The two-week wait on the kiln was doing her head in. Once it’s in, it’s in—and that’s it. Nothing to do but wait, which she’s never been any good at. Hands already on the next idea before the last one’s finished. So she needed something else to get on with. Bro was coming down for […]
tuck in my head like an alarm on snooze — why did she latch? She sat there for weeks. Free rent.And the longer she stayed, the louder she got. Not loud in the way people talk.Loud in the way someone moves. Never still. Never settled. She gets agitated doing nothing.Hands always busy. Always halfway through […]
The boat became an impossible project because we let it. At the start it was just a bit chaotic. A few jobs open at once. Nothing unusual. But the electrics had been fiddled with, extra pipework had been added for hot water, insulation had been started but not finished. Everywhere you looked there was something […]
Welcome to Assafra – this is our space, our stories. Hopefully, some of them will resonate, tell you about us and let you recognise some of yourself in here. All my life, We’ve had a busy mind, lots of noise – this has resulted in the right choices, and the wrong ones. I hide the […]
Full steam ahead. Flasks of hot coffee steaming in the wind. Gloves on, boots on—we’re going to crack this. Wasteland into an allotment. Our own food. A shared goal, a shared vision. Rotavator powered. Wheelbarrows ready. Shovels and forks going.Three, two, one—let’s go. We lift, we move. Pull out brambles. Clear shit from the 80s […]
The ground crunches—hopefully for the last time.Water like crystals hangs on the edges. Another frost stalking our plans. Too early.The delicate babies, planted with care—lost. Withered. Blackened. Burnt and eaten by the frost. Too soon. Back to the plans. Sow some more. This time, keep them indoors. The greenhouse. It was so warm—we were fooled. […]
I once turned a small problem into a full day’s work by refusing to leave it alone. It started with something minor. A settings issue on the iMac — nothing serious, just one of those slightly irritating things that makes you feel like the system isn’t quite “right.” I told myself I’d fix it quickly. […]
Batteries do not last forever. You can only take out what you put in. Solar is as practical as sliced bread. Keep a good supply of diesel. There is no such thing as too much coal in winter. Starting a fire does not equal warmth. Not immediately. Take on water every time you pass a […]
The last week was worse than watching paint dry. It was watching grout dry. A version of a shower had arrived.Hot water too. Hot water had been a fight—willpower against space. We won. Just. A week earlier we’d been jumping around like kids. High fives. Laughing as hot water came through the kitchen tap. Now […]
It took a moment to realise what was happening. As my eyes adjusted, I could see my breath—like a kettle left boiling. Cold on my lips, while the rest of me was wrapped in warmth under the duvet and two dogs. Winter had arrived. The fire had gone out. Frost traced the window above the […]
It was cold enough in the evening to relight the fire. It had been off all summer. Now, for the first time, we saw its glow properly—warm orange light filling the space we’d built. The smell of melting dog fur cut through it. They hadn’t worked it out yet—curl up too close, and you singe […]
Its warm. Dusty sky through the window. Bats breaking the stillness. Dogs snoring, lit by a dull orange glow. Drip. Ignore it. Drip. It’s nothing. Drip. It’s been raining. Drip. Did I tighten the stern gland? Drip. We’ll be full by morning. Silence behind me. Drip. Legs slide out from under the dogs. Torch. Inspect. […]
Oh no. Rip the sheets off the bed. Hide the evidence. First time—embarrassment. Second time—what’s happening? Why is the duvet soaked? Inspection. Not me. Not pee. Condensation behind the walls. Leaky windows. All gathering pace. A river that comes at night—when the boat’s warm and it’s raining outside. Boat life. A new category. Intervention. Immediate […]
We set off at 7am to get back in time. It was Mam’s wedding day. Family, celebration, the whole thing. But that wasn’t why we left early. Now I had a plan. Get home, do the hellos, then straight back out — Barnsley. Last of a litter of Jack Russell pups. His balls hadn’t dropped […]
It was the perfect place for an evening dog walk. The main paths were well lit, opening out into wide fields, then narrowing into bushy clusters and small wooded dells. Plenty to explore. Dog heaven. It was a long walk that night. Leads off — Thug gone at full speed, Mutley chasing. That’s how they […]
Even in the dark I could see his white collar. My foot was throbbing. Too tight for my boot, but I wasn’t stopping. As I slid my hands under him, I braced for stiffness. But he sagged. His spine was gone. Snapped clean from the impact. People kept offering to help. All I could manage […]
This was my second explosion, but this one was close. Not from afar. The volume and intensity left me rattled. The smack from the oven door felt like I’d been kneecapped, and across the boat the front doors were flapping open, the bolts snapped clean off. Their face was total surprise. I know they like […]
The blood hits you before you even step inside. Wet splatters across the walls and ceiling like something out of a horror film. Not a bit of blood — a lot. Enough to tint the white light from the front door panel pink. Then you see them. Three dogs. Sitting on the stairs like butter […]
It starts with the pain — my shins scraped raw and the crack of my jaw on flagstone. Then shock, as cold water steals my breath, followed by confusion. My eyes open. I turn. The propeller. All of this happens in seconds. I’ve been here before. I need to get out before I drown. I’d […]
I’d moored up beside the weir. It was my first day alone with the boat. My uncle and his friend had brought it on the first stretch — I’d joined them just south of Leicester and taken over to get it home to London. The weather had been mixed, and the two weeks had been […]
I could feel the pasticy metal smell burning the inside of my nose – I knew exactly what it was and as the sword came closer against my throat, the only thing I remember thinking as the event unfolded was “Bollocks”. It started off pretty usually, the guy I was working with had been in […]
The morning walk had been longer than usual. When they got back, the other half looked shaken. Properly shaken. Macy was fine—wandering around as she always did—but the back of her coat was covered in something thick and unpleasant. Slime, foam… something worse. After a cup of tea, the story came out. Macy had been […]
The main cast stood at the foot of the stage, doing what the main cast do—chatting, pacing, looking like they belonged there. I’d got lucky. Lacking any real acting talent, I’d assumed I’d be buried somewhere off-stage. Instead, thanks to a fairly bearish build, I was cast as the bear. One direction:come on, take a […]
It’s a warm afternoon in late August, maybe early September, and the smell from the river is high and thick with rot. Salmon. They come here every year to spawn, work their way upriver, do what they came to do, then die. A few days later they’re floating back out again, spent and splitting in […]
The vegetable curry I served that evening had a strange gritty texture. My friends said things like “delicious” and “this is great” while quietly pushing large pieces of carrot and cauliflower around their plates rather than actually eating them. It was my first dinner party at university. At the time I believed I was quite […]