Remembering the Alphans

It was twenty years ago today, on September 13th, 1999, that the world suffered one of it’s most catastrophic disasters of all time, because it was on that day that our moon was blasted out of it’s own orbit.

In truth, the accident was entirely mankind’s fault. The governments of the world, for some stupid reason, had decided that the moon was the best place to store waste from it’s nuclear power stations. Out of place, out of mind, as the old saying goes. But this practice came back to bite them on their backsides when a massive nuclear explosion rocked the moon, sending it hurtling into deep space.

Cromer High School Blog: A Quick Message for You All

A quick message to you all:

It's been a bit of a hectic 24 hours since I posted my blog about my experiences at Cromer High School, now Cromer Academy. At the time of writing it's been viewed nearby 1,000 times, and has been shared quite a few times on Facebook as well.

I've also had quite a few messages from people far and wide, some who were at Cromer High the same time as me, some from people who were in the same year as me, and some from people I've met and become friends with in the years after. All of them have offered support and praised me for speaking out about my experiences back in the 80's.

Sorry Cromer High, But I Won't Be Celebrating Your Anniversary

Today Cromer Academy, or Cromer High School as it was known when I went there, celebrated it’s 70th anniversary with an open day, a day in which former pupils and staff members gathered together to share memories of years gone by. Yours truly wasn’t one of those who attended. The reasons why I didn’t go are simple, because to be completely honest and blunt with you Cromer High School failed me.

It's Just a Series of Job Interviews, Isn't It?

So the question that almost everyone in the United Kingdom is asking is who will be our next Prime Minister. There’s currently six fellows trying to get the job, and they’ve all done their best to secure the votes of the Conservative Party faithful during yesterday’s television debate and today’s media hustings. Well, almost everyone, because the front runner, Boris Johnson, was rather conspicuous by his absence from both of these high-profile events.

What a lot of people don’t realise is that these events are essentially job interviews. These well-educated men are more-or-less being interviewed for the most powerful job in the land. Yet Boris doesn’t seem to think he needs to attend these interviews.

My Day in Court: The Statement That Wasn't Needed

Those of you who read my blog and who follow me on social media will know of the problems I've faced with regards to my former employer at Claws 'N' Paws in Sheringham. Needless to say that it's been a very messy situation, and it's a situation that led me to instigate Employment Tribunal proceedings against her in an attempt to get the wages she still owes me.

In the run-up to the hearing this past Friday I conducted countless hours of research so I knew what to expect. To help my case I wrote a statement that I intended to make during the hearing. However, I never got to read this statement, mainly because my former employer no-showed, which meant that as she had no defense to offer the Judge ruled in my favour.

This meant that the statement I had prepared wasn't needed. So instead of shelving it I've decided to post it here. The statement basically tells of the situation I and my co-workers were placed in the run-up to the shop's closure, how we were treated, and how my former employer behaved.

As far as what exactly took place during the hearing, I will probably write a blog about that day in due course, but it's probably best to leave it until I get the full written judgement from the tribunal.

Life Will Go On For Jamie Oliver

Companies going out of business is nothing new, especially in times made more uncertain by the UK’s fragile government and it’s attempt to leave the European Union. One search business that hit the headlines this week was the restaurant chain owned by celebrity chef Jamie Oliver.

The staff at his restaurants are in for a difficult time. The majority of them didn’t know that something was wrong until administrators turned up at their front doors to shut them down.

New Fiction Addition: The Dawning of the New Age

As war ravages mainland Europe, a strange force attacks both Allied and Axis targets, while a powerful force makes plans for the New Age that is to come.

Originally written in 1994, The Dawning of the New Age is a prequel story to what turned out to be the biggest Anglo-Force story I'd ever written, featuring not only the "original" war-time Anglo-Force team, but also some of their allies from Marvel's The Invaders and DC's Justice Society of America. You can read the full story by visiting the chapters below.

New (Old) Fiction Addition: Inauguration: Full Story Now Online

Legendary figures from across the galaxy gather on Babylon 5 to witness and celebate the inauguration of new Federation President James Watt, but there are those who want to disrupt the event.

With a cast of dozens spanning three Star Trek series, and the first appearance of characters from Babylon 5, "Inauguration" was, at the time, the biggest story from The Valkyrie Chronicles unique universe, and you can now read the entire story by visiting the links below.

Why I Backed a Winner, and Why I Couldn't Vote for John Lee

So it’s over until the next election in a few week’s time, and if the local elections in England are anything to go by then we all apparently voted the way we did because we’re so fed up with the way the government and the opposition have handled Brexit.

If truth be known Brexit never entered into my thoughts when I cast my vote in the Suffield Park ward of North Norfolk yesterday afternoon, and neither did party allegiances. I voted for the person who I thought would be a good representative for the area, someone who has a track record of putting other people first, and that person was the Liberal Democrat’s candidate Emma Spagnola.

Don't They Knock on Doors Anymore?

Tomorrow is election day here in England, with most of the country going the polls to elect members of their local and district councils. It doesn’t really have anything to do with the current national problem we have here with Brexit, it’s more to do with things such as rubbish bin collection, park maintenance, you know the sort of thing.

In my part of the world, the Suffield Park area of Cromer, there are three candidates, one each for the country’s main political parties, looking to get my vote. Each of them have gone about campaigning in their own way, but I have to admit that I’m a little bit under whelmed by the whole thing.

When is a Child Not a Child?

Let’s begin this piece with a question: when is a child not a child?

It was during a quite uneventful bus ride home this afternoon that we stopped outside Cromer Hospital. There was the usual crowd of Cromer Academy kids there waiting to go on, with a young lad entering first and asking the driver for a child’s ticket to wherever he was going.
    “Have you been smoking?” the driver asked.
    “Yeah.” the child asked instantly.
    “Then you’re no longer a child. I’ll have to charge you for an in-between ticket.”

New (Old) Fiction Addition - The Rise of Supremus

Supremus, mutate creation of Dr. Armand Theophilus and the Black Squadron, escapes from captivity, desperate to gain the revenge on those who put him there, with his escape putting the future of the world in jeopardy.

The fourteenth Anglo-Force story, originally written in 1994, the biggest story since "The Formation" is now available online for the first time. Visit the links below to read the story in full.

You Know What Annoys Me About Mrs. May?

Do you know what annoys me the most about Theresa May?

It’s not the fact that she’s probably the most ineffective Prime Minister the United Kingdom has had in years, or that she comes across as an extremely arrogant woman who just can’t understand why people, including a great number of those within her own party, have a different opinion to hers.

New (Old) Fiction Addition - A Leap Too Far

Something goes drastically wrong with the Quantum Leap project in 1999. Instead of leaping around his own lifetime, Dr. Sam Beckett finds that he has leapt into the body of a Starfleet captain in the 24th century.

New (Old) Fiction Addition - Princes of the Universe

The beheading of a Bajoran by a Cardassian on Deep Space Nine starts a series of events that spells danger for Connor McCloud, and brings Starfleet's future Commander-in-Chief into the action.

Ten Signs That You Watch Too Much Parliament

Let’s face it, as much as some of us might detest the world of politics it’s a part of our everyday lives, and every thing we do is affected by those who we elect. But the events of the past few months may have caused us to may even more attention to what goes in the Westminster as we wonder what the hell is going on as the U.K. tries to leave the European Union.

So if you’ve found yourself watching quite a lot of political coverage lately here’s ten signs that you might be watching too much parliament:

New (Old) Fiction Addition - Return to Epsilon

U.S.S. Valkyrie second officer Lt. Commander Sutek hijacks the ship and takes it to a planet deemed off-limits by Starfleet Command, out of loyalty to his first commanding officer, Captain Connor McCloud. But why? And what will be the outcome of his trial for mutiny?

New (Old) Fiction Addition - The Causality Loop

The crew of the U.S.S. Valkyrie find themselves in a desperate struggle to save their ship, time and time again.

New (Old) Fiction Addition: The Lycanthrope

When a Starfleet officer reluctantly transfers to the U.S.S. Valkyrie he brings a deep and deadly secret with him....

There's More to This Blog Than Professional Wrestling You Know!

So this is what I've been doing a lot of recently. I've been writing for years, and I churned out super-hero and science fiction pieces for years, first by hand, then on any old type-writer I could find in a second hand shop, then onto a snazzy electronic typewriter in the mid-nineties. A lot of those stories no longer exist, thrown away when I became bored with him, only to be rebooted time and time again.

That was until, with the help of my big brother Paul, that the combined Anglo-Force/Valkyrie Chronicles universe came into being. After a while Paul stepped back after co-writing and plotting some of the earlier efforts, but he always pitched ideas and kept a keen interest as I kept churning out the stories.

The universe I created borrowed characters and scenarios from other media as I added them to my own. Marvel, DC, Star Trek, Dr. Who, Star Wars, Babylon 5, Lord of the Rings, Highlander, Blake's 7, and more. Characters, situations and time lines were changed so they could fit in with the centuries-spanning adventures of the an immortal wizard and a semi-immortal English war hero.