charles barrow's writing

I recently discovered a series of books called Everyman's Pocket Classics. Each volume is filled with short stories from a variety of well known authors (current to classic), and is arranged around a theme. Love Stories, Bedtime Stories, Christmas Stories, Cat, Erotic, Dog, Detective, Ghost, Wedding, Motherhood, the list goes on and on. They are handsome books with colourful covers, a stripy spine, and a built-in bookmark. They are hardbacks, but being 'Pocket' editions they come in at the size of a paperback. I like them a lot. My favourite theme is the one that focuses on cities, hence the volumes you see below - yes I realise that Russia is a country. F urther titles include  Berlin, Prague, Florence, and Rome. I've been picking up my copies in second-hand bookshops and paying only a few £££s for each one, which is great value. I love the city of London, it's somewhere I'll be visiting again very soon. I've enjoyed some great stays in Paris, and would lov...

I am intrigued by this picture. It's part of a hoard of found photos (or rather, a stack of negatives found in a junk shop) and it was taken sometime in the 1920s or 1930s. For me it evokes Brideshead, the inter-war years, the River Thames, Oxbridge, but in all events a bygone era. And who is the young man with the serious face? He's gazing, not at the photographer but deep into his own thoughts. What is his story? His name? Who is he rowing and where? Did he have a happy life? Make it through the war that is coming? Or does he fall into that lucky generation that was too young for the first and too old for the second, like my grandfather. Though I don't think he saw it that way. Copyright, on the back of the postcard, is credited to Pavey and Gilbert and there is a web address www.paveyandgilbert.co.uk but Google can't find it. As far as I can discover Pavey and Gilbert were a London couple who probably took this picture, and more, their names were on the packets h...

This picture intrigues me. I assume Kitty was a real person, peddling her wares in a London backstreet. Frying-pan Alley exists, I checked in the London A-Z, it's near Petticoat Lane. I bet Kitty had some stories to tell, after theatre crowds, gentlemen suitors, royalty maybe? Or a life of grinding poverty and a gin soaked old age? I hope not, I hope she had a good life and made a good end. I'm thinking Eliza Doolittle from My Fair Lady here. Photo is the author‘s own

Guilt has spurred me to check back here. I wrote in a previous post that I find I can be writing here or I can be writing my book and I don't always find it easy to keep up with both simultaneously. So I haven't been here but I have been working on John Mann book 3, At Day's End. I've been writing and editing. It has been slow going but I'm still on track to meet my own deadline, so I'm not worried. I've also been planning an exciting research trip back to London in December. I've got some story wrinkles to iron out, and I'm looking forward to hitting the streets on my fact finding mission. I want to research facts certainly but also sights, sounds, and smells. I want to make sure I capture something of the atmosphere of the big smoke.

The London Eye. Photo is author's own

St James Park London. Photo is author's own

Just got back from the first of two story research trips to London. What an amazing, inspiring City. I'm not sure I'd want to live there again (having lived there for a short time as a student) but I love to visit occasionally, and this time I had a very good reason. I went to do some research on some of London's parks for book 3 of John Mann's story, tentatively called John Mann - At Day's End. I'd been to these parks before but this time I needed to explore them, see what of London could be seen from them, generally get a sense of atmosphere, and take photographs. It was a great thing to do because a) research is always fun and I want to be sure I have my facts straight, and b) London is just inspiring and now I feel more energised creatively. 'Tired of London, tired of life.' as someone famous once said. I can't wait to visit again soon.