David L. Atkinson's Blog, page 33
October 9, 2016
Writing - My own personal library
Which books are in your own personal library?
I'm fairly certain that not so many are from the group below or some have delved.
My shelves have varied over the years and now the balance is between classics I've enjoyed and those by authors I'm currently reading.
Of course the nature of libraries is different now and the electronic library must be considered.
Kindle
What I find has happened with my books is that those which I am reading a series of I tend to buy in paper or hardback whereas those from author colleagues and as a trial go on to kindle. One exception is J K Rowling writing as Robert Galbraith which are all on electronic reader. The point is that a reader with digital storage creates greater flexibility and enables me to read in queues and waiting rooms where I wouldn't have bothered previously. So it is safe to say that I'm reading more than I was pre-kindle.
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' where Steele is once again at risk from unseen enemies. It would seem that he has become quite recession proof!Then another addition to the Steele family is Earth plc in which our hero is concerned with political and emotional issues in this crime fighting adventure. This is followed by Grace and Favour which is a slightly cynical look into the lives of the landed gentry and the opportunity for crime. The ninth and most recent Steele novel is a look at the possible demise of the Malaysian aircraft that crashed almost two years ago and is entitled Flight into Secrecy.
All books are available in paperback or ebook through Amazon, Smashwords and all good book shop websites.
God Bless
I'm fairly certain that not so many are from the group below or some have delved.
My shelves have varied over the years and now the balance is between classics I've enjoyed and those by authors I'm currently reading.
Of course the nature of libraries is different now and the electronic library must be considered.
KindleWhat I find has happened with my books is that those which I am reading a series of I tend to buy in paper or hardback whereas those from author colleagues and as a trial go on to kindle. One exception is J K Rowling writing as Robert Galbraith which are all on electronic reader. The point is that a reader with digital storage creates greater flexibility and enables me to read in queues and waiting rooms where I wouldn't have bothered previously. So it is safe to say that I'm reading more than I was pre-kindle.
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' where Steele is once again at risk from unseen enemies. It would seem that he has become quite recession proof!Then another addition to the Steele family is Earth plc in which our hero is concerned with political and emotional issues in this crime fighting adventure. This is followed by Grace and Favour which is a slightly cynical look into the lives of the landed gentry and the opportunity for crime. The ninth and most recent Steele novel is a look at the possible demise of the Malaysian aircraft that crashed almost two years ago and is entitled Flight into Secrecy.
All books are available in paperback or ebook through Amazon, Smashwords and all good book shop websites.
God Bless
October 8, 2016
Writing - 10 things we learned
Some fascinating takes on reality.
1. Cod have regional accents.
Why aye man!
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[image error]
2. At one US hospital, you get charged $39.35 (£31.63) to hold your baby after delivery.
Be warned you folk who are careless of the NHS
----------------------------------
[image error]
3. An "immoral" hug can get you banned from the acting profession in Nigeria.
Ok so what is a moral hug?
----------------------------------
[image error]
4. Men are more violent when there are more women around.
It goes right back to the most primitive of instincts
----------------------------------
[image error]
5. Replacing the artificial colouring in blue M&Ms would require twice the current global supply of the natural alternative.
So find a different colour folks
----------------------------------
[image error]
6. Male squirrels are lazy and females do all the work.
The true order of things!
----------------------------------
[image error]
7. Silicon Valley start-up guru Sam Altman stores guns, gold and gas masks to prepare for surviving a major attack.
He can afford to!
----------------------------------
[image error]
8. About 1.7% of the UK population identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual.
Just goes to show how over represented they are in the media
----------------------------------
[image error]
9. Dinner with Donald Trump takes 45 minutes (and he does all the talking).
Two reasons for contracting indigestion
----------------------------------
[image error]
10. You can run over a golf ball with a steamroller and still not damage it.
Damn - I'll have to think of other ways to end the world of the damned game.
----------------------------------
God Bless
1. Cod have regional accents.
Why aye man!
----------------------------------
[image error]
2. At one US hospital, you get charged $39.35 (£31.63) to hold your baby after delivery.
Be warned you folk who are careless of the NHS
----------------------------------
[image error]
3. An "immoral" hug can get you banned from the acting profession in Nigeria.
Ok so what is a moral hug?
----------------------------------
[image error]
4. Men are more violent when there are more women around.
It goes right back to the most primitive of instincts
----------------------------------
[image error]
5. Replacing the artificial colouring in blue M&Ms would require twice the current global supply of the natural alternative.
So find a different colour folks
----------------------------------
[image error]
6. Male squirrels are lazy and females do all the work.
The true order of things!
----------------------------------
[image error]
7. Silicon Valley start-up guru Sam Altman stores guns, gold and gas masks to prepare for surviving a major attack.
He can afford to!
----------------------------------
[image error]
8. About 1.7% of the UK population identify as lesbian, gay or bisexual.
Just goes to show how over represented they are in the media
----------------------------------
[image error]
9. Dinner with Donald Trump takes 45 minutes (and he does all the talking).
Two reasons for contracting indigestion
----------------------------------
[image error]
10. You can run over a golf ball with a steamroller and still not damage it.
Damn - I'll have to think of other ways to end the world of the damned game.
----------------------------------
God Bless
October 7, 2016
Writing - Leaning to the distaff side
Fundamentally, I believe that men are frightened of women and have always been so. There are a myriad of jokes at the expense of women but I believe told defensively by men. My position comes in part from history.
The country was deep in crisis. Civil war and plague had swept the land, we were falling behind our European neighbours in terms of growth and the Middle East was growing stronger. Now another threat loomed over the country: it seemed that England was being overrun by women. Men genuinely believed that they were outnumbered by the opposite sex.
[image error]
In fact there was no statistical evidence to prove that was indeed the situation. Much of the evidence was based solely on opinion.Alchemist John Heyden noted in a journal 'For since the number of females do far exceed the males ... ', while scholar Thomas Browne declared that, due to 'the unequal number of both sexes, (polygamy) may also be necessary'.
[image error]
There were some quite reasonable explanations for the belief in excess numbers of women. The civil war had brought about the deaths of huge number of men and others had left for new lives abroad. However, early men were likely to make numerical claims when there were too many women of a 'problematic' kind. Women were expected to be silent, chaste and more or less confined to the household. When times were tough as they were in this turbulent century any group of women seen to band together for political or religious purposes were seen as 'troublesome'. I often wonder if anything has really changed.
[image error]Nellie Bly
Nellie Bly may have been considered a troublesome female when she decided as a journalist that it may be good to follow in the footsteps of Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 days. She set off on 14th November 1889 and completed the journey in 72 days. As a result she became quite famous and even had a board game created as a result of her journey.
[image error]
Can you hear that distant rumbling? Is it an earth tremor or a monster truck? No it is enumerable male 17th century corpses spinning in their graves. Can you imagine the turmoil if they could observe 21st century women.
God Bless
The country was deep in crisis. Civil war and plague had swept the land, we were falling behind our European neighbours in terms of growth and the Middle East was growing stronger. Now another threat loomed over the country: it seemed that England was being overrun by women. Men genuinely believed that they were outnumbered by the opposite sex.
[image error]
In fact there was no statistical evidence to prove that was indeed the situation. Much of the evidence was based solely on opinion.Alchemist John Heyden noted in a journal 'For since the number of females do far exceed the males ... ', while scholar Thomas Browne declared that, due to 'the unequal number of both sexes, (polygamy) may also be necessary'.
[image error]
There were some quite reasonable explanations for the belief in excess numbers of women. The civil war had brought about the deaths of huge number of men and others had left for new lives abroad. However, early men were likely to make numerical claims when there were too many women of a 'problematic' kind. Women were expected to be silent, chaste and more or less confined to the household. When times were tough as they were in this turbulent century any group of women seen to band together for political or religious purposes were seen as 'troublesome'. I often wonder if anything has really changed.
[image error]Nellie Bly
Nellie Bly may have been considered a troublesome female when she decided as a journalist that it may be good to follow in the footsteps of Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 days. She set off on 14th November 1889 and completed the journey in 72 days. As a result she became quite famous and even had a board game created as a result of her journey.
[image error]
Can you hear that distant rumbling? Is it an earth tremor or a monster truck? No it is enumerable male 17th century corpses spinning in their graves. Can you imagine the turmoil if they could observe 21st century women.
God Bless
October 6, 2016
Writing - National Poetry Day
At the time of writing it is National Poetry Day which I think is a great idea. It was opened by Prince Charles who read Seamus Heaney's Shipping Forecast.
[image error]
The Shipping Forecast by Seamus HeaneyDogger, Rockall, Malin, Irish Sea:
Green, swift upsurges, North Atlantic flux
Conjured by that strong gale-warning voice,
Collapse into a sibilant penumbra.
Midnight and closedown. Sirens of the tundra,
Of eel-road, seal-road, keel-road, whale-road, raise
Their wind-compounded keen behind the baize
And drive the trawlers to the lee of Wicklow.
L’Etoile, Le Guillemot, La Belle Hélène
Nursed their bright names this morning in the bay
That toiled like mortar. It was marvellous
And actual, I said out loud, ‘A haven,’
The word deepening, clearing, like the sky
Elsewhere on Minches, Cromarty, The Faroes.
A stirring beginning to the day on Radio 4.I actually began by sending a poem to BBC Breakfast at around 07:00. I sent the offering I wrote in respect of Terry Jones that was included in the blog that is current. The link is below,https://david-latkinson.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/poetry-thursday-232-frailty-of-being.html
The theme of the day is Messages and we are invited to contribute wherever we can. There are various events round the country listed on the BBC website.
[image error]
The above quote from Percy Byshe Shelley says it all for me and grants permission to us all to be poets.
As a result of the launch of such a day there is also a number of 'support' websites highlighted one which I read had the title 'Learn to be a poet' which I find strange. I have been driven to teach poetry, I consider myself something of a poet but don't remember ever being taught how to be one!
Does this mean that I inherited a gene on one of my chromosomes - the poet gene? If so it skipped my parents.
Is it the case that having read and listened to poet the art somehow diffused itself into my blood?
Whichever, I enjoy writing poetry, playing with words, and ideas to produce a message about whatever is in my mind at the time. The Terry Jones poem came from me seeing the man, supported by his son Bill, receiving an award. I have tried to analyse more closely the factors that contributed to me feeling the need to produce the work.
Poetic Analysis
There are thousands of templates for analysing a poet's thoughts and words but it is my contention that you may never find the right answer. Indeed there may be more than one answer all of which are equally of value. The central column in the above chart is impossible to get right. In my opinion trying to assess a person's emotions when they wrote a poem is impossible and probably none of your bloody business.
So why write or read poetry?
Well that is down to the theme of the National Poetry Day - Messages. Read poetry and if you get the message you will feel that it is good. If you don't then you and the poet have failed to connect on that occasion.
Back to Terry Jones
I still have the mental picture of Terry and his son Bill on stage receiving the reward. For me Terry seemed to be trying, however fleetingly, to make sense of the situation. Bill was expressing the pain he was feeling for what he was losing from his father, in his words,body language and his emotions. The scene was emotionally powerful and because of my experience of Terry's work I felt that I had a connection and that gave me the desire to produce a piece of poetry.
Terry Jones
There he stood applause resoundingfor past perfections audience standing.Yet little of the intellect left,supported by a son bereft.The clever and amusing mind,time has annexed and left behindunder the guise of a cruel disease,giving those who are close, no life’s ease.The only release will be final breathof Terry when he discovers death.But in life constructed a marvellous CVfor God and an anfractuous legacy.
© David L Atkinson October 2016
God Bless
[image error]
The Shipping Forecast by Seamus HeaneyDogger, Rockall, Malin, Irish Sea:
Green, swift upsurges, North Atlantic flux
Conjured by that strong gale-warning voice,
Collapse into a sibilant penumbra.
Midnight and closedown. Sirens of the tundra,
Of eel-road, seal-road, keel-road, whale-road, raise
Their wind-compounded keen behind the baize
And drive the trawlers to the lee of Wicklow.
L’Etoile, Le Guillemot, La Belle Hélène
Nursed their bright names this morning in the bay
That toiled like mortar. It was marvellous
And actual, I said out loud, ‘A haven,’
The word deepening, clearing, like the sky
Elsewhere on Minches, Cromarty, The Faroes.
A stirring beginning to the day on Radio 4.I actually began by sending a poem to BBC Breakfast at around 07:00. I sent the offering I wrote in respect of Terry Jones that was included in the blog that is current. The link is below,https://david-latkinson.blogspot.co.uk/2016/10/poetry-thursday-232-frailty-of-being.html
The theme of the day is Messages and we are invited to contribute wherever we can. There are various events round the country listed on the BBC website.
[image error]
The above quote from Percy Byshe Shelley says it all for me and grants permission to us all to be poets.
As a result of the launch of such a day there is also a number of 'support' websites highlighted one which I read had the title 'Learn to be a poet' which I find strange. I have been driven to teach poetry, I consider myself something of a poet but don't remember ever being taught how to be one!
Does this mean that I inherited a gene on one of my chromosomes - the poet gene? If so it skipped my parents.
Is it the case that having read and listened to poet the art somehow diffused itself into my blood?
Whichever, I enjoy writing poetry, playing with words, and ideas to produce a message about whatever is in my mind at the time. The Terry Jones poem came from me seeing the man, supported by his son Bill, receiving an award. I have tried to analyse more closely the factors that contributed to me feeling the need to produce the work.
Poetic Analysis
There are thousands of templates for analysing a poet's thoughts and words but it is my contention that you may never find the right answer. Indeed there may be more than one answer all of which are equally of value. The central column in the above chart is impossible to get right. In my opinion trying to assess a person's emotions when they wrote a poem is impossible and probably none of your bloody business.
So why write or read poetry?
Well that is down to the theme of the National Poetry Day - Messages. Read poetry and if you get the message you will feel that it is good. If you don't then you and the poet have failed to connect on that occasion.
Back to Terry Jones
I still have the mental picture of Terry and his son Bill on stage receiving the reward. For me Terry seemed to be trying, however fleetingly, to make sense of the situation. Bill was expressing the pain he was feeling for what he was losing from his father, in his words,body language and his emotions. The scene was emotionally powerful and because of my experience of Terry's work I felt that I had a connection and that gave me the desire to produce a piece of poetry.
Terry Jones
There he stood applause resoundingfor past perfections audience standing.Yet little of the intellect left,supported by a son bereft.The clever and amusing mind,time has annexed and left behindunder the guise of a cruel disease,giving those who are close, no life’s ease.The only release will be final breathof Terry when he discovers death.But in life constructed a marvellous CVfor God and an anfractuous legacy.
© David L Atkinson October 2016
God Bless
October 5, 2016
Poetry Thursday 232 - The frailty of being human #montypython
As a child of the fifties and sixties, a baby boomer, I was fortunate to be able to see the work of the Monty Python team. Sadly, one of the team, Terry Jones, has succumbed to a particularly aggressive form of dementia that attacks the communication centres in the brain. A cruel twist of fate for an ace communicator.
Terry with his son
His demise inspired me to write the following.
Terry Jones
There he stood applause resoundingfor past perfections audience standing.Yet little of the intellect left,supported by a son bereft.The clever and amusing mind,time has annexed and left behindunder the guise of a cruel disease,giving those who are close, no life’s ease.The only release will be the final breathof Terry when he discovers death.But in life constructed a marvellous CVfor God and an anfractuous legacy.© David L Atkinson October 2016
A quote from the man himself,
Every age sort of has its own history. History is really the stories
that we retell to ourselves to make them relevant to every age. So
we put our own values and our own spin on it. Terry Jones
Terry has had an active role in producing our history.
[image error]
The Poetry Society's annual competition closing date is the last day
of October. If you wish to take part sign in to poetrysociety.org.uk
One of my entries is below.
[image error]
The Sword of Damacles
What power is always possessedthat could ever be under threatof the dread weapon hanging overheadwaiting to render the target dead?
An ordinary man, a biological edgebetween the realms of life and death.A constant battle to maintain the border,endless advice to balance the order.
The dread creeping club we joined as soon as we took our first breath,holds us beneath the glacier of age,picking the spot of initial damage.
Not often a final, decisive, blowto snuff out the fading light.More a gradual, persistent penetration,rendering the subject to infinite perdition.
The final release as the edge dissolvesand the vessel traverses to inevitable death.All memory of pain and suffering goneas the spirit is set free and travels on. © David L Atkinson August 2016
God Bless
Terry with his son
His demise inspired me to write the following.
Terry Jones
There he stood applause resoundingfor past perfections audience standing.Yet little of the intellect left,supported by a son bereft.The clever and amusing mind,time has annexed and left behindunder the guise of a cruel disease,giving those who are close, no life’s ease.The only release will be the final breathof Terry when he discovers death.But in life constructed a marvellous CVfor God and an anfractuous legacy.© David L Atkinson October 2016
A quote from the man himself,
Every age sort of has its own history. History is really the stories
that we retell to ourselves to make them relevant to every age. So
we put our own values and our own spin on it. Terry Jones
Terry has had an active role in producing our history.
[image error]
The Poetry Society's annual competition closing date is the last day
of October. If you wish to take part sign in to poetrysociety.org.uk
One of my entries is below.
[image error]
The Sword of Damacles
What power is always possessedthat could ever be under threatof the dread weapon hanging overheadwaiting to render the target dead?
An ordinary man, a biological edgebetween the realms of life and death.A constant battle to maintain the border,endless advice to balance the order.
The dread creeping club we joined as soon as we took our first breath,holds us beneath the glacier of age,picking the spot of initial damage.
Not often a final, decisive, blowto snuff out the fading light.More a gradual, persistent penetration,rendering the subject to infinite perdition.
The final release as the edge dissolvesand the vessel traverses to inevitable death.All memory of pain and suffering goneas the spirit is set free and travels on. © David L Atkinson August 2016
God Bless
October 4, 2016
Writing - All part of life's rich pattern
It's Turner Prize time and the exhibits that have been shortlisted are making appearances. I wasn't that impressed with the buttocks but the suit made from bricks was a decent effort. In fact I am a traditionalist so some of the things that are described as art would probably be in the bin if it was down to me but then I'm a Philistine. However, I do appreciate people who test the boundaries of conventionalism and have been recently interested by what Grayson Perry has been saying.
[image error]Grayson Perry
Grayson Perry is known for his ceramics and cross-dressing, but there is much more to the man than that.
Tchaikovsky moves him to tears and I can understand why. He is rather neglected as a musical master but produced music ranging from the gentle and moving to the powerful and strident. I love his work.
Teddy bear is closest to his heart. Mine sits on the sofa with me and is 65 years old.
[image error]Pieter Breugel
Grayson is a fan of the work of Pieter Breugel - I had a Breugel print on the wall in my first house.
He's fascinated by everyday things we take for granted and particularly enjoys post war history.
Philip Glass - he is a huge fan, I'm not!
Outsider - he relishes being on the outside and I guess that is one of the reasons he cross dresses. I can see the release one gets from stepping away from norms. I think that is part of the 'writer' thing.
Heaven is a normal day. I can go with this as well. Setting a task for the day and working it through is great.
In fact Perry has been married since 1992 and has a child so some of his life people would say is 'normal' but I think he keeps testing the boundaries. He also has an interesting take on taste.His ideas om taste are linked with the supposedly defunct class system, which I believe is alive and well, and fashion for all manner of things. Perry talks about how we 'manage' class and fashion.
The British care about taste because it is inextricably woven into our system of social class. I think that – more than any other factor, more than age, race, religion or sexuality – one’s social class determines one’s taste. The anthropologist Kate Fox, in her book Watching the English (2004), observes that, even amid the homogenised dress codes of youth, class plays a part. A middle-class teenager may still wear a hoodie but it will be a more cotton-rich brand, or they will sport a toned-down version of the fashionable haircut, such is the pervasiveness of bourgeois regard for authenticity and restraint.
The paragraph above sums up his view and I agree. However, there is a negative side. The class system has built in controls which are tacitly supported by the nodding dog, apathetic members. This leads to situations where, and I use an often used phrase of my father's,
'its not what you know but who you know'
It is my belief that this is the case in writing, publishing and literary awards. If you are unknown in some circles they will never look at what you produce and so I believe there are some gems out there being produced by 'ordinary' people that may well never be discovered.
God Bless
[image error]Grayson Perry
Grayson Perry is known for his ceramics and cross-dressing, but there is much more to the man than that.
Tchaikovsky moves him to tears and I can understand why. He is rather neglected as a musical master but produced music ranging from the gentle and moving to the powerful and strident. I love his work.
Teddy bear is closest to his heart. Mine sits on the sofa with me and is 65 years old.
[image error]Pieter Breugel
Grayson is a fan of the work of Pieter Breugel - I had a Breugel print on the wall in my first house.
He's fascinated by everyday things we take for granted and particularly enjoys post war history.
Philip Glass - he is a huge fan, I'm not!
Outsider - he relishes being on the outside and I guess that is one of the reasons he cross dresses. I can see the release one gets from stepping away from norms. I think that is part of the 'writer' thing.
Heaven is a normal day. I can go with this as well. Setting a task for the day and working it through is great.
In fact Perry has been married since 1992 and has a child so some of his life people would say is 'normal' but I think he keeps testing the boundaries. He also has an interesting take on taste.His ideas om taste are linked with the supposedly defunct class system, which I believe is alive and well, and fashion for all manner of things. Perry talks about how we 'manage' class and fashion.
The British care about taste because it is inextricably woven into our system of social class. I think that – more than any other factor, more than age, race, religion or sexuality – one’s social class determines one’s taste. The anthropologist Kate Fox, in her book Watching the English (2004), observes that, even amid the homogenised dress codes of youth, class plays a part. A middle-class teenager may still wear a hoodie but it will be a more cotton-rich brand, or they will sport a toned-down version of the fashionable haircut, such is the pervasiveness of bourgeois regard for authenticity and restraint.
The paragraph above sums up his view and I agree. However, there is a negative side. The class system has built in controls which are tacitly supported by the nodding dog, apathetic members. This leads to situations where, and I use an often used phrase of my father's,
'its not what you know but who you know'
It is my belief that this is the case in writing, publishing and literary awards. If you are unknown in some circles they will never look at what you produce and so I believe there are some gems out there being produced by 'ordinary' people that may well never be discovered.
God Bless
October 3, 2016
Tuesday Food Blog - Pork steak with sauteed veg - quickly!
I gave myself a bit of a challenge this week. Stupid of me I know but I'd had a couple of conversations with different people about modern day cooking habits. People talk about busy lives and being short of time, as excuses for not cooking wholesome meals from fresh food and I contend that it actually doesn't take that long. So I produced pork steak with two veg and gravy roast potatoes and timed the process.
Pork steak with vegetables
I was describing what I was doing to a friend and she commented 'Oh I see - Sunday lunch', and my answer was in the positive. I estimated that it would take me about 45 minutes starting from cold. The important thing for me was that the meat and vegetables were fresh. You will spot some pigs in blankets which I bought ready prepared on fiscal grounds.
So the process!
Turn on the oven.Boil the kettle.Prepare the potatoes, green beans and courgettes.Place the pork steak in the frying pan to seal the outside and surround with chopped onion.Place the potatoes and green beans in the boiling water for twenty minutes.While they are cooking transfer the steak to a roasting tin, add the onions and pour over some stock, then pop it in the oven.After 15 minutes drain the boiling vegetables, add the potatoes and the pigs to the roasting turn and return to the oven and the green beans to the frying pan with the sliced courgettes.Season the greens in the frying pan and sautee for around three to five minutes. Place on a plate and put in the oven to keep warm while the meat is finishing. After 20 minutes plate up.
Result
What you see in the photo above in 45 minutes with most of the washing up done. Now I know that a microwave, or ping ping, meal takes considerably less time but the benefits are significant. No added sugar!No added colourings or preservatives.Vitamins and minerals.Flavour without enhancement.
The added advantage were that the greens were out of the garden at no cost. The potatoes cost 25p, the pork steak 80p, the pigs 35p and so even with oil and seasoning less than £2.00 per plate.
Although I was only cooking for one the quantities needed for a family of four would not seriously increase the cooking and preparation time. My message is that cooking from fresh doesn't have to be a time consuming onerous task and it is so much more healthy.
God Bless
October 2, 2016
Writing - Arts night on the Beeb
I was pleased to see that the channel BBC 2 dedicated Saturday Night to an arts evening.
[image error]Auntie Beeb
The BBC have been renowned for years for being rather posh but have included intermittent rather than regular art programmes and quite often late at night, so the idea of a poetry evening starting earlier was good news. This is how it was introduced.
In what is the first of a new series, Saturday nights on BBC Two will be dedicated exclusively to the Arts, where the channel will hand over to writers, dancers, playwrights, film makers and more. To launch the first takeover, poet Jackie Kay recites a poetic introduction to Railway Nation, which is a modern twist on the classic film, Night Train, where WH Auden, John Grierson and the BBC collaborated but here six contemporary poets each narrate a poem about part of the famous West Coast train journey from London to Glasgow. Then Kate Tempest's Performance Live kicks in before Poets at the BBC mines the archives for classic poetry moments.
It strikes me as innovative and quite exciting although it will be dominated by those who are 'acceptable' to the establishment.I like the idea of a theme and the Night Train is a wonderful starting point. Then I'm biased as I like anything about trains. Of course W H Auden's poem was The Night Mail
[image error]
The Night Mail (excerpt)
This is the night mail crossing the border,
Bringing the cheque and the postal order,
Letters for the rich, letters for the poor,
The shop at the corner, the girl next door…
Letters of thanks, letters from banks,
Letters of joy from girl and boy,
Receipted bills and invitations
To inspect new stock or to visit relations,
And applications for situations,
And timid lovers’ declarations,
I think this is a wonderfully descriptive piece with rhythm and pace. The sort of poem one strives to produce every time the pen rests its bleeding tip upon the pristine page.
[image error]Jackie Kay
Below is Jackie Kay's introduction to poetry night.
Welcome to Poetry Night
On BBC TwoSit tight!A poem is a small moment of beliefA lightWe are a poetry-loving nation,And this is your station stop.
My name is Jackie Kay
A poem is a trainOf thoughtA poem IS a station stop.A poem takes you to the end of the lineWelcome to Poetry NightGet off at this Junction for Railway Nation
A deal of what Jackie says in this tiny introduction is very interesting. To get hold of the whole experience go to BBC iPlayer.
God Bless
[image error]Auntie Beeb
The BBC have been renowned for years for being rather posh but have included intermittent rather than regular art programmes and quite often late at night, so the idea of a poetry evening starting earlier was good news. This is how it was introduced.
In what is the first of a new series, Saturday nights on BBC Two will be dedicated exclusively to the Arts, where the channel will hand over to writers, dancers, playwrights, film makers and more. To launch the first takeover, poet Jackie Kay recites a poetic introduction to Railway Nation, which is a modern twist on the classic film, Night Train, where WH Auden, John Grierson and the BBC collaborated but here six contemporary poets each narrate a poem about part of the famous West Coast train journey from London to Glasgow. Then Kate Tempest's Performance Live kicks in before Poets at the BBC mines the archives for classic poetry moments.
It strikes me as innovative and quite exciting although it will be dominated by those who are 'acceptable' to the establishment.I like the idea of a theme and the Night Train is a wonderful starting point. Then I'm biased as I like anything about trains. Of course W H Auden's poem was The Night Mail
[image error]
The Night Mail (excerpt)
This is the night mail crossing the border,
Bringing the cheque and the postal order,
Letters for the rich, letters for the poor,
The shop at the corner, the girl next door…
Letters of thanks, letters from banks,
Letters of joy from girl and boy,
Receipted bills and invitations
To inspect new stock or to visit relations,
And applications for situations,
And timid lovers’ declarations,
I think this is a wonderfully descriptive piece with rhythm and pace. The sort of poem one strives to produce every time the pen rests its bleeding tip upon the pristine page.
[image error]Jackie Kay
Below is Jackie Kay's introduction to poetry night.
Welcome to Poetry Night
On BBC TwoSit tight!A poem is a small moment of beliefA lightWe are a poetry-loving nation,And this is your station stop.
My name is Jackie Kay
A poem is a trainOf thoughtA poem IS a station stop.A poem takes you to the end of the lineWelcome to Poetry NightGet off at this Junction for Railway Nation
A deal of what Jackie says in this tiny introduction is very interesting. To get hold of the whole experience go to BBC iPlayer.
God Bless
October 1, 2016
Writing - 10 things again
Once again we have a collection ranging from the gross to the ridiculous.
1. Riding a rollercoaster can help you pass kidney stones.
And a lot more besides.
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2. Putting an image of a flat screen TV on a box containing a bicycle reduces the chance of damage during delivery by up to 80%.
Whatever
----------------------------------
[image error]
3. Mexicans have 300 terms for corruption.
Bit like soccer!
----------------------------------
4. There's a cure for garlic breath.
Yes - don't get too close
----------------------------------
[image error]
5. Truman Capote's ashes are worth $43,750 (£33,710) at auction.
Sorry - no they are not.
----------------------------------
[image error]
6. The mammal that kills the most members of its own species is not the human, the bear or the wolf, but the meerkat.
Teeth like needles
----------------------------------
7. The D-day landings were put at risk by the homesick wife of a double agent, who threatened to expose his work so she could return to Spain.
You think this is a war - if I don't get home soon you'll know what war is!
----------------------------------
[image error]
8. Teenage acne is not all bad news: Unblemished skin ages faster.
That is why I have skin as smooth as a baby's bottom
----------------------------------
[image error]
9. Homer spoke 21% of The Simpsons' 1.3 million words of dialogue from seasons one to 26.
Or was it the same word - doh!
----------------------------------
[image error]
10. There were 14,570 people over the age of 100 in the UK last year, up fourfold from three decades ago.
The Queen is getting writer's cramp
----------------------------------
God Bless
1. Riding a rollercoaster can help you pass kidney stones.
And a lot more besides.
----------------------------------
[image error]
2. Putting an image of a flat screen TV on a box containing a bicycle reduces the chance of damage during delivery by up to 80%.
Whatever
----------------------------------
[image error]
3. Mexicans have 300 terms for corruption.
Bit like soccer!
----------------------------------
4. There's a cure for garlic breath.
Yes - don't get too close
----------------------------------
[image error]
5. Truman Capote's ashes are worth $43,750 (£33,710) at auction.
Sorry - no they are not.
----------------------------------
[image error]
6. The mammal that kills the most members of its own species is not the human, the bear or the wolf, but the meerkat.
Teeth like needles
----------------------------------
7. The D-day landings were put at risk by the homesick wife of a double agent, who threatened to expose his work so she could return to Spain.
You think this is a war - if I don't get home soon you'll know what war is!
----------------------------------
[image error]
8. Teenage acne is not all bad news: Unblemished skin ages faster.
That is why I have skin as smooth as a baby's bottom
----------------------------------
[image error]
9. Homer spoke 21% of The Simpsons' 1.3 million words of dialogue from seasons one to 26.
Or was it the same word - doh!
----------------------------------
[image error]
10. There were 14,570 people over the age of 100 in the UK last year, up fourfold from three decades ago.
The Queen is getting writer's cramp
----------------------------------
God Bless
September 30, 2016
Writing - An Author Interview
Periodically it is relevant to update your position as an author and your history because like all processes writing is dynamic. It grows.
1. Tell me about your newest book and what was the inspiration behind your writing it?
My latest novel, which at the time of writing this is in editing, is the 10thPatrick Steele novel. The title is 7 Hours After which refers to TWC Building 7, the building that collapsed at 17:20 after the demise of the Twin Towers on 9/11.I was inspired to write in part because of the snippets of information that I kept seeing in the news about ‘facts’ surrounding the happenings of that fateful day and their associated anomalies. It also matches the mentality of the lead character Patrick Steele who has a strong sense of injustice.
2. Why and when did you decide to become a writer?
I believe that there has been that ‘itch’ in my mind for many years but I felt that it was unscratchable because of the need to ‘earn a living’. I eased the need to write by producing poetry but could never get by the fact that anyone who read my work was doing so from politeness and that pertains in some degree to this day. As I was reaching retirement age and was working part time to help care for my mother, opportunities began to arise for me to begin writing more seriously and so at the age of 59 I started my first full length novel.
3. What book has been the greatest influence on you and your writing and why?
There wasn’t one book or even one author that influenced me really. It was more to do with passages of books that I’d read. HMS Ulysses by Alistair MacLean was one example. At the beginning of the story there is what I felt to be an awesome description of the sea as a Russian convoy was being escorted by Royal Naval vessels during World War II. Similarly the atmosphere created by Charles Dickens at the beginning of Great Expectations when Pip runs into Magwitch in the swamp. Since reading those books many years ago I have been even more impressed by other writers. Philip Pullmans’ Dark Materials is truly massive in the range of original concepts he created and the unspoken commentary on religion that runs as a thread throughout all three books. Yet these were intended for children.
4. Where do you find ideas for your books?
When I first began writing the ideas sprang from the real world. In part my books are an expression of the things that are wrong about our supposedly civilized society and the solutions I try to provide come from within me via the skills of Steele. The last two Steele novels have leant more towards conspiracy theory and that springs from one of my father’s favourite tenets which was ‘never believe a word of what you hear on the news or read in the newspapers’. As I have aged I know what he meant by that. This provides me with questions such as ‘If they are telling us these facts, what really lies behind what is being fed to us?’Currently I have no new book in mind, which is the first time in seven years!
5. Where do you find ideas for your characters?
As I have produced most of my books round the same set of characters it is a while since that part of the creative process began. Steele is an amalgam of parts of me, James Bond and a variety of villains but hopefully with a touch of realism. The people that surround Steele are in part wishful thinking on my part and there to satisfy his needs.
6. How would you describe your writing style?
My style is slightly old-fashioned entertainment. I read for personal enjoyment and relaxation and my writing is for people who tend to feel the same way. I hope my books are the sort you can fall asleep over, then pick up where you left off when you wake.
7. What do you consider the most difficult part of writing a book?
Without doubt the editing. I am a rather impulsive writer who doesn’t do much planning and prefers to let the characters develop the storyline. Therefore when my stories are written that’s it to a degree. I do re-read and make changes, I have two proofreaders who check the work, but the story is the story and may or may not be commercially viable but I find it a turn off to go over my stories and make them more acceptable in anyway. When they are written they are written.
8. What are your current projects?
Due to the rules of my online publisher I need to make space for my latest novel to be published by them and so I have withdrawn my first book from their clutches and will produce a second edition through a different publisher. I continue to write poetry and so another collection is about due and after that who knows?
God Bless
1. Tell me about your newest book and what was the inspiration behind your writing it?
My latest novel, which at the time of writing this is in editing, is the 10thPatrick Steele novel. The title is 7 Hours After which refers to TWC Building 7, the building that collapsed at 17:20 after the demise of the Twin Towers on 9/11.I was inspired to write in part because of the snippets of information that I kept seeing in the news about ‘facts’ surrounding the happenings of that fateful day and their associated anomalies. It also matches the mentality of the lead character Patrick Steele who has a strong sense of injustice.
2. Why and when did you decide to become a writer?
I believe that there has been that ‘itch’ in my mind for many years but I felt that it was unscratchable because of the need to ‘earn a living’. I eased the need to write by producing poetry but could never get by the fact that anyone who read my work was doing so from politeness and that pertains in some degree to this day. As I was reaching retirement age and was working part time to help care for my mother, opportunities began to arise for me to begin writing more seriously and so at the age of 59 I started my first full length novel.
3. What book has been the greatest influence on you and your writing and why?
There wasn’t one book or even one author that influenced me really. It was more to do with passages of books that I’d read. HMS Ulysses by Alistair MacLean was one example. At the beginning of the story there is what I felt to be an awesome description of the sea as a Russian convoy was being escorted by Royal Naval vessels during World War II. Similarly the atmosphere created by Charles Dickens at the beginning of Great Expectations when Pip runs into Magwitch in the swamp. Since reading those books many years ago I have been even more impressed by other writers. Philip Pullmans’ Dark Materials is truly massive in the range of original concepts he created and the unspoken commentary on religion that runs as a thread throughout all three books. Yet these were intended for children.
4. Where do you find ideas for your books?
When I first began writing the ideas sprang from the real world. In part my books are an expression of the things that are wrong about our supposedly civilized society and the solutions I try to provide come from within me via the skills of Steele. The last two Steele novels have leant more towards conspiracy theory and that springs from one of my father’s favourite tenets which was ‘never believe a word of what you hear on the news or read in the newspapers’. As I have aged I know what he meant by that. This provides me with questions such as ‘If they are telling us these facts, what really lies behind what is being fed to us?’Currently I have no new book in mind, which is the first time in seven years!
5. Where do you find ideas for your characters?
As I have produced most of my books round the same set of characters it is a while since that part of the creative process began. Steele is an amalgam of parts of me, James Bond and a variety of villains but hopefully with a touch of realism. The people that surround Steele are in part wishful thinking on my part and there to satisfy his needs.
6. How would you describe your writing style?
My style is slightly old-fashioned entertainment. I read for personal enjoyment and relaxation and my writing is for people who tend to feel the same way. I hope my books are the sort you can fall asleep over, then pick up where you left off when you wake.
7. What do you consider the most difficult part of writing a book?
Without doubt the editing. I am a rather impulsive writer who doesn’t do much planning and prefers to let the characters develop the storyline. Therefore when my stories are written that’s it to a degree. I do re-read and make changes, I have two proofreaders who check the work, but the story is the story and may or may not be commercially viable but I find it a turn off to go over my stories and make them more acceptable in anyway. When they are written they are written.
8. What are your current projects?
Due to the rules of my online publisher I need to make space for my latest novel to be published by them and so I have withdrawn my first book from their clutches and will produce a second edition through a different publisher. I continue to write poetry and so another collection is about due and after that who knows?
God Bless
