The Dark Side of the Moon The world watched with bated breath as four astronauts successfully blasted off from NASA last night to journey to the far side of the moon, the side we never see, and without actually landing, to go further into space than anyone has before. If you’ve seen my short story collection FRESH BEGINNINGS you’ll remember that the first story in the book, Visitors, happens on the day men first walked on the moon in 1969, a memorable event for the whole worl

I’ve just come across a startling piece in this week’s edition of The Friend about a Russian officer during the Cold War who was on duty one chilly night in 1983 – two days before my youngest child celebrated turning nine, as it happens. Stanislav Petrov worked with an early warn youing system designed to detect nuclear missiles.  As luck would have it, the alarm went off on his shift, which meant he was obliged to report it.  If he had done so, his superiors would then have

We had a remarkable visitor called Ian last week – a very tall, serious man (who turns out as it happens to be a shrewd and inciteful judge of the blurbs on back covers of novels) who came to examine yet another problem with our house, of which there are many… I told you the other day, didn’t I, about the band across my forehead which proclaims “please please please let me give you tons of money to put right something which you have no intention of dealing with because you ar

I’d like to thank everyone who sent me birthday greetings from Kolkata, Copenhagen, Australia, Europe and closer to home in Wales. Instead of a takeaway celebration for the family, I decided to include a variety of Indian meals with our usual order from Waitrose, which seemed to go down very well. Then last night our son gave me a newly published biography of Gordon Brown, which I shall immensely enjoy reading; he surely stands head and shoulders above all the other politicia

It all started when an unknown company in Delaware wanted to display A DISTANT VOICE IN THE DARKNESS at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. I have a poor track record, you understand, at questioning firms who offer to do amazing things – I wear a label on my forehead saying please please offer me a twenty-five year maintenance contract before you vanish, or build a two-storey conservatory in my little back garden, or optimise search engines who might look at my website…

If you’re looking for a gift for someone who loves travel and adventure, A Distant Voice in the Darkness  is a compelling choice. This long-distance love story begins in Wales and journeys through Nigeria, Rome, Iceland, Melbourne and beyond . Eleanor runs into Alec again in Copenhagen, where her family live, and later they meet in Kolkata and take the train up to Darjeeling. St Petersburg proves troubling, and two brothers have a major row over Eleanor, who sits peacefully s

It’s a busy week – a funeral, a hospital appointment, Scottish dancing, a carol service in Llandaff Cathedral, a meal out to celebrate three family birthdays… But to speed me on my way, I’ve just had another five-star ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ review for my short stories FRESH BEGINNINGS . It has made me think seriously about what I’m working on at the moment, which is a sequel taking the characters from my earlier novel A DISTANT VOICE IN THE DARKNESS twenty years into the future, ending

On the radio last week I heard a church minister who said that a young woman had asked him where in the services that he held she could find a space for silence. He was sorry to have to tell her that there wasn’t anywhere. I was astonished – one of those chucking the butter dish at the radio moments – that no one thought to say that Quakers go in for silent worship. They gather in a deep silence that begins as soon as the first people have entered the room; there is often sho

The sort of Monday when you just want to stay at home with your feet up after such a varied weekend. We heard about children who are taught to mediate in school between their classmates who get into disputes, which is surely an excellent idea – for them, and also for society. Next day we went to half a Quaker Meeting, then walked up the road to some hustings to choose among eight people who want to represent us on the Welsh Senedd; all well-meaning with admirable ideas, some

Where are we now, after FRESH BEGINNINGS was Book of the Day for the Online Book Club last month? There’ve been several new reviews, mostly rather pleasing, a few scathing, one even suggesting that the stories must not be recommended to anyone under seventeen because the bonobo who narrates the story ‘A Touch of Natural History’ witnesses two young humans appreciating each other rather a lot… Well, a good Quaker friend of mine did once call it raunchy, but I daresay he’s fo

Many people these days won’t fly at all because of the climate crisis, and of course they have a point. Also many of us find travel too expensive, but I can’t help missing the far-flung places I used to take for granted. You can read about them in my latest novel A DISTANT VOICE IN THE DARKNESS, and also in some of the stories in my collection FRESH BEGINNINGS, if you want to travel with your feet up on the sofa! One short story is set in Ireland, where a family goes by boa

Discover the Magic of Time Travel A couple of modern-day British cousins, who happen to have a Danish grandmother, are climbing into a wheelie bin. Why? They need to experiment with time travel because they’ve lost Daniel’s brother somewhere far back inside the famous fairytales of Hans Andersen. Thus begins one of the stories in FRESH BEGINNINGS , a varied collection of eleven short stories by Leela Dutt, illustrated by Kate Attfield. This collection has just been chosen as

We’ve just enjoyed a wonderful weekend celebrating a family wedding, a rare chance to gather with relations we love but don’t often see. Guests came from Nairobi, Edinburgh, Abuja, Bristol, and beyond – many on their way to destinations as varied as Dubrovnik, Thurso, and Budapest. A Weekend Full of Memories The celebrations were full of stories and laughter, and even a few memorable mishaps. On the first day, a nephew and I found ourselves stuck in a glass lift in Porthcawl.

The Richness of Local Stories We have a fantastic free magazine available in various parts of north Cardiff. The version where I live is...

I write far more blogs on this site than news items, because I don’t really know what sort of news is needed. Do you want to know for...

Over fifty years ago I set off with a great deal of hope to spend a year in Nigeria, where Robin was to lecture at what was then called...

Exploring the Themes of FRESH BEGINNINGS Reviews can be a mixed bag. They can be good or bad, but sometimes they leave you wondering. My...

Reading is not just about escaping reality; it's about expanding it. Books can open our minds to new ideas, challenge our beliefs, and...

The Challenge of Writing a Sequel Just now, I’m working on a novel. It’s a sequel to my earlier work, A Distant Voice in the Darkness ,...

If you enjoyed the novel A DISTANT VOICE IN THE DARKNESS , or if you haven’t got time in a busy life to read a novel, why not try my...