'The Kitchen Sink' is a 'slice of life' game set in the fictional city of Shaddingham sometime in the 1980s.  The concept of the game is rooted in the experience of the British working class of the period and the 'Kitchen Sink / social realism' genre of film of the mid / late 20th Century.

It is a time of social, cultural and economic upheaval.  Whilst in some parts of the country wealth increases as the middle classes become a nation of home owners and shareholders, in the industrial heartlands of the North communities are left to decay.  Thriving towns and villages become ghost towns overnight as industry closes leaving communities shattered.  Unemployment is rife, each day is a struggle to survive.  The government wages war on trade unions, crushing the power of collective struggle.  Families and communities are ripped apart, bitterly turning friends and colleagues against each other.

It is a time of civil unrest.  Stop and search laws disproportionately targets the community.  Young women and men are automatically assumed to be criminals by the police.  Elements of a disenfranchised working class blame their neighbours for their problems, not recognising the issues that affect them, affect all in their community.  Violence and terror a daily reminder on the news

And yet, weeds grow through the cracks in the concrete.  There is joy, laughter, happiness.  It is a time of change.  There are victories.  In the workplace, in the home, in the bedroom.  There are the shoots of acceptance within the community regarding sexuality, even if the conversations remain hard.  The war will be ultimately lost, but there are plenty of battles to be won.  Life may be grim, but you're all in it together....(and the music is good too!)

The characters are the poor, the dispossessed, the vulnerable with real troubles and  problems.  Stories of redemption and of healing.  Stories of people left behind in a world changing to fast for them....

Although this game will be player driven there will be GM-led events and support provided - the last thing wanted is players talking to themselves!  Knowledge of the setting is not essential although careful consideration will be given to all character submissions - if you want to play a supermodel who moonlights as airline pilot and world champion athlete this may not be the game for you.

If you have made it this far you may as well click the link to the game :)

We are just getting started so this is a wonderful time to jump in.

We've plenty of openings for imaginative writers who want to help develop stories in this rich setting.

Come and join the residents of Richmond Gardens and enter a world on the cusp of social, cultural and economic change!  A place of struggle, violence, drugs and crime, but also hope, friendship, community and solidarity.

Full GM support provided for character generation and concepts.

Well yeah... this game is always going to be open for new players.

Come and join soccer hooligans coming to terms with their sexuality, drug dealing punks and desolate junkies.  Enter a world of lonely taxi drivers lost in their thoughts and a life that could be as they spend their early hours on the road.  See the sqauddie return home to find his family has fallen apart, meet the nice ice cream lady who barely knows what she has got in to.  The stranger in a strange land, invisible and liking it that way....

With supporting NPC's to fill out the setting and locations evocative of the era this is a fantastic opportunity for creative writers wanting a setting filled with humour and camaraderie, yet also rooted in the struggle of the dispossessed, living in a time changing rapidly and not caring about the human wreckage left behind.

Always open for writers with a thirst for social realism and a need to tell stories.  Enter a gritty world which has plenty of space for love and humour.  Come and hang out on the street, down the pub or in the squatted out space where those who don't want to be found live.

"Housewives and prostitutes
Plumbers in boiler suits
Truants in coffee bars
Who think you're alone
Big men on building sites
Sick men in dressing gowns
Agents in motor cars
Who never go home
Women in factories
One parent families
Women in purdah
Persons unknown"

Poison Girls - Persons Unknown

Come and join persons unknown, waiting for their stories to be told.  Pretty sure we are all going to end up in the pub soon so it's easy to jump in.

An upstanding member of the community has just met his demise.  Come join us and pay your respects at his wake.

Alcohol and grudges to settle welcome.

'Stop me, stop me, oh stop me....Stop me if you think if you've heard this one before....'

Always open for writers with a need to provide a voice for the voiceless.

Now is a good time to jump in as we all lament the loss of local philanthropist and alleged gangster Gerry Geoghan.

Always open for writers who want to explore living in the concrete jungle.  They call us junkies, the underclass, the scroungers and the skivers, the criminals and hooligans and crass.

But we are beautiful.  Yes we stumble but we get a hand up (and offer one too).  People say they don't understand is, but they don't know us.

Our voice is loud, coarse and strong!  But our stories will be told!

In 1983 Kajagoogoo sang, 'Too Shy'. Don't be shy, come and dip your toes into a gritty world of social deprivation and fighting back.  Where the only thing sharper than the razors in the night is the wit of the men and women who live in the grey, litter strewn streets.

The Kitchen Sink is always open for roleplayers wanting to tell creative stories examining what it is to be human, what it is that makes us tick or just go for a pint in the pub.

We are always open for writers wanting to explore the beauty and challenges of life in the 80's.

As society was deemed not to exist there remains communities surviving and clinging on, showing solidarity amongst each other.

Come and join us!

"Oi!  You!  Get out, you're barred!"

No, not you.  You're alright.  It's that troublemaker over there who is barred.  No, you're alright.

Why don't you come in?  I can see you are curious.  I know you have a character whose story needs to be told....

Come on in and I'll put the kettle on...

Always open for roleplayers and writers wanting to give voice to those who are unheard.

Come and say hello if you want!

"Come and join us, come and join uusss, come and join us over 'ere"

No, this is not the bloodcurdling chant of 500 rabid Shaddingham fans threatening to beat you up.  Rather, it's a humble request for strorytellers and roleplayers to come and join a game filled with drama, and stress, drugs and booze.  A game where finding ones' true self is hard to find.  Where laughs and friendships thrive despite it all.

There's always room for one more.  A chair pulled up at the table in the pub.  A place to stop and chat and talk about what happened to, 'poor Gerry'.

Just watch out for the dodgy drug dealer in the corner, or the girl who hides a terrible secret.  Or the inspector from the DSS who has clocked you working on the side...

We're a small, but friendly group telling stories about wonderful people.  People whose lives are rich and developed.  People who have challenges and trials.

Come and have a laugh in a slice of life that sometimes is just a little too real...

Always open for roleplayers and storytellers who want to tell stories of ordinary people living in a time of extraordinary change.

Part slice of life / historical fiction (my glossary of slang and setting specific terminology is growing daily, so if nothing else you can learn to speak like someone from the past), this game reflects real life drama with more than a few touches of comedy.  It is a game of revolution but also one of surviving boredom and struggling to make ends meet.

New players always welcome and setting and character support guaranteed.

'Sometimes I fantasize
When the streets are cold and lonely
And the cars they burn below me
Don't these times fill your eyes...'


Free eighties mix-tape to anyone who signs up*

Always open for writers and roleplayers who want to write engaging stories about real people in a time of social and cultural change.  Gritty, funny and real, 'The Kitchen Sink' is a place for stories.  Stories of truth, stories of gossip, stories worth telling.

*Not really, but everyone needs a hook :)

'Daddy don't know what he's done
Kids don't know what's wrong with mum
She can't say, they can't see
Putting it down to another bad day
So this is how it feels to be lonely
This is how it feels to be small
This is how it feels when your word means nothing at all'

This Is How It Feels

The 'Players Wanted' ad is now a vehicle for me to post awesome lyrics from 80's songs which fit the mood.

...and I suppose if you want to sign up, have a look at the game and give it a whirl!  Bubble perms, shell suits and fluorescent socks essential, I mean optional!

We are always open for people who want to step in a time machine and drink Babycham and talk about what 'our Tracey has done'.

Come and join a unique slice of life game set in a period of rapid social change.  We've got some wonderful characters and great stories developing so why not take a look?

'This town (town) is coming like a ghost town
All the clubs have been closed down
This place (town) is coming like a ghost town
Bands won't play no more
Too much fighting on the dance floor'

'Ghost Town' - The Specials

It would be super to welcome new players to Shaddingham.  'The Kitchen Sink' is always open for storytellers and roleplayers to tell tales of amazing characters in a place where the sun may not always shine.

On one hand it's a gritty realistic game with characters with depth and genuine problems they need to work through.  On the other hand it's a funny, warm hearted look at people and their unique personalities and all the little things that make people special.

It's a time in some respects were things are simpler, easier to understand, yet at the same time it is an era of rapid social change - those things which once seemed simple now seem confusing.

Full support provided with character concepts and setting acclimatisation.  The game isn't seeking perfection but an honesty and authenticity to characters is really important.

Come on in, there's a punch-up in the pub about to go-off and it would really help if someone calmed things down!

New players and writers welcome anytime, especially those who have seen any of the source material and thought, 'hang on...that's the story of my life' (or someone else's story but you get the idea!).

Dexy's Midnight Runners are playing on the juke box without a sense of irony...

Single mothers,
Missing brothers,
Forbidden lovers.

Striking workers,
Earnest shirkers,
Flick-knife lurkers.

Kids on the dole,
Picketing coal,
Dancing with soul.

This is Shaddingham, where your dreams come true, as long as you aim low...

Always open for writers who want to take part in a unique slice of life game set a generation ago.  Full setting support for those unfamiliar with the period and location.

Bump go things in the night, which would be a clever thing to say if this was a horror game.  Alas, it is not so I'm going to say 'bump, someone's hurt themselves lifting stolen goods off the back of a lorry' instead.

Always open for writers who want to take part in a slice of life / historical fiction game set some time in the 1980s.

Perfect for those scratching an itch about what is was like back then (and also for those who want to find out what it was like!)

It feels a while since we had a bump.  Going to reset the game soon so perfect time for new players to jump in.

Some lovely people just joined the game on top of the lovely people we already have in the game.

So if you are a lovely person and want to join in please drop in an RTJ :)

Adrenaline's running high, and one's got nothing to fear
It's all part of the game; it adds to the atmosphere

If that means something to you and you are not currently in jail then you should probably be in this game :)

Always open for people who want to tell stories about the things that make us beautiful, the things that make us ugly, the things that make us laugh or cry.

You've done too much
Much too young
Now you're married with a kid
When you could be having fun with me

Are you the single parent stuck indoors whistfully wishing you had a life of laughter and glamour?  Or are you the rudeboy looking sharp and dancing at the club?

Come and have a look and if you want to have fun with me why not chuck in an RTJ?

35 years ago today not-quite-so-little Stevie Wonder was number 1 in the charts with, 'I Just Called To Say I Love You'.

Well, I just called to say have a look at this not-so-wonderful world, and if you like it throw in a RTJ.

It's gritty, it's funny, it's rooted in an ordinary lived experience and I love the place...

....and I mean it from, the bottom of my heart...

Writers, roleplayers, dreamers!

You're wanted and welcome to contribute to this wonderful setting.

It's real, it's raw, it's charming and funny.

You know that person you passed in the street?  You're telling their story.  The stories of the everyday, the mundane.  The stories which are breathed to life through the power of words.

This is a game of heart and soul, of struggle yet hope.

So press pause on the VHS and maybe submit a RTJ

Bum bags were ALL the rage in the late 1980's and bump posts are all the rage on rpol....

Always open for keen and enthusiastic writers who either remember, or want to pretend what it was like when there was no internet, mobile phones were for yuppies and if you were lucky enough to have a computer games took five minutes to load by inserting a cassette and watching your TV screech at you.

'The Kitchen Sink' is the game for you if you like to write about real people, living in a unique snap shot of time that now feels long ago - but not that long!

The poet sits at her desk writing by candlelight.  She just needs fifty pence to put in the electric meter and then light will shine on her world.

She's writing a poem about a boy.  The boy is currently in the cells for throwing stones at a church.  He isn't an angry atheist, he's just bored.

The police are trying to get hold of his Mum but they can't.  Because he hasn't got one.  Any more.

Dad's down the factory, or so everyone thinks.  He's not.  He's in the pub drinking away the last of his redundancy payment.

He's worried about his kids and is hurt because his missus has left him.

She's getting ready to go out, dancing to S-Express and Chaka Khan.  Going back in time to when she was a teenager and people saw her as a desirable woman and not a domestic.

Dad's worried about the boy, but that's okay because his eldest is keeping an eye on him.  The eldest is growing hungry because there's only a few sausages in and they're for Dad's tea.

As she sits in the dark writing poems about a boy....


Always open for writers who want to tell the stories of ordinary people who you may pass by every day and never know how wonderful their stories are.

These are stories of sadness, anger and helplessness.  These are stories of love and laughter.  But most of all these are stories of hope and celebration, that life can sometimes be hard but it is, at heart beautiful and worth celebrating.

'The Only Way Is Bump' wasn't a Number 1 hit for Yazz and the Plastic Population in 1988 but I liked how it sounded so we can pretend it was.

Always open for people who want to write the lives of ordinary people with beautiful stories to tell.

'Hold on...Hold on...Hold on...ohh baby RTJ...'

Terribly bad 1980's music puns taken as given