Robbie Cheadle's Blog, page 30

Robbie’s Inspiration – Reposts: Two poems and some lions #poetry #photography

I have been fortunate enough to have poems published on two poetry sites this week.

The first poem, She Lives and Yet She’s Dead, was published on MaticadoresUSA by Barbara Leonhard. You can read this poem here: https://masticadoresusa.wordpress.com/2024/02/07/she-lives-and-yet-shes-dead-by-robbie-cheadle/

The second poem, a haiku, was published on True Haiku by Freya Pickard. You can read it here: https://purehaiku.wordpress.com/2024/02/07/2-7-3/

The animal referred to in the haiku is a real one. A lioness who was injured and was limping badly. She had two cubs. Another lioness was hunting for all four of them.

Picture caption: Lion cub number 1 stretching Picture caption: Lion cub number 2.Picture caption: More lion cub number 1 stretching – so cute!Picture caption: Mama lioness resting

Robbie’s Inspiration – Tanka Tuesday, three bussokusekika poems #TankaTuesday #summerflowers

This week’s challenge was to write three bussokusekika (5/7/5/7/7/7). Each poem needed to include one of the following phrases, summer flowers, scorching sunshine, and sudden shower. You can join in here: https://tankatuesday.com/2024/01/30/24-seasons-syllabic-poetry-challenge-no-19-1-30-24-part-ii-deep-cold/

Torturous Spring

Spring, the torturer

Scorching sunshine her weapon

Of harsh discipline

Flowers bloom, shrivel, and die

Their graves dry puddles of dust

Among clumps of yellow grass

Devious Rain

Late entrance by rain

The devious conjuror

Of destructive hail

Disguised as sudden showers

Masking icy treachery

Kamikaze blooms must jump

Calm Summer

Calm, gentle summer

Mellowed by experience

Contented with life

Coaxes the summer flowers

Into a magnificent

Demonstration of colours

Here are a few more kigo poems:

Burst figs (shadorma)

Juicy figs

Bursting with flavour

Birds attack

Shredding skin

Feasting on rich, moist innards

Chirping with delight

The Surprise (tanka)

Unexpected find

Sun coaxes passion fruit vine

Into a vivid

Declaration of delight

Midsummer’s dream comes alive

Robbie’s Inspiration – Two book reviews: Amanda in Spain by Darlene Foster and A Magical Christmas by Jacquie Biggar #readingcommunity

Amanda in Spain: The Girl in the Painting by Darlene FosterWhat Amazon says

Amanda Jane Ross is certainly becoming a world traveller; she’s now in sunny Spain on vacation with her friend Leah. While there, she encounters a mysterious young girl who looks eerily like the girl in a famous painting she saw in a Madrid museum. Even weirder, the girl keeps showing up wherever Amanda finds herself – Madrid, the remote mountains of rural Spain, the beaches on the Mediterranean Sea, a lively fiesta and the busy streets of Barcelona. Amanda wants to help this sweet, young girl and her beloved pony escape the clutches of a mean horse-dealer.

Come with Amanda on her next adventure as she attempts to unravel the mystery behind the Girl in the Painting while she treks across Spain – always one step ahead of danger!

My review

I have been looking forward to reading Amanda in Spain: The Girl in the Painting for some time. There is something magical and slightly creepy about a girl in a painting. I was not disappointed. Amanda in Spain is another wonderful story for middle school children that shares a lot of fascinating information about famous attractions in this marvelous country combined with an entertaining and fast paced story line.

Amanda is taken by the girl in the painting at the Madrid Prado Museum, and when her lookalike turns up on the streets of Madrid wearing jeans and a t-shirt, Amanda is completely astonished. She is on holiday with her friend Leah and Leah’s parents and is looking forward to a relaxed time enjoying the exotic food, drinks, and historical treasures of Spain.

When the lookalike, named Dona, turns up hidden in the cupboard in her hotel room, Amanda and Leah are plunged into an adventure. Dona is trying to evade an unpleasant man who wants to use her to get back at her father and Amanda feels compelled to help her.

I liked that Leah and Amanda had a few minor differences of opinion in this book. It demonstrated that friendships aren’t perfect and that friends can disagree. They overcame their differences, of course, and that also sends a positive message to children about compromise and learning to get along with others.

I would recommend this book as an interesting and entertaining adventure story for youngsters aged 9 to 13.

Amazon US purchase link: https://www.amazon.com/Amanda-Spain-Painting-Darlene-Foster-ebook/dp/B017GH5E5A

A Magical Christmas by Jacquie BiggarWhat Amazon says

A heartwarming holiday short story that will tug on the heartstrings from a treasured author of family romance and suspense!

When a little girl goes missing, it takes faith, love, and the help of a Christmas angel to guide her to safety.

My review

The spirits of Madeline Shaughnessy and her long dead husband’s stallion cannot move on to join him in the afterlife. They still have work to do in the human world. When her grandson’s small daughter gets lost in the wilderness, the pair need to help their family again.

This is a delightful, feel good story for Christmas or any other time when a bit of good cheer is in order. I enjoyed this well written and tender tale about family love and resilience.

Amazon US purchase link: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B09P4K56L7

Robbie’s Inspiration: Tanka Tuesday, poems and pictures #poetry #photography #TankaTuesday

Colleen’s latest challenge revolves around kigo words. You can join in here: https://tankatuesday.com/2024/01/23/24-seasons-syllabic-poetry-challenge-no-18-1-23-24-part-i-deep-cold-january-20-february-2-daikan-%E5%A4%A7%E5%AF/.

I have adapted this into kigo poems where the entire poem represents a specific moment in our season. I am particularly enchanted with personifying flowers at the moment.

Summer Belles – Micro poem

Belles with narrow waists

Wide hoops beneath netted skirts

Dazzling in bright pink

I love the light in this picture.Hula Girls (shadorma 3/5/3/3/7/5)

Hula girls

In raffia skirts

Dance and sing

Twist and turn

Splattering the summer green

With red and orange

Purple Sirens (tanka)

Sophisticated

In dark purple finery

Summer irises

Slinky and sexy in silk

That clings to their shapely curves

Waterfall (shadorma)

Waterfall

of lush foliage

Profuse leaves

Tumbling down

Abundant berries floating

Among green ripples

Robbie’s Inspiration – Birds and links to two posts #birds #poetry #baking

As I wrote the tags for this post, I thought what a Jack of all trades post this is. Firstly, I am sharing a few lovely bird photographs I took on our recent trip to the bush. Michael from The Adventures Of… blog inspired me to take photographs of birds. You can find Michael’s latest post about a Pale Chanting Goshawk which is found in South Africa, here: https://lifeexperiencesandadventures.wordpress.com/2024/01/25/art-in-nature-354/

Secondly, I am sharing the link to my shadorma, The Matrons on USA Masticadores blog. Thank you to the lovely Barbara Leonhard for hosting me. Thirdly, I am sharing a link to my post for Bernadette from Classic New Recipes Cookbook Confidential book review series. I hope you enjoy the variety.

Picture caption: Lilac-breasted roller. An interesting fact about these birds is that they prey on animals fleeing from bush fires. It is also a swift flier, indulging in acrobatics during the breeding season.

Picture caption: Kori Bustard. The Kori Bustard is the largest flying bird native to Africa. Male Kori Bustards weigh between 11 and 19 kilograms and are 1,5 metres tall.

Picture caption: My photograph of a Pale Chanting Goshawk is nowhere near as good as Michael’s so I hope you will visit his post and see a better close up (although I do like the moody sky background). An interesting fact about these birds is that they are opportunistic raptors that eat a wide variety of prey including small mammals up to the size of Cape hares, lizards, birds, large insects and carrion.

Masticadores USA

This is the link to my shadorma, The Matrons: https://masticadoresusa.wordpress.com/2024/01/10/the-matrons-a-shadorma-by-robbie-cheadle/. I hope it will give you a smile.

Jewish Honey Cake

This is the link to my post for Jewish Honey Cake over at Classic New Recipe: https://newclassicrecipe.com/2024/01/24/cookbook-confidential-robbie-cheadle-reviews-the-book-of-jewish-food-by-cynthia-roden/.

Robbie’s Inspiration – Tanka Tuesday, Childhood Perspectives #tankatuesday #poetry

These are my contributions to Colleen’s challenges for the past two weeks. I don’t think they are exactly right, but I like them so here they are.

Unnatural curls – a shadorma prose poem

When I was a little girl and my sister, Catherine, was a very little girl, my hair was as straight as a ramrod. Catherine had a cloud of blonde curls and I had a sheet of straight blonde hair that would not hold a curl despite mom’s best attempts. And try she did. When my hair was washed, mom would twist clumps of it into tight knobs. She would pin these knobs in place with long hairpins and I would be left to pass the night, sleeping on my face due to the discomfort. In the morning, I would have lovely ringlets for about two hours. By the end of the school day, my Christmas tree would have fallen apart and only pitiful waves would remain of the curly mass. I hated curls.

Curlicews

In shades of bright green

Reminder

Of childhood

Hair pinned in twists to create

unnatural curls

This shadorma prose (I did make this up but I’m sure it exists) was for Colleen’s previous challenge. You can read the entries here: https://tankatuesday.com/2024/01/09/24-seasons-syllabic-poetry-challenge-no-16-1-9-24-part-ii-early-cold-january-5-20-shokan-%E5%B0%8F%E5%AF/

Beach Huts – a tanka prose poem

When I was a little girl and my sister, Catherine, was an even littler girl, we lived in Fishhoek in the Western Cape. Fishhoek beach was delightful; full of interesting rocks we could crawl right into in search of shells and rockpools. There was a tunnel that went under the railway track and we loved to stand in it while a train rattled overhead. It was a thrilling experience for one naughty girl and her younger sister. And there were beach huts. Painted in bright colours, they stood in a row all along the beach front. The wooden doors were padlocked to keep out inquisitive children. I always wondered what lay beyond those doors. I only found out later in life when I read Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier.

Childhood memories

Stirred by welcome sight of

Beach huts in the sand

Padlocks seal their wooden doors

Imagination runs wild

My beach hut rendition made from chocolate and shortbread biscuit crumbs.

Colleen’s prompt this week was a wee bit unsuited to the South African summer. I hope there is a kigo word in here somewhere, if not enjoy the fun anyway. You can join in here: https://tankatuesday.com/2024/01/16/24-seasons-syllabic-poetry-challenge-no-17-1-16-24-part-iii-early-cold-january-5-20-shokan-%E5%B0%8F%E5%AF-poets-choice/

Robbie’s Inspiration – Repost: Treasuring Poetry, 2024: Meet DL Mullan and a review

Today, I am delighted to host poet and author, DL Mullan, as my first Treasuring Poetry guest for 2024. DL shares a lovely discussion about poetry, including some of her own, and I’ve shared my review of her intriguing poetry collection, The Descent. Thanks for hosting, Kaye Lynne Booth.

Treasuring Poetry, 2024: Introducing the poetry of DL Mullan and a review #poetry #poetrycommunity #TreasuringPoetry

Robbie’s Inspiration – Reblog: Story Empire, Designing eye-catching book covers for fiction #StoryEmpire #bookcovers #authorcommunity

Hi everyone

I have exciting news! Today, I shared my very first post as a member of Story Empire. Do go over and visit. It is a great site offering lots of interesting information about writing, marketing, publishing, and numerous other writing related topics. My post is about designing eye-catching book covers for fiction.

Designing eye-catching book covers – Fiction

Robbie’s Inspiration – Reena’s Xploration Challenge #313 – Nature’s Magic #poem

Reena’s challenge this week is magic. You can join in here: https://reinventionsreena.wordpress.com/2024/01/11/reenas-xploration-challenge-313/

This is a Garland cinquain which comprises a titled series of six cinquains (2-3-6-8-2 syllables) in which the last stanza is formed from lines from the preceding five, typically line one from stanza one, line two from stanza two, and so on.

Nature’s Magic

Dark heads

Black on soft gold

Planet’s tallest mammals

Enjoying an early breakfast

Stunning

Tree line

Silhouetted

By powerful sunrays

Inveigling their way through stormclouds

Hard win

Long neck

Outlined in brown

Against sky’s bright splendour

A magnificent specimen

Superb

Tower*

Watches lions

With strange fascination

Giraffes, part of nature’s secret

Marvels

The prey

Compelled to stare

Just like human tourists

Do they think they’ll escape using

Magic

Dark heads

Silhouetted

Against sky’s bright splendour

Giraffe’s, part of nature’s secret

Magic

* A tower is a collective word for giraffes

Robbie’s Inspiration – repost Growing Bookworms: The importance of character names in children’s literature

Kaye Lynne Booth and I are kicking off 2024 with a post about the importance of character names in children’s literature.