Alberto took one look at his new neighbours and knew that his life was going to get more difficult. He watched them arrive in their big, noisy car and watched them get out. There they were, two of them, as big and as noisy as their car, and smelly and stupid as well.
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Danny Applewhite was developing into a rather arrogant young man. He was among the top five achievers at his school, but would he be smart enough to avoid being a fool on April 1st?
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Henry is an astronomer. He is very excited because he thinks he might have discovered the beginning of a new star. But then he gets even more exciting news ... he's going to be a father!
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Five people, whose lives interrelate, live the build up to Christmas in different ways in different places. A sudden blackout changes their lives forever ...
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Every time Joe Mangold went into his local shop or local café or walked down his street, he looked at other people carefully. He wanted to see if people were looking at him. He wanted to see if anyone recognised him.
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A bored teenager cannot take any more of the golden boys after twelve years of humiliation on holidays.
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The rivalry and jealousy between two circus performers makes one of them plot against the other. However, his plan goes terribly wrong.
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Today was a pilgrimage. Today – for Andy – was a day like going to Rome, or sick people to Lourdes, or the people walking to Santiago de Compostela, or even Mecca. But Andy is a different type of pilgrim ...
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People often said that Thierry Boyle was the most boring man in the world. He didn’t know why people thought he was so boring. Thierry thought he was quite interesting. But he was unhappy because people thought he was boring. He wanted people to think that he was a very interesting person. Thierry thought about how to make himself more interesting. He decided that he needed to be famous for something.
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An old woman lives with her many cats in a lovely little garden full of orange trees. Then the developers come along, planning to build a new road. All of the neighbours are worried, but the cats have other ideas ...
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Middlesbury was a town that was as boring as its name. That’s what Joe thought, anyway, and he had lived there for 12 years, all of his life in fact, so he was an expert on Middlesbury. And it was boring. The place was so boring that it didn’t even have its own newspaper, said Joe.
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The Romans tried to bring water to the desert 2000 years ago. A Portuguese explorer tried the same thing in 1777. Will the narrator of this story, with the use of modern technology, succeed where the others failed?
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Listen to synopses of some of the novels of Nobel prize winning writer, South African J.M. Coetzee, and then compare them.
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Carrie Brown is a famous model. Cameras follow her wherever she goes. Now she's in jail - and the photographers are waiting outside. Find out why in this story.
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Don Jenkins works for an international telecommunications company. He wants to be promoted and is hopeful when he is suddenly chosen to go to an important conference in Paris. But he soon finds that things aren’t what they seem, and he gradually becomes involved in a web of intrigue. What is really happening to the company? You’ll find out in this story.
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The river is never what it seems. The river changes. And so, of course, do people - especially after an experience on the river one day ...
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Scarlett is twelve years old and is trying to understand the world around her. She asks questions about everything, all the time. She also says that she already knows five languages. Find out how …
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Terry had a problem. There was a big tree blocking his view. So he got two friends to help him get rid of it. Would they manage to do that and get away with it?
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Three jokes: | | Have you heard the one about the chicken and the frog? How about the one about the firing squad? And the one about the parrot who didn't want to talk? In this activity you have to 'tell' the jokes yourself.
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It is sixteenth century Britain. Tommaso Argento has been sent to study commerce in Oxford. However, Tommaso has discovered the joys of poetry and dreams of becoming a poet. His father has now asked him to return to Italy to continue with the family business. Will Tommaso return and honour his father? Or will he stay in London to pursue his dream? Read this story and find out!
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It is sixteenth century Britain. Tommaso Argento has been sent to study commerce in Oxford. However, Tommaso has discovered the joys of poetry and dreams of becoming a poet. His father has now asked him to return to Italy to continue with the family business. Will Tommaso return and honour his father? Or will he stay in London to pursue his dream? Read this story and find out!
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Anna Winter pulled on her Gucci sunglasses and sprayed herself with the extra-strength mosquito repellent she had bought in the airport. Anna thought her job was very difficult, and she told everybody about this. How could she be a front-line, award-winning, adventurous journalist if she had to stay in bad hotels and eat bad food?
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This poignant story is about refugees in a place where they don't belong. They spend time listening to sad, sad songs and wondering if they will ever go home.
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