Tall And True Short Reads

I post a #bookcovers and #firstsentences homage series on Instagram (as @tallandtrueweb) featuring fiction and nonfiction from my bookcase. Sharing the posts has brought back fond memories of dusty b…

A long time ago, poverty, floods, droughts, famines and war blighted a pale-blue planet. But the people endured the hardships and were happy. They believed life in the Here and Now and Ever After was…

"And the winner is–" Zoom freezes on my laptop. But I don't care. From the gallery director's opening comments in her awards speech, praising this year's portraits, it's clear my landscape has not ca…

Writing can be lonely, especially if you're living on your own in a cramped flat, in another country, far away from family and friends. So when I lived in Brighton in the early-1990s, I volunteered t…

Nadine lies on her mattress on the floor of the attic. She stares up at the naked light bulb hanging from the ceiling and the moth circling it. Wind gusts through cracks under the doors and windows, …

When I was a boy, I thought the spirit of Xmas was receiving: from my overflowing Santa Sack and gifts under the Xmas tree. Then I grew up, and for me, especially after I became a dad, it's giving. I…

The shitstorm hit the Twitter fan overnight. Deeman had thought his followers would laugh at his sarcastic tweet. He'd watched a news clip about refugees from a COVID ravaged continent. And before se…

In my writer’s bio on Tall And True, I admit I've enjoyed a one night stand. It was November 2003, but I remember the night like it was yesterday. I had worked up to it for two weeks. However, though…

The golden glow of Norman's youth was a distant memory. The passing years had added aches and pains and padding, and his soft and doughy love handles had long since served no purpose with Alice. But …

A friend shared a Facebook post from November 2017, inviting the reader to "Step Inside the World's Coolest Library". The futuristically designed library in Tianjin, China (aptly nicknamed "The Eye")…

The group trekked for several weeks over rough terrain to reach the border town. On the way, they pooled their meagre resources and precious reserves of e-credits and cash to buy food and water. And …

In October 2017, I attended a premiere screening of Three Summers. After the film, there was a Q&A session with the writer/director, Ben Elton. As I commented in a film review on the Tall And True wr…

"Ladies and gentlemen, though I use that term loosely," the pub laughed, and the MC smiled. Laughter signalled the crowd was well lubricated. The publican would be happy.

Lagermind is a short story fr…

In these days of instant gratification, it's hard to believe once upon a time, wanna-be writers would type and print their manuscripts, post them to publishers with a reply-paid, self-addressed envel…

Penguin Books Australia posted a question on Facebook in August 2017: What is the last book that made you cry? The books could evoke tears of joy or sadness, and I immediately thought of three books,…

The Tall And True Short Reads podcast features short stories, blog posts and other writing written and narrated by Robert Fairhead from the Tall And True writers' website. At the end of each episode,…

Bad News - Part Two (England, 1993): I woke in the middle of the night with a full bladder from the beers and more than a little aroused from a dream I’d just had. As I sat in the bathroom, waiting t…

Bad News - Part One (England, 1993): The evening news was depressing—all bad as usual—and the weekend weather looked just as gloomy. I got up and went to the kitchen. "Do you want another wine?" I ca…

The Gym (England, 1993): "Come on, Winnie, push." Winston arched his back and strained against the bar. "Push!" The muscles in Winston's arms and chest burned. He closed his eyes, let out a primal ro…

A Council Flat (England, 1993): The sound of the twins fighting in the bedroom filled the flat. Their screams drowned out the drone of sport on the TV and the sizzle and bubble of dinner on the kitch…