Paul Simpkin

Author on Reedsy Prompts since Jan, 2024

Stories (26)

26 Stories

539 karma pts

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“Story 26” by Paul Simpkin

Submitted to Contest #263

(This is a sequel to Story 25 published on this site in June.)In the history of the world there have been many times when mortal enemies have decided to work together for the good of the common purpose. For obvious reasons the historical accounts must usually remain secret but for less obvious reasons on very rare occasions the stories can be made public. In the following account confidential information has been redacted.Robin Hood was looking carefully at his new recruit as he showed him round the camp, which was based in S******* Forest. ...

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“Story 25” by Paul Simpkin

Submitted to Contest #254

Robin is standing by the large oak tree in the middle of the forest. The sun is shining but his heart is heavy as he knows that his day will be full of tasks he would rather not have to do. His visitor, dressed all in black, approaches slowly and nervously. But Robin addresses him with the bold confidence and flair his team know so well.“Thanks for coming in for this interview. I would like to kick things off by asking why you have applied for this job.””Of course. Er, sorry I am a bit nervous. Basically I have been working in local governme...

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“The Perfect Holiday” by Paul Simpkin

Submitted to Contest #253

Thursday 2pmHi Margaret, just a quick e-mail to let you know we have arrived safely. Centreparcs is much posher than I expected. Not like Butlins at all. Dread to think how much it is costing. But I’m so glad they persuaded me to come. Offered to babysit the boys this evening so Clare and Simon can go for dinner at one of the restaurants. Will be so lovely to spend some quality time with the boys. Looking forward to reading them bedtime stories. This is just the relaxing break that I needed after such a busy time. I wish we could stay here f...

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“Trying to Make Sense of it All” by Paul Simpkin

Submitted to Contest #250

“He’s drinking far too much.” When I heard Maggie say this I was in the kitchen making myself a cheese and tomato sandwich. “For the last year he’s been drinking way too much,” said Maggie. I wasn’t sure who they were talking about. I could only hear part of the conversation and I didn’t want them to know I had been eavesdropping. I carried on eavesdropping and tried to hear what they were saying. “We need to talk to him about it. We are his oldest friends. Who else is going to do it?” I couldn’t hear the others. But who were they talking ab...

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“Wind in the Willows” by Paul Simpkin

Submitted to Contest #248

“Happy 7th birthday, darling.” Mum and dad sang happy birthday. I joined in. There was a big cake in the middle of the table with 7 candles on it. I had to blow out the candles, which I managed at the second attempt. Then they handed over my present. It didn’t look like a football. It looked like a book. I ripped off the paper and it was a book. “The Wind in the Willows” by Kenneth Grahame. At the time I was a bit disappointed but I grew to love the book. I had been enjoying the TV series so my parents thought that I would enjoy reading the ...

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“Persuasion” by Paul Simpkin

Submitted to Contest #248

As I waited in the corridor I was trying to read a few pages of my book to take my mind off my nerves. Suddenly they welcomed me into the interview room. It was time to sell myself. I was a bit nervous but I did my best to answer the first question the panel put to me.“Oh yes I know a lot about the second world war. For example, I know that Winston Churchill, when he became the Prime Minister and he was having to decide whether to keep waging the war against the Nazis or to try for a peace deal by negotiating terms and conditions, I know he ...

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“Your move, grandad” by Paul Simpkin

Submitted to Contest #247

The lounge in the nursing room was silent apart from a young man listening to his elderly grandfather. “So this piece, the bishop, moves in a diagonal line and this one…the…the?” “…the rook, grandad.” “The rook moves in a straight line?” “That’s right. And the knight moves in a sort of “L” shape, moving two squares in a line and then one square at a right angle. All the pieces are different.” “Oh no no no. I don’t think I can start a new hobby at my time of life. What’s it called again?” “Chess.” “Chess. I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that...

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“Murder in Silence” by Paul Simpkin

Submitted to Contest #246

“Moby Dick?” suggested Mortimer Hopley. “Romeo and Juliet?” shouted Lady Hopley. “Hound of the Baskervilles?” said Mortimer Hopley. “Murder on the Links?” interjected Lady Hopley. “The Book of Isaiah?” guessed the Reverend Pocklington-Pugh. This energetic game of charades had been going on for almost an hour. Lord Hopley stood in the middle of the library with his hands round his throat staggering around the room with an expression of pain on his face. His performance was getting more and more passionate. The guesses continued. “Mysterious A...

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“Evil under the Moon” by Paul Simpkin

Submitted to Contest #245

It was the 29th of June 1927. Deep in the Devon countryside the Harcourt family were making the most of a pleasant sunny afternoon in the beautiful gardens of their ancestral home, Harcourt Manor. Suddenly everything went dark.“What’s happening?”“What is this? I can’t see anything.”“It must be the solar eclipse!”“No, that’s not due to happen for another hour.”“I don’t understand what is going on. They said on the wireless that the solar eclipse wasn’t due to happen till 4pm.”“But it is only just after 3. Those scientist chappies must have ma...

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“A Poisoning in the Pews” by Paul Simpkin

Submitted to Contest #244

I looked again at the selfie. Her name was Jessica Robinson, 28, attractive, happily married and a regular member of my congregation. She never missed a Sunday. She was smiling as if she did not have a care in the world. And yet within a few hours she was dead. Poisoned in the pews. I should introduce myself. I am the Reverend Marylebone Pocklington-Pugh. For the last three years I have been rector of the beautiful church of St Cyprian’s in the tiny rural village of Pootley Crapington. Although it says vicar on my driving licence in fact I s...

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“Negative feelings” by Paul Simpkin

Submitted to Contest #244

It was a photo that I was never supposed to see. I think it was a photo that nobody was supposed to see. It was the photo that solved the mystery that started with the letter which I found in a book completely by accident. Finding the photo was a bit harder!I looked closely at this letter and realised that it was actually a love letter. Did people write love letters anymore? Surely everyone communicated by email or by what’s app message. Maybe it was older than it looked and had been stuck between the pages of the book for many years.I shoul...

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“Down memory lane” by Paul Simpkin

Submitted to Contest #244

I couldn’t remember taking this particular photo but I must have done. I suppose it was about 50 years old. This all came about when I was clearing out a cardboard box of old school stuff under my bed. I had been meaning to do this for ages but had kept putting it off. The dusty old box was full of school reports, exercise books, programmes from school plays and a few photos.The photo was black and white. I suppose you could say that it was a sort of selfie. Nowadays we have mobile phones and you can easily take a proper selfie but then you ...

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“The Perfect Image” by Paul Simpkin

Submitted to Contest #244

She was hoping that the photo would go viral.She had never taken a selfie as brilliant as the one she had just posted on Instagram. It was the first time that she was completely and totally happy with an image that showed off her long golden tresses in all their full golden beauty. Now all she had to do was sit back and wait for the reaction. Maybe one day somebody would see one of her selfies and help her to escape from the dull boring life that she was stuck in.Before posting the image she had taken time to edit the photo on her phone and ...

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“Almost the chosen one” by Paul Simpkin

Submitted to Contest #243

There was a rumour going round that somebody needed a donkey for a very important job. I found that really quite hard to believe. Why would anybody use a donkey for an important job? Donkeys are never ever used for important jobs. Donkeys are stupid creatures. They are only used for the most boring jobs because they are so stupid. I should know – I am a donkey.One of the advantages of being a donkey is that we have big ears so we hear a lot of rumours. People think that we are a bit slow on the uptake but we hear everything so we always know...

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“Midnight in the Gallery 2” by Paul Simpkin

Submitted to Contest #242

Following the miraculous events described in my previous story Midnight in the Gallery (which you can read on my Reedsy page under the prompt about somebody being locked in a museum overnight) I continued to volunteer at the gallery. To be completely honest, it was quite dull but dullness was something that I wanted at that stage in my life. I didn’t want too much excitement. I wanted a level of stability that wasn’t too stressful or difficult. I wanted calm and security.We approached the one year anniversary of the weird events of that magi...

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Author bio

Paul recently retired and is keen to develop his writing skills.