Stories
Stephanie Wolfe Murray in 10 Scenes
The script for the play we put on for my Mother’s 70th birthday party. It looks neat and tidy here but putting it on was chaotic and I’m still ashamed of my unwillingness to cooperate (I can’t stand acting). But thanks to Monica, Alina and my brothers it came off. And this is a neat little summary of Stephanie’s life. RWM
Galo Desaparecido
One line: We had a rooster, now we don’t. Two lines: A friend decided our four hens needed a rooster, and somehow got us one. It stayed in the coop for half an hour, then fled. We couldn’t catch it, then it was gone. More lines: It was a beautiful rooster, burgundy feathers and a [...]
March to May
This could go on forever, but we all need to keep busy and sane, hence the rule: one paragraph per topic. 1.TIME UNDER THE BRIDGE. It was March and now it’s May. Last day of May and then it’s June. How can this be happening? Each day used to be bright and interesting, each day [...]
The black eyed lady of the lowlands
Some days ago Jackie lost the wag in his tail. Ian the gardener here said that tails are real tell-tale signs of a dog’s health. I contacted an on-line vet and you might be interested to see our correspondence. “My dog is in a lot of pain. He is nearly 4 years’ old. 3 years [...]
A game of monopoly
It came in a shiny tin box for Christmas. The Romanian version, with credit cards instead of cash. There were four of us: me and Alina; Lara, who is 9, and Luca who is 6. We laid the board out on the floor of the kids bedroom, which is a bit cramped. But we were [...]
The factory of my childhood
My heart sank as my eyes took in the view. Fallen concrete walls, debris reminiscent of bombing and an empty space that allowed me to see far beyond the railway, beyond the river, to the hills and the village tucked in their lap. We were on the train, just leaving Piatra Neamt, when this view [...]
Faf on the river – a Nikita entry for the WM blog
Saturday 31st of the 1st month of 2009 (january ) and we are off to our very own land to do some fun work, yipee. today we are to make some type of raised bed for somthing or other , growing plants i think , but for som unfathomable reason we must make a sort [...]
Stephanie’s News from the Laundry House
We had a weekend of dire weather warnings – a freezing wind from Russia would engulf us in the worst snows of the year – and it came to pass. Gavin and Margo came last Thursday before the icy onslaught began for a very long weekend (only left for Edinburgh today, Tuesday, with me) so [...]
A joke about Bush
One sunny day in January 2009, an old man approached the White House from across Pennsylvania Avenue, where he’d been sitting on a park bench. He said to the US Marine standing at the door “I’d like to see Mr Bush”. The Marine looked at the man and said, “Sir, Mr. Bush is no longer [...]
“even if the cockcrow heralds the dawn, sleep on”
By Magnus Wolfe Murray It was my day to go to the regional capital, Viana do Castelo, quite a nice Port town nestled between the sea and the mouth of the river Lima. I wanted to dig through an old register of watermills in Monção county, where we live. For some reason it’s held there, [...]
Monday was a day off
Monday was a day off, no school, no work, all out of the blue (no school memo). Ecstatic of course, we celebrated with another day trip. We are becoming experts in this. The key is not to plan much (which suits us just fine). Instead, we just go, usually to that ever-gripping place called “somewhereâ€. [...]
Pilates
I’m back from a Pilates class at the fitness centre across the road. It is one of those places so bright and modern you feel shabby, awkward and horribly obese as soon as you walk through the door. Light and colour flood every wall, fill every corner. Fitness equipment lines each room and spills into [...]