Al's Here at last

Sunday, 15 March 2026

Alan Place - Award Winning Author

The O. Henry Award

Double Award Winner in 2011

One question I used to ask myself was which would I prefer to win, the Nobel Prize for Literature, or the Pulitzer Prize?

They are both titles worthy in their own right, the Pulitzer is for Journalism, a style which suited my inquisitve mind, a little like Kolchak.

One award I never considered was the O. Henry Award, for short stories, which is more my style of writng, much like Mickey Spillane, if something is in one of my stories it is there to move the story, not as a page-filler

Friday, 13 March 2026

I am closing my eBay shop

eBay shop run down

More trouble than it is worth

From this month, I am closing my eBay store. The reason is it has never been a successful venture, as a one-person venture, it has always been a case of cutting the costs to below a reasonable value, to get a sale

Friday the 13th

I had the feeling something would go wrong

Romance in Whitchurch

This week my friend in Whitchurch, Bristol, Clara and I had been planning to meet today (Friday). We talked about meeting on Friday, I never realised, until this morning what the date was, Friday the 13th. When I saw this, I was tempted to call the date off, but we'd been building up to our meeting all week.

I had the ominous feeling today would go wrong, and it did. Clara's car had a fault, so she couldn't meet me, and I found I didn't have enough to pay for a lunch out, one of the few treats I allow myself, so, I had to return home after a disasterous day

Thursday, 12 March 2026

Youtube Premium

Romance in Whitchurch

Making cutbacks

There are several reasons why I stopped my Youtube Premium payments this month.

I am in a relationship with my friend, Clara, who lives in Whitchurch, Bristol, which means I am not in my house at least two nights a week.

I had the account mainly for my late wife, who couldn't move around the house without severe pain, and spent her last days watching cartoons. I rarely watch Youtube, other than a few channels featuring documentaries on history.

I needed to cut my expenses, and this was one area which came to mind easily, it is worth the money, if you have the time, which I don't have now.

The final nail in the coffin of the Labour Party

Is this the end for Labour?

Labour brings the UK to its knees

The current Labour Party has seled the fate for Labour. For years, Labour have been losing the popular vote of the man on the street, the core of the party, set up after the General Strike of 1929, had been the working man, since the late 1940's, the party has not gained the voters, it has been holding on to what it gained in 1929.

Now, even hard-core areas like the docks of Liverpool, and Glasgow have turned from Labour. Labour has failed so badly since the last election, it will struggle to be the third party in the next election with many of its former member joining Nigel Farage's Reform UK party.

Reform UK go on about the rise of the party, it isn't rising, it is filling up with exiles from the Labour party. No matter how you twist the numbers, Labour always fails the people of the UK.

Starmer should be sacked

Labour Lies

Labour ARE losing seats everywhere

This graph from two years ago depicts the collapse of Deutsche Bank. It could also be used to depict the UK under the Labour Party. It isn't only the Starmer government, it has happened to the UK under every Labour government since the 1980's when between them Tony Blair and Gordon Brown out the UK in so much debt it took decades to clear. Typical of Labour Party, when they lose power, and the next government has to introduce cutbacks, they get the blame for cutbacks, not Labour for forcing the cutbacks to be made.

Starmer should be sacked for incompetence. If he resigned, it would look like he had some honour, which having sold out to the Muslim Brotherhood he proved he has no honour.