By Simon Downham-Knight “When you wake up in the morning, I want the first thought to enter your head to be: ‘How much lovely money am I gonna make today?’” The ginger, red faced, stuffed suit at the front of the packed conference room said in a thick London accent. “Fellas, when you look upContinue reading “A, B, C.”
Author Archives: simonmandrake
Why I Write
A Blog Post by Nasir Ali Hussain I came from that generation that grew up in the seventies and eighties. We often had young teachers who had come through the counterculture of the ’60s. These ex hippies retained something of the spirit of the ’60s. They encouraged us to dream, telling us that Middle EarthContinue reading “Why I Write”
Dolphins & Sharks
By Simon Downham-Knight It was the height of Summer, somewhere in the early ‘90s. I was in my early twenties and had lived away from home since I was sixteen. The curtains were drawn tight to keep the sun out; the ash tray was overflowing, and I was three films into a VHS binge. IContinue reading “Dolphins & Sharks”
Foam
A Short Story by Nasir Ali Hussain July 1981 She was a heavyset, middle-aged lady with a heavy, brown leather handbag that was the same colour as the skin on her face. The bag bounced invitingly from one shoulder strap as she walked. It was about six o’clock, and the hot weather that afternoon hadContinue reading “Foam”
Saint Solange: A Ghost Story for Christmas
By Simon Downham-Knight “Eleven-year-old runaway, Kevin arrives at an isolated boys’ home run by sinister and brutal monks. After witnessing a ghostly apparition, he realises his life is in danger and he must plot his escape.” Last week, I celebrated finishing a rough first draft of my upcoming novel Saint Solange, by spending a dayContinue reading “Saint Solange: A Ghost Story for Christmas”
Penelope
A Short Story by Nasir Ali Hussain He was driving from London to Somerset. When Barry Naylor had got into his red Ford Cortina that morning the sky had been silver, blue and gold. It had begun to rain as soon as he got off the A40 for the motorway towards the west country andContinue reading “Penelope”
I HATE YOUR GUTS!
By Simon Downham-Knight Marcus lay on his side, in bed, staring at the buttery, early summer morning light streaming through the gap in his curtains. He had been awake and in that position for the last half an hour – despite the fact his bladder was full, and he was busting for a wee –Continue reading “I HATE YOUR GUTS!”
HeadCleaner: A Novella by Nasir Hussain
Part 2: May 2002 Things felt decidedly awkward for Nasir in the days and weeks that followed his no-show. Even though he now worked mainly at the school in Fulham he still came in for a few hours a day to teach at the Callan School in Oxford Street. The school was a huge place,Continue reading “HeadCleaner: A Novella by Nasir Hussain”
Wasp
A Short Story by Simon Downham-Knight I’m at my new friend Stan’s for a barbecue in his garden. His kids have eaten their fill and are now indoors on the Playstation and his wife, who has been drinking since lunchtime, has fallen asleep on the sun lounger. He’s finally getting round to cooking some burgersContinue reading “Wasp”
HeadCleaner
A Short Film made by Simon Downham-Knight, Nasir Hussain, and Simon Strange. Kinetic Sleaze Blog by Simon Downham-Knight. *Note – This blog post is completely subjective and based on memories from more than twenty years ago. HeadCleaner was conceived in a perfect storm of things that happened in the latter part of 2001. Stanley KubrickContinue reading “HeadCleaner”
Spiral Staircase 