Gary Strachan – "Write" Said Fred
Whimsical observations from deep within an erratic mind
Wednesday 4th April - Today, as I put pen to paper the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony from the Gold Coast, Australia, is playing out on the TV. As I start this paragraph six people (three men and three women) dressed in all white suits, not dissimilar in look to Hopkin in the 1970's TV series... Continue Reading →
In yesterday's narrative Neil Fraser’s Cricket Boots I wrote whimsically of northern England summers past. In particular my mother's futile obsession with her son's maintaining sartorial elegance on the cricket field. They were balmy summers in the mid to late 1970's. Times when the meteorological gods bequeathed us Brits three to four warm months a year.... Continue Reading →
I wrote yesterday of childhood haircuts in the narrative You’ll Thank Me One Day! In particular brother Ian and I having to sport short hair, a consequence of our mother (Maggie) strongly disapproving of styles longer than collar length. Appropriate male grooming wasn't mater's only obsession at the time. Her appearance fixation also extended to the... Continue Reading →
Unless you're a snowman, a young child who likes sledging/throwing snowballs or own a grit salt production company, I presume you opine this current weather to be a putrid carbuncle on the UK's façade. Before proceeding, I acknowledge my opening paragraph describing Blighty's present meteorology was over-egging the melodrama, however I didn't want to just... Continue Reading →
The old Penny-Farthing bicycle, Dennis Potter's play Pennies from Heaven, priceless stamp the Penny Black and amusement halls Penny Arcades - All deriving their monikers from the centuries old penny coin. "See a penny. Pick it up. All day long you'll have good luck." an adage my mum occasionally proffered to her offspring during their... Continue Reading →
My train journey back from Newcastle to Leeds on Sunday afternoon passed swiftly. My ninety minutes in situ of the Trans-Pennine locomotive predominantly spent writing, along with chatting to a diminutive middle-aged Gateshead woman en route to her daughter's in Bradford. This lady, short of mane and even shorter of legs was initially an affable... Continue Reading →
Yesterday, I received my latest literary offering Flibbertigibbet through the post - A tome containing further excerpts from narratives. Self-published, it contains predominantly light-hearted observations from the depths of my capricious psyche. A 150+ page synergy of diary entries previously published on my website writesaidfred.org . An amalgam of fiction and fact, I think of... Continue Reading →
This morning, I was reminded by a social media app that two years ago today I wrote the spoof new story below about my dad, who passed away in October 2017...... I miss the old man terribly - What I'd give today to see him squabbling with the Connie Club committee over subscription fee costs.................. Continue Reading →
Early this morning I posted a fairly unremarkable photo on Instagram. The aforementioned a picture of my garden, recently rendered almost monochrome by 'Beast from the East' snow drifts and West Yorkshire's foreboding grey skies. While editing the photograph, prior to publishing it on social media, I formed an opinion that finding the most effective... Continue Reading →