Monday 29 December 2008

Now Zavvi has gone into administration!

Awful. Looks like we'll end up with no record/dvd stores on the high street at all. Alright for daft kids into this uploading/downloading business for their silly X factor music but what about the rest of us? Looks like its buy online only now for the latest Dylan & Morrissey releases.

Thursday 25 December 2008

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all blog readers!

Eat plenty of mince pies and enjoy the Xmas Doctor Who special!

Sunday 21 December 2008

"DEADLY YULETIDE" Part 4

OK, here is the next part folks:

DEADLY YULETIDE: Part 4

Katie wakes up in a hospital ward surrounded by other women. All are chained to the beds, including Katie, who screams aggressively and tugs at the chain. Two humanoid aliens with green skin appear and approach the bed:
“Please do not make noise or struggle. Such behaviour would be a futile gesture and we would have to sedate you again.”
“What the **** are you? And why am I chained to this ****ing bed ?” Katie shouts.
“Do be quiet. Your loudness may alarm the other females. You are here to help in our breeding programme. We are the Cheaons, a sterile race and our planet is stripped or resources. However our great scientist has found a way to breed a new generation through inseminating your women. Once we have produced the new generation then we will claim this planet. Our great scientist has a virus that will wipe out humans quickly and almost painlessly.”
Katie is given another injection and she passes out.

Meanwhile, the Brigadier has been brought into the regular part of the hospital. Having been kept in for observation, he waits for the nurse to depart before going on the prowl. He walks down the corridor and up some stairs. Winding around a corner he hears voices and observes some aliens in the distance. Alarmed, he pulls out the mobile that Ben had given him and texts him. Then he waits for the aliens to walk off and pokes his head around the doorway of the next room. He is surprised to see Katie Ryan chained to a bed in a room full of other women in a similar state. He fumbles around in the nurse’s draw and finds the keys to the padlocks. Releasing Katie he gives her a shake to wake her up:
“Miss Ryan. Please try to get up. It is imperative we leave now.”They stumble out into the corridor and after a while find their way out of a side door and outside the building, just as Ben turns up in his car:
“Get in quick.” Ben shouts urgently, then he speeds off. The Brigadier is impressed with the car:
“Ben, when this business has been sorted out, I’d like to make you a gift. it’s a delightful car called Bessie that once belonged to the Doctor. Splendid vehicle.”Ben is impressed:
“Hey thanks.”The Brigadier ruffles his hair.

Back at the centre, they sit planning their next course of action in the car.
“Clearly we cannot just go back in. They’ll be looking for us. I suggest we call for backup” Ben says.He calls UNIT and reaches for a bottle of absinthe and some glasses from the back seat. The Brigadier has a sleep while Ben and Katie have a drink:
“You know Katie, I really didn’t mean to offend you asking you for Christmas” Ben says. Katie however is irritated:
“You really need to sort your head out Ben. One minute your telling your parents that you’re gay and the next you’re making out that you’re not. What the hell is wrong with you?”Ben is upset:
“Katie, you could be a bit more sympathetic. My parents are important members of the church and dad’s on the Parish Council.”
“So what? Are you a man or a ****ing mouse?” Katie shouts.
“Katie, you are clearly overwrought by recent events. Try to calm yourself.”
Suddenly however a gun is pointed through the window at Ben’s head:
“Please get out of the car”It is Aston…………….

.…………..to be continued.

Book recommendation:


"Been Down So Long it Looks Like Up to Me" Richard Farina


Album recommendation: "Songs of Love & Hate" Leonard Cohen


Following the success of 'Hallelujah' at the moment, I'd recommend people check out the rest of Laughing Len's work. This is a good place to start - includes 'Diamonds in the Mine', 'Famous Blue Raincoat' & 'Joan of Arc'.

Friday 19 December 2008

"DEADLY YULETIDE": Part 3

Here is the next part folks:

DEADLY YULETIDE: Part 3

Ben peers round the doorway and sees the two humanoid creatures who had just been speaking. They are wearing silver uniforms and have green-tinged skin and slim faces. Hearing footsteps in the corridor behind him, Ben runs of quickly and finds a staircase up to the higher level. Finding his way back into the hospital proper he quickly finds Jake, who is being given a ticking off by a nurse for time wasting, and they make a swift exit.
“Hey man, they were really uncool about me not being a registered patient” Jake comments.
“It’s a private hospital, they hardly wish to have their time wasted by some hippy scruff with nothing wrong with him. Anyway, enough of this, the more pertinent issue is that there are aliens conducting some kind of experiments here. We need to get back and consider our next move.”

Back at the Centre, Ben is sitting in the lounge with Jake, Katie and the Brigadier enjoying a scotch and discussing the recent events.:
“It is clear from what Katie has said that this Aston is the great scientist that I overheard the aliens talking about. Possibly he is some form of shape shifter or an android” Ben outlines.The Brigadier knocks back his scotch and Ben pours him another glass:
“UNIT have had their suspicions for some time and felt that a bit of careful surveillance was needed. The question is what do we do now? I suggest that we need an insider to get into the hospital” the Brigadier says.Katie looks up:
“Why don’t you fake having a heart attack? You’re an old man.”
“Good thinking Miss Ryan. I happen to have overheard that this place has a deal with the chaps at that private hospital : they buy treatment there and add it onto our bills.”Later, the Brigadier has a nap and Ben turns towards Katie:
“Katie, I was meaning to ask you what your plans are for Christmas this year.”
“None at all. Why?” Katie replies.
“Well I was wondering if you you’d like to spend Christmas with me and my folks.”
“Er well yes Ben. But wouldn’t you rather be spending your time trying to sort things out with loverboy or have you seen sense at last?”Ben pours another drink:
“That can wait. My parents don’t approve of that kind of thing and I want them to know that I’m having a normal, healthy relationship with a girlfriend.”Katie is annoyed:
“You mean you ****ing want me there just to please them instead of being honest?”
“Calm down Katie. Its not as if you’ve anything else to do and my family think we look good together.”

The next morning the Brigadier’s plan is put into action. In the breakfast room he pretends to keel over, clutching his chest. Jake fakes alarm:
“Hey folks! The old guy’s like having a space out, must be his heart. This is really heavy.”Several staff members crowd round him and a few minutes later he is whisked off in an ambulance.Meanwhile, Katie decides to bite the bullet and brave a massage session with Aston. As his smooth hands caress her back and pert buttocks she asks him how long he has worked here:
“Oh for some time Miss Ryan. Now try to relax.”Suddenly she feels a hyperdermic plunge into her arm. She quickly loses consciousness……………..

………………. To be continued.

"DEADLY YULETIDE" Part 2

Ok, here is the next part of the Christmas special folks:

DEADLY YULETIDE: Part 2

Ben and Shakey Jake trek through the glistening snow towards the spinney in the distance. Climbing over a stile, Jake surveys the scene around:
“Hey man, this is really gorgeous, just like on a Christmas card. Far out!”Ben is more concerned about the mysterious craft:
“I think we’d better speed up . Whatever that thing was that ascended, it was just the other side of those trees.”
“Maybe it’s a race of people who have sensed the crying of the ravaged earth and come to teach us how to save the planet” Jake muses, passing Ben a piece of flapjack.Eventually they reach the spinney and walk carefully through the dark, eerie trees, the silence interspersed with the hooting of owls. Emerging out of the trees, Ben sees that they are in the grounds of a large building. Walking up to the entrance, Ben reads the sign:
“St Osyth’s Hospital: Private”
“Interesting. Now why would an alien craft be landing in the grounds of a hospital.” Ben muses.

Back in the Water of Life Centre, Katie has returned to her room and locked herself in, shocked by the sight of Aston killing Marianne. She pours herself a vodka to calm her nerves then starts to text Ben when she hears a knock on the door. She stops completely still however the knock is repeated, this time accompanied by a voice:
“Miss Ryan. Please open the door , I need to speak to you urgently.”It is an elderly male voice. Katie opens the door slowly and sees an old man dressed in a tweed jacket.
“Please let me in Miss Ryan.”Katie is still stressed out from recent events:
“What the hell do you want? Are you some old pervert who stalks the rooms?”
“Miss Ryan please calm down. My name is Alistair Lethbridge Stewart and I am working here undercover for UNIT. Now please let me in.”Katie recognises the name and lets him in:
“Ok, I’ve heard Ben mention you. Calls you the Brigadier. You and he have a mutual friend in the Doctor.”
“Oh yes. Splendid chap, all of them. Now Miss Ryan, I presume you and Ben are here for the same reason I am?”Katie frowns:
“I doubt it. Ben is here on retreat. What the hell is going on ? I just saw that Dr Aston kill a journalist with some kind of light energy from his eyes.”The Brigadier is concerned:
“Miss Ryan, young women have been vanishing from this centre for months. And there have been reports of strange lights in the sky. Whatever Aston is, he certainly isn’t human…….”

Back in the hospital, Ben & Jake are sitting in the waiting room. Jake is pretending to have hurt his arm as a subterfuge to get to see a Doctor. Ben’s mobile bleeps and he sees that its another text from Anselm:
“Ben please call me. Need to explain. Please. A. xxx”
He flings the phone into his pocket in disgust.
“That’s him again. Well he can certainly forget the chance of me calling him on request *looking around the waiting room* Its good to see how clean and uncluttered this hospital is. A far better experience than waiting in an NHS waiting room, clogged up with yobs fresh from fights and foul-mouthed women screaming abuse at the nurses.”Jake is called in to see the Doctor and he feigns a pain in his arm. Meanwhile, Ben slips past the consultation room and goes on a scout round the hospital corridors. Walking around he sees little of interest until he enters a staircase and descends to another level. Here the corridors are dimly lit. Turning a corner he hears voices:
“How many more must we breed before the experiment is complete?”
“Only one more batch. The great scientist promises this. Then all will be ready for our race to be reborn… and to make this earth our home………………”

……………to be continued.

Wednesday 10 December 2008

The Sad Demise of Woolworths


It seems that the closing down sale will start tomorrow which means that there may be little chance of a buyer being found. Its outrageous that Gordon Brown hasn't agreed to step in and bail them out. Woolworths are the people's store and an essential feature of the high street.

Sunday 7 December 2008

The Ben Chatham Christmas Special: 'Dark Yuletide': Part 1

Ok folks, the idea of this story is to accompany the Doctor Who Christmas Special. My intention is to create a story that has more of the atmosphere of the classic series about it, although it will be a Ben Chatham spin-off story .

"DEADLY YULETIDE: Part 1"

Ben Chatham has gone into retreat for the Christmas period to the 'Water of Life Holistic Healing Centre' located in the Norfolk countryside near the coast. Ben felt that a complete break from the world was needed after the emotional trauma of discovering that his lover Anselm had been unfaithful to him. Staying with him at the centre are Katie Ryan and Shakey Jake, the latter having put Ben in contact with the centre out of concern for his emotional health.
Ben and Jake are sitting in the lounge area sipping tea and staring at the snow falling out of the window.
“Gosh its bleak and cold out there” Ben observes.
“Hey man the snow’s really beautiful. Dig the scene and relax. You feelin’ better about things now?” Jake comments.
“No I’m not. Anselm seems to think that I’m being unreasonable. He keeps texting me but like hell am I going to reply. I’ve put all the effort into the relationship and now I feel completely betrayed.”
Ben’s dreamy eyes fill with tears and he takes another sip of tea.

Meanwhile, Katie is attending a lecture by the centre’s founder, Dr Gideon Aston on the healing benefits of free love. She had expected him to be an elderly gentleman and was pleasantly surprised to see that he is a young, dark-haired man of around thirty with smouldering good looks.
“Free love is honesty. It is nothing less than the therapy of freeing the heart from the confines of stifling marital constraints and the inner psychosis that results. Every day I meet women whose inner selves are dying through lack of true passion.”Katie stares at Dr Aston as he speaks, visualising herself in his arms.
After the lecture, the Doctor asks for two volunteers to attend the evening massage therapy session with the Doctor and Katie instantly raises her hand and is chosen , along with another girl named Jade. As they leave the lecture however, one of the other women pulls Katie to one side by the arm:
“Hey what the hell are you doing?” Katie demands.
“I’m sorry. Look my name is Marianne Chiles and I’m a private detective. Look I recognised your colleague Ben Chatham the moment you arrived. Are you here for the same reason I am?”
“What the **** are you babbling on about?” Katie demands.
“Clearly not. Look, this place is not safe. There is something inordinate going on here. Several women have vanished without trace after booking in here. I am currently being employed by a very wealthy client whose wife has vanished here. I think that whatever is going on here, Aston is involved with it.”
“Oh push off, you are clearly a nut” Katie exclaims and storms off.

In the lounge, Ben and Jake are relaxing as the sun sets on the snow-clad countryside outside the window. Ben is feeling mellow after trying some of Jake’s ‘special’ flapjack.
“Hey man, dig the vibes. The moonlight glistening on the snow is like far out.” Jake observes.
Ben stares out across the snow and notices a strange yellow glow from beyond some trees. He is shocked to see something lift off from beyond the trees and shoot off into the sky. He shoots up from his chair:
“Hey did you see that? There was some kind of alien craft out there” ,Ben exclaims, “come on, lets get out there!”
Ben drags a reluctant Jake out of his chair and they set off into the cold night.

Meanwhile, Katie has had a shower and decides to set off for the massage therapy early. She looks at herself in the mirror:
“Looking good girl. How about paying a visit to that dishy Doctor’s room to show extra willing” she says to herself with a smile. Setting off for the Doctor’s private room , she hears a commotion as she approaches. She recognises Marianne’s voice:
“…. let me go. You won’t get away with this…”Peering round the corner, she is shocked to see a piercing light emanating from Aston’s eyes into Marianne’s body , after which she falls to the ground, dead………………….

……………….. To be continued.