John Alex Taylor
@johnunworded.bsky.social
Author, Apples in the Dark series. Contemporary fiction drawn from my own experience of epilepsy. Ex-social care worker, believer in people. South Wales is my home. Returning Cymraeg learner 🏴
https://linktr.ee/wordswithjohn
https://linktr.ee/wordswithjohn
It's been hard to get into the Christmas spirit this year, but after a carol service this afternoon and putting the tree up, I'm beginning to get that old feeling of expectation.
December 18, 2025 at 9:00 PM
It's been hard to get into the Christmas spirit this year, but after a carol service this afternoon and putting the tree up, I'm beginning to get that old feeling of expectation.
We had a lantern parade to mark the 225th anniversary of the Gilwern to Brecon section of the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal. In the next few days, the parade will pass through Llangattock, Llangynidr and Talybont before ending up at Brecon. Amazing lanterns and crowds of people there last night.
December 9, 2025 at 11:07 AM
We had a lantern parade to mark the 225th anniversary of the Gilwern to Brecon section of the Monmouthshire and Brecon Canal. In the next few days, the parade will pass through Llangattock, Llangynidr and Talybont before ending up at Brecon. Amazing lanterns and crowds of people there last night.
Misty morning.
December 3, 2025 at 9:35 AM
Misty morning.
This morning's walk (more of a waddle) didn't get very far. But who cares with scenery like this?
November 25, 2025 at 5:45 PM
This morning's walk (more of a waddle) didn't get very far. But who cares with scenery like this?
One of those days when every time I looked out of the window, the sky had changed.
November 23, 2025 at 5:57 PM
One of those days when every time I looked out of the window, the sky had changed.
My first proper walk for a week. What a relief to get out there! I have an inflamed leg thanks to a bad reaction to a tablet, and have been alternating between lying down and pacing around. At last, I can sit at the computer for a few minutes and even write! Enjoy 🏴 on a cold, clear day ❤️
November 21, 2025 at 6:05 PM
My first proper walk for a week. What a relief to get out there! I have an inflamed leg thanks to a bad reaction to a tablet, and have been alternating between lying down and pacing around. At last, I can sit at the computer for a few minutes and even write! Enjoy 🏴 on a cold, clear day ❤️
A visit to Kath's lovely Bardic Books in Llantwit Major (hint: where both my books are for sale 😁). Feeling nostalgic, I bought a vintage Ladybird book that I once owned. And the visit was topped off by apocalyptic skies over Llantwit beach. There's nothing like a stormy sky over the channel.
November 6, 2025 at 8:35 PM
A visit to Kath's lovely Bardic Books in Llantwit Major (hint: where both my books are for sale 😁). Feeling nostalgic, I bought a vintage Ladybird book that I once owned. And the visit was topped off by apocalyptic skies over Llantwit beach. There's nothing like a stormy sky over the channel.
River Clydach in spate! The rain has to go somewhere, and it's a very short river.
November 5, 2025 at 6:04 PM
River Clydach in spate! The rain has to go somewhere, and it's a very short river.
Out before the wind and rain (which is now battering our windows).
October 23, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Out before the wind and rain (which is now battering our windows).
Day by day, nature's palette grows. Even under grey skies.
October 16, 2025 at 4:08 PM
Day by day, nature's palette grows. Even under grey skies.
A present from daughter, courtesy of the Bodleian Library. Yes, I do prefer to write in silence.
October 12, 2025 at 9:39 AM
A present from daughter, courtesy of the Bodleian Library. Yes, I do prefer to write in silence.
Rush hour at the public baths.
October 11, 2025 at 3:36 PM
Rush hour at the public baths.
Moonrise over Gilwern.
October 6, 2025 at 5:56 PM
Moonrise over Gilwern.
'Overnight, very
Whitely, discreetly,
Very quietly...'
from Mushrooms by Sylvia Plath.
Whitely, discreetly,
Very quietly...'
from Mushrooms by Sylvia Plath.
September 25, 2025 at 2:05 PM
'Overnight, very
Whitely, discreetly,
Very quietly...'
from Mushrooms by Sylvia Plath.
Whitely, discreetly,
Very quietly...'
from Mushrooms by Sylvia Plath.
View from my writing desk as I write Apples in the Dark 3: Shouting at Angels.
September 18, 2025 at 9:30 AM
View from my writing desk as I write Apples in the Dark 3: Shouting at Angels.
Almost the end of the rainbow...
September 17, 2025 at 9:25 AM
Almost the end of the rainbow...
I went to see the choo choos at Blaenavon steam gala. Sunshine and cloudbursts added to the drama. Amazing to see a locomotive built in 1872 happily pulling passengers. Imagine if your mobile phone could still operate in the year 2178!
September 13, 2025 at 8:20 PM
I went to see the choo choos at Blaenavon steam gala. Sunshine and cloudbursts added to the drama. Amazing to see a locomotive built in 1872 happily pulling passengers. Imagine if your mobile phone could still operate in the year 2178!
I keep forgetting that Bluesky has expanded massively since my first novel arrived last year. Apples in the Dark is about love and loyalty, and tackles the effects of #HiddenDisability. The sequel, Angels and Blackbirds is available, and I'm writing the third in the series. #Disability #Epilepsy
September 11, 2025 at 9:17 AM
I keep forgetting that Bluesky has expanded massively since my first novel arrived last year. Apples in the Dark is about love and loyalty, and tackles the effects of #HiddenDisability. The sequel, Angels and Blackbirds is available, and I'm writing the third in the series. #Disability #Epilepsy
Stormy at Parc Bryn Bach, my favourite place to write nowadays.
September 4, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Stormy at Parc Bryn Bach, my favourite place to write nowadays.
TOMORROW I'll be at the Ross-on-Wye Book Fair at the Larrupertz Centre, with my two (so far) novels in the Apples in the Dark series. See you there?
August 16, 2025 at 4:43 PM
TOMORROW I'll be at the Ross-on-Wye Book Fair at the Larrupertz Centre, with my two (so far) novels in the Apples in the Dark series. See you there?
Another early walk, and the Hawthorn thinks it's autumn already (so does our apple tree). Poor nature is in a muddle. #climatechange
August 12, 2025 at 9:43 AM
Another early walk, and the Hawthorn thinks it's autumn already (so does our apple tree). Poor nature is in a muddle. #climatechange