by Steve Tanham
I had arranged to meet Alexandra on the seafront the next Monday morning. I explained that I would bring us take-away coffee, as I wanted to use the half-hour to do a large-scale drawing. I had hinted that additional footwear might be required and she looked quite incongruous when she arrived, in pin stripe suit and walking boots . . . “Only for you!” … Read More Nine Deadly Sins with Coffee – Part Sixteen
by Steve Tanham
The She Sentinel A small festival, where pilgrims, unknown to themselves, climb me Clutching children, adorned with picnics, They play And round my ragged peak, they stand and point their heads For the length of a heartbeat And wonder . . . But it was not always thus Over many years he changed my face Wrought outer magic on my … Read More The She Sentinel
by Steve Tanham
The End of Time Whenever I think of Sandy I think, first, of his lined red face, his brightening smile And scrub and dust and boots, and thin cheroots And an old guitar that sings a while ———– No cares survived to scar his life Few needs, and too few friends preserved, pristine, his time But distant heartbeats feed, between the bottle and the … Read More The End of Time
by Steve Tanham
Alexandra was late arriving for our usual Monday morning coffee. She stormed into the coffee shop and slammed down the heaviest of her bags, making her less-than-hot latte shake in its tall glass tumbler. “Some people,” she fumed. “should never have be given driving licences . . . that taxi-driver is one of them!” If one can be said to sit down in anger, … Read More Nine Deadly Sins with Coffee – Part Fourteen
by Steve Tanham
Alexandra arrived to find her coffee waiting on the table; together with an old silver coin. “It’s a half-crown,” I said, in response to her puzzled look. “You may never have seen one, before?” “I have. My grandfather had some; and what am I supposed to do with it?” she asked, in reply. “Why, you spin it, of course!” I was being irritating, but … Read More Nine Deadly Sins with Coffee – Part Thirteen
by Steve Tanham
Alexandra was calmer and much more introspective when we met the following Monday morning. “So, we’re going to look at things from the unified perspective of what we have called ‘the Wave’?” she said. “Yes,” I replied, taking the new drawing, from my pocket and unfolding it next to the two fresh lattes. “Examine this and tell me what you see . . .” … Read More Nine Deadly Sins with Coffee – Part Twelve
by Steve Tanham
In a fundamental shift from the ‘Tanham’ era at the helm of the Silent Eye’s annual workshops in Derbyshire, next year’s event, 22-24 April, 2016 marks a new departure on two fronts: we are taking the now well-practiced enneagram temple format into the Arthurian Mysteries, something that may never have been done before and which may see Mr Gurdjieff’s ghost coming after me for its … Read More The Warrior in the Headless Mask
by Steve Tanham
The space between us had changed. I smiled as I sat down next to the tall latté waiting for me in the coffee shop opposite the roaring spring sea which was doing its best to reclaim the old seaside town. “You knew, didn’t you?” Alexandra asked, in a question that wasn’t. “Knew that the sun in the one-tree would change things?” “I did,” I replied, … Read More Nine Deadly Sins with Coffee – Part Nine
