Robbie Cheadle's Blog, page 38

The Hyena – nature’s feminist

Meeka’s Mind blog has shared a wonderful Q&A about my new poetry collection, Lion Scream, and the role of hyenas in nature ecosystems. Thank you, Meeks.

Meeka's Mind

I was on Robbie Cheadle’s blog recently and was intrigued when she described some of Southern Africa’s wild life as ‘the Big Five’ and ‘the Ugly Five’! I had to ask, right? Well, here’s what Robbie said.

Robbie: The “Ugly Five”, comprising of the warthog, hyena, wildebeest, marabou stork, and vulture, aren’t as well known, but also play an important role in the southern African eco systems. The hyena, marabou stork, and vulture are all scavengers who help ‘clean up’ the bushveld.

One of the most interesting of the “Ugly Five” is the hyena which is one of the most misunderstood and persecuted animals in history. Throughout history, hyenas have been regarded as vermin and a liability to local communities. Disney’s movie, The Lion King, also perpetrated the myth of hyenas as despicable animals.

Me: Having watched The Lion King many times when the Offspring was little, I…

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Weekend Serial — Atonement in Zugzwang Episode-4, featuring Robbie Cheadle!

Talented story teller, Teagan Geneviene, has featured one of my recipes and selected three items from it to create her latest episode of Atonement in Zugswang. Thank you, Teagan.

Fondant animals & barn by Robbie Cheadle

Welcome back to Atonement, TN, everyone.   If you saw my post yesterday, then you know that this new installment of Atonement in Zugzwang was driven by a recipe (from which I chose 3 things) created just for this post by the amazing Robbie Cheadle.  Here’s a link to the post where you can learn all about that fabulous Black Bean & Vegetable Soup.

This episode is a little longer, and I’m sitting up late to finish writing it, and do this post.  So let’s get to business.  The three random things I took from Robbie’s recipe are: chopped, carrot, and soup.

Previously

Pepper learned that the body of her uncle, Wirt (Salty) Riley was missing.  In its place a mysterious blue bottle had been left.  Inside the bottle, they found a cryptic message, “You must set up the chessboard.”  We also met a new member of the heard (more accurately called “drift”) of otherworldly glowing pigs.  Moccus has an excessively prankish nature.

Atonement in Zugzwang Episode 4 MCS Mandalas, Pixabay

The thick metal frame of the front door was cold against my hand.  A heavy deadbolt slid into place as I locked it.  Only then did I pay close attention to the glass.  The big windows on either side of the door had the same kind of glass.  It was thicker than normal.

Some kind of security glass?  Maybe even bulletproof?  But why?  A little town like Atonement, Tennessee probably doesn’t have enough crime to keep the local cops busy.  And the upgraded alarm system — again, why?  There’s something wrong in all this, I thought anxiously, and the hair on my arms stood on end in confirmation.

An unusual form of discontent settled onto my shoulders.  It wasn’t simply the industrial appearance of the remodeled service station, or the rundown appearance of its exterior.  Everything within my gaze felt strange… foreign to me.  Although I wasn’t sure whether my unfamiliar surroundings were at fault or if I was the alien presence.

“Maybe some of both,” I remarked aloud, and my voice echoed from the high ceiling and on the large metal staircase.

Looking out through the abundance of glass on the front of the place, I forced a smile and waved as Maudie got into the bank manager’s car.  Russell Skeen kindly offered to take my friend to the closest rental car agency — which was by no means nearby.

Continue reading here: https://teagansbooks.com/2023/03/18/weekend-serial-atonement-in-zugzwang-episode-4-featuring-robbie-cheadle/

Treasuring Poetry – Meet multi-genre author and poet, Patricia Furstenberg, and a review #Poetry #writingcommunity #bookreview

My March Treasuring Poetry guest is talented poet and author, Patricia Furstenberg. Patricia Furstenberg is the Spillwords Author of the Year, 2022 and you can read her interview on Spillwords here: https://spillwords.com/author-of-the-year-2022-interview/. Thanks for hosting Kaye Lynne Booth.

Writing to be Read

Today, I am delighted to welcome author and poet, Patricia Furstenberg, as my March Treasuring Poetry guest.

Why do you write poetry?

To me, writing poetry is like being aflâneuse of the literary world.

The history and meaning offlâneuse (with its masculine form,flâneur) derive from the turn of the century, late 19th to early 20th. It defines those men and women who had the time, the inclination, the passion (and the finances, back then) to wonder along the streets of a big city and to observe and be a part of the daily city life. Those who enjoyed taking in the city.

It was after this past holiday, when my family and I covered about 200km on the streets of Romania, in Bucharest and Sibiu, that I learned this expression, flâneuse.

Writing poetry is my reaction to being a flâneuse in a city of words. Writing poetry is like strolling…

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Robbie’s Inspiration – Lion Scream is available as an ebook and a new review

I am delighted that Lion Scream is now available as an ebook thanks to the dedicated assistance of Colleen Chesebro from Unicorn Cats Publishing Services.

Click on the cover for Amazon US and the blurb for Amazon UK.

Poet and writer, SmithaV, from Eunoia Blog shared a wonderful review of Lion Scream. Smitha shares beautiful poetry on her blog, as well as delightful and insightful posts about her life in India and Bangladesh. Smitha will be launching her first novel, Coming Home, this month. You can read about it here: https://smithavpennings.com/2023/02/21/arriving-soon/

Here is Smitha’s review:

A must read for all

The book cover of a lion baring its teeth and the title of the book is powerful – ‘the scream’ Robbie explains it was inspired by Edward Munch’s famous painting by the same name. She says she used it in the title because it was how she felt on seeing a blood-red sky. I remember feeling the same when a friend of mine shared a picture of the sunset sky during her recent trip to Kenya.
Lion Scream is a book of poems and prose written on the wildlife in South Africa to create awareness about poaching and the impact of climate change on the natural habitat in S. Africa. Robbie Cheadle handles this crucial and relevant subject on the environment deftly by writing poems that are bound to tug the heart, enlighten and sensitize the reader towards the issue.

The poems are written in the double ennead form. Robbie explains that a double ennead is a form of syllabic poetry. Each stanza has 5 lines and 33 syllables. The poems are easy to understand for non-poets and non-readers as well. The addition of pictures and links to videos taken by the author makes it a light and entertaining read.

To fight for a cause, you need to believe in it, understand and feel for the oppressed party or the victim, which in this case is the declining flora and fauna of S.Africa. By providing a peek into their world and giving them a voice through her poems, Robbie Cheadle helps the reader see them in a new light. As I read the book, I felt it would be perfect if it were introduced to students in Middle school; creating awareness at an early age may be our only way to save the future. After all, the future belongs to the children of today.

I’m sharing a few poems and excerpts from the book to give you an idea of what I’m talking about. Under the Section on Rhinos, Robbie shares the news article on a rhino that was found crying after being attacked by poachers for its horn; the rhino’s skull was fractured, and it was left bleeding. It pained me when I read it.

Continue reading here: https://smithavpennings.com/2023/03/08/book-review-lion-scream-by-robbie-cheadle/

Growing Bookworms – Developmental benefits of music for young children

Today, I am over at Writing to be Read with a post about the developmental benefits of music for young children. Thanks for hosting, Kaye Lynne Booth.

Writing to be Read

When I was at school, we had music lessons during which we learned to play certain easy songs on an instrument like a recorder or a xylophone. We were also taught to sing musical notes in much the same way as Maria teaches the von Trapp children to sing notes in the film The Sound of Music.

I can remember listening to stories that taught me and my classmates about musical instruments and the different sounds they make. Peter and the Wolf comes to mind, as well as my personal favourite, Sparky’s Magic Piano.

If you are interested in watching Sparky’s Magic Piano, or have a child you would like to share it with, you can watch it here:

I always wanted to learn how to play the piano. Our neighbour started teaching me once and I was getting along nicely, but then we moved to another town and the…

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Robbie’s Inspiration: Book Review – Death on a Dirty Afternoon by Colin Garrow

What Amazon saysTwo deaths. A suspicious cop. A taxi driver in the firing line.

When taxi driver Frank is found dead on his dining room table, ex-cabbie Terry Bell assumes his old friend died of a heart attack. But when Terry’s former boss also turns up with his face bashed in, it starts to look like there’s a connection.

Faced with a Detective Inspector who doesn’t like coincidences, and a series of threatening letters, Terry does a bit of investigating of his own, but when another body is discovered, the temperature starts to rise – in more ways than one.

Death on a Dirty Afternoon is book #1 in the Terry Bell Mystery series. Download your copy of Death on a Dirty Afternoon now. Just scroll to the top of the page and select BUY to start your adventure today!

My review

I read this first book in the Terry Bell detective series after I read the second book. The fact that I didn’t realise this until I came to write this review illustrates how well the two books stand alone and that they don’t need to be read in order.

The story starts with the discovery of Frank Armstong’s body laid out on the dining room table. Right from the first line, the wonderful British humour the author injects into this series is evident. This is the first line: “Frank Armstrong had lain down on the dining room table before, but in the past he’d always been either sound asleep or dead drunk. Now he was just dead.”

Terry Bell has come to Frank’s home at the request of his wife who discovered the body when she returned from ‘a night out on the tiles’, partying and enjoying herself with another man. The first few pages set the scene well and the reader knows that Frank’s marriage was not happy, his wife was not faithful, and his death may well be unnatural or suspicious. Frank’s wife assigns Terry the job of informing Frank’s boss, Ronnie, to whom he owes a significant amount of money, of his untimely death. Ronnie was also Terry’s previous boss and owns the taxi company Frank worked for. At the time of the story, Terry is not working having come into a small inheritance.

From this simple beginning, Terry is drawn into a circle of corruption and murder involving some nefarious people who would be quite happy to kill him and anyone else who gets in their way. Of course, there are some red herrings with suspicion cast on various supporting characters. The story is fast paced and interesting, but the aspects of this book I enjoyed the most were the British humour, as mentioned, and the typically British settings, relationships, and attitudes. For me, these overlays brought fresh and relatable aspects to the murder mystery plot which I thoroughly enjoyed.

Terry Bell was an unusual protagonist. He is my idea of a typical working class man in Britain, hard working and salt of the earth, with a sharp brain but quite naïve when it came to dealing with villains and unethical people. There is a bit of sexual banter, which I found appropriate and amusing.

If you enjoy a well thought out murder mystery plot, wrapped up in British humour, then you will love this series.

Purchase Death on a Dirty Afternoon by Colin Garrow

Colingarrow.org

Amazon US

Amazon UK

Robbie’s Inspiration: Two haikus and a review of Lion Scream

Photo credit Sarah Whiley

This picture prompt by Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie blog inspired the following two haiku:

Media inputs

Information overload

Mental explosion

By Robbie Cheadle

***

Dark clouds of panic

Feed on rationality

Destroying reason

By Robbie Cheadle

Lion Scream review

The paperback version of Lion Scream is available on Amazon and I am busy working on the ebook which should be available soon.

Thank you to talented writer and poet, M.J. Mallon, for this beautiful review of the ARC.

Blurb

“In this reflective collection of syllabic poetry, poet Roberta Cheadle weaves words, emotions, and images as she recounts her soul-stirring journey around South Africa in 2022. She highlights the plight of the animals in the face of the Sixth Mass Extinction, during a visit to Ukutula Lodge & Game Reserve. Lion Roar is a poetic and photographic roadmap to the heart & soul of South Africa with highlights about the increasing impact of global warming on humanity and the greater planet. A must read!”
—Colleen M. Chesebro, Author of Word Craft: Prose & Poetry, The Art of Crafting Syllabic Poetry

My ARC review

Thank you so much to the author for a copy. Here are my thoughts on this book.

Lion Scream is a wonderful collection of well written, accessible, evocative poetry and stunning photography primarily about indigenous species and landscapes of South Africa.

The images and poetry transport you to South Africa; they compliment each other and are beautiful. It is obvious that the author, Robbie Cheadle is passionate about these magnificent animals and the ever growing concerns and cruel practices of rhinos being dehorned for their tusks, poachers, endangered species, climate change, conservation and the illegal trade in exotic pets.

Continue reading here: https://mjmallon.com/2023/02/28/mj-reviews-lion-scream-by-robertaeaton17-bakeandwrite-wildlife-poetry-southafrican-habitat-environment-climatechange/

Robbie’s Inspiration: mushroom and beef stew with red wine

I do all my grocery shopping on-line. Sometimes I make mistakes, especially lately with the power constantly on and off, as I lose my connection for a few minutes when the change to or from the generator happens. A few weeks ago, I accidentally ordered 7 punnets of mushrooms. Fortunately the mushrooms were at least sliced. I used two punnets to make this delicious stew.

Do you shop on-line? Do you make mistakes with your orders sometimes?

2 kilograms good quality beef cubes

2 medium onions, chopped

4 large carrots, copped

4 large potatoes, chopped

500 grams portabellini mushrooms, sliced

500 grams bacon, chopped

salt and pepper to taste

15 ml garlic flakes

15 ml dried parsley

5 ml chili flakes

60 grams tomato paste

10 ml dried oreganum

8 x cups (250 ml) chicken stock

3 x Tbspns plain or cake flour

olive oil for cooking

Method

Prepare the vegetables. Heat 2 Tbspns olive oil in a large saucepan and brown the beef, spicing with salt and pepper. Set aside. Add more olive oil and cook the onion and bacon for about 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and carrots and cook for 10 minutes. Add the red wine and then the beef. Cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the garlic, tomato paste, origanum, parsley and chili flakes. Sprinkle in the flour, one tablespoon at a time and mix until incorporated. Add the chicken stock and the potatoes. Bring to the boil then turn down and simmer for 45 minutes until potatoes are soft.

KITCHEN CONFIDENTIAL COOKBOOK CLUB – Robbie Cheadle Reviews Chicken Shawarma

I am over at Bernadette’s lovely cooking blog, New Classic Recipe, with my contribution to her Kitchen Confidential Cookbook Club. Thanks for hosting, Bernadette.

Hi there,

To continue with our reviews of Milk Street Tuesday Night Mediterranean, Robbie Cheadle weighs in on the cookbook and gives us a recipe and review of Chicken Shawarma.

Many of you long time readers are familiar with Robbie. She has generously shared her cooking expertise with us on several occasions. I don’t think anyone can forget her amazing Hummingbird Cake, https://newclassicrecipe.com/2022/05/10/hummingbird-cake-a-very-special-birthday-cake-for-a-very-special-mother/.

In addition to being an accomplished cook, Robbie is a fabulous writer and blogger. Her many talents can be found at   https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com

Milk Street: Tuesday Nights Mediterranean: 125 Simple Weeknight Recipes from the World’s Healthiest Cuisine by Christopher Kimball

About the book

Mediterranean based recipes which have been put together by the author with the objectives of speed and simplicity for everyday cooking in mind. The recipes are grouped under various headings including Fast (approximately 45 minutes start to finish), Faster (approximately 30 minutes start to finish), and Fastest (approximately 25 minutes start to finish), and then Salad Suppers, Hearty Vegetarian, Supper Soups, and Flat and Folded. The recipes used mainly common Mediterranean spices and ingredients that are easy to find in local shops and result in wholesome and tasty meals. 

Several recipes, including the two recipes I chose to make, use a broiler for the cooking process. I do not have a broiler; in fact, I’ve never heard of this piece of equipment. I was able to modify the cooking process easily to one I am familiar with and have the necessary cooking equipment to accommodate.

I also used food items I had available in my house and did not purchase items specifically to make the selected recipes. As a result, my meals varied a bit from the ones in the book. I think the ease with which I adapted the recipes to suit my ingredients and cooking methods, was a big positive for the usefulness of this book.

The first recipe I attempted was the Spicy Ground Beef Kebabs with Tomato-Sumac Sauce from the Fast section. You can find my adapted recipe and pictures of the dish on my blog here: https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/2023/01/30/levantine-kebabs-in-chunky-tomato-sauce/

The second recipe I tried was Chicken Shawarma and this is the recipe I made. I have indicated where I made small adaptions due to ingredients and cooking methods.

Continue reading here: https://newclassicrecipe.com/2023/02/24/kitchen-confidential-cookbook-club-robbie-cheadle-reviews-chicken-shawarma/

A Review of Lion Scream by Robbie Cheadle

Professor Charles French has shared a wonderful review of my new poetry book, Lion Scream. I am delighted that he appreciated and understood the message and purpose of this book. Thank you, Charles.

charles french words reading and writing

I received this book and read it in one sitting. It is staggering in its beauty and message. Robbie Cheadle has crafted an excellent book, filled with syllabic poetry, commentary, and a short story. Taken as a whole, this text is an important lesson on the impact of humanity on the wildlife of Southern Africa and, by extension, the rest of the world.“Lion Scream”, the title of the book and one of the poems within, is my favorite. It is short but deeply impactful. Cheadle shows her talent with words as she creates this poem, and then many others in a fascinating form called the Double Enead, which has 99 syllables.Cheadle’s book is a masterpiece! I do not use these words lightly or easily, but this book moved me emotionally and intellectually. I was shaken and in tears while I read it. As a man of my age…

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