The Tangled Branch Discussion Forums

Thanks for the prompt, Deb. Grandad G was, with insight, a potentially very violent man who chose not to unleash the beast.  He never inflicted his religion on anyone, but it was as rigid as his backbone when he stood for the national anthem. He played cricket, both bowling and batting, as if it was...

I've walked this ground before.  But here's today's take. ===== Nineteen Days My Grandad was a 'Conchie'. No coward but a true pacifist. He went to the Great War, but refused to carry arms. They taught him how, mocked his Wesleyan Chapel principles, but that hard young Yorkshireman never budged. "Th...

Sometimes it's good to forget lofty purposes, or hidden depths, or deep metaphors,and just just play with a random thought before it can escape.  Words have a magic of their own if you unleash them without the burden of too much expectation. Mind you, sometimes 'just playing' leads to deeper thought...

Someone once asked me if Gypsies have a specific god or religion of their own.  The general answer is 'that of the host country'.  A lot of them are drawn to the colours, scents, and pageantry of Catholicism.  I've heard that in Russia they tend towards the Orthodox.  Quite a few of the English ones...

Very Dickensian.  There probably was a real Lighterman's Inn, quite possibly more than one, back in the days when the Lightermen plied their trade along the tidal reaches of the River Thames.  Lots of pubs were named after a local trade when trades tended to cluster around one street or area.  Butch...

I've come late to this one, Indar. I love the rich imagery.  I too have dreamed of this pool, and come close to seeing it a few times in quiet places.  The first time I dreamed of it, over sixty years since, there was also a barefooted girl in a white dress, leading a unicorn on a rein made from dew...

Cheers, Colm.  It was sitting in the back of my brain for the last month or so, slowly edging towards the light of day.  I've written about specific incidents before, but this was an attempt at an overview.  As Mum's 'slightly crazy' wartime workmate she was just 'around' when we lived fairly close....

We all know about the little ladies who work inside our computers, but. .. After a run of damp days the heat from the laser printer vaporises the extra moisture in the normally dry paper. As it fires up, prior to printing, a few ghostly tendrils wisp upwards. Barely noticeable by daylight, but at ni...

My Godmother's Shack My Godmother lived in a shack, out in The New Forest. To a child it was a magical place, taking 'lived in' to a whole new level. Originally a wooden seaside chalet, bought just after the war when housing was in short supply. Dismantled, and relocated, reassembled with an extra ...

The bottom line here is that their magazine or forum is their playground, so they set the rules.  If you want to play there... It's a bit like 'house rules'.  You can say things in an Uncle's or Aunt's house that you wouldn't think of saying to your parents.  Sometimes these rules can be strange and...