David L. Atkinson's Blog, page 133

Writing - Pigeon who became a war hero

My submission for this week is a Christmas Story available on the link below:-
http://www.readwave.com/a-christmas-s...
You may have to copy and paste into your browser.
The story below is by a fellow writer and it was redolent of Christmas during the First World War. There were many Christmas truces in 1914 including the football match between the Bedfordshire regiment and German troops. Lisa Vooght's story is not about a truce but it is about courage but this time not of people.
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The Pigeon Who Became A War Hero
by
Lisa Vooght
During World War 1, homing pigeons were frequently used to carry communications between front line troops and commanders/support personnel in the rear. Troops carried pigeons with them in crates; when a message needed to be sent, it was written on paper, rolled up, inserted into a canister strapped to the pigeon's leg, and the pigeon was then released to fly to its coop in the rear. When it arrived at the coop, a bell would sound alerting someone that a message had arrived.

The US Army Signal Corps had been given 600 pigeons by the British; many flew multiple successful missions, while others were shot down by enemy fire. One, by the name of Cher Ami (Dear Friend) saved close to 200 men from "the Lost Battalion" by barely surviving enemy fire and delivering his message.

On October 3, 1918, during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, more than 500 men of New York's 77th Infantry Division (the Liberty Division) were trapped on the side of a hill, cut off and nearly surrounded by enemy troops, without  food or ammunition. Allied troops were unaware of their location and American artillery units began to shell them. Quite a few were killed or wounded; by the second day, barely 200 men were still alive. With no other means of communication available, Major Whittlesey dispatched messages by pigeon. The bird carrying the first message "Many wounded. We cannot evacuate." was shot down. A second was sent with the message, "Men are suffering. Can support be sent?" As the soldiers watched, that pigeon also was shot down. Only one was left: 'Cher Ami'. He was dispatched with a note in a canister on his left leg. “We are along the road parallel to 276.4. Our own artillery is dropping a barrage directly on us. For heaven’s sake, stop it.”

He too was shot down.

And then, miraculously, Cher Ami struggled into the air again. Though badly injured, he flew the 25 miles to the rear, delivering the message and stopping the "friendly fire" barrage. He arrived with one eye shot out and the leg holding the all-important message canister hanging by a shred of tissue.

Army medics fought to save the bird's life; he survived, but lost his leg and was given a wooden peg leg. Eventually he was sent to the US by ship, seen off by no less a personage than General Pershing, where he took up residence at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, but eventually died from his injuries. Cher Ami was awarded the Croix de Guerre Medal with an Oak Leaf Cluster by France for his wartime service and heroic flight. He was also inducted into the Racing Pigeon Hall of Fame in 1931 and was awarded a gold medal from the Organized Bodies of American Racing Pigeon Fanciers for extraordinary service during World War I.

------------------------------------------------If you like the above pop across to Readwave there are plenty more.

God Bless

A Tuesday Recipe - Chicken Katsu Curry

Chicken Katsu Curry
Curry (カレー karē) is one of the most popular dishes in Japan. It is commonly served in three main forms: curry rice (カレーライス karē raisu), karēudon (thick noodles) and karē-pan. Curry rice is most commonly referred to simply as 'curry' (カレー karē).A wide variety of vegetables and meats are used to make Japanese curry. The basic vegetables are onions, carrots, and potatoes. For the meat, beef, pork, and chicken are the most popular. Katsu-karē is a breaded deep-fried pork cutlet with curry sauce.Curry was introduced to Japan during the Meiji era (1868–1912) by the British, at a time when India was under their administration. The dish became popular and available for purchase in supermarkets and restaurants in the late 1960s. It has been adapted since its introduction to Japan, and is so widely consumed that it can be called a national dish.
The ingredients that make this dish more Japanese than Indian are the inclusion of soy sauce and honey as a sweetener. The recipe again came from Slimming World and it is their version that I've published on the Recipe Tab. The differences between mine and the slimming recipe are that I used sunflower oil to fry, and honey as the sweetener. It is a delicious recipe and could be served in a variety of ways. I had plain boiled rice with a little salt and black pepper.
God Bless

Writing - Why Dickens endures

Charles Dickens
The suggested question in the title of today's blog came about because I have found yet another version of 'A Christmas Carol' that I haven't seen before. It is a musical version but whatever, the story line is the same as I suspect is the outcome (it hasn't finished yet). I have also come across 'American Scrooge', 'Scrooged' and The Muppets version. Everyone on the planet must becoming familiar with the story. I wonder if Dickens could let us know what he thinks! It made me wonder why should his writings remain so popular and while wondering that I came across an article by political philosopher John Gray. I enclose some of his thoughts on the matter.

Charles Dickens was a close observer of human nature who found endless interest in the theatre of ordinary life, says John Gray. He then recounts part of the much neglected Dickens story 'The Uncommercial Traveller'

The Uncommercial Traveller. A series of essays he began in 1860 not long after he had written A Tale of Two Cities and just before he started work on Great Expectations, these short, vivid non-fiction pieces were written at a time when he cast himself as above all a wanderer. "I am both a town traveller and a country traveller," he wrote, "and am always on the road. Figuratively speaking, I travel for the great House of Human Interest Brothers, and have a rather large collection in the fancy goods way." The stories he tells are Dickens's fancy goods, picked up while he tramped the streets.
One of the essays, Night Walks, records how he found an answer to insomnia by roaming about London, along the river, past workhouses, prisons, asylums and empty churches, returning only at daybreak. Dickens' solitary walks may have been an escape from his life at the time, which included chronic overwork, illness and death in his family and a secret relationship with a young actress, but the pieces he wrote about his wanderings reveal something enduring about the writer and the man.

Dickens enjoyed human beings as he found them, unregenerate, peculiar and incorrigibly themselves. He has been often criticised because his characters are so grotesquely exaggerated. Miserly Mr Scrooge and the boozy Mrs Gamp, ever-optimistic Mr Micawber and the faded Miss Havisham are theatrical figures, it is said, rather than plausible personalities. But the stagy quality of Dickens' characters is what makes them so humanly believable. Travelling theatres were part of the street life he had known as a child. Showing emotions being fully acted out, these street theatres revealed human beings as they feel themselves to be—creatures ruled by their sensations. It was natural for Dickens to present his characters as figures on a stage. He was himself a travelling performer, acting out his characters in readings of his books in hugely popular tours across Britain and America.

For Dickens life was a theatre of the absurd, but that was no reason to be down-hearted. For him this world was enough, and he was able to find unending interest and delight in the stories that are played out on the human stage. That's why Dickens is still so close to us, and always will be.

I quite like John Gray's summation of the enduring nature of Dickens. I would only add that the characters he created were, and still are, consistently well formed and probably based on people the great man had come across on his travels. It comes back to that much used piece of advice - write from where you're are!

As I have said a number of times before, not all of Dickens works are great. Like all writers we have our good days and bad days and I believe that when you write something that doesn't satisfy you then discard it or put it away, don't re-work it because the chances are that you won't achieve your best quality, and there is so much more still to write.
Whatever, if you are not familiar with Dickens I suggest A Tale of Two Cities, Great Expectations and Pickwick Papers as a starting point.
--------------------------------------Thanks to Caleb Pirtle III and Stephen Woodfin for featuring my latest book on their Author's Showcase. The link is below. (You may have to copy and paste)


http://venturegalleries.com/blog/auth...
I have received some great feedback on this story. One comment just today was that one of my proof readers, I have two and they are willing volunteers, felt suicidal after she'd read it! No it's not that bad it just took her to places she didn't expect and it wasn't a 'happily ever after' scenario!Try it yourselves. It's available on CompletelyNovel.com Amazon Kindle and Smashwords.com. It should be available from all major retailers. There are paperback versions available from Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Waterstones.

God Bless

Writing - 10 things!

[image error]Archetypal cad - Terry Thomas
1. Until May 2013, "being an incorrigible rogue" was a criminal offence.

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2. TV drama Broadchurch was inspired by Thomas Hardy's Wessex.
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3. The coldest spots on earth are on mountain ridges in Antarctica, set a little bit down the slope from the top.

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 4. When "guilty pleasure" first appeared in the New York Times, in 1860, it was used to describe a brothel.

----------------------------------------------------------5. China uses drones to monitor herds of wild yaks in a remote mountain region.

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I'm having difficulty picturing a poor Chinese yak farmer sitting in his hut with the remote control of a drone driving the animals to a new pasture!
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6. Birmingham City Council blocks the word "commie" from incoming email.

There are worse words!

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7. American alligators position sticks on their snouts to lure birds to land on them.

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An intriguing idea and dashed crafty, but really? If the bird lands on the stick then how does the alligator drop the stick and catch the bird?
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8. James Bond's average weekly alcohol consumption was 92 units.

see yesterday's blog.

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9. Proteins in the seeds of tropical plant Moringa oleifera can be used to purify water.

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10. The Duke of Windsor (formerly Edward VIII) thought he might have been able to prevent World War II if he had remained on the throne.


This is a bit difficult to imagine as he had problems controlling his own political situation!
God Bless

Writing - James Bond's health risk! Marketing!

[image error]Ian Fleming - creator of Bond
Ian Fleming would be spinning in his grave if he read the piece about the health risks that James Bond was putting his life through with his smoking and drinking. The information was compiled by Doctors in and around Derby and Nottingham, in their spare time. They sat down with notebook and pencil and logged every drink and cigarette over an 88 day period!
Excluding the 36 days Bond was in prison, hospital or rehab, the spy downed 1,150 units of alcohol in 88 days.
It works out at 92 units a week - about five vodka martinis a day and four times the recommended maximum intake for men in the UK.
The doctors' report in the festive edition of the British Medical Journal concluded: "Although we appreciate the societal pressures to consume alcohol when working with international terrorists and high stakes gamblers, we would advise Bond to be referred for further assessment of his alcohol intake."
Patrick Davies, a consultant in paediatric intensive care at Nottingham University Hospitals, told the BBC: "You wouldn't want this person defusing a nuclear bomb.
"He's a very glamorous person, he gets all the girls and that's totally incompatible with the lifestyle of an alcoholic, which he is."
He said Bond would be classified in the "top whack" of problem drinkers and would be at high risk of liver damage, an early death and impotence. 
So he was practising safe sex after all!!
Steele
When I created Steele it wasn't in the mode of James Bond although there are similarities. It would be fascinating for the character to be examined but it's all academic really. I'm sure Fleming would say that they can analyse Bond all they like but his behaviours' will never change and that is also true of Patrick Steele. It does seem a bit of a waste of time as such characters are created for the reader to enjoy as doing things they will never achieve, not to emulate.

The Lawson Case
Nigella Lawson and her ex-husband, Charles Saatchi, are suing a couple of personal assistants for fraud. The sisters have spent a fortune on credit cards supplied to them by Ms Lawson. As they used them one must assume that they had access to pin  numbers. As an ex- bank worker, if you give someone your pin number, the bank cannot be liable for what is spent on the card! Ipso facto - no fraud.On top of this the Prime Minister, David Cameron, has publicly come out and said that he is firmly in Miss Lawson's camp. The judge was forced to ask the jury to ignore the Prime Ministers comments!Finally, in this messy case, it seems that in an effort to increase the popularity of her ex-husband's latest book, she sent out her personal assistants to buy up copies from bookshops round London. An interesting marketing strategy that not all of us can afford!
Isn't this, along with the phone-hacking case, charities investing in the purchasing of weapons and tobacco, yet more evidence of the corruption of the ruling classes?
God Bless

Writing - Memory may play tricks.

Christmases in my past. We as writers are advised to write from our own experiences but beware memory can play tricks.


I was born in the 1950s and Christmas in that decade was very different from any that have followed since. Quite a sweeping statement but it was during the fifties that TV became more commonplace, forms of entertainment was more varied than had previously been the case. 
In 1953 we moved to a brand new council house on a new estate. It had a bathroom upstairs but the toilet was downstairs off the back porch. Still it was inside unlike the 'netty' down the yard in our previous elderly property. I have vague recollections of a Christmas without TV.I woke on Christmas morning feeling the weight of the Christmas stocking on my feet, the cold of the unheated room didn't matter. I don't specifically remember what was in the stocking as I was only three years old but I know in subsequent years that the material of the stocking was a sort of course netting that was very scratchy. Inside there was always, a tangerine, some nuts, hazelnuts were my favourites, a small sack of chocolate money, a bag of glass marbles and a Dinky toy among other things. It was great, I loved the variety and wasn't at all interested in the value, I just had lots of new things to play with.
Christmas Stockings made of net.
The rest of the day followed a similar pattern for a lot of years, well into the sixties until I went to college. Mum always cooked for Dad's relatives, she'd been orphaned aged 11 and although she had two brothers, they had been separated when their mum had died and were never that close. Dad had three brothers and two sisters and we catered for the sisters and one husband as one was a spinster. Christmas day was almost scripted. 1. Open presents and have breakfast2. Collect relatives from their homes.3. Men go to the club at 12 noon4. Lunch served at 1.00pm5. Watch the Queen's broadcast at 3.00pm6. Dad would wash up.7. Aunts and Uncles snoring in front of the TV (latterly)8. Tea time.9. Wash up.10. Take relatives home.11. Watch TV until bedtime.
And that was the way it was until I left home aged eighteen. Then relatives began to pass away and so the pattern changed.

Actually the day was hard on Mum and it probably hasn't changed that much for ladies in similar situations to this day. It was considerably simpler and listening to the radio, including a morning service, was pleasant and secure in many ways.


Christmas Day
Do you think he's got enough?Is the turkey cooked properly?We've spent a fortune on the stuff!He's playing away happily.
Why is it always the boxes?
Aunt Doris could be more helpful!
Hope heat doesn't cause me blotches.
Aunt Gladys never thinks me able.

He'll get into the toys tomorrow.
and Doris is the same every year.
Stick your head out for a blow.
Gladys has always been queer!

A beautiful meal - well done,
Time to take aged aunts home
How about brandy and a bun?
No more your shaped like a dome!

Happy Christmas one and all
we hope the message is clear.
Jesus is there to answer our call
and will be there again next year.
©David L Atkinson December 2013
God Bless

Poetry Thursday 90 - Christmas - Belle's Sonnet

For those who are unfamiliar with 'A Christmas Carol' by Charles Dickens (it's time you were) Belle was Scrooge's girl friend when he was a young man.

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Belle
Belle’s Sonnet
A lovely man with marvellous prospectspays attention and woos me in dances.Takes me towards what the love struck expectsgambling together on future's chances.Time like the onrushing wind is passingand my heart is yearning for his presence.Scrooge works hard – golden fortune amassingI’m still possessing my soul in patience.There comes a time when you can wait no morewhen your own life is passing in limbo.‘It’s too late Scrooge I release you in lawit is time to take my future and go.
Belle’s life takes a turn good marriage she makes.While Scrooge alone loveless money he takes.
©David L Atkinson December 2013
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This is the third poem in the 'A Christmas Carol' series. Rather like the characters in my books taking over the plot, the idea has taken me forward. I don't know at this point whether there will be anymore.
For whatever reason Christmas seems to be much more vibrant this year and that led to the words spewing on to the page for yesterday's Readwave challenge - A Christmas Story - which would be probably better re-worked as 'Christmas advice from Rudi II'. I've had quite a number of hits, kind people reading the piece, but there is also a thought, perhaps half a thought, that it might warrant expansion into a meatier piece. A children's literary character perhaps? One to consider!
God Bless

Writing - Readwave and Christmas

I had a surprise this morning. As you wonderful folk who keep reading my blog will know, on a Tuesday I upload a short story that I've written for the Readwave website. Well this week, or should I say fortnight, the subject is 'A Christmas Story' in 800 words or less! The limitations! None - apart from the number of words. 800!!!! I know where writer's block comes from. It emanates from being asked to write a story about something that everyone in the world may have attempted at one point or another in their lives. 

[image error]On top of that the TV has been showing Christmas films for a fortnight and the few that I've delved into are basically the same eg. someone causes Santa to get it wrong and an animated hero, in the form of a lonely child (or elf, monster, puppy, etc), saves the day. There are also a myriad of versions of Dickens' 'A Christmas Carol', and the Bible did a pretty good of the original story.
My challenge is to come up with something original in 800 words.
---------------------------------------------------------Saving Mr Banks
[image error]Tom Hanks and Emma Thompson
I went to see this film today which in short is the true back story of Disney's (Tom Hanks) trying to obtain the rights to Mary Poppins and the struggle he has with the author P L Travers (Emma Thompson). Having been made with these two consummate professionals, it is good. I enjoyed it immensely. Colin Farrell is in the film also and is excellent as the troubled Travers Goff.
This film has been well written with the story in two parts and flowing along simultaneously, so all credit to the director John Lee Hancock.
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A Christmas Rat
“I want….”“Stop!” yelled Dad. “I want never gets.”       I wished that I’d had as many £1 coins as I’d heard that mantra trotted out in my 10 years of life. It was also said in the tone of voice that brooks no argument. The big day is due in a fortnight and already I may have cooked my goose.“Bed,” instructed Mum only a tad less impatiently. I think that was to discourage any discussion - for my own safety. I bade my loving parents’ goodnight, somewhat sheepishly, and made my way up to the chilly bedroom which was almost exclusively mine.            It was one of those nights when staring at the ceiling was going to be a long study. Perhaps the excitement of Christmas, the adrenaline generated from the discussion downstairs, or thoughts about whether or not there was a Santa Claus. In short I couldn’t sleep.             Of course I was ten, I don’t believe in Santa Claus, I know, I get it. At the same time I know that there’ll be presents and where they’ll come from. I know my dad doesn’t earn a lot down the pit and Mum’s job in the shop isn’t well paid either, but I know that they’ll try. Games consoles and other modern gadgets were expensive.             I heard my pet rat, Rudi II, scrabbling around in his bedding. They only live around 18 months to 2 years as a rule but this one was nearly 3! It was my intention to keep the name for subsequent rodent pets.“Shush Rudi,” I hissed. “I’m trying to get to sleep.”“Shush yourself! I have to put up with your snoring.”“What!” I couldn’t believe my ears. I sat up in the almost dark, the only light coming from the orange street light, and looked at the bedroom door. I slept with it open but there was no sign of Mum or Dad, I turned and looked at the rat’s cage. Rudi II was sat up on his hindquarters staring at me.“I must be sick,” I thought.“No it’s me,” said Rudi II twitching his whiskers.“It can’t be,” I stammered.“Don’t be daft Ben. It’s me Rudi II, why you’ve added the ‘II’ I don’t know, perhaps I don’t want to know,” the rat grumbled.“But you’re talking,” I said.“C’mon kid catch up!” said the rat snappily.“But how?” I began.“Never mind that Ben,” Rudi II said. “You should be wondering why.”            I was struggling to cope with this situation. I must have eaten something to upset my stomach and was hallucinating.“You are perfectly well Ben,” the rat said.He’s reading my mind I thought.“At last,” sighed Rudi II. “And I’m speaking in your mind.”“Why?” I asked after assimilating this disturbing situation.“That comes back to your conversation downstairs,” said Rudi II“With my parents?” I queried.“Who else?” snapped the rat.“Rudi II give me a chance, it’s not every day your pet rat speaks to you,” I whined.“We can all do it,” said Rudi II.“What?” I exclaimed.“We just don’t usually choose to,” he explained.“Why then?” I repeated.“Christmas presents,” he said which as an explanation was a bit limited. “Your Dad was right to shut you up.”“That’s all I need,” I thought. “My pet rat telling me off.”“Christmas in Bethlehem was a wonderful time,” he stated baldly.“What do you know about that?” I was incredulous.“You don’t think that there were rats two thousand years ago!”“Okay!” I gave up looking for an explanation. “What do I have to do?”“Three wishes Ben BUT nothing for yourself!”            I lay back against my pillows, being careful not to take my eyes off the rat, and started to think. If I could wish for things, but not for me, what could they be? After a few minutes I came up with,1.      Make my dad’s knee better. It was arthritic whatever that was.2.      Stop Mum from worrying because she does it all the time.3.      A better Christmas for the kids next door who’s Dad had lost his job.
“That it?” queried Rudi II.“I think so,” I answered.“How do you feel?” asked Rudi II“Good,” I said. That was true. I yawned. Yes I felt less stressed, easier in my mind. “Will they come true?”“What do you think?” stated Rudi II and with that he burrowed back into his bedding.
            I fell asleep thinking about a Christmas Rat; my three wishes; and wondering about a rat in a stable in Bethlehem all that time ago.
The writers block didn't last!
God Bless