S.P. Oldham's Blog, page 36
August 25, 2019
Gremlins Abound! My Interview
Thank you to Lee Monroe for interviewing me this morning. Unfortunately the server was down and there were several tech issues in the studio. The interview went ahead nonetheless and went out to Blaenau Gwent and beyond. I hope none of my ghostly gremlins were responsible. Ghost Town by The Specials stopped playing - chilling stuff!
Lee has very kindly invited me back in two weeks time for a second interview, when hopefully it will all go smoothly. No matter, I enjoyed chatting to Lee. Thank you to BGFM for giving me the opportunity and the air time, I look forward to talking to you again.
For everyone who tuned in or tried to listen online, thank you so much. I will let you know when the next interview is up. Have a great Sunday everyone.
August 24, 2019
Sunday Breakfast with Lee Monroe - My Interview
Don't forget to tune in tomorrow morning for my interview with Lee Monroe ! The show is on from 8 - 10 am and you can listen to it here on http://brfm.co.uk or on 97.3fm
August 22, 2019
Zombie Survival - Thoughts?
I live in a little rural town in the Welsh countryside. I walk past this almost daily, yet today was the first time that it occurred to me that it might make a great basic construction to survive in.
Okay I know you can see through the bars and there must be one hell of a draught through there in winter, but you can do something to cover those bars up from the inside, which would also strengthen your security even more. There is a low fence immediately to the front, but inside the padlocked gates, so you could wind/waterproof as much of the external as necessary, including the low fence, leaving the gated part barred but uncovered. Just step over it for safe access to fresh air and water. as well as visibility in close range.
It is situated at the top of three natural ponds, a larger one to the left. Good food sources too, ducks, fish etc… Even better, when you are brave enough to venture out, there is a kitchen garden below the bottom pond, walled all the way around and with a sturdy iron gate which you can also padlock. Fortify as necessary and garden away! It is full of fruit and veggies. There are loads of woodpigeons and geese about, as well as the occasional chicken and cockerel! Get hunting!
I must also mention that this construction houses the largest single block of coal in, I think, the world (I am prepared to be corrected.) Which means you have a valuable resource for cooking and heating right there. You can sleep on it if you are so inclined, thus raising yourself off the ground, though of course your bunk would lower the more fires you light, but eventually you would be left with a cosy mining truck for a bed.
I would want a few more chains and padlocks around those gates, but all in all I think this is a viable little base from which to start. Anyone joining me?
August 18, 2019
Radio Interview with Lee Monroe!
Looking forward to my interview next Sunday on Blaenau Gwent For Music - BGFM - with Lee Monroe. Lee is kindly showcasing me as a local author. Thank you Sunday Breakfast With Lee Monroe
The show is on from 8 - 10 am and you can listen to it here onwww.brfm.co.uk or on 97.3fm
August 9, 2019
A Change of Heart
Taken all of my books off Draft2Digital as it was doing absolutely nothing for me. So, they are all now available from Amazon. Wakeful Children is also in paperback and is available on Amazon and Troubador. Links below. Watch this space for an upcoming competition to win a signed copy plus merchandise...
Wakeful Children: A Collection of Horror and Supernatural Tales - on Troubador
ALWAYS grateful for honest and fair reviews. Feel free to share. Thank you.
August 5, 2019
July 31, 2019
July 29, 2019
There's Still Time...
Two days to go. Fair to say I did not succeed in this, but at least I wasn't too scared to try. Thanks to all who supported me in this. If you haven't posted a review yet, I would be grateful if you could do so before 31st as agreed. Thanks everyone. Reviews are ALWAYS gratefully received, at any time of the year!
July 25, 2019
New Guest Author - T L Bodine
Very pleased to welcome a new Guest Author to the site, T L Bodine. Click the link to find out more and, as ever, comments welcome! https://solostinwords.doodlekit.com/home/guest-authors
July 18, 2019
You Couldn't Make It Up
It feels good to be back, at least, to hope that I am really back.
What follows is not a plea for sympathy nor a barrage of excuses but a summary of my week, starting on Tuesday July 9th to the present day, Thursday 18th.
The worst of this week began with a text message to my phone last Tuesday. I won't divulge too much here because it is ongoing, but in short my 81 year old mother was hit from behind by a cyclist who we think was riding a 'motorised bike.' She was on a pedestrian crossing when he hit her at speed and hard, from behind. He knocked her onto her head, rendering her unconscious and as far as he knew, dead. Then he cycled off.
You can imagine the shock, perhaps. Followed by the heartbreak and horror of seeing your elderly mother in so much pain and distress, with such wounds; fractured eye-socket, fractured cheek, fractured hand, cuts to the head that needed stitching, a bleed on the brain plus all the bruising, cuts, aches and pains besides. To have to deal with the knowledge that the individual responsible was too much a coward to face up to what he had done made it all far worse, of course. Mum had something of a relapse the other day due to the severity of the concussion and to her age, no doubt. She has been thoroughly checked out since and, if there is any justice in the world, she is over the worst of it now and well on the road to recovery.
That was the Tuesday. On the Wednesday, I began to become aware of a sore throat. No big deal. Thursday morning it was a lot drier, by Friday morning I had lost my voice and could hardly swallow. I consulted a pharmacist, (as you can't get a GP appointment for love nor money these days) and he assured me that there were 'no immediate causes for concern' and sent me on my way. I went home feeling dreadful, and eventually fell asleep.
Come Friday night, I had rung out of hours emergency and was taken to A & E as I could no longer swallow my own saliva and my airways were slowly closing. Thank God I did. Turns out I had (am still fighting) a 'serious infection of the voice box.' I was hooked up with IV's and put onto an adrenalin nebuliser almost as soon as the doors swung shut. Five days later I am home, but it could have been very different.
That's the one thing I have taken from this last, hellish week. The outcomes of each of these stories could have been very different. I am so deeply grateful to everyone involved in the care of both myself and my mother. If it wasn't for every last one of them, plus my own wonderful family, we could be looking at a whole other ending here.
So, my apologies if I have been incommunicado for a while. I would never willingly ignore anyone for no good reason. But right now we are focusing on getting well again as a family. Still a few loose knots to tie...
Thank you for your understanding and here's hoping things get better from here on in.
S P Oldham.
