Benybooksare short collections of prose. They are intended for quick but thought-provoking reading on, for example, train journeys. This is the second volume in the series.
They are published only in electronic form and, while they are in publication, will be freely available from KOBO. They will consist of one main piece, supported by two or three others. None of the content of BENYBOOKS will be available in any other form.
For Tom East's more traditional, full-length writing (fiction, nonfiction, and poetry), see BENYBONT.ORG
The Lake is a story of a life that went wrong. It is purely imaginary.
It appeared in Cambrensis magazine before it became the title story in a 2006 collection. This is now out of print.
Stamford Bridge appeared in a magazine many years ago. More recently, a version of it was on my website BENYBONT.ORG. I really did see the Chelsea v Blackpool match on 15th March 1958, when Stanley Matthews played one of his last games for Blackpool.
The "announcement" incident during the conversation between the boys also took place, although is a heavily fictionalised version of what happened during a match Chelsea had against Cardiff some years later This was Jimmy Greaves last match for Chelsea before he went to play in Italy. The "I" of the story, Richie, is entirely fictional.
May Thirteen also appeared in the 2006 collection. The story is fictional, although is based on real happenings in 1987. Events and the background to them have been heavily fictionalised. The tensions left by the events of 13th May 1969 did, however, last for many years afterwards.
Delta again appeared in the 2006 collection. An event like the central "island" episode took place in the Danube Delta during the summer of 1988. This was Nicolae Ceauescu's final complete year as dictator of Romania.