Karl Wiggins

What__ this war called again?___he Hundred Years War.___mmmm, got a bad feeling about this one.

They drain you sometimes. They really do. "What's it all about then mate? What's the secret of life? You should know. You're a fucking cab driver." Yeah, right. (As if I'll learn the secret of life talking to arseholes like you all night). "Got any saucepan lids, mate? I've got two. I hate them. Bastards, they are. Ruined my life. I hate the bastards."I keep quiet "Don't try and rip us off, mate. I've got a key between my knuckles." (Whatever). The life of a cab driver. Glimpses into other people's lives.

Put your glasses on mate _.. Come down from there, you__e gonna kill yourself _. Well, what does your Method Statement say? _. Right, let__ get you re-inducted. You need a reminder of site rules _.. Where are your outriggers, mate? _.. Put your glasses on _.. Put your glasses on _. Put your glasses on _. Oh, they steam up, do they? I__e never heard that one before _. Where__ your mask? If you breathe this shit in you__e going to kill yourself. Silicosis is incurable _.. Right STOP! Do not reverse another inch without a banksman _.. Don__ put your glasses on just because you see me walk around the corner. They won__ protect MY eyes _. Hook yourself on, what__ the matter with you? Are all you scaffolders superhuman or something? _.. Put your glasses on _.. Oi! What stops me walking right in there? Where__ your barriers and signage? _.. Oi! I__ getting showered in fucking sparks here. And so is that can of petrol _.. Put your glasses on _. Where__ the flashback arrestor on this bottle of propane? _.. Hey, pal, stop welding until you__e sheeted up _.. What are you doing climbing up there? Where__ your supervisor? What did he say about access in this morning__ Safe Start briefing? Nothing? Right, he can sit through another induction tomorrow _.. Where are the retaining pins to the joint clamps in this concrete pump line? SEAMUS! Fucking deal with this, will you? _.Put your glasses on _. Hey! Hey! Come here! Why have you got a nail instead of an ___ clip to the quick-hitch system on your excavator bucket? NO! IT WON__ DO! WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU? If that bucket falls on someone they__e not going to get up again. And you trust a fucking nail to hold it in position! Take this machine out of service immediately until you__e got the proper ___ clip! _.. Put your glasses on _. Where__ the edge protection. Who removed the edge protection? Right, let me phone for a scaffolder _.. Put your glasses on _.. Oi! Get out from under there! Never, ever stand underneath a suspended load. Even if all the equipment__ been inspected, which it obviously has, you can never trust the crane driver. He can be taken ill suddenly _.. Come here, mate, let__ have a little chat. Why are you working on Fall Arrest? You__e supposed to be working on Fall Restraint (FR __estrains_ you going near the perimeter edge of the building, FA __rrests_ your fall if, well, if you fall. If you__e hanging off a building we__e got less than ten minutes to reach you before you start going into toxic shock brought on by suspension trauma. In other words, we need a Rescue Plan, which is why we__ prefer people work on Fall Restraint)

Through years of experience I__e discovered that a liar will always look into his drink when telling a lie. But he doesn__ have a drink in a cab, and even if he did I__ have no idea as to whether he were looking into it or not

A chef__ magic is his ingredients, how he can substitute one for another, then break with convention by changing it all around again without once referring to the recipe. And then just at the death complete the beauty by adding another element never previously thought of. Well words are the writer__ sorcery, our dark arts and our sleight of hand. They__e our enchantment and our temptation. Sometimes both the chef and the writer overindulges himself and it gets out of hand, but that__ how we like it, it__ how we__e ghosted some of our best creations.

Maxims of Ptahhotep spoke a lot of sense; 'Do not be arrogant because of your knowledge, but confer with the ignorant man as with the learned. Good speech is more hidden than malachite, yet it is found in the possession of women slaves at the millstones.' Now THAT I__l give the green light to. The opinions, eloquence and articulacy of the man or woman on the street can often be as invaluable as precious stones.

Every one of the big breakthroughs in the art of literature have possibly started as what many would call a ludicrous or even laughable idea as the writer occasionally balances a routine piece with an investment in the eccentric and untried. Over time, the reward is usually worth the risk

A real piece of writing is one in which the writer has tried to enrich not only the book, but also his understanding of the words. The words themselves have to be open to new ideas and suggestions, and the writer himself must have the audacity to attempt new things and to risk failure

It's a difficult path that we tread, us Indie self-publishers, but we're not alone. How many bands practicing in their dad__ garage have heard of a group from the neighbourhood who got signed by a recording company? Or how many artists who love to paint, but are not really getting anywhere with it hear of someone they went to art school with being offered an exhibition in a gallery? How many chefs who love to get creative around food hear of someone else who__ just landed a job with Marco Pierre White? There__ no difference between us and them. There is, however, a huge difference in how everyone else perceives the writer. And there__ a huge difference between all of us _ the writers, the musicians, the composers, the chefs, the dance choreographers and to a certain extent the tradesmen - and the rest of society in that no one understands us. It__ a wretched dream to hope that our creativity gets recognised while our family thinks we__e wasting our time when the lawn needs mowing, the deck needs painting and the bedroom needs decorating. It__ acceptable to go into the garage to tinker about with a motorbike, but it__ a waste of a good Sunday afternoon if you go into the garage and practice your guitar, or sit in your study attempting to capture words that have been floating around your brain forever.

Words are the writer's sorcery, our dark arts and our sleight of hand. They're our enchantment and our temptation

As they call last orders, he__l walk over to a girl he__ no doubt slept with before, pour half his pint over his own head and the remainder over hers, and with a twinkle in his eye say, __ooks like you__e pulled again, doesn__ it?

It__ got fuck all to do with being racist. I don__ care if he__ purple or orange or fucking yellow with pink spots! Although if he__ yellow with pink spots perhaps we should call a first aider. All I care about is his CSCS card and this Home Office card that is now in my possession

If someone drowned at sea a couple of hundred years ago they__ either start to decompose immediately or they__ get eaten by fish or other scavengers. The bones would eventually sink down to the seabed and either be slowly buried by marine silt or broken down further over the years, but the flesh would one way or another eventually become water, which would evaporate into clouds and then rain down upon the earth once again to become plants and flowers.The flowers in your garden could once have been famous pirates such as Blackbeard or Calico Jack.

Strange how the perspective changes with the point of view, isn__ it? Most people who claim to believe in the Bible don__ actually know what it says