The night before you're the star victim in the arena, and there's a volunteer to make it memorable for you... The Night Before   A fire blazed. the room was warm and so aromatic that Kyre’s hunger suddenly roused itself; an all-enveloping smell of hot bread filled the senses. ‘This place, I like.’ A couple of heads turned to see who had come in. ‘It’s you , in’t it? You’re  the Backman! Jeemo vaimo.’ A man was coming forward. ‘It is you, innit? I saw you training in the courtyard, few days...

There we were, having a frolic... I let him off the leash, as you do... And Rover starts getting a bit frisky, as he does... And the next thing I know,,, the little devil's nipped me. Oh, you want the truth? I had an op this week, to cut out a cancerous skin lump, a basal cell carcinoma. Quite interesting to watch – above my left knee. All seemingly clean now, waiting another week to have the stitches out. But, in the meantime, What do I do with it? I mean, there must  be a story here… The...

A perilous place for Old and Young alike? I collected my pension at the bank, paid my two regular bills for this month, and was heading – tottering, more like – to the pub to see my mates and have my afternoon drink in Wetherspoons. Hardly got a hundred yards, just round the corner onto Wellington Street, and this youth’s coming at me fists first, knocking me flat back. I’m rolling over in a tangled, shocked-to-death heap all legs and arms flying and head on the pavement and he’s on top of me...