Wigan Lane was empty and silent. The nearest street-lamps broken, the only light from the flash of a zebra crossing globe. The gloomy orange glow lit the decaying archway and lodges of the Plantation Gates,

It was already dark as Kate crossed the road and passed the swimming baths a few minutes’ walk from the flats. The sound of shouting children echoed inside and the smell of chlorine blew through an extractor

The noise was deafening. Kate lived two miles away from school and always took the number 698 bus home. She was sat near the top of the staircase reading Cosmos by Carl Sagan, oblivious to the chaos. An

“What are you reading there?” We were fastening our seatbelts to land on a flight from Chicago to Phoenix. It was the first time the elderly gentleman next to me had spoken. “Wild Swans,” I replied. “It’s

"Pee-ot-er Die-brovski! Pee-ot-er Die-brovski!" Pete would never forget his first day at school in England four years earlier. He had only been in the country a few weeks. His English was good,

1984 "If you have lived one day, you have seen everything. One day equals all days. There is no other light, no other night. The Sun, Moon and Stars, disposed just as they are now, were enjoyed by

I was born a long time ago. You may think you have been around a while, but you have no idea. It can often be difficult to know at what point to start telling your story, but for me it is clear, two hundred