yodelling to fight depression. I had lost my job at the packaging plant and Laura had left me. Everything came tumbling down. Each day seemed blacker than the one before. I felt unable to cope, couldn’t see any point in carrying on. I began to think of how … Continue reading YODEL
It’s Not Unusual
It’s Not Unusual by Chris Green 1: Because of my vertigo, crossing the Severn Bridge has always been a problem for me. On account of my phobia, as I live in the south of England, I don’t tend to visit Wales. I don’t even know any Welsh people. I once worked with a Dewi Davies … Continue reading It’s Not Unusual
Tilting At Windmills
Tilting At Windmills by Chris Green There was always something about Karl Oscuro that didn't fit. You couldn't quite put your finger on what it was, but from the very first he seemed to be more than just the proverbial square peg. He had a pale complexion and always dressed in black, but then, so … Continue reading Tilting At Windmills
MISSING
Missing by Chris Green Not wishing to start the day just yet, I listen to the springtime chirping of the birds outside the window while I piece together the events of last night. The concrete that seems to be lining my head lets me know I had a fair bit to drink. I got in … Continue reading MISSING
Barber, Ball and Bilk
Barber, Ball and Bilk by Chris Green The opportunity to see Barber, Ball and Bilk, the three B’s as they are being billed, in Bridgedown is too good to pass by. Bridgedown is eighty miles away and I don’t drive, but the train journey from Sheepdip Halt is easily doable. It involves just one change, … Continue reading Barber, Ball and Bilk
Just The Way It Is
Just The Way It Is by Chris Green A second did not seem an important integer, but therein lay the problem. It was such a small unit of time. Yet, such was the degree of precision operating in the overcrowded skies that if Quincey Sargent had returned from his break seven seconds earlier or seven … Continue reading Just The Way It Is
Isn’t It Good, Norwegian Wood
Isn't It Good, Norwegian Wood by Chris Green Rubber Soul is my favourite Beatles album. It is the album in which John Lennon raises his game. In My Life is surely one of the most perfectly crafted pop songs ever, Girl is sublime, and still there is the enigmatic Norwegian Wood. Norwegian Wood with its … Continue reading Isn’t It Good, Norwegian Wood
Retriever
Retriever by Chris Green Einstein posits that the distinction between past, present and future is no more than a stubbornly persistent illusion. I can see where he was coming from this morning as I go through the mail. This certainly seems like the same CheapCall bill I received the day before yesterday. And the same … Continue reading Retriever
2015 – An Odd Space Essay
2015 – An Odd Space Essay by Chris Green I will be 119 next birthday. In my lifetime, I have seen the birth of the motor car, the aeroplane, radio and television, domestic power, antibiotics, the gramophone record and sliced bread. Let us not forget the vacuum cleaner, the ballpoint pen, the electric guitar, the … Continue reading 2015 – An Odd Space Essay
Chris Green Stories 