• The Reluctant Conformist 20(ending purified) - I, Magnus’s pneuma (πνεῦμα) visits the ‘Ever When’: The Finale made complete.
    Sep 2 2022

    Magnus’s nascent pneuma is captivated and charmed, yet senses utter isolation at his first encounter with ‘Liminal Time’. His habitation of the ‘Present Tense’ is somewhat akin to reading the final page of a ‘Who-Done-It’. He knows whose throat was slit and by whom, but remains clueless of the Who, What, Where, When, How and Why of all else! He’s in a dark place, and very much alone.

    A single chime from a tubular glass bell trembles the void, shattering the blackness, reviving and engaging Magnus’s bewildered psyche for the next chapter of his erratic existence.

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    16 mins
  • The Reluctant Conformist 18 & 19 (Chapter 10) should never have been divided into two episodes – here it is with truly thunderous TRUE IMPACT!
    Aug 30 2022

    Magnus drifted through life with no defined purpose nor focused ambition. He enjoyed his own company and was perfectly content pursuing his current interests. One troublesome issue which dogged him throughout his life however, was the unwanted attention of others. These intrusions were generally sidestepped, but on occasion became difficult. Magnus never looked for trouble; it seemed to seek him out. On this occasion, supermarket checkout provocation proved impossible to avoid and ended in madness and broken bones.

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    20 mins
  • The Reluctant Conformist 17 “It’s not A Picasso; I believe it to be The Picasso!”
    Jun 29 2022

    “Whilst perusing the Willie Leece photographs online(http://willieleece.blogspot.com), I noticed your other blog: Is this a Picasso?. (http://picassoceramic.blogspot.com) What the story?”

     

    “It’s a magnificent piece,” Dorothea enthused. “It’s even more wonderful than I imagined.”

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    12 mins
  • The Reluctant Conformist 16 is this a Picasso? Magnus believed so. See for yourself: -(http://picassoceramic.blogspot.com)
    Jun 22 2022

    “It reads like a Picasso. It’s right in its vocabulary; more painting than ceramic,” the Sotheby’s connoisseur affirmed enthusiastically, holding the plate securely in the crook of his arm. “It’s alive with his wit and playfulness. Where did you get it?”

    The Paris based Picasso Administration’s swift reply stated, ‘From the information provided, and only that, we do not think your plate is from the hands of Pablo Picasso’. Magnus’s cause of action was clear. He’d take the plate to Paris so they could see for themselves that they’d made a mistake!-( Chech it out yourself: - http://picassoceramic.blogspot.com)

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    16 mins
  • The Reluctant Conformist 15 a LOST MASTERPIECE (?), with Basque hospitality spiced up with chili peppers.
    Jun 15 2022

    Meet our vibratingly sexy Sybil Fawlty lookalike landlady who instigated the ‘dookling foot’ episode.

    And: -

    At the back of the shop, on a chair seat, alongside a red rusty, two-metre-tall, cast iron Jesus sat a grubby heavily glazed ceramic plate which catapulted Magnus deeper into the secretive, murky and unregulated world of fine arts.

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    14 mins
  • The Reluctant Conformist 14, the McAulay’s sanctuary became Robin’s Croft in the postal district of Kerrowdhoo, Onchan Parish.
    Jun 8 2022

    Robin’s Croft was a dilapidated seventeenth century stone cottage with the luxury of a cold water tap, but having no kitchen, gas, electricity nor sanitation. However, they’d survived the war and had a roof over their heads.

    For the first time four-year-old Magnus had a friend his own age. Andrew lived nearby beneath the trees of Fairy Glen and was the only son of a Polish taxidermist who dealt in rabbit skins and feathers.

    A catastrophic death in the family may, or may not have resulted from the maniacal ambitions of the now also dead, Adolf Hitler. 

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    15 mins
  • The Reluctant Conformist 13 Magnus’s adventures along a coastal pilgrimage trail.
    Jun 2 2022

    Extra Sensory Perception (ESP) may activate Arterial Fibrillation amongst susceptible pilgrims.

    A cubist inspired shrine in which 80year old Yoko Ono’s power of imagination shine.

    Magnus is one of millions who remain impacted by Hitler’s ambitions.

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    17 mins
  • The Reluctant Conformist 12, an art exhibition by one of ‘His Majesty’s Most Loyal Enemy Alien’ WW II internees, sparks a treasure hunt for a missing masterpiece.
    May 25 2022

    Magnus records the unique artistry of Willie Leece, the modest creator of a unique style of rural assemblage sculpture. 

    The ‘Hedge’ art works of this quietly thoughtful Manx farmer are selected to be hung alongside a blockbuster travelling Tate Gallery exhibition for a giant of the twentieth century’s artistic fraternity, Herr Kurt Schwitters. 

    An unforeseen consequence of the Dadaist’s exhibition propels Magnus towards entering his artistic endeavours for London’s Royal Academy of Art summer exhibition. . ‘Commander Benedict Forksbeard – The Startled Speed Reader’ and ‘Longnose Peggchin – The Sentimental Viking Poet’ are hung, but not as expected.

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    13 mins