Jean's musings

The Dutch Bulbfields

2012-01-27T08:35:00.000-08:00

This weekend I'll be writing about flowers in the Netherlands, having claimed two articles from a Constant Content writer pool. This is a fairly new feature at CC, for which they have set some categories for groups (or pools) of authors to be involved in. Authors have to meet certain criteria to be eligible to apply for them, and submit some content to be vetted before they are accepted. I applied for a few categories and was accepted for all of them. It means that, along with the other writers in each of my pools, I am fed the article requests in those categories. As soon as an author claims an article, the request is taken down, and the author must submit the article to meet the deadline. We can claim up to three articles at a time. Good idea, don't you think?

You have to be quick to claim them though. I was lucky that some interesting ones were available when I was close to finishing my commissioned work for this month. Although I'll have to work the weekend, I'm hoping to be able to take a couple of days off writing before I start my February jobs next week.

This article research reminds me of the very first holiday I took with the man who was eventually to become my second husband. We took a coach tour of the bulbfields and some of the other sights of the country in April. There weren't many bulbfields left in evidence on the roadside, but we chose to abandon the coach in Amsterdam one day, as I wanted to visit the Rijksmuseum. After that we had to take a train to Leiden and a bus back to Noordvijk and out hotel. From the train we had an endless vista of unharvested bulbfields, so we did better than our companions on the coach.

Pic is by Deepak from Wikimedia Commons

Wordless Wednesday: Colours of Spring

2012-01-25T11:30:00.000-08:00

Another Book Launch

2012-01-23T00:01:00.000-08:00

Today I'm taking part in a web splash for another author. I'm actually writing this ahead of time and unfortunately won't be able to join in the celebrations because I'll be on my way north for a funeral that takes place fairly early tomorrow morning.

Today is the date of the official publication by Grimoire Books of New Beginnings by Rebecca Emin.

Join her and her friends over on Rebecca’s blog Ramblings of a Rusty Writer to find all of the details of how she is planning to celebrate today, or you can read some reviews of the book itself on Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com.

You may like to visit some of the other blogs helping Rebecca to celebrate today too.

About New Beginnings

Sam Hendry is not looking forward to starting at her new school. Things go from bad to worse as the day of truth arrives and all of her fears come true... and then some.

When Sam meets a different group of people who immediately accept her as a friend, she begins to feel more positive.

With her new friends and interests, will Sam finally feel able to face the bully who taunts her, and to summon up the courage to perform on stage?

About Rebecca

Rebecca Emin lives in Oxfordshire, with her husband and three small children. New Beginnings is her debut novel, but she has finished writing her second novel When Dreams Come True, which is also for older children.

Rebecca also enjoys writing flash fiction and short stories and has had several flash fiction stories included in fundraising anthologies. A Knowing Look and Other Stories is a collection of her short stories which was published in November 2011.

She is also an author for Ether Books who publish short stories and essays to mobile devices via the Ether app.

Trevor Belshaw's Books

2012-01-20T08:26:00.000-08:00

I've just bought my copy of Tracy's Hotmail. I've read snippets of it before and know it's good for a laugh. These grey days we need something to cheer us up.

I've been meaning to buy it for ages as it's by Trevor Belshaw, one of the authors I met at Writelink, and a brilliant writer to boot. Today is a good day top buy it though, because it was recently snapped up by the Crooked Cat publishing company, and the book launch is today. You can read Trevor's hilarious take on that in his blog, and judge his writing ability from that. I bet you'll want to read his book.

If you're quick, you could win a copy from the publishers, who are holding a competition. Get an entry in before midnight UK time and you could be one of three lucky winners. Go to the Crooked Cat site for the details.

Incidentally, Trevor also writes children's books under the nom de plume, Trevor Forest. I recently got three signed copies for my grandaughter and I'm going to visit her next week, so she'll get them then. I read them all to make sure they'd be right for her, and I'm sure she's going to love them. No doubt you'll read more about them here when I get her reactions.

George Clooney for President?

2012-01-18T09:27:00.000-08:00

Some Wednesday mornings I take time off for a cheap visit to the local senior screen at Tower Park's cinema. It only costs £3 and we oldies get a hot drink and a biscuit before the film. I usually meet a friend or two there and we go somewhere for lunch before heading home, so it almost makes a complete day off for me.

The film today was The Ides of March, in which George Clooney is campaigning to become the American Democrat's Presidential candidate. he also co-wrote and directed this great film about the backsniping and winners and losers of such a campaign, with small but tragic personal stories fitting into an enormous jigsaw with an overall theme of disillusionment.

The gorgeous Clooney appears whiter than white, while his flunkies (mostly less than gorgeous, although his deputy campaign manager, Stephen Meyers, is played by a younger and very personable Ryan Gosling) sort out the dirty tricks that will get him into pole position without harming his image. I won't tell you all the story as it would spoil it for anyone who wants to see it, but for anyone wondering, the female interest is played by Evan Rachel Wood.

Go and see it if you have the opportunity. It's very well done.

MLK Day Today

2012-01-16T11:53:00.000-08:00

Today is Martin Luther King Day and a holiday in the US. IfI wasn’t a blogger, I probably wouldn’t have known about this, since I am not aresident of that country. But I do knowabout MLK and the importance of his life works, the results of which havepermeated around the world, as well as making a difference to the lives ofpeople in America. Although I am Britishand white, I have the most delightful mixed-race granddaughter who is the lightof my life, so it seems appropriate to mark the day here.

The pic shows MLK on the left, with civil rights leadersWhitney Young and James Farmer at a meeting with President Lyndon Johnson on 18January 1964, four years and three months before MLK was brutally assassinated.

Haiku Diary for Today

2012-01-15T08:21:00.001-08:00

Wind pushes us on
along the noisy shoreline,
as waves crash and splash.

We find some shelter
up the steps to Ham Common
and walk back that way.

My Life by Jade - 3

2012-01-13T08:03:00.000-08:00

I love playing tag with birds. It's great fun, but I can't understand why they never let me catch them. They always fly off just before I get to them.

I don't think mummy told you about the adventure I had before Christmas. We were walking by Poole harbour in Hamworthy Park, right past the spot where you can see Eryn and her Uncle Sye in the picture. They weren't there on that day though, but I saw some birds sitting at the endof the little stone pier. So I ran out there to play tag with them. I was concentrating so hard, honestly, I didn't hear mummy calling me to come back.

When I got near, those silly birds flew off, and I saw I was getting close to the end, but I was going so fast I wasn't sure I could stop. I sat down and tried to dig my paws in but I just kept skidding on, and I was right - I couldn't stop. I skidded right over the end and into the cold water. I've never swum before, but I learnt how to do it that day. The trouble was, I couldn't get out as the pier was too high and the waves kept pushing me about. I did catch a glimpse of mummy looking very frightened, then I realised that daddy had run after me and he got right down on the ground so his arm would reach my collar and he pulled me up onto the pier.

I was so happy I ran right back to mummy before I shook most of that water out of my hair. I think daddy was bit cross as he told mummy to put me on the lead, but she said I had to keep running around to get warm again until we got back to the car.

Anyway it was quite an adventure, don't you agree? But I don't think I'll run out on that pier again as long as I remember it.

Wordless Wednesday: Jade Growing Up

2012-01-11T09:02:00.000-08:00

A Versatile Blogger

2012-01-10T12:15:00.000-08:00

I have to thank Marc Latham for nominating thisblog for a Versatile Blog award. Marc’s blog is about a style or kind ofpoetry that he invented – Folding Mirror Poetry. I first met Marc at Writelink. In the past hehas been kind enough to publish a couple of my own attempts at the foldingmirror poetry structure, and he includes a link to this blog in his side bar. I love visiting his blog to read hispoems, and the explanations of how they came about. I’m delighted that he received The Versatile Blogaward for his own site, and really honoured that he selected mine as anotherrecipient. Thanks a million, Marc.

According tothe requirements of the award I should now:

• Nominate 15 other bloggers
• Inform my nominees
• Share 7 random facts about myself
• Thank those who nominated me
• Add a picture of the award to this post.

Now I know that some bloggers find responding toawards a chore that they just can’t find time for. So I don’t want anyone tofeel they have to accept and comply. Hereare the 15 other bloggers I’ve chosen just to let them know that I really appreciateand recommend their blogs.

http://apostcardaday.blogspot.com/- I learn a lot from this blog. The author gives fascinating facts about theviews on the postcards. Sometimes I recognise them and am able to supplementher comments, and they can bring back lovely memories from down the years.

http://www.buckrob.com/- life as seen by an old timer like me, but living very differently in anothercountry. I particularly enjoy reading about his generous sponsorship ofchildren in South America, and the holidays he takes to visit them.

http://myqualityday.blogspot.com/- another writer’s blog that I really enjoy. It’s so versatile, you never knowwhat you’re likely to be reading about. Great photos too. She has other blogsas well, and I can thoroughly recommend her e-book, News from Dead Mule Swamp, as a darn good read.

http://annasadornments.blogspot.com/- a very versatile blogger, writer and maker of delightful jewellery.

http://www.rvcruisinglifestyle.blogspot.com/- the versatility here is visiting so many different places. It’s the story of a wonderful life on theroad, catching up with family and friends on the way, and getting to see somany wonderful places to share on the blog.

http://eastcoastlife.blogspot.com/- a blog about many aspects of Singapore, where I lived for a couple of yearsin the dim and distant past. It’s greatto get glimpses of familiar sights and to see how much it has changed, with yetanother view of lif3e in a distant part of the world.

http://photographybykml.blogspot.com/- another must visit blog for me, with a new photo and explanation each time itis updated.

http://livingthegourmet.blogspot.com/- mmm, those gorgeous food pics accompanying easy to follow recipes: aversatile cook indeed.

http://fullet-secretforest.blogspot.com/- this one is based in Spain, Catalan in fact. But I can’t fault the bloggersEnglish, and I’m green with envy over his holiday break in Paris.

http://john-sealander.blogspot.com/- another of my favourites who updates daily, so I often have to read severalposts to catch up. And it’s always a pleasure. John has a knack for making themundane aspects of life seem riveting.

http://jean-livingsimple.blogspot.com/- another Jean, who writes about the birds that visit her garden, and capturesthe most fantastic photos of them.

http://poeticshutterbug.blogspot.com/- another great photographer, and traveller based in San Fransisco.

http://writingnag.blogspot.com/- this is where I go sometimes when I’m looking for inspiration. I always find somethinghere that will set my mind off and wake up the muse.

http://bobscotney.blogspot.com/- Bob’s Home for Writing is as versatile as a writer’s blog should be. Lots ofresearch goes into it, and there is always something fascinating to read.

Here are the seven facts I choose to reveal aboutmyself.

1 I started blogging here nearly four years ago.

2 I also have another blog over at Writelink.

3 I think more people read my blogs than anything else I write.

4 I have quite a large portfolio of articles at Constant Content.

5 I was born in Torquay, the Queen of the English Riviera.

6 When I was 34, I went back to education for five years and got my degreeas a mature student when my own children were 16 and 10.

7 As a teenager, my passions were horses and writing. I still love horsesalthough I don’t ride these days, and the writing goes on for ever.

Problems Solved

2012-01-06T04:32:00.000-08:00

It’s been a strange few weeks. I’ve had so many problems with my equipment here that in the end I’ve had to fork out for something new. So I’m now the proud owner of a Compaq laptop and my PC has gone to the computer heaven in the sky. I can just imagine a heap of them idling away in peaceful rest together with a warm sun shining and a cool breeze fanning them to the most comfortable temperature.

I had some help with the transfer and think I’ve kept everything I need from the hard drive. Hope so anyway, but my techie genius said he will keep the hard drive for a couple of months just in case, before it gets bashed to a pulp and sent to the scrap metal merchant. (Not such a nice mind picture on that one).

There is still plenty to do, like downloading Firefox, Picasa and sorting out my online backup again. Also I can’t print anything until I either find my drivers CD or download some drivers to get the printer working again. I lost so much time over all this that I’m not sure where to start catching up. The housekeeping has gone to pot, but I’m a hopping, happy bunny with my new system up and running.

Apologies

2011-12-30T02:50:00.000-08:00

Sorry that comments from the last time I posted about My Travel Checklist have been lost. The Social Spark customer had a glitch with its campaign and all posts had to be removed. Then I was given the opportunity to do it again, but of course, the original comments were lost, though fortunately I did have time to respond to them.

I really appreciate all your visits here, especially when you take time to make comments. Please keep them coming and I will reciprocate whenever I can.

Now I still have to do something about those blue screen crashes reported earlier, which are happening several times a day. Looks like I'll have to call out my little IT wizard again.

My Travel Checklist

2011-12-29T14:00:00.001-08:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of My Travel Checklist for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

Ever go on holiday, unpack your case and find there's a crucial item you've left behind? It's happened to me more times than I can remember. Usually it's meant having to use some of my precious holiday spending money on something I could easily have brought with me. Or I would have to do without something that would have made my time away easier or more comfortable. I've sometimes thought about writing a checklist and keeping it on my computer, but it would take up time that I don't really have when I'm trying to get everything done before I leave home. So up to now I've always relied on what is in my head or written on scrappy bits of paper.

Now someone's come up with a brilliant solution to this problem. You just have to go to My Travel Checklist and download the widget to your PC, or you can save it on your mobile phone.

I put it on my computer and made a generic checklist in a couple of minutes. It first asks a number of questions about you, where you are going, and for what reason. Then comes up with suggestions for your list and you click a box to include the ones you want. You also have an option to add anything that's not already there, but it's pretty comprehensive and I didn't have to do that. The list is divided into useful categories too, and includes areas for planning and leaving your home safe as well as what you'll take with you. Afterwards you can amend it whenever you want, and you can print it when the time comes to use it.

Mine's done. All I need now is somewhere to go. It'll probably not be until March as I hope to take my hubby away then for a break to include his birthday.

Frustrated

2011-12-28T14:30:00.000-08:00

My computer doesn't seem to like Christmas. Here I am trying to respond to a specific IZEA request and watch one of their videos on a downloaded .mov file. I'm told I need to download some software to do this, but every time I try to install it, I get a blue screen crash, and I'm no nearer being able to view it. It's really frustrating.

This blue screen thing happens also when I leave the darned computer alone for a while. I come back and find it has rebooted itself, recovered various files and left me little messages about it.

Help! What can I do?

A Walk in Lyme Regis

2011-12-07T08:58:00.001-08:00

The Dorset seaside town of Lyme Regis was made internationally famous as one of the locations for the movie, the French Lieutenant's Woman, starring Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons. Meryl Streep plays the woman of the title, who likes to walk on the cobb at Lyme Regis where she lives at the start of the film.

The cliffs in this area are full of fossils and it was also the home of Mary Anning who is believed to have found the first fossilised ichthyosaurus in the rocks there. She was one of a number of avid Victorian fossil hunters in the early 1800s.

Lyme was also our destination on Sunday because it is about half way between my sister's home and my own, and we like to meet there each year to exchange Christmas presents. We usually have a stroll around and then a pub lunch, before returning home in opposite directions. It's interesting to see how the town council has developed the area above the beach into a maze of pathways between well kept and very pretty gardens.

The residences along the shore are very pretty too, as you can see from the picture above. It was taken about four years ago but that part hasn't changed much. This next picture was taken around the same time and shows the cobb, which is the retaining arm of the harbour. It's the green in the foreground that has been transformed since then.

Fun on the Beach

2011-12-02T08:58:00.001-08:00

After the chilly picture I posted yesterday, I thought I'd find something to warm us up a bit today. Here my great nephew has fun on the beach with a rather nice derriere getting wet in the background. It was taken last July on Preston beach in Torbay.

Winter's on its Way

2011-11-30T10:44:00.001-08:00

We've been having quitemild weather for the time of year. We're in December now and lastyear we had plenty of snow and ice, at least it was more than usualfor us. But we're still likely to get some severe weather over thecoming months. And it could be sooner rather than later. This is what our road looked like one morning last year.

I didn't goout much then, and when I did, I got in the car and let my hubby do thedriving. This year it's going to be different. I will still have totake Jade out three times a day. So we'll be getting in some rock salt to stop us slipping on our drive and the pavements on the shortdistance to the park. Last year there were lots of reports of brokenlimbs due to falling on the ice. We don't want that to happen to anyof us.

Rock salt from a minein Cheshire is what the Highways Agency and most of the localauthorities here use, and I know where we can order some of the samestuff. They use the brown rock salt which is a mite cheaper than thewhite kind, and they order in bulk, whereas we will only need one ortwo 10 kilo bags.

I'd recommend anyonewith the same concerns to stock up on rock salt now, before the bad weather hits,and everyone is screaming for it.

Holes Bay Again

2011-11-28T12:34:00.000-08:00

I took Jade along the side of Holes Bay today, so I thought I'd post some more pictures of the area. They were taken in the autumn of the year we moved here when I was doing lots of exploring. Things haven't changed much in the couple of years since. In the first one you should be able to make out the railway bridge on the line that dissects the bay in Poole harbour. I'm quite blasé about that train trip now, but at first I got so excited whenever I travelled that way across the water.

The second pic shows where the footpath comes up against Cobbs Quay and you have to walk out and around the roadway to the other side of the marina if you want to continue beside the shore. A colony of Canada geese have set up home here so I always stop a bit short with Jade. I don't want her even to think about chasing them. She does love to stalk and chase smaller birds if they come down to earth, but of course they always fly off before she reaches them. I'm not sure what the geese would do and I don't think I want to find out.

Today we also saw one egret and a swan, as well as some seagulls. There seems to be one lone swan now at this end of the bay. We think it must have lost its mate during the summer. It must be feeling very lonely, poor thing. A couple of weeks ago I was very intrigued by the antics of the seagulls at low tide. They were all hunting for something under the water. They would fly up a short distance, then up-end themselves and drop down beak first, ending up with their heads in the water and legs waving in the air, a bit like ducks who can do it without lifting themselves right out of the water first. I saw one doing this first, then looking around I noticed some others in different areas of the shallow water.

If you want to see more pics of Holes Bay, look here or here or here or here or here. There's always something different to see at Holes Bay.

Spookies Compendium

2011-11-24T08:40:00.001-08:00

I've just put this review up on Amazon. I promised David, the author, that I would review in return for some free books. I don't usually choose to read these kind of books, so I didn't know then how much I would enjoy them.

"This compendiumcontains a series of e-books – two full length novels and a shortstory – about the activities of Spookies, a paranormalinvestigation team. I was hooked from the start by the three unlikelycharacters on the team: Sceptre, the aristocratic female with aghostly butler; Pete, an athletic ex-cop and unbeliever, afraid ofnothing and noone; and Kevin who is unaware of his psychic powers andfearful of the spirits that interact with him. And they all remain incharacter throughout.

In each of thesestories a paranormal investigation takes place side by side with acriminal one. The Spookies always come out on top, though theyalways need the help of Sceptre's butler, who died when she was ababy but remains close, albeit on the spirit plane, to take care ofher and follow her instructions.

It sounds strange butthe author has a knack of making the unbelievable acceptable, even ifit just makes you laugh. He keeps you turning the pages to see whatwill happen next. My only complaint is getting too tired because Ican't put my Kindle down when I should be settling to sleep."

The two novels in the Compendium are The Haunting at Melmerby Manor and The Man in Black. They are also available separately at Smashwords - see my side bar.

Travel Thru History

2011-11-23T07:53:00.001-08:00

That was quick. I only sent my photos to Ruth Kozak on Sunday and today they and my Menorca article are up on her site. Please go and have a read, and check out some more great articles about far away places on there. They make me want to get up and go again.

Here's yet another pic of Ciutadella harbour in Menorca.

Remembering Menorca

2011-11-20T09:12:00.001-08:00

Ruth Kozak of Travel Thru History has been holding one of my articles about Menorca for almost two and a half years. I'd almost forgotten about it. Then this morning she emailed that she's going to publish it this month, giving her apologies for keeping it so long, and asking me for photos.

It was a lovely surprise, and it got me thinking again about our visit there in 2008. It was the last of the three Balearic Islands I'd been to and I have written quite a few pieces about different aspects of them, some of which sold at Constant Content all at the same time, bringing me a nice dollar income that month. Perhaps it's time to write some more.

I took lots of photos on that Menorca visit and have published some of them before. Here are some more.

The beach near our hotel

Boats at Es Grau

View from the fortifications at La Mola

Wordless Wednesday: Nile Cruise Ships and Feluccas at Luxor

2011-11-16T11:24:00.001-08:00

Books to Be Won

2011-11-15T11:15:00.001-08:00

My pal, author David Robinson, has an exciting new contest for bloggers and readers. Anyone who reviews one of 5 of his titles on Amazon or Smashwords will be entered into a draw to win the whole series in paperback, with other prizes of e-books offered for the next winners.

The picture shows one of the covers. Head over to his site to find out more.

Worless Wednesday: Luxor's Banana Island

2011-11-09T04:42:00.000-08:00

A Secret Santa for Christmas

2011-11-07T12:18:00.000-08:00

If I don't get startedon Christmas soon, it's going to pass me by this year. Thinking aboutit while driving to and from a meeting today, I was remembering theSecret Santa events I've been involved in in the past, eitherorganising or just taking part. I do recall them being great fun withlots of merriment.

Do you like my picture? It is a Santa in one of the windows of Selfridges in London's Oxford Street, taken when I was there in December 2008.

When I was teachingadult literacy I always had a hotch potch of learners that includedsome from very disadvantaged families. For the last class before theholiday, I always arranged a little Christmas party with fruit juiceand bucks fizz, snacks and crackers with paper hats. During this,we'd hold our Secret Santa, with me putting in extra little presentsmyself on the quiet for those who couldn't afford to contribute.

If I remember rightly,we set a limit of £4 for each of the Secret Santa gifts, and inthose days that was sufficient to get some cute little things to wrapup. And of course the point of a Secret Santa is that noone elseknows what you buy, and you don't know who bought the gift you get.We jumbled them all into a sack and each person put in an arm andfelt around, pulling out one present to unwrap and take home. Youcould usually tell which one you had contributed from the feel ofthem, so that you wouldn't pick your own.

Money doesn't go as farthese days, but you can still find inexpensive Secret Santa gifts toraise a laugh. You can even order them without braving the winterweather for your shopping. You just need to go online and view thesometimes somewhat risquésuggestions for men and women, or the less suggestive but sometimes alittle rude ones for boys and girls.

I feel like getting aSecret Santa group together again this year. We all need a bit oflight relief at the moment.

Devon Again

2011-11-01T12:53:00.000-07:00

Yesterday evening I returned from a lovely relaxing long weekend in Devon. I walked past this beach (Corbyn's Head) in Torquay several times. In just four short days, I caught up with many members of my family, and some friends as well.

Hubby looked after Jade at home and I felt the freedom of being able to walk anywhere without worrying about where I could take the dog and whether I had enough pooh bags. I missed Jade of course, but I got a lovely welcome from her at the train station when hubby brought her to meet me.

I've now been home and back in my routine again for just over 24 hours, and I'm so tired. Will I ever get the balance right?

Visiting London

2011-10-26T04:57:00.000-07:00

When I go to London I am lucky because I can stay at my daughter's house and take a 20 minute train journey to the centre. Sometimes though, I wish I could actually stay where the action is and just have to step outside to be in the thick of it. Although I lived there for over 25 years, there are still bits of the metropolis I'm not familiar with, and I often discover places to see there on the blogs I visit. Much has changed in the years since I moved out too. Here's a pic I took last spring of the avenue of blossom trees leading to the London Eye on the South Bank of the River Thames.

Have you enjoyed a visit to London in the past? Would you come agan? Do you want to visit London for the 2012 Olympics? Thousands of people want to be there soaking up the atmosphere even if they don't have tickets for the events, so if you are among them, you need to be sorting out your accommodation now.

People who can help are Robert and Polly Arnold, a couple who have been bringing up their children there, and making it their business to help visitors have the best possible experience of their city. They'll book London Apartments and offer lots of advice about what to see and where to eat, and so on. It's good to have a home from home you can relax in with your family and soak your aching feet after walking around the sights of London all day.

The Arnolds help businesses too, because London is a vibrant business centre where important meetings are held and crucial deals are negotiated. Business's often find it's cheaper and more convenient to put their people up in decent London Apartments, rather than fork out London hotel prices.

I can't keep away from London for long. I'll be there again this November. When will you be there?

Blogging Hiatus

2011-10-26T03:48:00.000-07:00

Just following up on my last post a week ago. All went well on Thursday in terms of timing to get us to the funeral. The ceremony was well attended. My bro-in-law was a popular guy. So sad we're not able to have fun with him any more.

I haven't posted since because there has been so much else to do, and I'm still feeling tired. But tomorrow I'm off to my sister's for a few days and will be catching up with some friends, leaving hubby to care for Jade, so I hope she doesn't miss me too much.

I have to write another post today which will earn me a few dollars, hopefully. But after this, my blogging schedule will not go back to normal as I've taken the momentous decision only to write what is necessary until I've done the accounts for the tax returns for myself, hubby and son, and then caught up with the rest of the filing and paperwork that's sitting around. I really need to put my house in order before I can relax and do whatever I like. It's going to take some self-discipline, but looks like it's the only way.

So it's a question of see you when I see you. But don't worry; I won't be able to stay away for long and I'll be popping in from time to time to catch up with all my lovely friends here.

Horrid October

2011-10-19T09:04:00.000-07:00

Sorry I've been absent longer than usual from here. Things have been a little chaotic lately. We've had several small domestic crises and I've been a bit under the weather and battling to get through my commissioned work this month. Still not feeling 100% and getting quite a bit of gut pain. It's probably just the dreaded IBS but I'm having various tests to make sure.

Tomorrow we have to get up before 5 am to drive to London for a family funeral. It shouldn't take that long to get there but if we left it later we'd hit the morning rush hour and be too late. I'm not really looking forward to it, especially the early morning. Jade won't know what's going on, being put in the car at that time of the morning as she usually sleeps until I get up after my son has gone to work at 7.20.

We have to pick up my stepdaughter and her bloke, then cross south london to my daughter's where we leave the dog before heading to the crem at Leatherhead for 10.15. I hope it will all work out. Afterwards of course, we'll have to do it all again the other way around. I think I'll sleep well tomorrow night.

The RSPB at Arne

2011-10-09T08:18:00.000-07:00

We went to the RSPBnature reserve at Arne today. You can take dogs as long as they arekept on the lead. We have an extending one for Jade so she can run around but we can still control her. Arne is just a hop,step and jumpacross Poole Harbour from our little local beach, but we had to driveabout 15 miles around the shore to get there. I've been wanting tovisit ever since we moved here so I'm glad we finally made it.

There's a small carpark next to an information hut where people go to report the birdsthey've seen. Every day they write them up on a white board. Wedidn't go especially to view the birds but to have a nice walk andsee the scenery and any wildlife that cared to show itself to us. There were quite a few deer and some of them posed for me verynicely.

We walked as far as this little beach where we could look across the water to Hamworthy, the part of Poole where we live.

I was surprised to seelots of red berries on some of the holly trees. I hope that doesn'tmean we'll have a particularly vicious winter this year. Last year Ididn't go out much when it was icy. This year, of course, I willhave to brave it to take Jade out.

But today, the sunpeeped out every so often from behind the clouds and we had to takeoff our jackets and tie them around our waists as it got so warm.

Wordless Wednesday: onTop of the World

2011-10-05T13:22:00.000-07:00

Memories of Egypt

2011-10-03T12:43:00.000-07:00

Our last overseas holiday was early in 2009, before we moved house. We went to Luxor in Egypt and saw many wonderful antiquities.

Jade is a Flower Child

2011-09-30T03:01:00.001-07:00

This is a Sponsored post written by me on behalf of Hills Pet Nutrition for SocialSpark. All opinions are 100% mine.

We've been experimenting with food for Jade. At the moment, and for the next four months she has to have puppy food. After that, we need to find out what is the best adult diet for her. The vet told me she doesn't have a heart murmur, which is quite common among King Charles Cavalier spaniels. Her heartbeat is normal when she is still, although she does have a slight abnormality in it when she moves. Hopefully that won't interfere with her quality or quantity of life.

Another common problem with the breed is with their legs, and Ted, the dog my daughter sometimes looks after who has also featured in my posts here, has had to have operations on his. Fortunately they were successful and he is fine now. And again, fortunately, the vet said Jade's legs are fine at the moment. But, of course, you never know what is around the corner. I'd prefer to avoid any mobility problems for her when she's older if I can.

Anyway, I checked out the Hill's Pet Nutrition site. It's well worth a visit and clicking around for lots of good advice about diet for dogs and managing your dog to keep the animal healthy and happy.

When I found their Healthy Mobility Challenge page, I decided to register and was given access to money off vouchers for their Science Diet Healthy Mobility dog food. They are offering up to $30 in vouchers. You should check it out. Everyone who registers gets the Hill's Healthy Mobility Coupon offers and is entered in a draw that will have 30 winners who will all get free pet food for a year.

I also went to the page for Hill's Pet Nutrition on Facebook, clicked on Little Dog House, took a little quiz about Jade's personality and discovered she's a 'flower child'. Why not go and find out what your dog is? It's a fun way to take a break from your work and pass a few minutes online.

Yesterday I realised just how strong my flower child's passion for feathers is. We took her to Baiter Park on the shore of Poole harbour and let her run free for a while. It was littered with seagull's feathers and she had a ball with them. I'd rather she played with them than her choice of chomping and tasting the pony droppings in the New Forest. There I had to keep her on lead all the time so I could control what she picked up as we walked.

Hidden Gems by David Robinson

2011-09-30T00:06:00.000-07:00

We are all lucky today because I have a guest post for you. I get an excellent blog post without the pain of drafting it. (Didn't you know writing can be painful?) And you get a great writing tip from a successful author.

David Robinson is a pal of mine who has been active on the Writelink site even longer than I have. He is one of the most prolific successful authors I know, turning out several novels a year. He also has a cracking sense of humour and writes side-splitting blog posts.

David has said he's less comfortable writing non-fiction, but today's post proves that he is just as good at it. Enjoy it, and then please go and visit him. And while you're at it, why not buy one of his e-books advertised in my side bar. If you click there and buy, we'll all be even happier. You'll get a spiffing yarn at a reasonable price (or the very useful how to tome), David will get a sale and I'll get a commission.

For a preview of his writing style. read on. I know you'll enjoy this.

Hidden Gems

Like Jean, I’m a much travelled man. Leaving aside the rest of the world, there is no part of Great Britain that I haven’t visited, whether on business or holiday.

Wherever I go, if I have a little free time, I always head for the second hand bookshops, and I’ve been fortunate enough to pick up a few treasures here and there. A first Penguin Edition of Nigel Kneale’s Quatermass & The Pit dated 1960, a first hardback edition copy of a little-known novel by Keith Waterhouse, Office Life.

I was scouring the shelves of one shop in (I think) Whitby when I picked up a book entitled Hypnotism & Crime by Dr H. E. Hammerschlag.

I trained as a hypnotherapist in the early 90s. I was also writing crime fiction and I’d had this idea for a detective who was a ‘forensic hypnotist’. I bought Dr Hammerschlag’s book sometime around 2003, with the feeling that it would more than repay the £5 I paid for it.

Understatement! Hypnotism & Crime contained a hidden gem.

The book details a series of cases where hypnosis has been used in the committing of crimes, and within its pages there was an account of The Heidelberg Case.

Without going into great detail, this case, which happened in Germany from 1927-1934 blew away the notion that a hypnotised subject cannot be made to do something which would be against his/her moral standards. The subject, only ever identified as Mrs E, made six attempts to murder her husband and when they failed, the criminal hypnotist persuaded her to commit suicide. It was only good fortune that prevented her doing so.

To someone who writes crime fiction, mysteries, dark sci-fi and paranormal horror, The Heidelberg Case was a gift from the gods. From it, I developed a 100,000 word novel which, as I write, is with my editor, in preparation for publication.

My point here is not The Heidelberg Case, or the potential for abuse of hypnosis, or even the writing of such fiction. It’s research.

As writers, we all know the value of research, but people often say to me, “you write sci-fi and horror, you don’t need to research anything.”

Wrong. Many of my titles are set in the here and now, and at the very basic level, I have geographical research to carry out. Some of my sci-fi titles are set within the Solar System and I need to know the names of Jupiter’s moons or the orbital period of Saturn.

When it comes to more complex tales, such as the abuse of hypnosis, I’m up against a community which will swear that I have my facts wrong. Dr Hammerschlag disagrees with them, and so do I.

But it’s not simply establishing fact to mingle with the fiction. Having this research material to hand permits me to speculate. Why did Mrs E never remember a hypnotic induction? How did the hypnotist entrance her without saying a word? Why did Dr Ludwig Meyer’s original account of the case disappear?

These are questions to which there is no answer, but they’re questions upon which I can allow my fictitious forensic hypnotist to speculate.

And all this from a book that is almost 60 years old.

So the next time you’re wandering through the second hand bookshops and have your eye on a title, pause a moment and ask yourself what hidden gems you may find in those pages.

David Robinson is a freelance writer, novelist and humorist, who self-publishes his works on Smashwords and the Kindle. You can find him at http://www.dwrob.com and http://flatcapfritters.wordpress.com/. His titles are listed at http://www.amazon.co.uk/-/e/B004M204BC and http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/dwrob

More Memories of Lanzarote

2011-09-28T05:48:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's five years since we were last in Lanzarote. The first picture above is of the cactus garden, one of the island's tourist attractions. I've blogged about it before and you can see more of my photos here.

The picture below is of a quiet beach on the island of La Graciosa which is just a short ferry ride from busy Lanzarote.

This shoreline of volcanic rock is on the quieter north western side of Lanzarote.

Finally here's an interesting mural placed on the garden wall of what I think was a private house.

Getting Your Hands Dry

2011-09-26T11:44:00.000-07:00

Don't you hate it whenyou've visited a restroom in a hotel or a cinema, anairport or a train station, you've washed your hands and find theonly way to dry them is to stand for about five minutes waving themaround in a warm slow air flow? I usually give up, flap them around abit and let them dry naturally.

Some of the latest handdryers actually work. They are more powerful and can really dry yourhands quickly. But the crème de la crème must be the Dyson Air Blade , where you slide each hand down into a pocket and pull it outdry about 12 seconds later.

I wish I could rememberwhere I first came across one of these airblade hand dryers. I'ddefinitely be going back there. I recall that it was one of thosereally pristine bathrooms that actually smelt clean. I was a bit waryof the hand dryer at first, but I watched someone else go first andthen it was my turn and I was just amazed to have clean and dry handsin an instant. Dyson describes the process as being like a windscreenwiper scraping water off your hands. Apparently these dryers also usea lot less energy than the warm air dryers, so they are better forthe environment too.

Dyson has always beenfamous for a revolutionary type of vacuum cleaner and I hadn'trealised the company had diversified into Dyson hand dryers, but nowthat I know, I'm glad they did.

Wordless Wednesday: African Art Seen in Madeira

2011-09-21T11:29:00.000-07:00

Holiday Souvenirs

2011-09-19T12:10:00.000-07:00

With the way our finances are right now, and the fact that we've reached the time of our lives when travel insurance goes sky high, I rather doubt we will be making any more overseas trips. I look over the photos of previous years holidays to remember those good times.

New York July 2005. Manhattan and over the East River, from the top of the Empire State Building

Lanzarote January 2006. A remarkable piece of residential architecture.
All buildings have to be painted white and not more than two storeys high.

Madeira October 2007. View from our hotel room.

I've enjoyed trawling through my pics to select these. It brings back all the good times. I'll post some more of these another day.

Help for a Friend

2011-09-16T02:01:00.000-07:00

The other day a friendof mine was talking about moving her website to Wordpress, and shewas wondering how difficult it would be. I thought she'd probablyneed help and I found this new website with Wordpress theme designers. They are eager to help people to migrate to Wordpress andconvert existing design into Wordpress theme and they promise thattheir solutions will be fast, effective and affordable. They willalso design a custom Wordpress theme from scratch or tweak anexisting theme to personalise it for you.

Good things about themare that they'll give you a free consultation and quote before youhave to commit to anything. Best of all, if you're not satisfied,they'll rework, and if you're still not happy they'll give you yourmoney back. I'm going to suggest to my friend that she tries themout. She can't lose financially and at best, she'll get a great newwebsite, at worst, she might learn from the experience.

I'm going to warn her,though, that she'll have to watch the content. These people are designers and I don't think they concern themselves much with words. I noticed quite a few typos on their site.

Wordless Wednesday: Silhouettes

2011-09-14T11:24:00.000-07:00

Busy, Busy, Busy

2011-09-12T11:42:00.000-07:00

Boy, am I getting writer's cramp. Of course that is now a figurative expression. It used to apply to pen pushing, now it's more a case of RSI - repetitive strain injury - or Carpel Tunnel Syndrome.

Last week, in addition to my normal workload, I had to think up, and write up, topics for five articles for a customer's website. They had to be at least 400 words and had to be littered with keywords from supplied lists. This week I have to write 5 blog posts on the same topics at around 300 words with different keywords from the same lists. Next week it's rewriting each of the original articles twice. Not terribly exciting, but fairly representative of a freelancers lot.

I'm not having much time for Constant Content these days, with all this going on. But some exciting changes are happening over there. They've introduced writer pools for specific categories, and I've got myself into several of these, which are throwing up some interesting requests.

It's not easy to write much for this blog either. But one of my pals at Writelink might do a guest post for me, which will take off some of the pressure. It will be a refreshing change for my readers, too, to have a view from someone else. He doesn't write non-fiction but has quite a few books for sale at Amazon and Smashwords, so here's hoping he'll follow through with his offer. Watch this space.

Upton Country Park and Holes Bay

2011-09-09T09:30:00.000-07:00

We did a circular tour of Upton Country Park yesterday. This walk has quite a bit of variety and it can be exciting whichever way you decide to walk. Yesterday we turned anti-clockwise to take the shoreline trail first along the edge of Holes Bay. This bit of the bay is also a nature reserve and has a couple of bird hides beside the trail.

Here we keep Jade on a long lead so that we can make sure she doesn't go off the trail or annoy people we meet coming in the opposite direction.

She is such a friendly little soul and thinks everyone wants to make friends with her. As soon as we see someone coming towards us she gets all excited and her tail is going nineteen to the dozen. If I don't get her under control she'll be jumping all over them. Most people like this and think she's adorable, but some just don't like dogs or are nervous of them, even a light weight puppy like Jade.

I am so busy with writing and other projects at the moment, that I don't have enough time to take her as far as I'd like, but we turned up towards the gardens of the house, getting a glimpse of the view I showed you yesterday, and went on through to a parallel path back homewards. But we don't stay on that path with Jade because a lot of people cycle that way. And when we we turn off and go into the woods, we don't meet many people, so we let her run off lead. She dashes around, nose to the ground like the spaniel she is, and sometimes we don't see her for a while, through the undergrowth beside the path, until she comes pelting towards us again. Yetserday at one point, we got quite worried as she was gone so long and we couldn't even hear her, but suddenly there she was behind us having doubled back and found the path again.

When we reach the gate at the end of this path, she sits down patiently and waits for the lead to be clipped on again. And then it is just a short step back to the road where we parked the car.

Wordless Wednesday: Walled Garden, Upton House

2011-09-07T04:59:00.000-07:00

Ebay Failure

2011-09-02T08:56:00.000-07:00

I couldn't think what to write about today, so I did the trick of what's in my ninth picture folder. It didn't work. It was full of pictures of people who might be upset if I put them in here. I counted through another nine, and found this pic of the last item I put up for sale on ebay. It was also the only thing I have failed to sell on ebay and ended up going to a charity shop.

I liked this skirt. I liked the shape, the black background, and the colourful decoration at the hem. I bought it to take on holiday to Egypt and I did wear it, once, on an evening. But I decided it was really a young person's skirt, not for senior citizen like me who shouldn't wear hems above the knee. It had been a mistake to buy it.

Nevertheless I was surprised that noone wanted to bid for it at ebay. Is my taste really so unusual?

Wordless Wednesday: Summer Poser

2011-08-31T12:28:00.000-07:00

My Life II - by Jade

2011-08-29T02:41:00.000-07:00

I told you in the last episode of my life that I was going for an operation, and was wandering how much fun it would be. Well, I have to say that it wasn't fun at all. Mummy really let me down there. She left me in this place where the people seemed really nice but they stung my leg and then I couldn't seem to keep awake. When I woke up they made me walk out to a big room, but I was so sleepy I couldn't even wag my tail to tell mummy I was glad to see her. But they put me on her lap and I fell asleep again. When I woke up again she was carrying me out of the car and I was never so glad to find that I was back in my forever home again, so I could sleep on my beloved sofa next to mummy again.

I woke up in the night and my tummy was sore so I thought I'd give it a lick. But then mummy woke up too and she put this horrid collar around my neck and it stopped me from reaching my tummy. It wasn't nice but I felt so tired I went to sleep again. Next time I woke up I found this thing was still round my neck and I was frightened and tried hard to rub it off but I couldn't, so I cried to make mummy wake up and take it off for me. I licked her hand to say thank you but I was quite worn out so I went to sleep again.

My tummy was sore for a while but it got better. I had to go back to the vet place a couple of times. I tried to stop mummy going into the little room with the big table, but in she went so I had to follow and make sure they didn't hurt her.

She didn't take me for a nice long walk for ages after that, and then we had a visit from family and I was introduced to Ted, who looked rather like me but was much more grown up. Mummy said he could be my boyfriend, but he was a bit growly when I cuddled up to his family members. Then he realised that I needed more cuddles than him because I'm just a baby and it was alright after that.

We had a bit of fun together, and went to the woods on the cliffs for a run around. He went home after a few days and I decided to let mummy know I was missing him so I peed on the carpet a couple of times. She shut me outside while she cleaned it up, but then she let me in for cuddles again, and I forgot all about Ted.

This week we started going for longer walks again and daddy came too some days. Mummy let me off the lead on the beach so I could chase the seagulls. When they flew over the water I forgot I was frightened of it and splashed in after them. It wasn't as bad as I thought it would be getting my feet wet. I tried having a drink as well but it tasted horrible.

Another day they let me off the lead in the woods and I went running in lots of places they couldn't follow me through the bushes. I shook my head and laughed at them when they called me. I knew exactly where they were all the time, and I knew the place where I needed to go back on the lead, before the gate to the lane where the bikes go, so that's where I came back.

After our walks we always go back to my forever house. I think I'm enjoying life again.

Wordless Wednesday: Riverside Garden

2011-08-24T07:36:00.000-07:00

You Never Know When you Might Need a Translator

2011-08-22T08:31:00.000-07:00

A few years ago I was given some temporary cold calling work by an international translation agency setting up an office in the UK. It wasn't very well paid at the time, but the contract had a commission element, and 12 months down the line a nice fat cheque arrived, so I was glad I'd done it.

It did mean that I learnt something about what people wanted from translation agencies. Recently I've come across another translation agency which has a very impressive list of clients here in the UK, and is obviously getting things right. It has its headquarters in London but its web site lists offices in Shanghai, Paris, New York and Luxembourg.

It offers a range of translations services covering 150 languages, just a small fraction of the estimated 6 to 8,000 spoken languages thought to exist in the world, but still a formidable number in my book. They also have specialist translators who can cope with medical, financial, legal and other types of jargon.

So for example they can provide a translation service on a report from a foreign hospital for someone who needs continued treatment for an illness after returning home. That happened to my son when he was younger and we'd taken him on holiday. He had an operation in France; his symptoms recurred when he was back, so he ended up in our local hospital. I don't know what translation company was used at the time, but it's good to know there are translation companies out there which can help at such a time.

Wordless Wednesday: A Young Brixham Herring Gull

2011-08-17T07:35:00.000-07:00

Dreaming of America

2011-08-15T09:24:00.000-07:00

I'd so love to spend some time in the US, travelling around. I'd love to see the Grand Canyon and visit my cousin in Memphis. She could take me to Gracelands, of course. That would have to be on my itinerary. And there are plenty of other famous places and sights I'm dying to see over the pond.

But I'd also have to pre-book tickets for shows and events that I might never have another chance to see. If I could be in Tennessee at the right time, I could get some Rascal Flatts Tickets for Nashville and catch some country rock.

Peter Pan is one of my favurite pantomimes in the UK. It would be a great experience to use Peter Pan Tickets in Oklahoma on my way west.

Being a fan of the beautiful game at home (soccer for the uninitiated, but we just call it football), I'd like to watch some American football and see how it compares. I might then head for California with some San Diego Chargers Tickets.

Now I'd need to still be there, or return again, in November or December. Then I'd definitely be in the market for Trans-Siberian Orchestra Tickets at one of their tour locations.

Nevada would also be on the list as I'd have to see Las Vegas. If I was there at the right time, I could catch a show by one of my all time favourites with my Celine Dion Tickets.

Dream on, I tell myself. I may well just have to settle for the memories of my single weekend visit to New York. But you never know. My hubby insists on doing the lottery every week. One day his number may come up. I wonder if he'd treat me.

My Life by Jade

2011-08-11T09:56:00.000-07:00

When my mummy and daddy brought me home I was a bit confused at first because I'd never had a forever home before. It was nice that I had two or three people with nice warm laps, but I did wonder how long it would last. I could only remember having to stay in a small area in the pound with only my sister for company and an occasional nice human with time to make a fuss of us for a little while. Then I was taken to a nice house where there were two humans but I had to share them with other dogs and cats, too. Now I've been here for a while it seems like my forever home and I hope it is because I love my mummy and I'm happy when she is in the same room with me, and happiest of all when I can sit with her on the settee and put my head and front paws on her lap. Daddy and Big Sye are ok too if mummy's not around, but I always try to be with mummy as soon as she comes in.

I didn't know where I was supposed to go to wee and pooh when I first came here, and I was scared people would be cross with me when I did it in the wrong place. Now mummy takes me out to the weeing and poohing places when we get up and before we go to bed, and after she's had lunch we usually go somewhere more exciting where I can run around and follow all the wonderful smells.

When my mummy works on her computer, I like to have a place to lie down near her. We did try it with me on her lap a few times, but she wouldn't let me stay there for long because she said I got in her way. Sometimes she puts a laundry basket near her with some towels in for me to lie on. The first time she put a cushion on a box under the computer table, I didn't realise it was for her to put her foot up on when her ankle started hurting. I thought she put it there for me to jump into just like the laundry basket. It's very comfy even though my weight pushed the cushion down into the box, and the cardboard sides are really tasty when mummy doesn't stop me chewing them.

Yesterday we went to what the humans call dog training. Actually it's all about training humans how to behave around dogs. We have to go into a really big hall and the first time we went I really didn't want to go through the door. But I soon found out that there's lots of lovely things to eat in there, and I try to get mummy to walk faster until we are in there. I like saying hallo to the other dogs, but I have to stop that and help with mummy's training. One of the other puppies is enormous and I was a bit nervous of him before I found out that he's a great big softie. And I'm proud to say that I'll actually be grown up about 3 years before him.

Today I had a bath and Daddy scrubbed me with a flea shampoo. When he finished there weren't any dead fleas in the water like there were the first time he did it. I tried to tell him I didn't have any fleas, but he's just a human and he didn't understand me. My ears take so long to dry and I've been shut out of the lounge for such a long time. It's not fair. Still I've been keeping mummy company in her office, which I probably would have done anyway.

I had to have that bath because tomorrow I'm off to the vet for an operation so that I won't have any puppies of my own. I'm not sure what that means but I hope it's going to be fun. Mummy's going to take me and I usually have fun when I go somewhere with mummy.

Life as a Senior

2011-08-08T11:18:00.000-07:00

Do you get fed up with the endless round of housework, gardening and other chores? Do you ever feel that whatever you are doing, you are neglecting something else? If so, come and join my club (figuratively speaking). Every day I start with a list of things I really should do, either on paper or in my head. Every evening I realise there are still so many items on that list that I just haven't been able to get round to.

Today's list was:

Housework
1. vacuum to landing at top of stairs (incldues 5 rooms and two hallways)
2. Clean my son's room
3. Wash the kitchen counters and cupboard doors, change and clean cooker filter hood
4. Sweep the passageway outside clear of droppings from the neighbours' trees and clean the outside of the back door.
5. Ironing.

Cooking
Make mixed lamb and chicken kebabs with pittas for our supper.

Phone calls
1. arrange for dog to be spayed
2. call the hospital to confirm appointments
3. Make appointment with GP
4. Make appointment at beauty salon for facial har removal.

Shopping
We're out of puppy food, bread, milk and a few things for my planned supper tonight.

Walk the puppy

A combined trip with the shopping as she stays in the car while I'm in the supermarket, then I take her to the common and the beach, where she has a high old time.

Work
Start what has been commissioned for August, for which I received the brief email over the weekend. Complete at least two article drafts.

Blogs

Post in blogger, EC drops and adgitizing.

It all started at 6 am when the dog woke me to take her out for her ablutions. It's now 7.15 pm and I'm still not finished. I've only managed one of my article drafts, three of my four phone calls, and three of the housework items will have to go on tomorrow's list along with the fourth phone call.

Such is life in semi-retirement.

Paignton's Carnival

2011-08-06T08:36:00.000-07:00

In the middle of the week we were away, Paignton held its carnival procession. When we lived in our last house, in Gillingham, the carnival took place on a Thursday in October, and the procession came back in the dark. It seemed strange watching it in summer when it was still light at 8.15 in the evening. New regulations about insurance and health and safety have made it much more expensive for people to prepare and use impressively large lighted floats, so it was good to see that efforts were still being made. I snapped away but in some of the shots the crowds of watchers were the most interesting aspects. Here are a few of the better ones.

The next is one of the area's carnival queen wagons.

By the time this Monarch of the Glen float passed us, the light was starting to get dim.

A rather unusual bus driver.

There were several groups of young majorettes.

My sister, daughter and granddaughter were all watching this at the point where it left the Green on Paignton Sea Front, and then we went and had a drink in the pub where my nephew is a manager. It has a children's play area so my granddaughter was happy. From the open window we saw the tops of the procession again as it returned after it's trip around the town. Finally, we got our lift home from my nephew when he was able to leave work. It had all been good fun, but I was glad to leave all the crowds behind.

Busy, Busy, Busy - and Badgers

2011-08-03T12:50:00.000-07:00

I came back from my hols on Sunday and still haven't found time to transfer my pics from camera to computer. I did manage to write a post on Monday but not do any adgitizing or EC dropping. Today I completed a job to write 4 pieces of around 200 words each ahead of tomorrow's deadline, so that's good. But there were two men living here while I was away, and I have a lot of catching up to do in the house and an enormous pile of ironing waiting. Monday I needed to shop for food etc., yesterday I had hospital appointments and today I took Jade to her dog training class. All that in addition to two short and one long walk every day for my lovely puppy. She gave me the most wonderful welcome when I got off the train, and I was so pleased that my hubby brought her to meet me.

Now you are no doubt wondering about the badgers. I'm really thrilled to be able to report that I've seen my first wild family of live badgers. We stayed on a caravan site for a few nights, and my son came in one night and said he'd seen them by a van on the edge of the site next to woodland. He led me back to find them again - and there they were, eight of them pf various sizes. We stood back and watched them trundling around until three of them came towards us. My lad said hallo to them and they stopped and turned their faces up towards us, then turned and headed one by one, at quite a slow, majestic gait, through the boundary into the wood. It was a magical moment, something I've often wished I could see.

Of course, the light was dim as it was around 10 pm. So we didn't try to take photos. But I found this one of a similar looking badger ar Wikimedia Commons. It's author is listed as BadgerHero.

Medical Education

2011-08-01T12:57:00.000-07:00

I came back from my hols yesterday. Had a great time and will write more about it later.

Now I need to replenish my coffers so I'm pleased to be able to write this sponsored post about something that really interests me. It's about training for doctors. I was chatting recently to a friend who has been involved in medical training for a long time and now specialises in working with general practitioners (GPs) here in the UK. She was saying how they need more than medical training so I was fascinated to find out about an organisation that provides a variety of courses for doctors in the UK

Consultants have to undergo a rigorous selection process that includes being interviewed by an Advisory Appointment Committee comprising at least six specific types of member, and often several more. They need to present themselves well and can become much more confident after attending a consultant interview course.

In teaching hospitals, the doctors must be able to educate the students. If you have ever been hospitalised, you will know that nine times out of ten, the consultant or registrar will arrive at your bedside with quite an entourage of students who must be told about your condition. The doctors' own medical training doesn't necessarily equip them with the skills to teach others, so a medical teaching course, or a teach the teacher course, could be just what is needed.

Hospitals generally don't have a reputation for good management, a perception that really needs to change in the current climate of criticism and cost cutting in the NHS. The medical management course covers effective communication and negotiation, as well as a variety of skills needed to lead teams, deal with issues and work through service development problems.

Holidaying in Devon

2011-07-20T23:53:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time but I finally have another week long break. Just going to Torbay in Devon this time. See you when I get back.

The pics are of the frontage and garden at Oldway Mansion in Paignton, where my sis got married in 2008. You can read more about the mansion and see some pics of its glorious interior in my post about it at that time.

Aristocrats and Royal Patronage

2011-07-18T09:24:00.000-07:00

When I was in Hereford last year, I came across this plaque on what appeared to be the boundary wall of the grounds of the Bishops Palace. It explained the name of the road we were walking along – Gwynne Street. I was excited because I'd recently written an article about Nell Gwynne, but my research had found no mention of her connection to the city. You might have seen an uncut version of this pic here before because I wrote about it briefly early this year.

On revisiting it recently, I was intrigued by the references to her fame, particularly the fact that she was the mother of the first Duke of St Albans. It doesn't, of course, mention that he was one of the the illegitimate sons of King Charles II. This king was a great womaniser, and had many illegitimate offspring. History tells us that he was in the habit of awarding dukedoms to his sons from the wrong side of the blanket. It is interesting to learn the origin of a particular line of the Bristish aristocracy.

In my article, I wrote about how Nell was a favourite mistress of the king, and an actress who was popular with the public too. The other reference on the plaque calls her the founder of the Royal Chelsea Hospital (its full name). This was actually a residence for royalists veterans of the civil war that had raged in England in the 17^th century and it was the king who made sure it was built and used. But it is widely believed that it was Nell who persuaded him to do so, which shows a compassionate side of her character that may have contributed to her popularity.

The Royal Chelsea Hospital on the banks of the River Thames in London is still a home for pensioned off veterans of the British army. They have their own uniform which they wear with pride on ceremonial occasions. See the pic below which is by Sheynhertz-Unbay.

London Viewpoint

2011-07-15T11:11:00.000-07:00

I took this picture looking west from Waterloo Bridge the last time I was in London, which was about three months ago. I've added plenty of light to the photo be able to pick out some of the detail.

On the left is the cafe at the back of the BFI (British Film Institute) on the South Bank. (It used to be known as The National Film Theatre.) Beyond that is the Festival Hall, and then, of course, the famous London Eye. It's been there for over 11 years now, and I still haven't managed to ride it.

At the right front is the Festival Pier stretching put over the River Thames. There you can pick up a boat to the Tower of London or Greenwich. In the opposite direction, I've known some boats from here to go as far as Richmond, where the river still ebbs and flows with the tide, which comes to a halt a little further on at Teddington Lock and weir.

Between the river and the buildings is the South Bank promenade, with people ambling along beneath the branches of the trees in the foreground. They walk under Hungerford Footbridge which crosses the river alongside the railway and trains from Waterloo East station, that turn east and stop at London Bridge Station where the tracks divide to serve the Essex lines.

From my vantage point, it looks as though the river bends to the left as you go further back in the picture, and Hungerford Bridge hides the next one along. This is Westminster Bridge, the one you must cross to reach Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament, which I hope you can make out behind the London Eye.

If you walk further north over Waterloo Bridge, you get a much longer view to the east, past St Pauls Cathedral and the City's financial institution buildings. I didn't do that but you can find a good pic of it in William Wallace's London is Cool blog. I'm heading over there now to catch up with what he's been up to lately in London.

Wordless Wednesday: Hosta Blooms Beat the Slugs

2011-07-13T07:41:00.000-07:00

Visit From my Great Grandson

2011-07-11T08:47:00.000-07:00

This is Braydon who came to visit me recently. Isn't he gorgeous?

Haiku Musings

2011-07-09T02:37:00.000-07:00

I don't claim to be an expert on haiku but I like the challenge of writing them. This week I wrote one and published it in my Writelink blog. A comment there sent me scurrying to research some Japanese words associated with this poetic form.

I found that sentori means a moment of oneness, giving us the idea of a haiku capturing a single moment. This reminds me of my first ever attempt at the form, many years ago when I first learnt of it from my English lecturer at college.

The moonlight shivers

as the breeze stirs the water

on a warm June night.

I wrote that one from a memory of gazing into the water as I walked home alone along the Thames towpath after a conert of blissful music at Kingston Parish Church. This next one was inspired while I was on holiday in Luxor, Egypt, in 2009.

Tiny little bird
with yellow breast, black on top,
turquoise shoulder flash.

Then back at home again:

Wondrous white tulips,
delicate pointed petals
reaching for the sky.

The Japanese word jinji means the human condition and most of the ancient jinji haiku in Japan were satirical and funny.

I think my latest one is the closest I get to that.

They said it would rain,
yet the sun baked us pink, as
we walked in raincoats.

Wordless Wednesday: Colour in my Last Garden

2011-07-06T11:30:00.000-07:00

Happy 4th July

2011-07-04T10:24:00.000-07:00

Wishing all my friends in the US a really happy Independence Day.

On my one and only trip over the pond I had a long weekend in New York 6 years ago, which included going to a party on a boat going round Manhattan. I'd just got a new camera and sadly had it on the wrong setting for all my pics. Most of them are completely out of focus but I can't bring myself to ditch them as just looking at them brings it all back so vividly in mind.

Here's one of the better focused ones, although about a third of it is of the back of people's heads.

This is one of my favourites because of the sun bouncing off a skyscraper and reflecting in the water.

And finally, here's old Liberty herself, which has featured here before on another 4th July.

Little Acorns and Big Oak Trees

2011-07-01T01:16:00.000-07:00

In my family, I am considered to be the marketing guru and often receive requests for advice in this area. I have a cousin in America who may be going to set up a new business. No doubt I'll be asked for my ideas. She will need some items to get the business logo around her patch, so I'll be able to point her to some promotional products on the internet.

I've seen a site which has a really comprehensive range, and carries lots of stock. Because of the volume of turnover, these people can keep their prices really low, and that has to be good news for anyone investing in a new business. Lots of major companies will be using them too, but they're as happy to fill small orders as massive ones, and no doubt customers return over an over again. And remember that old saying that it's from little acorns that great big oak trees grow.

This pic of a very old English oak (Quercus robur) was taken in a field near Ardeley, Hertfordshire and posted at Wikimedia Commons by AnemoneProjectors (talk).

Anyway, my cousin will probably start by ordering small items like logo pencils and pens that she can give away. Then people will carry them around with them and pull them out in banks and post offices, and maybe even drop them so other people will pick them up. I have a few of those lying around in my office and before I use them, I usually glance at the logo for a reminder of the brand they represent. It's not a bad way to get your logo into people's minds.

Of course, big companies will have larger budgets for promotional items. They might go as far as buying clothing items and carry bags with their logo prominently displayed. There are many ways to promote a business. Sometimes they even attract customers by using promotional items with campaigns that support charities. I wrote a blog post about one of those in January. I wonder how many people actually treated themselves to one of those lovely chocolate stars.

Wordless Wednesday: Camellia and Lobellia

2011-06-29T03:01:00.000-07:00

A Doggy Routine

2011-06-28T08:29:00.000-07:00

It's now eight days we've had Jade, and I have given her a good walk every day. Because she's still a baby and wakes us up very early, at first I felt very tired, but now I'm beginning to feel the benefits. I'm going to have to put another hole in my belt so I can pull it in further pretty soon. The routine is that in the mornings I bring her down from her bed next to ours and take her into the garden while she does the necessary. After cleaning that up, I give her some breakfast and have my morning cuppa while I check emails etc. before doing some toning exercises and getting myself ready for the day.

I work in the house or my office through the morning while she alternates playing with toys or sleeping, mostly supervised by my hubby. I stop for lunch about one, and then we go for our walk. Jade loves to play on the beach when we go this way.

I'm usually back in the office by three to work until about 5ish when I give Jade her tea. Then I might get a bit more work in until it's time to cook supper. At that point I always used to feel exhausted, but these days I seem to have a bit more energy.

After supper it's time for the cuddles we've both been waiting for all day. She waits for me on the couch and as soon as I get there she moves over and settles close to me with her head in my lap. She'd stay there all night if I let her, but once we've checked the news headlines at 10 pm, I click on the lead again and take her around the block for her final toiletries. I have to be a bit careful because our neighbour's cat has taken to following us around, looking as though she is ready to attack Jade at any moment. Jade is not concerned. She's lived with cats in her foster home. It's just me who does the worrying.

When we get back it's bed time, and she waits patiently for me to make sure all is shipshape and collect her bed, then follows me up the stairs and lies down on it. And there she stays until some time between 5 and 6.30 am when she thinks it's time to get up and start all over again.

There are going to be some variations to this. I've just called a dog trainer about taking her to a class, but we won't get that started for a few weeks. I want to have a day off to go out with a girlfriend now and then, and hubby will take over. But he can follow the same routine. Just like with human babies, I believe it's good for dogs to get used to a routine.

My Poppy Jungle

2011-06-24T01:51:00.000-07:00

This year hubby planted up part of our veg patch with radishes, onions and carrots. He put in some stakes and planted out the beans that had sprouted from his little seed tray. The first lot of radishes are over. We couldn't eat them quickly enough and some got too big and soft and had to be pulled out and put into the compost bin. Rather than plant another row, he's just thrown another handful of seeds into their area and they are starting to show green shoots now.

Meanwhile, we've had an invasion in the onion patch beside all that. A whole jungle of poppies have seeded themselves and completely overwhelmed the two rows of green onion spikes bravely climbing skywards. we're not sure how they got there, unless the seeds were in the topsoil we bought when we created the garden two years ago. Apparently poppy seeds can lie dormant underground until you turn the soil and the light gets to them.

When we saw the first of the plants poking through, hubby wanted to pull them out, but I love poppies and said I wanted to see how they came out. Over the weeks more and more came up and turned into the little jungle you see in the picture. And at last they have started to bloom with these delicate pink flowers.

A friend told me to wait till they'd flowered then lift the plants and move them somewhere more appropriate, so I'll do that if I can find the time; life's still a bit hectic at the moment. And then we'll wait to see how the onions do. The carrots look to be doing well, and we've already had some meals with the rhubarb that overwintered under an upturned flowerpot. We also should get some potatoes, as some plants came up from the few we left in the ground last year without realising it.

Jade

2011-06-20T04:07:00.000-07:00

The newest member of our family has decided that, wherever the dirty laundry is, makes a good place to nap.

New Dog Coming

2011-06-17T06:19:00.000-07:00

This little fellow is Ted, whom I've featured before on here because he sometimes comes to visit, and we all love him. Next time he comes he'll have a little girlfriend to play with because today I've committed to adopting a little female puppy who looks just like him. We're picking her up on Sunday and then I'll be able to share some photos of her.

Wordless Wednesday: Beaulieu River From Exbury Gardens

2011-06-15T08:21:00.000-07:00

A Shining Sink

2011-06-13T08:25:00.000-07:00

Years ago I was introduced to Flylady.net, a site that helps you keep you home clean and organised. The first thing flylady tells you to do is to shine your sink, and then to do this every night before you go to bed. I took her advice in my last house and got so proud of my kitchen sink I even took a photo of it.

In my new house, I lost my bookmark of her site, and although I try to keep my new sink area clean, it doesn't shine up the way the old one does, and I've lost the daily cleaning habit. In the last few months, I've let lots of other things slip while I've worried about my son's health and how to earn enough money to keep him as well as my hubby and myself while he's sick. Now he's on the road to recovery, although he won't be earning for a while, and I've found flylady again. I've turned my thoughts back to my home and started on some more of the spring cleaning jobs needed around here.

The garden needs attention too. And I need to keep reminding myself to stop worrying about everything and start to do one thing. Then think about what to do next. That's the way things get done.

Pictures Lost and Found

2011-06-10T11:56:00.000-07:00

A couple of years ago, we were on holiday overseas and my husband's eagle eyes picked up a camera card that someone had dropped. There was no-one around so he popped it in his wallet and we asked various people we met but couldn't find the owner. Rather sad if it contained someone's holiday snaps, which are such great mementoes. It reminded me of a film of mine that the developers lost when I sent them away. It was a family wedding, from which I can only remember my toddler daughter's outfit for the day, but have no pic of. My daughter was even younger then than her own daughter is now.

Anyway, last month I earnt a little more from my writing than usual, so yesterday I treated myself to a digicam that was on special offer at ebay and greatly reduced. I'm waiting for it to arrive, but when I mentioned it to hubbie, he asked what kind it was. I told him Fujifilm, whereupon he remembered the card, which was still tucked away in his wallet, and fished it out. Lo and behold, it's for a Fujifilm camera.

Maybe I can put it in my new one and find out what, if anything, is on it. Perhaps I can even find the owner if I publish one or two of the pics on the internet. If you've ever lost a camera card with pics on, watch this space.

Wordless Wednesday: Sun Graffiti

2011-06-08T01:11:00.000-07:00

A Good Outcome and a Rosy Treat

2011-06-07T10:15:00.000-07:00

Between recent hospital visits I was completely spoilt by the friends I was staying with while my son had his brain tumour removed. On Friday morning I was taken to Mottisfont Abbey. I didn't have my camera with me as I hadn't expected a treat like that, but I was able to enjoy it because I knew the operation had been successful and my son was in good hands. The Wessex Neurological Unit at Southampton General Hospital is reputed to be one of the best in the country.

I've written about visits to Mottisfont in previous posts. This time I was completely bowled over by the beauty of the walled garden which contains the national collection of old English roses. If you can imagine the lovely rose arch in the picture with even more of a riot of colour around and below it, you'll get some idea of what it was like last Friday. This year everything is early and really abundant, and it was quite overwhelming.

We're all home now and the boy is doing well. I'm his carer during his convalescence, so my blogging schedule is still in flux. See you when I see you.

Learn From Your Dog

2011-05-28T03:52:00.000-07:00

photo from FreeDigitalPhotos.net Admin

I got this by email, was impressed and thought it worth sharing.

Remember, if a dog was the teacher you would learn things like:

When loved ones come home, always run to greet them.

Never pass up the opportunity to go for a joyride.

Allow the experience of fresh air and the wind in your face to be pure Ecstasy.

Take naps.

Stretch before rising.

Run, romp, and play daily.

Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On warm days, stop to lie on your back on the grass.

On hot days, drink lots of water and lie under a shady tree

When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

Delight in the simple joy of a long walk.

Be loyal.

Never pretend to be something you're not.

If what you want lies buried, dig until you find it.

When someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by, and nuzzle them gently.

ENJOY EVERY MOMENT OF EVERY DAY!

The Waiting is Over

2011-05-25T11:29:00.000-07:00

It feels like we have been waiting since the year dot. Actually it's nearly 7 weeks since the consultant told my son he should have an operation to remove a tumour from his head within a month. And that was after about 10 months of waiting for appointments, then for tests, then for results - all to try and find out why one side of his body and limbs were gradually losing sensation. Today he got a date to be admitted to hospital - Wednesday June 1st. And tomorrow morning we take him for the pre-op assessment. I am praying it will all turn out alright.

Here's another pic of Exbury Gardens to remind us of the good things in life that are always there, even through the dark times.

Writing and Walking

2011-05-23T04:54:00.000-07:00

Sod's law says that as soon as I need time off for family things, I get inundated with private requests at Constant Content. It's great for financial reasons, not so good for others. Some of the content needed is frankly really boring. It's also hard figuring out how to include all the keywords required and often saying the same thing in a different way over and over again. So I've decided to intersperse it with writing what I enjoy. Blogging has taken a back seat for a while, but here I am again.

My hubby was told by his GP to take more exercise, so I've also had to find time to go walking with him. This is not a problem because I love it, even if I then have to burn the midnight oil to get the work finished.

About three weeks ago, we trekked around Hengistbury Head, and that time I took my camera. What was really striking on this walk was the glorious golden gorse.

The next day we collected my granddaughter and brought her to stay with us for a week. One day we met friends at Exbury gardens and she fell in love with their dog.

The gardens were in full bloom and every corner we turned seemed to offer a new and wonderful treat for the eyes.

Last Wednesday we did a local walk on a common full of gorse, but there were very few of its gorgeous flowers left to brighten the area. On Saturday we parked at Studland and walked out to the Old Harry Rocks, where we found a meadow full of beautiful wild flowers. Next time I will take my camera because the coastal views were stunning.

A Poem About Stuff

2011-05-15T07:16:00.000-07:00

I'm hard put to find time for anything other than clearing my backlog of work at the moment. Blogging has, unfortunately, slipped right down the to do list. Trying to stop thinking about work over a snack lunch, I started browsing Pam Ayres poems in her anthology, The Works. I found one that describes my house and life at the moment an thought I'd share it with you quickly. Fortunately Google found it on another blog for me so I could copy a bit and direct you there to read the rest if you wish. Here goes:

Heaps of Stuff

How I wish that I was tidy
How I wish that I was neat
How I wish I was methodical
Like others down our street.
I tried to stem the rising tide
I tried to hold it back
But I have been the victim
Of a heap of stuff attack.

Yes, heaps of stuff come creeping,
They clutter up the hall.
And heaps of stuff are softly
Climbing halfway up the wall.
At each end of the staircase
Is a giant heap, a stack;
One to carry up the stairs
And one to carry back.

In a heap of stuff invasion
They settle everywhere —
They grovel on the lino
They tower on the chair.
You're searching for a jacket,
'Is it in here?' you shout,
And, opening the cupboard door,
A heap of stuff falls out.

Read the last four stanzas here.

Wordless Wednesday: Ducks in Richmond Park

2011-04-27T07:55:00.000-07:00

View From Richmond Park

2011-04-25T13:14:00.000-07:00

I'm too pushed for time to write a blogpost today, so I thought I'd show you the view from our picnic spot in Richmond Park a couple of weeks ago. We had a lovely lazy time in this beautiful spot while the sun shone for us.

Wordless Wednesday: Coastal walk, Madeira

2011-04-20T07:42:00.000-07:00

Brain Work

2011-04-18T13:36:00.000-07:00

Do you ever write a word and then ralise you're not quite sure of the meaning and whether it's appropriate; so you look it up and find it's perfect, and you needn't have worried? I do that all the time. Yesterday it was the word 'bijou', which turned out to mean 'small and elegant', absolutely right for the expensive little shops I was trying to describe.

I must have this store of words in my subconscious that I've forgotten, but they pop up when they're needed. Isn't the human brain an amazingly wonderful thing?

York Minster

2011-04-15T11:31:00.000-07:00

I've been writing about the city of York today, and I've just found a mass of photos of the famous York Minster released into the public domain by a couple of very generous photographers at Wikimedia Commons. Here is a small selection.

Good Times and Bad Times

2011-04-13T08:51:00.000-07:00

My blogging activities might be a bit slow this month, because there is so much going on. I've already missed 3 of my scheduled blog postings for my two blogs. Usually I post here on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, when I also adgitize and drop EC cards. On Tuesdays and Thursdays I comment and post in my Writelink blog, and keep up with my friends over there.

I came home yesterday from a long weekend with my daughter and granddaughter, who treated me for my birthday to a ticket to The Lion King musical at the Lyceum Theatre in London (pictured alongside). We went together and marvelled at the way the show was staged and performed. Three generations from age seven to nearly 70 were all equally impressed. We were also busy enjoying ourselves for the rest of the time, and were really lucky with the gorgeous weather.

The only downside was hearing how my son went to a hospital appointment on Monday and now knows that he has a tumour in his head which needs to be operated on within a month. Naturally he's pretty scared and although we were expecting this, the shock is just sinking in. I feel that I want to stay close to home now to be with him until we get the actual dates, and I'm trying to rearrange quite a few things that have been planned, so I'll be able to do that.

On top of all that, my writing commissions have picked up and I've received my first private requests from a Constant Content customer. I'm pleased about that, but a little anxious about fitting everything in. At least it will keep my mind off the domestic dramas.

Wordless Wednesday: Views of Bournemouth

2011-04-06T08:36:00.000-07:00

Gold: a Wise Investment

2011-04-04T12:38:00.000-07:00

I keep hearing how your savings can make you more money if you invest in gold. Gold is often referred to as a crisis commodity. This is because it rises in value when there is a downturn in the economy. Not surprisingly, its value is high at the moment, and the forecasts indicate it will continue to rise. I looked up a website I've blogged about before in June 2009, and found it's still full of useful information, including a fascinating article on the history of gold coins. You can find out all about gold bullion if you click the link to take a look.

In 2009 I reported that the 24 karat gold bullion coin, the American Buffalo would cost just over $1,000 dollars. Today its price is almost $1,500, nearly half as much again. That's quite a hike in around 18 months, and I think it proves my point. This is the way to buy bullion.

Other gold coins have similar stories. The Gold Canadian Maple Leaf has risen in value by over 180% in the last five years. The 1 oz Chinese Gold Panda is currently valued at over $1,500, and is sometimes incorporated in valuable pieces of jewellery.

If you think you might like to buy gold bullion, you might like to get a move on, and make your investment before the price spirals too far.

Musings on Australia

2011-04-01T08:17:00.000-07:00

100 Stories for Queensland should have gone to press today. I've got a story in this anthology which is going to be sold to raise money for the flood victims. Can't wait for it to be available.

Still on the subject of Australia, I've just learnt that The Buzz insurance company was the first to offer Australians the online method of buying and managing their car insurance, and in 2010 it was awarded the Australian Business Award for Innovation.

Here in the UK, we can get multiple car insurance quotes and pay premiums on the internet, but it seems this is the only company down under that offers car insurance Australia that way. It's part of the Insurance Australia Group (IAG) which also owns Equity Red Star, the UK's fifth largest vehicle insurance operator.

I always use the internet for my car insurance, although sometimes I need to check something I can't find, so I have tom make a phone call. The telephone number is always displayed on the website, so thta's not a problem. When you are on The Buzz site, you can use their live chat facility so you don't even have to use the phone. I must remember to tell my Aussie pal, Annie, about this.

Wordless Wednesday: Sweetheart Child

2011-03-30T11:34:00.000-07:00

A Sunday Stroll

2011-03-28T14:54:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a glorious day. After lunch, when chores were finished, we walked to our local beach in Poole harbour. Silly me didn't take my camera. These pictures were taken in September 2009, but nothing has changed much. The lake in the second picture is on the common behind the beach. If you take a car, you can walk to it from the car park, then further on take some steps down to the beach and come back that way.

Parents' Worries Don't Stop With Age

2011-03-25T08:30:00.000-07:00

It's hard for me to concentrate today. I'm worried about my 46 year old son. Before going to work this morning, he went to see a consultant at the hospital to hear the results of recent scans. He was going straight to work afterwards, but I made him promise to call and let me know what happened. It turns out he has a small, slow-growing tumour at the back of his head, not life threatening as it hasn't metastasised, but it needs to be checked as it can affect the brain.

Last July was when the symptoms first became obvious, and it has taken all this time to get the diagnosis. I really feel it was an unnecessarily long process. He first went to his GP and reported numbness in his left hand (and of course he is left handed). The doc said to come back in a month if it's not better. Then he was sent for nerve route tests. A month later there were blood tests. Meanwhile the numbness crept up his arm and down the left side of his torso and into his left foot.

In October, he was referrred to a neurologist, but the first available appointment was not until January. I went with him to that and the consultant gave us lots of info, and sent him for an MRI scan. It was another three weeks before he was called for that to an evening appointment. After the scan, he was told he probably needed another one and would be contacted. Another three weeks passed before he had to go again, this time during the day when a doctor was available so that he could have a liquid injected. That was ten days ago, and a week after that the consultant phoned him and asked to see him this morning.

The tumour needs to be analysed, and for some reason a biopsy is not recommended. Now we have to wait for a call from a specialist unit in Southampton to hear what they have decided to do and when he has to go there.

My mind keeps switching between fury at the excruciatingly slow turning of the NHS wheels, and terror about the future prospects for my boy.

Wordless Wednesday: Kingston Lacey's Japanese Garden

2011-03-23T13:44:00.000-07:00

That King's Speech Film Again

2011-03-21T01:32:00.000-07:00

The background of this movie is the period of British history leading up to the time that Albert, the second son of King George V, had to take over the monarchy unexpectedly in December 1936. His older brother had decided to abdicate in order to marry the love of his life, American divorcee, Wallis Simpson. Bertie, as he was known to his family, was to become George VI and lead his country in the second world war against Hitler.

Photo credit: allmoviephoto.com

The film, however, dwells not so much on these sensational episodes of history, as on the serious personal challenge that Bertie had to overcome – his stammer.

You can read the rest of my review of this film here.

As is my practice, I first submitted it to Constant Content, offering all rights, which meant I couldn't post it here or anywhere else. However, only non-exclusive rights were purchased. The bad news is I earn less this time round. The good news is that it is still for sale, so I could earn the same amount again, as often as someone wants to buy it.

It also means I retain the copyright and can do as I like with it. So I've posted it at Helium. If you have time, please go and take a look by clicking the link above, and get my passive income from it started.

You can also view a King's Speech trailer video in this blog. I posted that when I'd seen the film and was planning to write the review.

Celebrations and Jubilations

2011-03-18T10:37:00.000-07:00

I woke up at 5.30 this morning, writing in my head. This happens sometimes when I have had an idea the day before that I'm about to work on. In some ways it's good, in others pretty dire. I'm not particularly good on only five hours asleep, and there's no way I can drop off again. On the other hand, it's great to get an early start and not have to carry on working long into the evening if I want to get something finished.

The reason for it today, I think, was because of something that happened yesterday. I didn't have any commissioned work, so I wrote an article for a customer's public request at Constant Content. The pay offered was pretty good so I knew the competition would be hot. Anyway, I got it written and submitted, and it was snapped up straight away. That was the first good news, and then I got a message from the customer asking for more in the same vein. By the time I went to bed I had the idea for the next one going round and round in my head.

This also is not too uncommon, and my strategy for pushing the thoughts away so I can sleep is alwasy to read a book that I'm enjoying for a while before I turn out the light.

Well, that second article has also been submitted now and I have high hopes for another good sale to boost my CC income this month. Wish I could celebrate in ome warm place like Lanzarote, where I am in this pic.

Wordless Wednesday: Thinking of Japan

2011-03-16T01:13:00.000-07:00

Forgetfulness, Senility or Dementia

2011-03-14T10:22:00.000-07:00

I am a little worried that I might be going senile. I often have trouble these days finding the exact word that I want when I'm speaking. It's strange because it doesn't happen that much when I'm writing.

Sometimes I buy things that are on special offer, even if we don't actually need them at the time. I'll just put them away and store them until they are needed. The trouble is when I open the store cupboard I find one or more of the same already in there. I should have saved my money. I also have a number of places for these little caches, and I find myself thinking, "I know I bought one of these last week, But where on earth did I put it?"

This morning I took books back to the public library, intending to find some more I'd like to read. When I got there, I found my library card was missing from my handbag. I must have taken it out a few days ago, when I went on-line to renew the books I had to avoid paying fines for taking them back late. In fact I should have paid a fine for a book I thought I had taken back weeks ago and recently discovered it was still here. But I couldn't pay without my card, and I couldn't borrow any more books, or the Eat, Love, Pray DVD I'm dying to watch.

Sometimes I think about other things while I'm brushing my teeth. Then I can't remember whether I actually used the mouthwash that finishes off that routine. I'm sure sometimes I do it twice because I can't remember the first time.

Often it's my hubby who finds things we need, or that I've misplaced. I've forgotten where I last took off my specs, or put my gloves when I came indoors. we laugh about it, but it's a bit worrying, all the same.

I'm a senior so is it just me at my age? Or is this more common than I thought? Are you a forgetful person?

Musings About York

2011-03-11T06:37:00.000-08:00

The last time I was in York was in July 2009, just after we moved to our house on the south coast. The weekend with friends had been long planned and was a welcome respite from all the hassle of moving home. The time before that was many moons ago when I camped there en-route to a wedding in Newcastle.

That time York Minster was closed after fire damage, but I did get to see it in 2009. Also the Teasurer's House, a National Trust property in which I did the tour of the cellars, where several people have seen the ghosts of Roman soldiers marching by on foot or riding their horses through the walls.

We walked all round the walls of the ancient town and saw many of the old buildings from their high vantage point. Nowadays of course, the residential areas spread far beyond the city walls, and in our two days there, we could only see the tip of the iceberg. But I was impressed by York, and if I were considering moving away from the sea and up to the north, I might think about living there.

I did wonder, if I took my son with me, whether it would be difficult for him to find a job up there. When I looked at this jobs in York website, it looked as though there were just vacancies for people in car sales, dentistry and training, but then I used their search facility and found more. it looks as though they advertise for a number of recruitment agencies, so if you are seriously searching for work in York, it would be a good place to try, although you might need patience as they haven't quite got their sector categories properly sorted.

For us though, it was rather an academic exercise. I don't think anything could tempt me away from my seaside home where I want to spend the days I have left.

Wordless Wednesday: New Forest Foal

2011-03-09T04:12:00.000-08:00

Musing About Swans

2011-03-07T05:37:00.000-08:00

Musing about what to write in here today, I decided to look back at what I was musing about at this time of year in 2009. I found these photos of swan families. Last October I used another one that you can see here.

So I thought I'd find out a bit more about swans. And now I have enough material for a couple of articles.

I've learnt about the mute swans that live here all year round and the Berwicks and Whoopers that visit between October and March; I've learnt more about them being the royal birds that belong to the queen, and why; and why the practice of swan-upping is still carried out today. I can also recall visits to the Abbotsbury Swannery here in Dorset.

All grist to the mill of a writer. Blogging is definitely useful to this one.

Thinking of Summer in Winter

2011-03-04T07:00:00.000-08:00

This morning I got up to yet another white frost outside. While I shivered I tried to think myself back to the summer, and to other summers in far away places.

Summer outside is glorious, but it's not so good when I come inside. When it's really hot here, the air indoors hangs really heavy. Once a room gets hot it takes a lot to cool it down. At night I move my office desk clip on fan upstairs to my bedside table, and spend half the night turning it on when I'm too hot and off when it has cooled me down too much, because it was so close to me. What I could do with is a ceiling fan.

When I lived in Singapore, we had ceiling fans in every room. They kept them cool but not too cold. At night we left the fan on its lowest setting and it kept the whole room at the right temperature so we slept through with just a light sheet covering us.

If summers here are going to get hotter with global warming, I might follow the Singapore example and get some ceiling fans fitted. I found a helpful site with pages that tell you all about them. You can find out who makes the best ceiling fans here and see who makes the most efficient and environmentally friendly fans this year.

On other pages you can lean more about: the top selling Minka Aire Hugger Ceiling fans that are so easy to assemble and fix; traditional but quieter Casablanca ceiling fans with 4 speeds for maximum efficiency; the Hunter Classic Original still going strong; the more recently introduced Hunter Hotel Original with a large lamp set below the blades; and plenty of others.

I'm bookmarking the site so that, if and when I'm ready to buy my first ceiling fan, I'll be looking again at the Hansen Wholesale ceiling fans.

Wordless Wednesday: River Wye and Footbridges

2011-03-02T10:01:00.000-08:00