David L. Atkinson's Blog, page 102

Tuesday Recipe - Dylan Thomas' Birthday and a fish lunch.

[image error]Dylan Thomas 1914 - 1953
Dylan Thomas was born 100 years ago today and died at the age of 39. Some of his words for you to savour.
From 'Poem in October'
My birthday began with the water –Birds and the birds of the winged trees flying my nameabove the farms and the white horsesand I rosein rainy autumnand walked abroad in a shower of all my days.----------------------------------From 'Ballad of the Long-Legged Bait'Venus lies star-struck in her woundAnd the sensual ruins makeSeasons over the liquid world,White springs in the dark.----------------------------------From 'Love in the asylum'
She has come possessedWho admits the delusive light through the bouncing wall,Possessed by the skiesShe sleeps in the narrow trough yet she walks the dustYet raves at her willOn the madhouse boards worn thin by my walking tears.
----------------------------------My own favourite:-
From 'Do not go gentle into that good night'
Do not go gentle into that good night,Old age should burn and rave at close of day;Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
--------------------------------I am not trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes this is a completely constructed meal from bought in items. I just got back from a break and haven't shopped or cooked over the weekend so this was what I could grab at short notice, and that I fancied eating.
Cod in Breadcrumbs with new potatoes and mushy peas


It was quick and tasty but I'm not going to glorify it by writing a recipe as that would be possibly more creative than the poetry and books I write - perhaps! It is almost edging on the side of a healthy meal. There are vegetables, fat free protein and erm - well it wasn't at all bad. Oven cooked so that was good!
God Bless

Writing - Normal service will be resumed asap.

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Remember this when the programmes crashed?
Portfolio



Steele   My hero was created post recession and so has no concept of how 'good' things were pre-2008. In 'I Have To Get It Right' when he began to flex his muscles he was working in an accountant's office. Then after the Gurentai took him under their wing and removed all of his financial worries, it was justice that was his major concern. He did become involved in international relations in 'The 51st State' but it was for the maintenance of a respectful distance between countries, rather than economic reasons. His trips into the USA had repercussions which can be read about in 'The Biter Bit' but then by the time things began to change in 2011 and the recession was really biting, Steele was trying to make sense of the state of the nation in 'A Changed Reality' and coming up against some really nasty people taking advantage of the shortage of money. By the time the USA are out of their recession Steele's steps are still being dogged by an unknown enemy from the same country. In 'Inceptus' we also find out more about what makes the man tick. The most recent Steele book 'Castled' Steele is once again at risk from unseen enemies. It would seem that he has become quite recession proof!
All books are available in paperback or ebook through Amazon, Smashwords and all good book shop websites.


Cessation This is a dystopian story that hinges directly on the state of the nation as a result of fiscal mismanagement. Having said that it is more a story of human relations, privations, love and loss.

God Bless

Writing - A first time for everything.

Periodically I take myself off for a few days just to get away from the usual routine.  This is one of those occasions. One thing I have never done is posted a blog using my tablet so I decided to try today.


I don't want to log a catalogue of problems so apart from the newness so far not too bad.Considering holidays it is intriguing as to why we westerners feel the need to go away and recharge our batteries.  An interesting metaphor in itself as batteries are usual charged when we sleep or while we are working! Having taken around 5 hours including a break to drive down here I had time to think. It seems to be more about self and identity than recharging which suggests run down and tired. Its probably a bit of both. For someone like me it is more about escaping ones identity and position in the world.When you set off alone, wherever you go, you are in a sublime situation. Unless as some do you go back to somewhere you've been before, you are an unknown. You can be as different as feels comfortable or consolidate your sense of self and who you are. I remember as a student in the 60s and 70s people talked about fi ding themselves, since the turn of the millenium the concept of the 'gap year' arose which amounts to the same thing. As a writer it can be so much more. 
When we research we can use Google Earth to actually 'see' places we've never actually visited, hell even terrorists use that facility! My feeling is that it is ok to do that but so much easier to gauge the atmosphere when you go in person. You also meet different people and there are subtle differences between regions.
BUT as writers it is also an opportunity to exercise the imagination and think oneself into different scenarios without the regular daily distractions. So if you get the opportunity to be on your own take it, there could be lots of side benefits that you don't expect.
God Bless

Poetry Thursday 133 - Blogging and Mother Earth

Two offerings that have sprung from a topical subject this week.

To blog or not.
Writing a blog every dayseems more like the punishment.Not doing so in some wayappears to be a detriment.
The act of daily scribingis an effort to stay in practice.You have to keep believingrepetition will polish the process.
Once the writing virus has bitto stop induces cold turkey reaction.There is no way of stopping itso write daily - spread news of the infection.© David L Atkinson October 2014

Hurricane Gonzalo hit Bermuda a few days ago and then tracked 3000 miles across the Atlantic, weakening all the time, and hit the UK on Monday 21st October. It sparked off speculation as to the weather we're due to receive over winter and I felt that the power of our planet was a suitable subject.
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Earth’s Extremes
Lying awake listening to the whipping windslapping any objects that are loose,creating its own musical thingeither chorus or symphonic opus.
Admiring the negligent power of the Earthand at the same time fearing it.Arrogant humans dazzled by self-worthbelieve they can control it.
When their sea walls, dykes and barriersbattered under the power then wilt,the self-important whinging worriersblame everything else to assuage their guilt.
Mother Earth isn’t controlled by usalthough sometimes she lets us think it,until our pathetic hopeless effortsdo something stupid to annoy it.
Then her retribution is swift and terriblea signal that we should remember it.Natural catastrophes - she’s well capable,is her weapon and has no fear of using it. © David L Atkinson October 2014


God Bless

Writing - Food banks for authors!

An author has been criticised for killing a rabbit she found in her garden then cooking and eating it! Is life for an author becoming so desperate that they have begun hunting for their own food?
[image error]Jeanette Winterson
Winterson, author of Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit, revealed that she had "humanely" killed a rabbit which was eating parsley in her garden in the Cotswolds. She cooked the rabbit in cider - and parsley - and joked that the fur made a "good glove puppet".  This created a minor storm on Twitter but what is the law about killing rabbits?
In fact there is no legislation to prevent anyone killing rabbits as they are considered pests and landowners are urged to 'clear' rabbits on their land by gassing, ferreting, trapping and snaring. 19th Century legislation allows for the shooting of our furry friend but gun laws these days limits the number of people who qualify to be able to shoot the beasts.
I remember that when growing up in the 1950s there was a plethora of rabbits which were culled by the use of the disease myxomatosis and the numbers fell drastically, but of course the rabbits became immune to the disease and its success faded somewhat. About ten years ago I had occasion to drive along the A9, up to Inverness in Scotland, late in the evening. There are some long lonely stretches of road, interspersed by distilleries, that had wide and verdant verges which were teeming with the little fluffy buggers. So there is no shortage.
Around 20 years ago I bought prepared rabbit from the butcher's, marinaded it in port with shallots and carrots, then stewed it and served it with new potatoes. It went down like a lead balloon as the children couldn't get mental images of fluffy bunnies from their minds. I have always liked rabbit meat God forgive me!

Comments on Twitter aimed at Jeanette Winterson ranged from threats to never read another word she wrote to questioning whether there was a problem at all. My own opinion is that, as omnivorous creatures, we eat a variety of meats and vegetation which is only tempered by the higher brain function - reason - and is down to personal preference. What I object to is the inference that when something like this becomes public on platforms such as Twitter, that everyone has a right to impose their position on other people. 
In short - they don't!
Perhaps if authors are so hard up that they have to revert to the 'hunter gatherer' mode of living then there will be greater problems for all of us. Food banks have been in the news this week as a result of the announcement that Britain is becoming increasingly divided into a 'haves and have nots' society. Perhaps we need writers' food banks for those of us who have trouble selling their wares!
I dispute the fact that we are becoming a divided society probably unable to change to a fairer way of living. Richard II, in October 1381, negotiated with peasants over unfair treatment by squires, landlords and the gentry. What has changed in 600+ years?
God Bless

Tuesday Recipe - Luxury Fish Pie (again)

I know, I know this recipe has been posted before. No I'm not being lazy just preparing for a short holiday and so decided on an easy recipe for the weekend.
Luxury Fish Pie
Fish Pie constitutes comfort food for me and this one especially as it also has liberal amounts of another favourite, cheese. If you are making this and you like cheesy mash don't choose some bland, pale imitation but a strong cheese with attitude. Also, when making mashed potato I add creme fraiche rather than cream or milk and you won't find margarine in my house, butter rules ok!!!
The fish I used was a selection of salmon, smoked haddock and cod with hard boiled egg and a parsley sauce. It was then served with a green vegetable.
God Bless

Writing - Humour and more

It is important to include a degree of humour in your writing and it is Sunday so I thought that I'd share a little with you.
[image error]Fascinating Aida



http://youtu.be/qHcim_KNZYw
Humour can be difficult but as I often have said in this forum it is a humanising element. It has many forms ranging from sarcasm to slapstick, but emotion is what you're trying to trigger in your readership. In some degree it helps to sell your books alongside genre and a plethora of other factors.
The relationships between your created characters opens up the opportunity for dialogue in which humour can be introduced and will engage the readership. Like all aspects of writing it is important to read a variety of material to experience all aspects of writing. One of the most amusing writers I have ever read is Tom Sharpe who wrote the 'Wilt' books.
[image error]Tom Sharpe (1928 - 2013)
The humour is not bawdy, rather quite clever, but does have you laughing out loud and I can recommend this writer's books. 
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There is a sequel but other works include 'Porterhouse Blue' and 'Blott on the Landscape' all well worth a read.
Obviously, don't get bogged down with the humour if you are writing a different genre.
God Bless

Writing - 10 things we didn't know last week

This week speaks of celebrity, privacy and food.
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1. Bono wears sunglasses because he suffers from the eye condition glaucoma.
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2. Simon Cowell has a saying for people editing shots of him on X factor: two words - happy and handsome.

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3. America employs more private security guards than high-school teachers.

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4. In the late 1960s Spanish brewer Damm marketed its beer at all the family - including children.

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5. There are more bicycles in Copenhagen than people.


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6. Once a turtle starts eating a plastic bag, it is physically impossible for it to spit it out.

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7. Until this century, Spanish grape Airen was the world's most planted (by acre).

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8. It used to take invasive species 30 years to move from the Netherlands to the UK but now takes five.

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9. The most expensive pies of any English league football club are to be found at Brighton & Hove Albion - Rochdale's are the cheapest.

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10. Cooling pasta down then reheating it means you get a smaller blood sugar spike when you eat it.


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God Bless

Writing - The Human Zoo

Desmond Morris published his view of the human animal in 1969 and in Denmark a zoo is being commissioned.
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The zoo is being based on the philosophy of having only social animals. 
As a child I was taken to Blackpool Tower Zoo by my parents and it was, unintentionally, a typical Victorian zoo with single animals in cages pacing repeatedly probably bored and claustrophobic. Things have change through education and studying animals in their natural habitats. I recently visited the Yorkshire Wildlife Park near Doncaster and it has three lion prides each with their own enclosure and natural grassland and flowing water.
Zootopia, in Denmark, is going to be different again. 

The plan is to make the barriers between the people and the animals invisible or at least camouflaged. Also there will be no human architecture, so no African huts or Pagodas, any architecture is part of the landscape. If it comes to fruition it should change them whole concept of what a zoo is all about.
BUT the idea of the humans being the enclosed species raises possibilities.

The number of possibilities for stretching the imagination are infinite and probably spawned stories such as The Hunger Games.


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The concept of human beings as the exhibits isn't new but it allows us to examine the complexity of human interactions and captivity. A zoo where there are no obvious barriers may well be slightly unnerving, which brings along another aspect of being human behaviour to the party, the adrenaline junkies will thrive upon the possibility of danger. 
All the above is about inspiration and pushing the imagination in a different direction, use it or not, but think about it and as an exercise allow yourself to be exhibited in a cage.
God Bless

Writing - The London Beer Flood

The news was full of information regarding the banning of smoking in parks yesterday. I mention this because if you search for #Cessation on Twitter you don't come up with my book of that title but with anti-smoking campaigns! 


That'll teach me to be more careful with my titles!
However, it struck me that the 'nanny state' were at it again and then my mind turned to how long it would be before beer was attacked and we were back to the UK version of the USA prohibition era. The coincidence that I discovered this morning was the London Beer Flood of October 17th 1814! Never heard of it? No nor had I so some info for you.
The London Beer Flood happened in the parish of St Giles London, England. At the Meux and Company Brewery on Tottenham Court Road, a huge vat containing over 135,000 imperial gallons (610,000 L) of beer ruptured, causing other vats in the same building to succumb in a domino effect. As a result, more than 323,000 imperial gallons (1,470,000 L) of beer burst out and gushed into the streets. The wave of beer destroyed two homes and crumbled the wall of the Tavistock Arms Pub, trapping teenage employee Eleanor Cooper under the rubble. Within minutes neighbouring George Street and New Street were swamped with alcohol, killing a mother and daughter who were taking tea, and surging through a room of people gathered for a wake.


Cessation by the way is more of a dystopian journey exploring the power situation in this country which is not that far away from reality.
Such manipulations of power on a governmental or local level can provide background, setting or reasons for actions. I like to store them away for possible future use.
God Bless