The general indifference to Chapter 2 of 'The Van ...' has been quite deafening. I have therefore decided to discontinue it. At least as a TG/TV tale. I still think there is mileage in the idea and am toying with rewriting and perhaps posting in on Fictioneer in due course. I enjoy writing and, if other commitments permit, that is perhaps the way forward for me.

This is an old topic but it was brought back to mind today. I once wrote something called 'The Deception of Choice' which was posted in 17 episodes plus an Epilogue. I was pleased to see that today Episode 1 achieved 6,000 hits. Not all of the 6.000 read it of course but arrived at it either by curiosity, mischance, or poor typing skills. I even went there myself several times. Nearly 4,000 have to date dropped in on the Epilogue yet only 2,000 hit on Episode 17, whereas over 4,500 landed on the shores of Episode 14.

An Elf in Her Bra has been in Hatbox for about a year and is now eligible for release to the general public.

During the last twelve months I have been inundated with many requests regarding my future intentions for it. Many are those who many have implored, begged, indeed offered financial incentives, in a vain attempt to influence me.

In spite of all such, and ignoring all threats, I have decided to indeed release it in the Public Domain here at Hallowe'en. So there!

On the first page of this weekend's magazine in the Financial Times is an article on Miss Vera's who runs 'a finishing school for cross-dressers'.

It's all getting so very main stream. The Financial Times! Who'd have thought it. Must be all those bankers with fat purses and time on their hands.

It can be read on http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/31bf8aa2-8938-11dd-8371-0000779fd1...

Hugs,

..... by any other name would smell as sweet."

But would it? Did The Bard get it wrong? Or did Juliet rather, for it would be a cardinal sin to ascribe to a writer the sentiments uttered by a character.

It may have been there for months. Everyone else probably knows about it, commented upon it even, but I have just noticed another male/female brain test on the BBC website at http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/sex/add_user.shtml

According to the blurb -

'Some researchers say that men can have 'women's brains' and that women can think more like men.

This is from Everybody's Scrapbook of Curious Facts, compiled by one Don Lemon and published well over 100 years ago. The author is unknown and the story line alas is not beyond criticism although it could be read as an early manifestation of feminism!

I came across it in a newspaper article by a Robert Richardson many years ago. He remarked that it may lack Maupassant's humanity and Maugham's style, but it is a story in a class of its own.

I think it is quite remarkable and should be known to a wider audience. Judge for yourself. I was reminded of it on reading the alliteration in Jezzi's sparkling 'Bimbo Bread'