Evening Surgery Storycuts

Mavis is the receptionist at a doctor's surgery and an incorrigible busy-body. When she unwittingly discovers an illicit affair, an appointment is made with calamity. What follows is a bitter-sweet and beautifully observed account of thwarted love. Part of the Storycuts series, this story was previously published in the collection The Atmospheric Railway.

When two flamboyant men arrive in a sleepy Kent village in 1956, it does not take long for the duo - in their colourful corduroy jackets and jeans - to gain notoriety. Local child Joe, in a burst of irrepressible curiosity, is discovered by the pair after breaking into their cottage in order to spy on the 'bloody pansies'. From these unlikely beginnings, a friendship and sense of solidarity develop between the three; but it is an alliance that will be challenged by a hostile and intolerant community. Part of the Storycuts series, this story was previously published in the collection The Atmospheric Railway.

In 'Dreams of Dead Women's Handbags', crime writer Susan Vigo ponders death as she travels by train to give a reading of her latest book; specifically, the kind of death awaiting the characters of her next heavily-anticipated novel. But an unpleasant encounter with a fellow passenger sparks a chain of recollections which throws our author's obsession with the macabre into a shocking light. In 'Other People's Bathrobes', Adam is frustrated by his borderline-anorexic girlfriend, and finds himself obsessively reliving childhood memories of tinned soup and spaghetti at inappropriate moments. A compulsive thief by nature, when Barbara goes out to work Adam trawls her apartment looking for hidden fragments which might reveal her deepest secrets. However, when he finds remnants from Barbara's unhappy childhood, it is Adam who undergoes an unexpected transformation. Part of the Storycuts series, these two stories were previously published in the collection The Atmospheric Railway.

In 'Nanny', Professor Campbell Forsythe gives his lecture on metamorphosis in the dull little town of Ditcham, where events from his past come back unexpectedly to alter him forever. In 'Radio Gannet', Norma chances across a strange pirate radio station, only to realise that the voice issuing from the speakers belongs to none other than her elderly, ramshackle sister Dolly. 'The Lower Loxley Effect' explores the importance of family: the strangers with whom you share your inheritance and your future. Part of the Storycuts series, these three stories were previously published in the collection The Atmospheric Railway.

Neville is captivated by the story of his distant aunt, a Victorian woman who set up a school for sickly children. But visiting the part of London where he grew up stirs up memories of his own childhood and personal history, causing him to re-assess his outlook in the present day. Part of the Storycuts series, this short story was previously published in the collection The Atmospheric Railway.

In 'Pink Cigarettes', a schoolboy grows tired of his relationship with an aging poet, who is becoming a greater draw on his time by the day. But when it looks as though his behaviour will break the old man's heart, he must listen closely to his own feelings. In 'Babies in Rhinestones', the Alfred Ellis School of Fine Art and the Araidne School Elliot School of Dance and Drama stand side by side, much to their proprietors' dismay. The two trade insults daily as they exchange the mail that so often ends up in the wrong letterbox. The tension increases when the owners find that they have adopted the same stray cat. Part of the Storycuts series, these two stories were previously published in the collection The Atmospheric Railway.

In 'Nay, Ivy, Nay', a mean old mycologist, who has fostered a beautiful white holly tree, denies his neighbour a sprig. In 'Wasps' Nest', will the wasp nest survive the pest controller? In 'Windfalls', picking up the windfall apples with his grandson and remembering his own son as a boy brings Martin true contentment. Part of the Storycuts series, these three stories were previously published in the collection The Atmospheric Railway.

Following the death of her mother, an elderly woman begins to undergo a transfiguration. Her body grows flinty, toughens and crystallises. An Icelandic stonemason she meets in a graveyard becomes her sole confidant. As her inexorable metamorphosis continues, the stories he has to tell of his homeland and its legends begin to resonate. Part of the Storycuts series, this short story was originally published in the collection Little Black Book of Stories.