Robbie Cheadle's Blog, page 13

Robbie’s Inspiration – Youthful Infatuation on Hotel by Masticadores

Thank you to Michelle from Hotel by Masticadores for sharing my poem.

“Youthful Infatuation” by Robbie Cheadle

Robbie’s Inspiration – Advent Calendar Story Train: Sir Chocolate and the Graffiti Artists #Christmas #Storytrain #SirChocolateBooks

Welcome to the Advent Calendar Story Train, where you can read through 24 stories under the theme Surprise.

Sir Chocolate and the Graffiti Artists by Robbie and Michael Cheadle

It was two nights before Christmas, a cold and cloudy day

When the Roundy Twins thought of a new idea for play

Into Sir Chocolate’s Chocolatier, the naughty pair snuck

And found his sweet decorating tools; for them a bit of luck

Picture caption: The Roundy Twins

They spent the long winter’s evening having a lot of fun

And admired their handiwork when they were quite done

They had painted the town with Sir Chocolate’s edible-paint

The tubes were all empty, they had painted without restraint

***

Pictures and graffiti adorned every house in town’s walls

They had been to the local market and sprayed all the stalls

And the stage in the park, was full of paint and a mess

Shocked at their destruction, the twins were a bit stressed

Picture caption: The stage and backdrop full of spray paint

They felt some remorse; the annual play was on Christmas Eve

They’d painted all the props, not one did they miss and leave

Now that they had finished, they knew they’d been bad

The concert would be ruined, and their friends would be sad

***

Bright and early the next day, Sir Chocolate heard a knock

He was hoping to sleep late, but could not the loud sound block

Mr Christmas Pudding and Miss Christmas Cracker were at his door

They were really upset, their tears made puddles on the floor

Picture caption: Mr Christmas Pudding and Miss Christmas Cracker

They had been preparing for months for this Christmas event

The invitations to the townspeople and already been sent

“We’ll have to cancel the show and it is such a shame

“We can’t carry on now, without props it won’t be the same!”

***

A short while later Constable Licorice joined them for tea

Everyone helping to clean up was the only plan he could see

He and Sir Chocolate walked around town, looking for clues

It didn’t do them any good, they only wore out their shoes

***

Who were the irresponsible troublemakers? There was no sign

When they were found they’d get a piece of Constable Licorice’s mind

Signs asking for information, were put up all around the town

Passersby read them with interest and shook their heads with a frown

***

The towns people rallied around, and work extremely hard

The culprits, once caught, from the concert would be barred.

It took all day, and everyone was feeling hot and tired

There was so much to do, some extra help had been hired

***

Sir Chocolate was amazed at how the mess disappeared

The stage and props looked fine when the paint had been cleared

The town’s people sat down to enjoy a picnic on the grass

And to the good results of their scrubbing, they all raised a glass

***

Mr Christmas Pudding went around town and all the concert tickets sold

Miss Christmas Cracker performed and was a sight to behold

At the end of the play, the crowd gave a standing ovation

Which the performers on stage received with great elation

Picture caption: Miss Christmas Cracker performing on stage

The next day Sir Chocolate was awoken early once again

Mrs Roundy had come to visit and her boy’s behavior explain

She had seen them mopping around looking most upset

Their naughty and destructive actions they both did regret

***

Constable Licorice and the boys had a long conversation

Sweeping the street clean of snow, became their obligation

In this way they made amends for their naughty silliness

They knew the results of their actions had been quite serious

***

Each made a promised they would never write graffiti again

This was one form of art from which they’d always abstain

They spread the news to their younger siblings and friends

They felt it was the least they could do to try and make amends

Picture caption: Sir Chocolate and some friends, watching the show

The Sir Chocolate Books are available from TSL Publications here: https://tslbooks.uk/product-tag/sir-chocolate/

The Sir Chocolate highdays and holidays books are available form Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Robbie-Cheadle/author/B01N9J62GQ

Thank you for reading today’s story. The last one will be available to read on December 24th, titled “Bob The Reindeer“ . This link will be active tomorrow when the post goes live.

If you missed yesterday’s you can go and read it here.

Treasuring Poetry – Sunflower Tanka: An Anthology of Tanka, Tanka Prose, & Experimental Tanka collated by Colleen M. Chesebro and Robbie Cheadle #…

I have devoted my final Treasuring Poetry post of 2024 to Sunflower Tanka: An Anthology of Tanka, Tanka prose, & Experimental Tanka co-edited and compiled by talented poet, Colleen M. Chesebro and myself. this collection features poetry by a large number of poets in the WP community.

Thanks for hosting, Kaye Lynne Booth.

For this final post of 2024, I am sharing about Sunflower Tanka: An Anthology of Tanka, Tanka Prose, & Experimental Tanka collated by Colleen M. …

Treasuring Poetry – Sunflower Tanka: An Anthology of Tanka, Tanka Prose, & Experimental Tanka collated by Colleen M. Chesebro and Robbie Cheadle #…

Robbie’s Inspiration – Reblog: Read and Cook with Robbie Cheadle

This is my Read and Cook post on Writing to be Read from earlier this week. I read Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien which I enjoyed very much, and am sharing my recipe and photographs of Christmas Cake.

Thanks for hosting Kaye Lynne Booth.

I am still in Japan and am travelling to Mount Fuji tomorrow. I will respond to comments as soon as possible.

Read and Cook with Robbie Cheadle – Letters from Father Christmas by J.R.R. Tolkien and a recipe for Christmas cake #bookreview #recipe #Christmas

Robbie’s Inspiration – Staci’s Annual Virtual Cookie Exchange – South African Soetkoekies (Sweet Biscuits) #baking #cookies

Staci Troilo is holding her Annual Virtual Cookie Exchange and I have contributed a recipe for South African Soetkoekies. You can view all the recipes here: https://stacitroilo.wordpress.com/2024/11/14/announcing-fourth-cookie-exchange/

Staci has some lovely books in a variety of different genres so do have a look around while you are there.

This is a favourite recipe of Michael and mine and we made a batch this year to give friends as gifts.

Ingredients :

1.5 kg (6 cups) cake flour;;

750 ml (3 cups) brown sugar;

3 lightly beaten eggs;

350 grams unsalted butter;

1/2 teaspoon salt;

30 ml (2 tablespoons)

baking powder;

10 ml cream of tartar;

1/2 teaspoon ginger;

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon;

1/2 teaspoon cloves;

1/2 teaspoon ground

nutmeg; and

125 ml good red wine (add more if the dough is to dry)

Method: Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Melt butter on low in the microwave oven and mix with the flour and the sugar until it resembles bread crumbs. Add in the beaten eggs and then the remaining dry ingredients. Add the red wine and mix well. Roll the mixture into balls and flatten with your palm. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown.                               

This recipe also appears in Michael and my book, Sir Chocolate and the fondant five story and cookbook.

If you are a visual person and prefer YT videos, this is my video of how to make these cookies:

Robbie’s Inspiration – Reblog: Ode to Gingerbread on MasticadoresUSA #poetry

thank you to editor, Barbara Leonard for publishing my Christmas poem, Ode to Gingerbread on MasticadoresUSA

“Ode to Gingerbread” by Robbie Cheadle

Robbie’s Inspiration – Sunflower Tanka cover reveal #poetry #art

Colleen and I are delighted to reveal the cover of the forthcoming Sunflower Tanka journal.

You can read more about Sunflower Tanka here:

Sunflower Tanka – Cover Reveal

Robbie’s Inspiration – Story Empire: Classic Books Christmas quotes quiz

This is my last Story Empire post for 2024. I hope you enjoy the quiz and the cake art.

Classic books Christmas quotes quiz

Sesi Says Goodbye to Granny by Robbie and Michael Cheadle

A huge thank you to author and poet, Miriam Hurdle, for sharing this beautiful post about my latest children’s book, Sesi says goodbye to Granny. Miriam has included a lovely review.

Miriam has an interesting blog packed with poetry and entertaining posts about her life and family. Miriam also has some lovely books including a beautifully illustrated children’s book.

Dear friends, I’m delighted to have Robbie Cheadle here today. She and Michael have a new book, Sesi says goodbye to Granny. Robbie will tell you all…

Sesi Says Goodbye to Granny by Robbie and Michael Cheadle

Robbie’s Inspiration – Story Chat, International Short Stories Generating Conversations Vol II compiled and edited by Marsha Ingrao

Picture caption: Banner for Story Chat Vol II

I am delighted to announce that Story Chat Vol II is now available for purchase on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/STORY-CHAT-VOL-INTERNATIONAL-CONVERSATIONS-ebook/dp/B0DNKPY19R

Michael and I have a children’s story in this collection which is illustrated with my fondant and cake art.

Picture caption: Cover of Story Chat International Short Stories Generating Conversation Vol IIBack Cover Blurb

Story Chat started as a unique online blogging program for authors and readers. This second book includes a diverse set of original short stories by authors from almost every continent in the world. While most of the stories would fall into the category of drama at all ages from children to older adults, this collection includes sci-fi, comedy, and two non-fiction articles about the writing process. All of the selections are family-friendly, even though the topics are aimed at adult readers.

In this book, you will enjoy realistic fiction, surprise, and open endings. Halloween vampire horror stories might make you laugh and wonder how you could. Traveling to an alternate universe – that happens to be familiar to some of you will keep you entertained. You might find yourself stepping into another universe or two that are so bizarre you don’t know what to do with them.

Characters will bring you to tears as they bravely reach for love or face tragedy you hope no one will have to face. You will laugh at the older couple discussing booking the adventure of a nudist cruise. You will cheer for a mother and her autistic child as they surmount obstacles. One story will remind you of Toy Story or the Velveteen Rabbit. Another is an epic children’s poem with illustrations made of fondant by the talented author and her son.

This book is so much fun. Yet, it can be educational, especially for writers who constantly work to improve their craft. Each story has discussion questions that you can use if you belong to a book club or writing group.

All of us, known as Story Chatters, hope this book will make an impact on your lives.

Book trailerOther Factoids about Volume II

Twenty published and previously unpublished authors from eight countries on six continents submitted short stories. Most of these stories were lighthearted family or youth drama, several comedies, coming of age, and science fiction. The stories covered relevant topics like planning vacations, managing estate assets, walking in the fog, trick or treating, solving mysteries, robbing robbers, creative solutions to autism, double dealing, life-long companions, recycling garbage in space, and many more topics. . Most of the stories have surprise endings. Some have open endings, leaving the reader to imagine what might happen next.

Each story takes about three to five minutes to read, making it the perfect book for readers who need something to read in short spurts. The twenty-seven stories are pure entertainment, yet each probes a deeper concept to stimulate and delight thoughtful readers.

New this year are three posts on writing tips, and two poems.

Comments about Story Chat Volume II

 International Short Stories Generating Conversations:

“That sounds like a great initiative, a very interesting book. I love short stories”        -Thomas “The balance is perfect. There has been a good mixture of male and female writers from all over the world.Picture caption: Promotional banner for Story Chat Online Literary Conversations

Story Chat Vol 1 is available form Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/Story-Chat-Online-Literary-Conversations-ebook/dp/B0CMCMK5B5