Every photographer hates to think about ‘the one the got away’, the best picture you’ll ever capture in your life that you’ve missed, the spectacular image that has gone for good. A bit like the musician who can never recapture the sound that he once played on the keyboard, never to be recalled, they call…
The Good Day
“You utter, utter, bastard!” I threw the wine in my glass all over my boyfriend’s face, then watched it drip off his handsome features, onto the sparkling silver cutlery and then bleed into the pure white tablecloth. His face above the impeccable designer-label jacket was a picture of astonishment, and out of the corner of…
Without a Trace
I ran in front of the speeding truck and held my hand up in the ‘halt traffic’ gesture, closing my eyes in abject terror. The screech of air brakes nearly deafened me. But a split-second later the quivering metal engine was rumbling a few feet from my nose, the world a seething aroma of burnt…
One Man Band
My lottery ticket had the winning numbers! I looked up the website on my phone and discovered that although it wasn’t a major win, it was worth about twenty grand, pretty much a fortune to me. “What are you messing about at, Simon?” yelled my horrible boss Marian from the customer’s shop area, bringing…
Rite of Passage
“Do you think it’s possible to see into the future?” asked Giles, his hand trembling as he downed one of the four glasses of whisky on the bar in front of him. “How on earth should I know?” I told him as I walked past, wishing I had not chosen to come into the pub…
Cleaning Up
“Get off me!” I yelled as I punched my boss in the mouth and then kicked him in the balls. I had just managed to fight free from his clumsy attack. He had ripped open my blouse, torn at my dress and unfastened his trousers. If it hadn’t been for my training course in unarmed…
Cold Comfort
“This lady dragged my head above the water, then managed to pull me to the seashore, where my parents hadn’t even realised I’d got out of my depth,” Andy said, leaning forward on the table. “Honestly, that lady risked her life, swam out to sea in a dangerous current to save me, and then she…
Expert Advice
In my dream the beautiful girl leant down over me and gathered up her long blonde hair away from her face before kissing me passionately. The next thing I knew I felt a huge thump in my chest, followed by lots more hard regular, agonising pressings. “Bloody hell, he’s alive!” I heard someone say as…
Vicious Circle
As the crane lifted the wrecked car into the sky I saw a man in the front seat, waving his arms frantically and shouting words I couldn’t hear. “Stop!” I yelled into my phone, to Bernard, my boss who was driving the crane. He had been just about to lower the vehicle into our ‘crusher’,…
Coming Home
“Put it down you little pansy!” “Who do you think you are, a little girl, is it?” So saying, my brothers took away my lipstick and threw it down a drain. Then they rubbed mud into my hair and face, then they punched and kicked me, leaving me in the gutter as they ran away…