Robbie Cheadle's Blog, page 11

Robbie’s Inspiration – Esther Chilton’s writing prompt: The Photograph #poetry

Esther Chilton’s writing prompt this week is photographs. I sweated for this poem, but when it came, it came fully formed. You can join in this prompt here: https://estherchilton.co.uk/2025/01/29/writing-prompts-50/

The PhotographPicture caption: A photograph of me, aged 9 months, sitting on the deck of the passenger liner which brought us from the UK to South Africa.

What do you see

Looking at this photograph?

A little girl

Sitting on a wooden floor

Wearing a sunhat

And a quizzical expression

Just an ordinary little girl

What don’t you see

Looking at this photograph?

The recent, tragic death

Of a father – a bread winner

The bravery of a young mother

Seeking a new life

For herself and

Her baby daughter

Beneath the wooden deck

Of the passenger liner

On which the child sits

Are all their worldly possessions

Packed into wooden crates

And old-fashioned trunks

They are travelling far away

From family and friends

From their normal life

Over the ocean

Towards a different country

A southern African country

Hopefully, they will find

New opportunities

Away from memories

And a way to forge forward

Adapting to the strong sun

A different culture

Foreign languages

A completely different

‘Normal’ way of life

Not such an ordinary little girl

After all

This poem was inspired by an article by Edward about what is a normal life – you can read his article here: https://edwardortizblog.com/2025/01/27/i-just-want-a-normal-life/

I don’t think anything about my life has ever been ‘normal’.

Robbie’s Inspiration – Syllabic poetry Spin the Bottle week 4: Reverse Etheree and a birthday cake #poetry #cakeart

It has been an exciting week. Work is a madhouse currently so that has kept me juggling and Michael turned 19 on Thursday. He had a nice celebration at home yesterday with his friends. They swam and ate and ate. The cake was a success.

Picture caption: Hamburger cake for Michael’s 19 birthday.

Here is a video I made of this cake:

Picture caption: Cake with the lit candlesPicture caption: A photograph of me with Michael aged 9 months

This week, I selected a reverse etheree form for my poem:

Birthday celebration

Delicious chocolate and vanilla cake

Posing as a hamburger and chips

With blood-red tomato ketchup

Ideal for a summer’s day

Braaing around the pool

Making memories

Celebrating

Nineteen years

Special

Son

In South Africa, barbecuing is referred to as braaing.

This is what Colleen says about reverse etheree: https://tankatuesday.com/tanka-tuesday-poetry-cheat-sheet-for-tanka-tuesday-poetry-challenges-2/#reverse-etheree

If you would like to join in, please write a reverse etheree using your own inspiration. you can use my cake or the concept of a special celebration for your poem if you want.

Happy Sunday.

Robbie’s Inspiration – Thursday Doors: Mori Art Gallery, Tokyo #ThursdayDoors #TokyoAdventure

TC worked on my second day in Tokyo so I had the day to myself. I turned it into an art adventure. In the morning I went to the Tokyo Modern Art Museum which I wrote about on Sunday. In the afternoon, I went to the Mori Art Gallery.

The exhibition was the work of Louise Bourgeois and this is what tate.org.uk says about her:

“With a career spanning eight decades from the 1930s until 2010, Louise Bourgeois is one of the great figures of modern and contemporary art. She is best known for her large-scale sculptures and installations that are inspired by her own memories and experiences.”

You can continue reading this article here: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/louise-bourgeois-2351/art-louise-bourgeois

These first artworks include doors in the museum:

Picture caption: Crouching spider sculpture with the door out of the gallery in the backgound.Picture caption: The crouching spider sculpture from the other side of the gallery and showing the entrance door.

The following two photographs are of paintings, both feature buildings with doors:

Picture caption: A stuffed red head with its tongue sticking out inside a steel mesh cage.Picture caption: a white chair inside an enclosure facing a small round hole (a bit reminiscent of a medieval prison). A few doors in this piece.Picture caption: A spider sculpture with the body a wire mesh cage with a collection of items inside. There is a door into the body. This was my favourite piece in the collection.

You can view other doors post for Thursday Doors on Dan’s blog here: https://nofacilities.com/2025/01/30/reverse-course/

Robbie’s Inspiration – My second haiku featured at Pure Haiku & Sunday Stills: Birds

Thank you to talented Freya Pickard for featuring my haiku for her Pure Haiku challenge.

1 – 27

This week’s Sunday Stills features birds. You can find Terri’s challenge and her amazing photographs here: https://secondwindleisure.com/2025/01/26/sunday-stills-watching-and-feeding-the-birds/

Picture caption: my coloured pencil humming bird drawing which is also the cover of Heather Hummingbird makes a new friend by Kaye Lynne Booth. A children’s book that I illustrated and which is available from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/Heather-Hummingbird-Friend-Backyard-Friends-ebook/dp/B0D9JCWCH7Picture caption: My watercolour painting of a lilac breasted rollerPicture caption: Small bee-eaterPicture caption: My bird cake featuring an eagle, a barn owl, a green loerie, a hoopoe, a peacock and a fox.

Robbie’s Inspiration – Syllabic poetry Spin the Bottle week 3 – Haiga & National Modern Art Museum, Tokyo #poetry #ekphrastic #Japanadventure

This week, I have selected Haiga as my poetry form. A large part of my interest in this form is due to my recent visit to the National Modern Art Museum in Tokyo.

The Japan National Tourism Organisation describes this museum as follows:

“An extraordinary museum chronicling Japanese culture and history. As the museum with the longest history in Japan, the Tokyo National Museum (TNM) boasts an exceptional and comprehensive collection of art and artifacts from Japan and other parts of Asia, as well as information on Japanese culture and history.”

This is what Colleen says about haiga:

Poetry Forms

This is my haiga:

If you’d like to join in and write a haiga, you can use my picture or your own picture. I’d love to see your interpretation of haiga. Add your link in the comments.

For more photograph inspiration, you can visit my Unsplash photography profile. My photographs are available for free download here: https://unsplash.com/@r_cheadle

And now, some pictures of the National Modern Art Museum.

The first exhibit I saw was the Google Hardware Design Studio Dining Table with the theme: Making Sense of Colour.

This is my YouTube short of the exhibit:

Now for the art. Sadly, I can’t read Japanese.

Picture caption: A taste of the artworks.Picture caption: I enjoyed the patterning in the top artwork.Picture caption: This piece is a retelling of a famous Japanese folk story about a dragon. You can see the dragon running down the middle of the artwork.Picture caption: I met the artist of this piece and he took this picture of me.Picture caption: I took this picture of the artist with his own artwork.Picture caption: This piece is by the same artist and is how I met him. It is my favourite in the collection and I admired it for so long, he came over and introduced himself.

Two more YouTube shorts of the artworks. The artistic choice is displayed through colours of the background paper and the style of the calligraphy used for the piece. Every piece is a retelling of an ancient and traditional Japanese poem or story. This is, in essence, a restoration of Japanese history and culture.

Robbie’s Inspiration – Book reviews: Perceptions by Ivor Stevens and Derrick Knight and Amanda in Scotland by Darlene Foster

Picture caption: Cover of Perceptions featuring a multicoloured sky.What Amazon says

This colourful and fascinating book is a collection of collaborative articles. The photographs were taken by Derrick Knight from the New Forest area of southern England, and associated ekphrastic poems were written by Ivor Steven from Geelong, the other side of the world, the southern end of Australia.

My review

I am a fan of Ivor Steven’s poetry and also of Derrick Knight’s photography so this combined collection of poetry and photography is a real treat.

Ivor depicts everyday events and life through a lens of beautiful and uplifting words which is a marvelous talent. Derrick captures everyday life in an unusual and special way. I really enjoyed these combinations.

A few examples of the poetry with descriptions of the accompanying photographs:

Sunset couple on bench – a gorgeous photograph of the sun setting over water and flooding the world with golden light with a silhouette of a loving couple on a bench.

The words: A Rainbow Dance
“At the end of the rainbow
We shall dance and glow
On nature’s golden plateau”

Autumn woodland – a wonderful photograph of a wooded area during autumn which the trees are a variety of yellows, greens and auburns. There is a large bush, in shades of beige, in the forefront.

An extract from Connected:
“up there
under draconian dark clouds
I see a blue moon rising
gracefully shrouding the horizon”

Ferns and grasses – a glorious picture of ferns and grasses adorned in shades of green and yellow, dancing in the sunlight.

Extract from The Ancient Fern Survives:
“selfish, unopened minds remain numbed
False eyelashes are heavy and closed
Botoxed lips are silent and sealed
And elephant ears have been pegged out of sight”

This book is a special combination of visual and literary delights.

Purchase Perceptions on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1387487302

Purchase Perceptions on Lulu.com here: https://www.lulu.com/shop/ivor-steven-and-derrick-knight/perceptions/hardcover/product-2pwqe4.html?q=Perceptions&page=1&pageSize=4

Amanda in Scotland by Darlene FosterPicture caption: Cover of Amanda in Scotland showing the standing stones in a fieldWhat Amazon says

What could possibly go wrong on the magical Scottish Isle of Arran? It’s such a peaceful, charming place with castles, mountains, old graves and ancient standing stones.

Amanda Ross and Leah Anderson are visiting Aunt Jenny who owns an old house on the island. But something is not right. A mysterious woman, who seems to have stepped out of the past, keeps appearing, Leah’s father hasn’t contacted the family for some time, and Aunt Jenny’s house may have an uninvited guest.

Amanda is intrigued by this picturesque island, often called Little Scotland. She watches exciting sheepdog trials, attends a lively ceilidh, makes friends with the locals, and visits the mystical Holy Island. Join Amanda as she tries to solve the mystery of the strange woman and the disappearance of Leah’s father. Will the past catch up with the present?

My review

Amanda is off on another travel adventure, this time to the Isle of Arran in Scotland, to spend time with her best friend, Leah, and Leah’s Aunt Jennie. Amanda is delighted to discover that Arran is a place of great natural beauty as well as being full of fascinating history. Of course, Amanda and Leah attract mysteries and no sooner have they arrived than Leah reports that her father has gone missing. In addition, the pair come across an odd woman dressed in historical clothes who is in trouble, but who vanishes after they assist her.

Amanda and Leah will have to unravel both of these puzzles while touring Arran, meeting the local people and participating in fun events like sheep trials and a ceilidh. While socialising and enjoying themselves, the pair uncover historical secrets that appear to have links to the disappearing woman. They also glean odd bits of information about Leah’s father.

Amanda and Leah are an entertaining pair of tweens who are always falling into adventures. They are fortunate enough to travel widely enabling them to learn about different countries, people and cultures. This combination of story and plot elements results in engaging stories which share a lot of information about different places in the world in a subtle and fun way.

Purchase Amanda in Scotland here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0D5TMLSLC

Robbie’s Inspiration – W3 prompt and Tokyo Tower #poetry #Tokyoadventure

Tokyo Tower

I am starting this post with my Tokyo Adventure photographs for this week as the poem is a bit heavy. If you don’t like heavy emotion, please skip the poem.

Picture caption: As we approached the Tokyo Tower, we saw its structure reflected in the glass windows of this buildingPicture caption: Tokyo Tower from the road at night all lit up with orange and yellow lightsPicture caption: Close up of the Tokyo Tower structure

The next few pictures are all views from the top of the Tokyo Tower at night:

Looking down through a viewing window in the floor of the Tokyo Tower:

Picture caption: Great Shinto Shrine of the Tower.Picture caption: Christmas inside the Tokyo Tower

My YT video of the view from the Tokyo Tower at night:

In this video, I was watching a car crossing the bridge:

W3 #143II. Tia’s prompt guidelinesTheme: The bittersweet, painful, or unsettling aspects of the past and its hold on the present;Optional Challenge: Use imagery of shadows, cracks, or reflections to add depth to the theme;Form: A “square” (e.g., 2×2, 3×3, 4×4, or any other pattern you choose);“Rows” represent stanzas;“Columns” represent the number of lines in each stanza;For example: 3×3 = 3 stanzas of 3 lines each; and 4×4 = 4 stanzas of 4 lines each.

You can join in here: https://skepticskaddish.com/2025/01/22/w3-prompt-143-weave-written-weekly/

My poem consists of 5 poetry squares comprising of 5 lines with 5 syllables per line.

Reimaging life

Black and white image

Challenges me to

Examine impact

Of unchecked eating

Over a lifetime

***

Lack of discipline

Presents as a tumour

White lump with tendrils

Grasping and growing

Human tragedy

***

Smug in its role as

Destroyer of life

I see a sly wink

Acknowledgement of

Insidious creep

***

Shock-filled present must

Not linger in self

Recrimination

Only way forward

Acceptance of truth

***

Facts must be gathered

Invasive tests done

Diagnosis made

Then just possibly

There’ll be a future

Robbie’s Inspiration – Esther Chilton’s writing challenge #poetry #brownsnakeeagle

Esther Chilton’s writing prompt this week is Supernatural. I had some trouble initially as no inspiration came, but a short while ago, the muse obliged. You can join in here: https://estherchilton.co.uk/2025/01/15/writing-prompts-48/

Alone

I stand alone, small but determined

Beating out the flames of human catastrophe

Which burn my ordinary day to ashes

Then scatter indifferently on the winds of anguish and despair

No mythical bird rises dramatially

Stepping magically from the glowing embers

To grant me mental steel girders of fortitude

Bequeathing supernatural healing powers to my helpless hands

Undoing the clenched fists that help me stay upright

Alone, I must engage with my internal generals

Formulate strategies to engage this unwanted enemy

Alone, I plan my defense and mobilise my armies

***

When my life ignites

Burning right down to ashes

I always rebuild

Emerging cleansed and refreshed

From the Phoenix inferno

***

I have no Phoenix photographs, but this is a brown snake eagle I saw recently.

guest post: carol ann taylor chats about creating a cookery book

My first Story Empire post of the year is a real treat – an interview on how to create a cook book with talented cook, Carol Ann Taylor.

Hi Se’ers, it’s Robbie here today and I have an interesting treat for you … a guest post by culinary expert Carol Ann Taylor who has compiled and …

guest post: carol ann taylor chats about creating a cookery book

Robbie’s Inspiration – Syllabic poetry Spin the Bottle week 2 #poetry #ekphrastic #syllabic

This week, I have selected the Garden Acraea butterfly as my inspiration. I took this picture while hiking in the Drakensberg Mountains recently. I struggle to get decent photographs of butterflies so I was pleased with this shot. I am linking to my fellow South African blogging friend, Anne’s, post about this particular butterfly. She shares some fascinating information about it: https://somethingovertea.wordpress.com/2020/04/17/garden-acraea/

Picture caption: Two orange butterflies feeding from white and lilac wild flowers

The style of poem I’ve selected this week is shadorma. This is what Colleen says about shadorma:

The Shadorma consists of a six-line stanza (or sestet). Each stanza is written as 3-5-3-3-7-5 for a total of 26 syllables with no set rhyme scheme. When writing a Shadorma, I would concentrate on a specific subject. Add a title to the Shadorma.

You can find her example here: https://tankatuesday.com/tanka-tuesday-poetry-cheat-sheet-for-tanka-tuesday-poetry-challenges-2/#the-photograph

Two

two orange

butterflies kiss two

wild flowers

bedecked in

soft white and lilac tunics

symbiotic love

If you would like to join in and use either, or both, the picture and the poetry form as you inspiration, I invite you to share your post link in the comments section.