All foreign wars I do proclaim -

Mrs McGrath - Bruce Springsteen

- live on blood and a mother's pain / I'd rather have my son as he used to be / than the king of Amurikey and his whole navy

Try this

Enter zoom world

Press F11 to select full screen view in Internet Explorer.

Competition health bulletin - as well as can be expected

The number of entries to date: 85
Possibles for shortlist: 3 is stretching it

There is still all to play for. Closing date is December 18th, but it helps to have the entries more evenly distributed rather than all at the last minute.

Hundreds, getting on for thousands enter but only tens of copies of the anthologies are bought. Please consider buying some of these books to read the winning short stories from previous years:

New Short Stories 3 - featuring "Work" by Jo Lloyd
New Short Stories 1 - featuring "Kid in a Well" by Willie Davis
Fish Drink Like Us - featuring "Secure" by Mikey Delgado

Steve Moran

Café Hopeless, across the street from Trees Lounge

"Infamous author Aden Bell attempts to seduce a Dover edition of Gertrude Stein's famous book, Tender Buttons"

Isn't that the young Gene Wilder?

Benihana onion volcano

Craig

Moonscape

Of late

Advert by Gombeen™
Pushcart Prize, Pretend Genius, Write This

Newsletter #7 announcing Pushcart prize nominees, Halloween issue and new book by Dean Strom

Pushcart prize nominations 2009

Pushcart nominations for Willesden finalists

Small presses based in the US can nominate up to six items for the Pushcart and that is what our publishers have done, nominating six out of New Short Stories 3. The nominated stories in order of appearance in the book are by Jo Lloyd, Carys Davies, Morowa Yejidé, Nick Holdstock, Jill Widner and Ben Cheetham. Congratulations and good luck to all - any could win!

There is a good possibility that some of next year's short list could also be nominated, so get your hats on and saddle up or mosey down or whatever it is writers do to get into town.

Ossian

Despair

Judy Collins - The Desperate Ones/Sons Of (medley)- Brel

Congratulations to Jo Lloyd on another win

Asham Award winner announced

Jo Lloyd is the winner of the 2009 Asham Award. "...her gentle evocative story Because it is Running By won the £1,000 top prize announced on September 26 by chair of judges Di Speirs, executive producer for BBC Radio 4. The prize giving was held at Charleston, East Sussex, during the annual short story festival Small Wonder. The judges, who included David Constantine and Erica Wagner, were unanimous in their praise for Jo Lloyd's story. Among the tributes paid was one from novelist and short story writer Alison MacLeod. “This was one of the best stories I have read this year,” Alison commented. “Subtle, understated and poignant……a balance of eagle-eyed realism and really fresh lyricism …… with perfectly pitched rhythm of prose.” ... Jo Lloyd was brought up in Wales and now lives in Oxford. Her stories have been long listed for the Bridport Prize and she has won this year’s Willesden Herald Short Story Prize for her story Work."

Naturally everyone at your very own Willesden Herald is pleased for Jo Lloyd and not a little proud of recognising her talent earlier this year.

Ossian

On day release

Can you bear to wait

...to see what the park looks like tonight?

Infidelity

 

This recycling bin migrates up and down the street. I have returned it to St Mary Magdelene's once or twice and it's back again. Heh.

Ossian

Clouds this evening

National Express jobsworth makes pensioners leave food

I hope National Express are very happy that the driver of their coach from Newquay to Victoria, which departed at 3 p.m. on Sunday October 5th, forced three lady pensioners to leave seven Cornish pasties behind at the coach station in Newquay because of a rule about not allowing hot food on the coach. One lady lost £12 worth and with another two as well, about £15 worth of good food was wasted - or did somebody else get it?

Zoz

Car in the wall

Down Park Royal way

Big spider outside the door

Big spider outside the door
Originally uploaded by Willesden Herald

Another large insect spotted this week in NW10

Impressive insect

Impressive insect 2
Originally uploaded by Willesden Herald

Pictured on top of a street bin in NW10. Sorry not a very good picture. Another attempt can be seen on Flickr.

Roundwood Park today

South East Asia crisis appeal

Save the Children UK : Donate: "Children are in desperate need after three deadly disasters in four days hit South-East Asia. We're saving children’s lives by providing food, water and other vital aid in all locations. Please help us reach more."

Osaka by night

Craig

Story for childers

The Pidey Pipeload of Hamling - Professor Stanley Unwin

Childers, see if you can list without smiley, who can stay seriose longmost. Deep joy.

Red all over

red all over
Originally uploaded by Willesden Herald

Mary Magdelene's chimney stack

Fire escapes

fire escapes
Originally uploaded by Willesden Herald

The picture fails to convey how redder it was than blood.

The Rising Sun & the setting sun

The Rising Sun & the setting sun
Originally uploaded by Willesden Herald

oh blood red sky at night / oh farmers of the light / where you used to harrow hayfields / now they take out ready meals

Ogden Gnash

Fiery sky, Harlesden Road

Fiery sky, Harlesden Road
Originally uploaded by Willesden Herald

Cue infernal allusions, apocalyptic portents and Chris Rea

Dwayne Foster & WGwg @ BHM

Friday 2 October 8 - 10pm

The Willesden Green Writers’ Group and Dwayne Foster present:

Short stories, performance poetry and good conversation

The Gallery, Willesden Green Library Centre

An evening of the spoken word with authors from The Willesden Green Writers’ Group reading from their second anthology, What We Were Thinking Just Before the End.

Exciting performance poetry from young Brent poet Dwayne Foster.

Part of Black History Month, October '09

Chips etc.

At "Chips Etc", Willesden High Road

This evening

Dog songs

Dog Songs - Series 1, Episode 1

Suzanne, Stranger Song, Famous Blue Raincoat, Winter Lady, Only Her Rivers, Simple Twist of Fate

Dog Songs - Series 1, Episode 2
The Needle and the Damage Done, Girl from the North Country, Don't Think Twice It's Alright, If You Could Read My Mind, I Hear You Knockin', Homeward Bound

For heaven's sake send in some stories for this man to read, before the major television channels offer him a fortune to break his contract with the Herald.

Feargal