New & Selected Stories

A boy watches his father fighting a famous Canadian wrestler and years later hears how his parents escaped from Poland. A man on holiday in Russia buys Chekhov's samovar from an old antique dealer. The death of a Chinese emperor leads to a search for his successor. A tired Pope goes on a secret holiday to a spa in Tuscany. Elvis arrives in Heaven to be greeted by an angel. On a snowy train journey across Canada several passengers reflect upon their pasts. An old, disgraced grandmaster visits a Portsmouth chess club. A young clerk in the post office takes a day off work with a twisted ankle. Two old university friends plan a performance for the Edinburgh Fringe. These stories are set in various countries. Some are comic, others speculatively serious or semi-autobiographical. The cover photograph is of Carraigh Fhada lighthouse on Islay.