Creative Writing 



This section includes a variety of types of my less academic  writing:



The Other Diagonal  -  with pictures    text  only 

In 2014 I cycled from  Cape Wrath  in Sutherland to Broadstairs in Kent – this is the length of the island of Britain from north-west to south-east – the “other diagonal” in contrast to the more popular John O’ Groats to Lands End diagonal. I kept a diary and took photographs and  you can download as the resulting travelogue with and without pictures.

St Petersburg Fellowship

A Memoir of my first visit to St Petersburg in 1992 and the return visit of two Russian doctors the next year.  This describes one person's experience of an extraordinary time in history as well as the start of a partnership which was active for 15 years and whose participants are still in touch  (for which reason this text  although unpublished also appears in my academic works

Personal Pleasures

Inspired by the book with that title by the late Dame Rose Macaulay this is a collection of short reflections on the pleasures of life, as explained in the Introduction 

1.Gardening                                         2. Being in a Garden                       3. Sunflowers                   4. Knitting

5. Blackberrrying                                6 Churchgoing                                7. Having a Dog                 8. Cycling

9. Markets                                             10. Boating                                         11. Singing                     12, Clouds

13. Musical Theatre                             14. Potting                                           15. Silence                    16. Cooking

17 Harping                                          18 Christmas Decorations


Life in Avignon 

Since 2012 we have spent a third of year year in Avignon, and I have written accounts of various aspects of the life and culture of that part of France. Ultimately this may make a book, but  meanwhile here are the chapters written so far:

Christmas in Provence  Easter in Provence                     Summer in Provence                       Owning a flat (and garage) in Avignon 


Diary of an involuntary anchorite 

A diary kept during Covid lockdown, musing on our experience in the light of the life of medieval anchorites. This is the  third edition and includes a sermon on responding to plague given just before lockdown, some pieces written afterwards. and other additional material .

Another output from this was  a talk for Loretta's anniversary 2023 on "Travelling out and travelling in"


Daffodil

A short story inspired by finding a rather sad daffodil one cold March day - illustrated by my friend Nicky Lord 


When will they ever learn?

 A reflection on the war in Ukraine  written for the newsletter of the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship  in 2023


Coming Soon 

Lent at St Anselm’s - A tale of music, mystery, and vegetarian cookery in a cathedral city. 

My first attempt at a full length work of fiction 


Meatless meals for Lent 

 Edited by me but including contributions from a large number of people