Old Ned's Secret: AND OTHER TALL TALES

'Old Ned's Secret': Ned Brandscombe has held a secret for decades, fearing its revelation could threaten the existence of a creature, through being assumed extinct, had finally been left alone. And yet, Ned struggles with an unquenchable urge to hand his knowledge down, rather than allow it to die with him. He has chosen his favourite grandniece, Samantha, who struggles to believe the truth to his tale. 'Same Again, Leah' reveals the camaraderie, banter and guardianship between patrons from all walks of life in a country pub. A couple of pre-adolescent boys dive headlong into a perilous rescue mission in 'Baz, Minty and the Girl' and the staff of an art gallery panic over misplaced exhibition pieces in the hilarious 'Lost in Transit'. A man unwittingly transported back into the body of his childhood self in 'The Joining' relives his almost first date, while 'The Forest' reveals what is possible when two people divulge the same eerily-similar apparition of a creepy dark-eyed child on disassociated woodland walks. A schoolboy prank creates a wake of climate pandemonium in 'Jack the Waterboy'. Communicating the most urgent message ever has fallen into the hands of an unlikely emissary in 'Understanding Vela'. 'Happy Birthday, Tarken' tells of the best gift possible to a post-apocalyptic survivor. 'The Transit of Venus' discusses human fallibilities in the form of song lyrics, and 'Necromancer' questions why there may be a little bit of sorcerer in most of us.