Old Dog New Tricks

Harvey and his family have moved house. Settling into their new life involves meeting the neighbour the curmudgeonly and cantankerous neighbour Mick. Mick holds some outdated views on race and his prejudice is unpalatable to Harvey. Clever exploration of what it is to probe beneath the skin of labels, not just those of race, but the label of what it is to be racist, enables the reasoning and rationale behind these to be considered.

The short text skilfully navigates between positions and readers are left with an understanding of the emotional grief and hurt that led to Mick’s current, skewed perspective. Peppered throughout with diverse cultural references, the story leaves readers in no doubt that each of us now lead our lives against a varied, diverse background of culinary and artistic influences.