A few of you - but probably not loads - will have read this before but, while I put a few finishing touches to a new piece ready for Sunday, I wanted to post it again, in slightly spruced up form, for those who haven’t.
That was quite a ride.. from the dog to the shagging couple to the pungent odour of a pair of youngs after any sort of festival. Thank you for taking me there
In actual fact I do operate a piece of heavy machinery many hours per week and am grateful for the recording. I have saved it to enjoy this weekend as I drive through the wilds of northern Ontario where I anticipate the autumn colours will be stunning. A most appropriate setting to enjoy your storytelling.
What a wonderful piece of writing! Your refrain of "Once a upon of time on a lane" makes a magic. It connects and it gives different character to your stories and so on... And it creates a poetry of your prose.
I am curious, have you read this Tom Cox’s story? If not, read it, and you will enjoy it as I did. And thank you for noticing my comment. I love you walking in the rain!
This is strange. Somebody (I don't remember the name) sent me "like my comment," and this answer I sent to "somebody. How it came to you, Tom, I don't understand. I am very ignorant in the technicalities of Substack. Sorry.
I've never listened to anything on here since joining a few weeks back, but I had also never heard Tom's voice, and a strange curiosity latched onto my mind and I became obsessed with how he might sound reading this..
I lay down on the sofa, pressed play, and closed my eyes...
From that moment I was no longer laying on my sofa, with my eyes closed listening to some bloke called Tom reading a bit of writing that he'd done a while back, with a big grin on my face, emitting little chuckles every now and then...
I really loved it ❤️ 😍 💕...
No kidding, it was lovely to hear something being read out with a lovely accent, sometimes I think we get so used to hearing the American accent in films, series and game shows, that we have forgotten what our own dialect sounds like...
I really enjoyed the fact that the whole lot of tales that started off with the lane, came full circle to end in the exact same place that their dad's car had been parked waiting for them to find it...
Once upon a time, when we were young, so young!, my now-husband then-boyfriend and I were driving my mother's car to Miami when we had a sudden urgent need to connect (so to speak) in a special way. We parked on the side of the road, and walked into an orange grove, where we were greeted by an army of glowworms (lightning bugs). We were not deterred, but encouraged.
Can I call you Tom, although we never met ? I totally loved this. Great writing, learned some new english words ( not my native tongue, I’m Belgian…), laughed repeatedly. Thank you, Tom.
Of course you can, Michael. Thank you. That’s lovely to hear. There’s a brief appearance from a Belgian walker - based on a real life one I met - with a very interesting way with words in my next novel.
Excellent meandering. And a destination fully worth the journey. The roaming cat one begs more questions (not least now wondering how bloody far our Brian goes at night). Also, 'nailing'; what a curiously adaptable verb. Blasphemous thoughts ahoy.
That was quite a ride.. from the dog to the shagging couple to the pungent odour of a pair of youngs after any sort of festival. Thank you for taking me there
Thank you!
I listened. Thanks, Tom. It's a nice way to start a morning, not listening to myself.
There is something very magical about English country lanes
In actual fact I do operate a piece of heavy machinery many hours per week and am grateful for the recording. I have saved it to enjoy this weekend as I drive through the wilds of northern Ontario where I anticipate the autumn colours will be stunning. A most appropriate setting to enjoy your storytelling.
It'll make your drive through the autumn colors even more magical.
What a wonderful piece of writing! Your refrain of "Once a upon of time on a lane" makes a magic. It connects and it gives different character to your stories and so on... And it creates a poetry of your prose.
I am curious, have you read this Tom Cox’s story? If not, read it, and you will enjoy it as I did. And thank you for noticing my comment. I love you walking in the rain!
This is strange. Somebody (I don't remember the name) sent me "like my comment," and this answer I sent to "somebody. How it came to you, Tom, I don't understand. I am very ignorant in the technicalities of Substack. Sorry.
I've never listened to anything on here since joining a few weeks back, but I had also never heard Tom's voice, and a strange curiosity latched onto my mind and I became obsessed with how he might sound reading this..
I lay down on the sofa, pressed play, and closed my eyes...
From that moment I was no longer laying on my sofa, with my eyes closed listening to some bloke called Tom reading a bit of writing that he'd done a while back, with a big grin on my face, emitting little chuckles every now and then...
I really loved it ❤️ 😍 💕...
No kidding, it was lovely to hear something being read out with a lovely accent, sometimes I think we get so used to hearing the American accent in films, series and game shows, that we have forgotten what our own dialect sounds like...
I really enjoyed the fact that the whole lot of tales that started off with the lane, came full circle to end in the exact same place that their dad's car had been parked waiting for them to find it...
Bloody loved listening to it, well done Tom.!!
À series of lovely lanes. Ta very much, Tom.
Yes, made my morning too. Amazed at your non-stop 16 mile long sentences that work beautifully, even though I am an asthmatic.
Haha. Thanks Jay!
Once upon a time, when we were young, so young!, my now-husband then-boyfriend and I were driving my mother's car to Miami when we had a sudden urgent need to connect (so to speak) in a special way. We parked on the side of the road, and walked into an orange grove, where we were greeted by an army of glowworms (lightning bugs). We were not deterred, but encouraged.
Can I call you Tom, although we never met ? I totally loved this. Great writing, learned some new english words ( not my native tongue, I’m Belgian…), laughed repeatedly. Thank you, Tom.
Of course you can, Michael. Thank you. That’s lovely to hear. There’s a brief appearance from a Belgian walker - based on a real life one I met - with a very interesting way with words in my next novel.
A Belgian walker…a dog breed ? Looking forward to read about it.
Way to bring it back round. What a great piece of writing. What images your work puts in my mind (and the photos are good too)!
Thanks Simon!
And still
I’m rereading you all the time
as have to improve my English to really be with you
thank you
My time lived in England as not enough to get the culture as much I get reading you
💕
That was clever, funny and a nice tie-in at the end. Always a delight to read your work
Highly recommend 1983 to everyone.
Thank you!
Those details that most people can’t see because we are too distracted
And you take us there
to read you we must go really inside the lane
What stays on my body reading you is
as I come back picking up every carefully embroidered stitch of the text
Handmade, with hand-picked specialty lines
From a well-woven fabric
that walks before my focused eyes, accompanying you all the way
Companion field
and in those not so certain and unexpected moments I breathe
✨
Excellent meandering. And a destination fully worth the journey. The roaming cat one begs more questions (not least now wondering how bloody far our Brian goes at night). Also, 'nailing'; what a curiously adaptable verb. Blasphemous thoughts ahoy.
This is an incredible piece of writing and I LOVED IT!!
Thanks Alexandra!