David L. Atkinson's Blog, page 50
April 7, 2016
Writing - Shakespeare's First Folio discovered
William Shakespeare (1564 - 1616) died 400 years ago on the 23rd April. He has had a considerable influence on many aspects of life and education in this and other countries.
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I, like most children born in the baby boomer years, were subject to learning about the man and his works, usually restricted to his plays. My experience was of Julius Caesar and MacBeth with us reading and studying the plays and being taken to the theatre in Sunderland to see a modern day version of the play. By modern we are talking about teddy boys with flick knives and so on. Brings new meaning to 'beware the ides of March' when the gang are wearing leather studded jackets, beetle crushers and Brylcreemed hair styles.
[image error]
Once I was teaching my involvement with the bard lessened until I began working with younger children when once again discussions arose about teaching Shakespeare. It was included in the school curriculum which had one beneficial effect for writers. A need was generated to make his writings accessible to children up to the age of 11 years. This in its turn generated a plethora of books, videos and even comics broadcasting the plays. In my own school we taught, Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth which the children loved. The use of cartoons with reference materials alongside, that were well produced, saved the teachers a deal of stress and extra work.In all honesty, for those adults who were less familiar with these works it was a case of learning alongside the class, making the discussions more relevant to all.
So why all of the fuss?
It seems that, after so many years of the great man's demise, a copy of the First Folio, the most sort after book in the world, has been discovered on a Scottish Isle.
[image error]
This copy of the first collected edition of Shakespeare's plays, published in 1623, was found at Mount Stuart House on the Isle of Bute.
Academics who authenticated the book called it a rare and significant find.
About 230 copies of the First Folio are known to exist. A copy owned by Oxford University sold for £3.5m in 2003.
Emma Smith, professor of Shakespeare studies at Oxford University, said her first reaction on being told the stately home was claiming to have an original First Folio was: "Like hell they have."
But when she inspected the three-volume book she found it was authentic.
[image error]
The cartoon suggests that the works were written by other authors, it could be quite flattering for my books to be claimed by the late Ian Fleming or John le Carre, but there is no longer a serious case for believing this. However, when he wrote his historical plays it was from how he saw the history and interpreted the research. So his plays aren't intended to be 'true' but have been written to entertain.However, when he wrote Henry VI part 1 it was almost reportage in that similar events were actually occurring in France at the time. In the play during a battle involving Lord John Talbot and Joan of Arc the English laid siege to Rouen. Similarly, in 1589 Elizabeth I sent troops to France to oppose the Catholic League and support the Huguenot king Henry IV. During the winter of 1591 - 92 the English besieged Rouen which was ultimately a disaster. The three plays were very successful as they were effectively reporting what was a current affair.
There have been some interesting takes on the meanings behind Shakespeare's other plays. Here is a synopsis of possible scenarios.
Richard IIWas this a thinly veiled swipe at the ageing Queen Elizabeth I?
The Merchant of VeniceInteresting that the focus of this play seems to be broadly anti-semetic. The Jewish moneylender wanting his 'pound of flesh' from Antonio and the subsequent death of the Queen's physician Lopez who was a Jew converted to Protestanism who was executed for supposedly trying to poison the monarch.
I could go on but must leave some studying for any readers who are interested out there. The point being that even though Shakespeare wasn't a writer who proclaimed to include his own views in his writings, there is an inevitability that those of us who write, do so from where they are at!
God Bless
[image error]
I, like most children born in the baby boomer years, were subject to learning about the man and his works, usually restricted to his plays. My experience was of Julius Caesar and MacBeth with us reading and studying the plays and being taken to the theatre in Sunderland to see a modern day version of the play. By modern we are talking about teddy boys with flick knives and so on. Brings new meaning to 'beware the ides of March' when the gang are wearing leather studded jackets, beetle crushers and Brylcreemed hair styles.
[image error]
Once I was teaching my involvement with the bard lessened until I began working with younger children when once again discussions arose about teaching Shakespeare. It was included in the school curriculum which had one beneficial effect for writers. A need was generated to make his writings accessible to children up to the age of 11 years. This in its turn generated a plethora of books, videos and even comics broadcasting the plays. In my own school we taught, Romeo and Juliet and Macbeth which the children loved. The use of cartoons with reference materials alongside, that were well produced, saved the teachers a deal of stress and extra work.In all honesty, for those adults who were less familiar with these works it was a case of learning alongside the class, making the discussions more relevant to all.
So why all of the fuss?
It seems that, after so many years of the great man's demise, a copy of the First Folio, the most sort after book in the world, has been discovered on a Scottish Isle.
[image error]
This copy of the first collected edition of Shakespeare's plays, published in 1623, was found at Mount Stuart House on the Isle of Bute.
Academics who authenticated the book called it a rare and significant find.
About 230 copies of the First Folio are known to exist. A copy owned by Oxford University sold for £3.5m in 2003.
Emma Smith, professor of Shakespeare studies at Oxford University, said her first reaction on being told the stately home was claiming to have an original First Folio was: "Like hell they have."
But when she inspected the three-volume book she found it was authentic.
[image error]
The cartoon suggests that the works were written by other authors, it could be quite flattering for my books to be claimed by the late Ian Fleming or John le Carre, but there is no longer a serious case for believing this. However, when he wrote his historical plays it was from how he saw the history and interpreted the research. So his plays aren't intended to be 'true' but have been written to entertain.However, when he wrote Henry VI part 1 it was almost reportage in that similar events were actually occurring in France at the time. In the play during a battle involving Lord John Talbot and Joan of Arc the English laid siege to Rouen. Similarly, in 1589 Elizabeth I sent troops to France to oppose the Catholic League and support the Huguenot king Henry IV. During the winter of 1591 - 92 the English besieged Rouen which was ultimately a disaster. The three plays were very successful as they were effectively reporting what was a current affair.
There have been some interesting takes on the meanings behind Shakespeare's other plays. Here is a synopsis of possible scenarios.
Richard IIWas this a thinly veiled swipe at the ageing Queen Elizabeth I?
The Merchant of VeniceInteresting that the focus of this play seems to be broadly anti-semetic. The Jewish moneylender wanting his 'pound of flesh' from Antonio and the subsequent death of the Queen's physician Lopez who was a Jew converted to Protestanism who was executed for supposedly trying to poison the monarch.
I could go on but must leave some studying for any readers who are interested out there. The point being that even though Shakespeare wasn't a writer who proclaimed to include his own views in his writings, there is an inevitability that those of us who write, do so from where they are at!
God Bless
April 6, 2016
Poetry Thursday 207 - Pulling the wool
Having lived a few years, eventually you begin to notice things. For instance, that a piece of news seems to suggest that there has been corruption in high places. It is denied, the years pass by and the 30 year freedom of information act comes into force, and you discover there was corruption in high places. It isn't always the case but it all comes back to Edmund Burke.
[image error]
White Noise
The endless sound of pointless prattlehissing over meaningful talkfilling a room with its death rattledriving sanity from conversation.A seesaw of bodiesoscillating beneath the noisetesting the watersexercising class and poisebut no one can hear.Doesn’t anyone listenas background grows globallymeaningless phrases throwninto the air palpablydestroying intelligence.SHUT UP!© David L Atkinson April 2016
The next piece is written in the style of a sonnet but is far from being a love poem. It is unashamedly political but at the same time serious. This man who leads our country and claims to be a Christian continually introduces decisions that are for the benefit of the rich at the expense of the poor.
[image error]
Cameron’s God
How can we figure who a man worshipswhen he has wealth, position and power?Perhaps the answer is in the parsnips,or lurking within a cauliflower.How can we trust his daily pronouncementswhen there is no proof of veracity?Could it be inbred tacit acceptanceseeded within your brain’s capacity?How can we continue to take his wordwhen we don’t know the God to whom he talks?It seems that promises are as absurdas the directions on his mazy walks,through public life and private Parthenon,of Prime Minister David Cameron.© David L Atkinson April 2016
God Bless
[image error]
White Noise
The endless sound of pointless prattlehissing over meaningful talkfilling a room with its death rattledriving sanity from conversation.A seesaw of bodiesoscillating beneath the noisetesting the watersexercising class and poisebut no one can hear.Doesn’t anyone listenas background grows globallymeaningless phrases throwninto the air palpablydestroying intelligence.SHUT UP!© David L Atkinson April 2016
The next piece is written in the style of a sonnet but is far from being a love poem. It is unashamedly political but at the same time serious. This man who leads our country and claims to be a Christian continually introduces decisions that are for the benefit of the rich at the expense of the poor.
[image error]
Cameron’s God
How can we figure who a man worshipswhen he has wealth, position and power?Perhaps the answer is in the parsnips,or lurking within a cauliflower.How can we trust his daily pronouncementswhen there is no proof of veracity?Could it be inbred tacit acceptanceseeded within your brain’s capacity?How can we continue to take his wordwhen we don’t know the God to whom he talks?It seems that promises are as absurdas the directions on his mazy walks,through public life and private Parthenon,of Prime Minister David Cameron.© David L Atkinson April 2016
God Bless
April 5, 2016
Writing - The duties of a writer
If one was asked to detail the duties of a writer I would feign embarrassment at being asked, at first, but then plunge into the unknown with gusto.
One of the things I would say is that a writer should be socially aware and current, and that they should comment at every opportunity on the issues of the day.
[image error]
Now the above is perhaps more obvious to TV and Radio writers as they are trying to engage an audience on a daily basis in some cases and so the drive to remain up-to-date is more immediate. That doesn't mean the writers of books, poetry, articles and diaries don't have the same responsibilities. It is just that their presentation will probably be slightly different.
The reason I have the Archers headlined above is because they have been running a storyline about abuse of a wife by her husband. It was beautifully written because it began with emotional manipulation and took time to develop before there was any actual violence. So well done the writers.
Cessation
SynopsisThe story is a speculative journey into a possible future that may lie ahead of us all. There is evidence that such a future may not be impossible. We have been warned that unless we increase the ability to produce electricity there could be power cuts in the next ten years. Our modern day lives are permeated through with the need for electricity and its production.
Although Cessation could be categorised as a dystopian story I find that rather a negative word and the purpose of writing the tale is to allow elements of hope in a seemingly desperate situation.
The story begins in 2023 a couple of years after the lights go out for the last time. Our group of survivors are thrown together on a farm in the low Pennines north of the M62 motorway and within striking distance of a number of northern towns which could prove useful for supplies. Initially the group is small and live on a farm called Serendipity but as time passes the size of the group waxes and wanes for a variety of reasons.
The reason that I include my 6th novel is that it fits the bill as described above. It was written when the country was struggling with the production of electricity, which we still are! It was my glimpse into a possible future if the current policies regarding energy production continued unaltered. The conclusions in Cessation may seem a little extreme but bad things do happen and as Edmund Burke said, for evil to succeed it just requires good men to do nothing.
Slightly off subject but the writing of Cessation was a bit of a watershed. Up to that time I hadn't written my novels in anything other than the first person but this story required a third person viewpoint, partly because of the nature of the subject behind the tale.
Another duty of being a writer is to be adaptable.
Since I wrote Cessation my novels have returned to the actions of the character Patrick A Steele but all written in the third person and considerably more firmly linked with 'real' current affairs.
In a slightly different way the pendulum has swung in a slightly different direction. It is still inextricably linked with current affairs but there is an element of the conspiracy theorist in my last two efforts.
What did happen to Flight MH370?
Synopsis
Steele has to travel back to Japan to justify recent behaviours that may have revealed his connection with the Gurentai. He is given a task to complete that finds him on the ill-fated Flight MH370 in Kuala Lumpur. Hours later he awakens in a cell in a place and country of which he has no knowledge. Being the resourceful man he is, Steele manages to escape and travels north meeting up with his fiancée Naomi Kobayashi in Astana the capital of Kazakhstan.
Steele is naturally curious about the fate of the other 238 passengers from the plane which drives him onward to investigate further. He discovers that there are links between Russian organised crime and a Muslim group which stirs fears in his mind regarding the fate of MH370. This causes him to go to the Venice of the North, St Petersburg, where he finds the leader of the Russian mafia and a link with the Muslim pilots of the plane.
All does not go well however, and Steele and Kobayashi are captured by their mafia enemy and incarcerated in MH370 on the way to the target that Steele suspected all along - in London.
Can Steele extricate himself from this seemingly hopeless situation?
Has Steele convinced the Gurentai that he is trustworthy enough to deserve their support?
Will Steele manage to deflect the missile in which he is incarcerated from killing thousands in London?
This story is a speculative journey based upon the data and misinformation surrounding the loss of Malaysian Flight 370 in March 2014.
Really the synopsis above tells of the issue that I have tackled and there is a factual addendum at the end of the book.
My current project couldn't be more up-to-date as it is embedded in the current Presidential election process in the States. However there is a link to the conspiracy theories surrounding the events on 9/11 and particularly Building 7 - the provisional title for the story.
So if you write stay current, comment openly and keep nipping at public consciousness.
God Bless
One of the things I would say is that a writer should be socially aware and current, and that they should comment at every opportunity on the issues of the day.
[image error]
Now the above is perhaps more obvious to TV and Radio writers as they are trying to engage an audience on a daily basis in some cases and so the drive to remain up-to-date is more immediate. That doesn't mean the writers of books, poetry, articles and diaries don't have the same responsibilities. It is just that their presentation will probably be slightly different.
The reason I have the Archers headlined above is because they have been running a storyline about abuse of a wife by her husband. It was beautifully written because it began with emotional manipulation and took time to develop before there was any actual violence. So well done the writers.
Cessation
SynopsisThe story is a speculative journey into a possible future that may lie ahead of us all. There is evidence that such a future may not be impossible. We have been warned that unless we increase the ability to produce electricity there could be power cuts in the next ten years. Our modern day lives are permeated through with the need for electricity and its production.
Although Cessation could be categorised as a dystopian story I find that rather a negative word and the purpose of writing the tale is to allow elements of hope in a seemingly desperate situation.
The story begins in 2023 a couple of years after the lights go out for the last time. Our group of survivors are thrown together on a farm in the low Pennines north of the M62 motorway and within striking distance of a number of northern towns which could prove useful for supplies. Initially the group is small and live on a farm called Serendipity but as time passes the size of the group waxes and wanes for a variety of reasons.
The reason that I include my 6th novel is that it fits the bill as described above. It was written when the country was struggling with the production of electricity, which we still are! It was my glimpse into a possible future if the current policies regarding energy production continued unaltered. The conclusions in Cessation may seem a little extreme but bad things do happen and as Edmund Burke said, for evil to succeed it just requires good men to do nothing.
Slightly off subject but the writing of Cessation was a bit of a watershed. Up to that time I hadn't written my novels in anything other than the first person but this story required a third person viewpoint, partly because of the nature of the subject behind the tale.
Another duty of being a writer is to be adaptable.
Since I wrote Cessation my novels have returned to the actions of the character Patrick A Steele but all written in the third person and considerably more firmly linked with 'real' current affairs.
In a slightly different way the pendulum has swung in a slightly different direction. It is still inextricably linked with current affairs but there is an element of the conspiracy theorist in my last two efforts.
What did happen to Flight MH370?
Synopsis
Steele has to travel back to Japan to justify recent behaviours that may have revealed his connection with the Gurentai. He is given a task to complete that finds him on the ill-fated Flight MH370 in Kuala Lumpur. Hours later he awakens in a cell in a place and country of which he has no knowledge. Being the resourceful man he is, Steele manages to escape and travels north meeting up with his fiancée Naomi Kobayashi in Astana the capital of Kazakhstan.
Steele is naturally curious about the fate of the other 238 passengers from the plane which drives him onward to investigate further. He discovers that there are links between Russian organised crime and a Muslim group which stirs fears in his mind regarding the fate of MH370. This causes him to go to the Venice of the North, St Petersburg, where he finds the leader of the Russian mafia and a link with the Muslim pilots of the plane.
All does not go well however, and Steele and Kobayashi are captured by their mafia enemy and incarcerated in MH370 on the way to the target that Steele suspected all along - in London.
Can Steele extricate himself from this seemingly hopeless situation?
Has Steele convinced the Gurentai that he is trustworthy enough to deserve their support?
Will Steele manage to deflect the missile in which he is incarcerated from killing thousands in London?
This story is a speculative journey based upon the data and misinformation surrounding the loss of Malaysian Flight 370 in March 2014.
Really the synopsis above tells of the issue that I have tackled and there is a factual addendum at the end of the book.
My current project couldn't be more up-to-date as it is embedded in the current Presidential election process in the States. However there is a link to the conspiracy theories surrounding the events on 9/11 and particularly Building 7 - the provisional title for the story.
So if you write stay current, comment openly and keep nipping at public consciousness.
God Bless
April 4, 2016
Tuesday Food Blog - Bombay Potatoes and turkey curry
Variety is the spice of life, so they say and I must admit to feeling the need to vary my diet. As I am of the baby boomer generation I was raised when food was not exactly scarce but variety was a difficulty. My mam and dad worked hard to provide food, and mam had to be creative with the same stuff week in and week out. So you could predict what meals would appear on each day of the week. Having said that she would vary the meat and the vegetables according to season, that was served up for Sunday lunch. That dictated what was available for Monday and Tuesday lunch and so on.
I have had roast meat plus the trimmings lunches for a couple of weeks so I fancied something different this weekend.
Bombay Potatoes
The thought processes began when I saw a photograph, not the one above, of James Martin's Bombay Potatoes. The above are my efforts. (Should they be called Mumbai potatoes?) I thought that they looked really tasty and began looking for something with which to serve them.The potatoes are easy enough to make.Cut new potatoes into bite size pieces and boil for 5 - 8 minutes.Heat a pan containing oil (I use olive oil with some added butter), put in half a teaspoonful of mustard seeds. When they begin to pop, you may need safety glasses, a helmet and high viz vest for this part of the process, add a half teaspoon of chilli powder and a half teaspoon of turmeric, then add the potatoes.Cook for a further 5 - 8 minutes until the potatoes are tender and have absorbed the spices.Serve as required.
Turkey curry
So what I found was nothing inspiring and took a chance on finding some reasonably priced meat when I went shopping. It turned out to be 750g of turkey.The recipe is my basic curry recipe. I was talking with someone about this and the usual way to make curry is to prepare a stew and add garlic and curry powder, but that no longer worked for me. I wanted a more authentic flavour which doesn't just involve burning my mouth out by adding more curry powder. The answer - I bought more curry ingredients.If you open my spice cupboard you will find garam marsala, cumin, turmeric, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, ginger, chilli and curry powders. By using these ingredients I am getting closer to a more satisfying result.One thing I now do which was the result of watching an Asian friend making a curry, is to melt butter and add turmeric and the other spices to begin with, making a curry paste. Then I add the garlic and onions and brown the meat at this stage which ensures that the meat has the opportunity to absorb the spices early in the process. Then I add tomato puree, a tin of chopped tomatoes and water as required and any vegetables I wish to include. In the above I have only added peas.
This is a fairly good basis for a curry, you can adjust the chilli or curry powder according to your own personal tastes and in twenty minutes or so you have a bowl of comfort food.
I was out with friends on Sunday and I mentioned that I was going home for a curry when one of them said that I should be having a 'proper' Sunday lunch!
It was good for me.
God Bless
I have had roast meat plus the trimmings lunches for a couple of weeks so I fancied something different this weekend.
Bombay Potatoes
The thought processes began when I saw a photograph, not the one above, of James Martin's Bombay Potatoes. The above are my efforts. (Should they be called Mumbai potatoes?) I thought that they looked really tasty and began looking for something with which to serve them.The potatoes are easy enough to make.Cut new potatoes into bite size pieces and boil for 5 - 8 minutes.Heat a pan containing oil (I use olive oil with some added butter), put in half a teaspoonful of mustard seeds. When they begin to pop, you may need safety glasses, a helmet and high viz vest for this part of the process, add a half teaspoon of chilli powder and a half teaspoon of turmeric, then add the potatoes.Cook for a further 5 - 8 minutes until the potatoes are tender and have absorbed the spices.Serve as required.
Turkey currySo what I found was nothing inspiring and took a chance on finding some reasonably priced meat when I went shopping. It turned out to be 750g of turkey.The recipe is my basic curry recipe. I was talking with someone about this and the usual way to make curry is to prepare a stew and add garlic and curry powder, but that no longer worked for me. I wanted a more authentic flavour which doesn't just involve burning my mouth out by adding more curry powder. The answer - I bought more curry ingredients.If you open my spice cupboard you will find garam marsala, cumin, turmeric, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, ginger, chilli and curry powders. By using these ingredients I am getting closer to a more satisfying result.One thing I now do which was the result of watching an Asian friend making a curry, is to melt butter and add turmeric and the other spices to begin with, making a curry paste. Then I add the garlic and onions and brown the meat at this stage which ensures that the meat has the opportunity to absorb the spices early in the process. Then I add tomato puree, a tin of chopped tomatoes and water as required and any vegetables I wish to include. In the above I have only added peas.
This is a fairly good basis for a curry, you can adjust the chilli or curry powder according to your own personal tastes and in twenty minutes or so you have a bowl of comfort food.
I was out with friends on Sunday and I mentioned that I was going home for a curry when one of them said that I should be having a 'proper' Sunday lunch!
It was good for me.
God Bless
April 3, 2016
Writing - A Delicate Truth
When I was constructing Patrick A Steele I wanted a hero who would fight evil and injustice but, unlike James Bond, not from a position of privilege or upper class origins, rather an 'ordinary' man who had picked up some diverse and lethal skills in his upbringing. In a sense echoing Edmund Burke's famous quotation about evil succeeding because of the apathy of good people.John le Carre, aged 84, has produced his latest novel,The Delicate Truth, echoing the examination of the same quotation.
[image error]John Le Carre
For those lamenting the conclusion of BBC One’s The Night Manager, Radio 4 Extra offers a reading of le Carre’s most recent novel A Delicate Truth, the gripping story of a good man who must choose between his conscience and his duty to the Service.
I am not bragging but I had the idea before the great man!!!
It is great that John le Carre is still writing and if Night Manager is anything to go by without any loss of his storytelling powers.
Read on!
December 2015Steele 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!The most recent addition to the Steele family is Earth plc in which our hero is concerned with political and emotional issues in this crime fighting adventure.
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.
Poetry - there are also two thoughtful collections of poetry available solely through Amazon.
The Musings of a Confused Mind
and
Words from the Raindrops
God Bless
April 2, 2016
Writing - 10 stories that aren't April Fool jokes
It's hard to know what to trust on April Fool's Day as there are are many stories that seem rather strange but are in fact genuine. But here is a round-up of some of this year's odder stories that are apparently true.
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1. Transparent wood could soon replace glass in some windows. Swedish researchers have engineered the non-shattering material by stripping out the component that makes wood brown and replacing it with acrylic. The wood could let in light while still maintaining privacy for residents.
-----------------------------
[image error]
2. A fashion designer has released a £185 T-shirt modelled on the courier DHL's employee uniform. French firm Vetements has a reputation for selling expensive "normcore" hoodies and tracksuits. The garment has been much mocked on social media, but has already been modelled by the DHL Express chief executive, as well as actor Jaden Smith's model girlfriend Sarah Snyder.
-----------------------------
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3. Whoopi Goldberg plans to launch her own line of medical marijuana products to combat period pains. For legal reasons, it will only be sold in California and the range includes sipping chocolate and bath soak. "I don't want this to be a joke to people. It's not a joke to women," she said.
-----------------------------
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4. South Wales Police have come up with a novel way of entering buildings - by using a chainsaw. They used the technique in preference to the usual battering ram during a drugs raid in Cardiff.
-----------------------------
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5. Skimmed milk can be described as an "imitation milk product", a Florida judge has ruled - unless vitamins are added - in a long-running dispute. "I refuse to lie to my customers, so I have stopped selling skim milk until I am allowed to tell the truth again," says one disgruntled seller.
-----------------------------
6. There's a trend for denim-coloured hair. Denim has long been a fashion staple but now some people are combining blue, purple and grey colour to leave their hair looking vaguely like jeans.
-----------------------------
7. The CIA has been left red-faced after forgetting they had left "explosive training material" on a school bus in Virginia. Detectives had hidden it in the engine compartment as part of a training exercise for explosives-detecting dogs. It was found by a surprised technician from Briar Woods High School during routine maintenance.
-----------------------------
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8. Tinie Tempah intends to buy a farm and loves the BBC's rural and environmental affairs programme Countryfile. Speaking on the Jonathan Ross Show, the 27-year-old rapper also revealed his plans to settle down in the near future. "Three more years of a lot of fun and then probably settle down, have a family, live on a farm, get some animals," he said.
-----------------------------
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9. A bounty is being offered to everybody who kills a rat in the Pakistani city of Peshawar. From Tuesday, residents will be paid 300 rupees (£2) for every rodent apprehended in the worst-affected part of the city. That bonus is reduced to just 25 rupees in the rest of the city.
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10. A politician from Missouri is so fed up with her colleagues saying "physical" when they mean "fiscal" that she's filed a resolution demanding that they mend their ways. "There are a lot of reasons to be depressed about the Missouri Legislature, and this just kind of piles on," State Rep Tracy McCreery says.
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God Bless
[image error]
1. Transparent wood could soon replace glass in some windows. Swedish researchers have engineered the non-shattering material by stripping out the component that makes wood brown and replacing it with acrylic. The wood could let in light while still maintaining privacy for residents.
-----------------------------
[image error]
2. A fashion designer has released a £185 T-shirt modelled on the courier DHL's employee uniform. French firm Vetements has a reputation for selling expensive "normcore" hoodies and tracksuits. The garment has been much mocked on social media, but has already been modelled by the DHL Express chief executive, as well as actor Jaden Smith's model girlfriend Sarah Snyder.
-----------------------------
[image error]
3. Whoopi Goldberg plans to launch her own line of medical marijuana products to combat period pains. For legal reasons, it will only be sold in California and the range includes sipping chocolate and bath soak. "I don't want this to be a joke to people. It's not a joke to women," she said.
-----------------------------
[image error]
4. South Wales Police have come up with a novel way of entering buildings - by using a chainsaw. They used the technique in preference to the usual battering ram during a drugs raid in Cardiff.
-----------------------------
[image error]
5. Skimmed milk can be described as an "imitation milk product", a Florida judge has ruled - unless vitamins are added - in a long-running dispute. "I refuse to lie to my customers, so I have stopped selling skim milk until I am allowed to tell the truth again," says one disgruntled seller.
-----------------------------
6. There's a trend for denim-coloured hair. Denim has long been a fashion staple but now some people are combining blue, purple and grey colour to leave their hair looking vaguely like jeans.
-----------------------------
7. The CIA has been left red-faced after forgetting they had left "explosive training material" on a school bus in Virginia. Detectives had hidden it in the engine compartment as part of a training exercise for explosives-detecting dogs. It was found by a surprised technician from Briar Woods High School during routine maintenance.
-----------------------------
[image error]
8. Tinie Tempah intends to buy a farm and loves the BBC's rural and environmental affairs programme Countryfile. Speaking on the Jonathan Ross Show, the 27-year-old rapper also revealed his plans to settle down in the near future. "Three more years of a lot of fun and then probably settle down, have a family, live on a farm, get some animals," he said.
-----------------------------
[image error]
9. A bounty is being offered to everybody who kills a rat in the Pakistani city of Peshawar. From Tuesday, residents will be paid 300 rupees (£2) for every rodent apprehended in the worst-affected part of the city. That bonus is reduced to just 25 rupees in the rest of the city.
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10. A politician from Missouri is so fed up with her colleagues saying "physical" when they mean "fiscal" that she's filed a resolution demanding that they mend their ways. "There are a lot of reasons to be depressed about the Missouri Legislature, and this just kind of piles on," State Rep Tracy McCreery says.
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God Bless
April 1, 2016
Writing - I wish I could change it
I was a happy man yesterday when I found that I'd sold another book through Amazon. I have sold a copy of 'I Have To Get It Right' which was my very first novel.
I just wish that I could change it. When I began writing that novel I had Raymond Chandler and the Big Sleep in mind so the book was written in the first person. Since then I have written a further nine books, not all Steele, but have switched to the third person and learned a great deal about writing.If you are the person who bought my book I'd like to say thank you and stick with Steele they get do improve. The links to all my other stuff are below.
Read on!
December 2015
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!The most recent addition to the Steele family is Earth plc in which our hero is concerned with political and emotional issues in this crime fighting adventure.
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.
Poetry - there are also two thoughtful collections of poetry available solely through Amazon.
The Musings of a Confused Mind
and
Words from the Raindrops
God Bless
I just wish that I could change it. When I began writing that novel I had Raymond Chandler and the Big Sleep in mind so the book was written in the first person. Since then I have written a further nine books, not all Steele, but have switched to the third person and learned a great deal about writing.If you are the person who bought my book I'd like to say thank you and stick with Steele they get do improve. The links to all my other stuff are below.
Read on!
December 2015Steele 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!The most recent addition to the Steele family is Earth plc in which our hero is concerned with political and emotional issues in this crime fighting adventure.
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.
Poetry - there are also two thoughtful collections of poetry available solely through Amazon.
The Musings of a Confused Mind
and
Words from the Raindrops
God Bless
March 31, 2016
Writing - Word of mouth #FolkloreThursday
We humans have passed on knowledge through families and communities by word of mouth for as long as there have been humans walking the earth. We have also passed on tales, laws ways of life ans superstitions in the same way. The internet will not stop that and in fact it is making it available to all who are connected.
folklorethursday.com is the official website of #FolkloreThursday which exists to encourage the passing on of people knowledge. There are a wealth of stories and folklore there already and here some samples. To read them at length you will need to go to the site and I recommend the you give it five minutes.
[image error]
The Calderstones: Invoking the spirits of place
Robin Hood’s Stone stands on the pavement at the junction of Booker Avenue and Archerfield Road surrounded by green painted metal railings. The stone was given its name on account of a series of deep grooves, once believed to have been used for sharpening arrowheads. The grooves are now considered to have occurred naturally when the rock was formed, and been further ingrained as the sandstone was worn away by the elements. Other, more intriguing marks lay buried beneath the concrete into which the stone was set eighty-eight years ago, having been relocated when houses were built on a nearby field where it once stood. These are known as cup and ring markings and are believed to have been made in the Early Bronze Age – four-thousand years ago.Robin Hood’s stone does not stand alone in South Liverpool however; one mile North East as the crow flies is Calderstones Park where The Calderstones – Liverpool’s oldest monument – are kept. The Calderstones are six sandstone stones which once formed part of a Neolithic passage grave – the only such grave ever discovered in England.
The Curious Cures for Warts and Wens
These cures are from Herefordshire.
They are a mix of religion, folklore and rural witchcraft, typical, I imagine, of isolated rural communities where old practices and beliefs remained. There is often an element of secrecy, hiding the ‘magic’ from public gaze, and of burying the evidence. The number nine appears more than once, so does the proximity of cross-roads. Christianity and the power of the cross is not entirely divorced from these cures.
Here are a couple of examples,
1. Steal some beef from a butcher’s shop, rub the warts with it and bury it. As the meat decays so the warts will disappear.
2. A wen on the neck could be cured by the application of a dead man’s hand. This should be the hand of a malefactor immediately after execution. Persons with wens, it was recalled, attended the gallows on the occasion of a hanging to make trial of this method.
Pretty gruesome and quite illegal.
We all know of such tales and as for Robin Hood I live a mile away from where the arrow was fired to ascertain his burial place and it is a good 70 miles from Liverpool!
My own piece of medical folklore.
[image error]
My grandmother living in the 1920s and 30s, suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and had a deal of pain. This was twenty years before the advent of the National Health Service when the working classes were poor and couldn't afford to buy painkillers. It was recommended (probably by an old wife!) that she drank the water from boiled celery as a painkiller. Rather you than me.
All great stories!
God Bless
folklorethursday.com is the official website of #FolkloreThursday which exists to encourage the passing on of people knowledge. There are a wealth of stories and folklore there already and here some samples. To read them at length you will need to go to the site and I recommend the you give it five minutes.
[image error]
The Calderstones: Invoking the spirits of place
Robin Hood’s Stone stands on the pavement at the junction of Booker Avenue and Archerfield Road surrounded by green painted metal railings. The stone was given its name on account of a series of deep grooves, once believed to have been used for sharpening arrowheads. The grooves are now considered to have occurred naturally when the rock was formed, and been further ingrained as the sandstone was worn away by the elements. Other, more intriguing marks lay buried beneath the concrete into which the stone was set eighty-eight years ago, having been relocated when houses were built on a nearby field where it once stood. These are known as cup and ring markings and are believed to have been made in the Early Bronze Age – four-thousand years ago.Robin Hood’s stone does not stand alone in South Liverpool however; one mile North East as the crow flies is Calderstones Park where The Calderstones – Liverpool’s oldest monument – are kept. The Calderstones are six sandstone stones which once formed part of a Neolithic passage grave – the only such grave ever discovered in England.
The Curious Cures for Warts and Wens
These cures are from Herefordshire.
They are a mix of religion, folklore and rural witchcraft, typical, I imagine, of isolated rural communities where old practices and beliefs remained. There is often an element of secrecy, hiding the ‘magic’ from public gaze, and of burying the evidence. The number nine appears more than once, so does the proximity of cross-roads. Christianity and the power of the cross is not entirely divorced from these cures.
Here are a couple of examples,
1. Steal some beef from a butcher’s shop, rub the warts with it and bury it. As the meat decays so the warts will disappear.
2. A wen on the neck could be cured by the application of a dead man’s hand. This should be the hand of a malefactor immediately after execution. Persons with wens, it was recalled, attended the gallows on the occasion of a hanging to make trial of this method.
Pretty gruesome and quite illegal.
We all know of such tales and as for Robin Hood I live a mile away from where the arrow was fired to ascertain his burial place and it is a good 70 miles from Liverpool!
My own piece of medical folklore.
[image error]
My grandmother living in the 1920s and 30s, suffered from rheumatoid arthritis and had a deal of pain. This was twenty years before the advent of the National Health Service when the working classes were poor and couldn't afford to buy painkillers. It was recommended (probably by an old wife!) that she drank the water from boiled celery as a painkiller. Rather you than me.
All great stories!
God Bless
March 30, 2016
Poetry Thursday 206 - Deep emotions
Writing about deep emotions, whether in a book or poem, is fraught with pitfalls. Some would say that you cannot do justice to the job if you haven't experienced that type of disturbance in your life, but that is an unnecessarily limiting position without proof. I will say it is easier if you have had gut-wrenching life experiences and the older you are the more likely that is to have happened.
Today's two poems delve into the troubled mind.
[image error]
Red Mist
Sat unsuspecting in gentle communionwith friends and acquaintances peaceful.It begins with the smallest, familiar reunionof mind, and memories dark and awful.
Or is it due to a chance uttered wordthat reawakens an unwanted response,beginning as the fluttering wings of a bird,which goads a behavioural renaissance.
No benefit that this is the happy daywhen the world is filled with smiling faces.Celebrated with joyous music, and then we prayfor the life that God’s sacrifice gave us.
Surrounded by unfettered happiness,and yet without being actually involved,fuels the developing fire to furnace,and time for action is resolved.
Exiting the cacophonous, cloying room,releases pressure and cuts off the fuel,from the ravenous, burgeoning canker wormthat threatens to embarrass the fool.
Extraction from overpowering bon homie,the white feather’s way out perhaps,or the greatest good for all present maybe,and away from humanities traps. © David L Atkinson March 2016
I have no wish to enlarge on the above any further.
The poem below is in the form of a sonnet which I wrote some time ago. It has been submitted to a poetry competition celebrating the current Shakespeare anniversary. The rules were simple in that it had to be a sonnet and the organisers want to know which sonnet inspired its writing. If you are interested you need to register with Writers and Authors and follow their requirements.
Self-harm!
Taking the sun in a foreign cityHeat and light reflecting the hell withinLooking for someone who can share pityA bridge can offer solace from the painIs there no one who sees the tortured soul?Can anyone plumb the depths of the pit?How can existence continue its goalWhen the depths in darkness remain unlit?The way out is selfishness in extremeThose left behind would be undeservingThere must be other ways to end the dreamFinality without blame adheringIt never happened because of othersWhere is the solace from our brothers?© David L Atkinson March 2016
God Bless
Today's two poems delve into the troubled mind.
[image error]
Red Mist
Sat unsuspecting in gentle communionwith friends and acquaintances peaceful.It begins with the smallest, familiar reunionof mind, and memories dark and awful.
Or is it due to a chance uttered wordthat reawakens an unwanted response,beginning as the fluttering wings of a bird,which goads a behavioural renaissance.
No benefit that this is the happy daywhen the world is filled with smiling faces.Celebrated with joyous music, and then we prayfor the life that God’s sacrifice gave us.
Surrounded by unfettered happiness,and yet without being actually involved,fuels the developing fire to furnace,and time for action is resolved.
Exiting the cacophonous, cloying room,releases pressure and cuts off the fuel,from the ravenous, burgeoning canker wormthat threatens to embarrass the fool.
Extraction from overpowering bon homie,the white feather’s way out perhaps,or the greatest good for all present maybe,and away from humanities traps. © David L Atkinson March 2016
I have no wish to enlarge on the above any further.
The poem below is in the form of a sonnet which I wrote some time ago. It has been submitted to a poetry competition celebrating the current Shakespeare anniversary. The rules were simple in that it had to be a sonnet and the organisers want to know which sonnet inspired its writing. If you are interested you need to register with Writers and Authors and follow their requirements.
Self-harm!
Taking the sun in a foreign cityHeat and light reflecting the hell withinLooking for someone who can share pityA bridge can offer solace from the painIs there no one who sees the tortured soul?Can anyone plumb the depths of the pit?How can existence continue its goalWhen the depths in darkness remain unlit?The way out is selfishness in extremeThose left behind would be undeservingThere must be other ways to end the dreamFinality without blame adheringIt never happened because of othersWhere is the solace from our brothers?© David L Atkinson March 2016
God Bless
March 29, 2016
Writing - Love your libraries
Serious and sad news out this morning concerning the demise of libraries in the UK
[image error]Public Library
I remember as a child being quite excited when it was library day. I never attended a reading session in a library, they probably hadn't started happening in the 1950s, I just loved books.
There is a conflict these days.
If we needed to find something out for school we would carry out that research in the library at school or failing that the public library. Now you just need to Google!Successive governments have insisted that we need to cut public services because of expense and this is the other direction from which libraries are suffering. Like so many aspects of life where there is abstract value, such as the atmosphere in libraries that encourage learning research and relaxation, the attitude seems to be if we can't measure it it has to go.
Here are some of the facts,
Almost 8,000 jobs in UK libraries have disappeared in six years, about a quarter of the overall total, an investigation by the BBC has revealed.Over the same period, some 15,500 volunteers have been recruited and 343 libraries have closed, leading to fears over the future of the profession.
[image error]
Children's author Alan Gibbons said the public library service faced the "greatest crisis in its history".
The government said it funded the roll-out of wi-fi to help libraries adapt.
The BBC has compiled data from 207 authorities responsible for running libraries through the Freedom of Information Act. Our analysis shows:
Some 343 libraries closed. Of those, 132 were mobile services, while 207 were based in buildings (and there were four others, such as home delivery services) The number of closures in England is higher than the government's official estimate of 110 buildings shut A further 111 closures are planned this yearThe number of paid staff in libraries fell from 31,977 in 2010 to 24,044 now, a drop of 7,933 (25%) for the 182 libraries that provided comparable dataA further 174 libraries have been transferred to community groups, while 50 have been handed to external organisations to run. In some areas, such as Lincolnshire and Surrey, the move has led to legal challenges and protests from residents.
The final point does show that there is interest in retaining a library service. Government does have a Library Working Group, but I am cynical about the intentions of a government that is so profit driven.
God Bless
[image error]Public Library
I remember as a child being quite excited when it was library day. I never attended a reading session in a library, they probably hadn't started happening in the 1950s, I just loved books.
There is a conflict these days.
If we needed to find something out for school we would carry out that research in the library at school or failing that the public library. Now you just need to Google!Successive governments have insisted that we need to cut public services because of expense and this is the other direction from which libraries are suffering. Like so many aspects of life where there is abstract value, such as the atmosphere in libraries that encourage learning research and relaxation, the attitude seems to be if we can't measure it it has to go.
Here are some of the facts,
Almost 8,000 jobs in UK libraries have disappeared in six years, about a quarter of the overall total, an investigation by the BBC has revealed.Over the same period, some 15,500 volunteers have been recruited and 343 libraries have closed, leading to fears over the future of the profession.
[image error]
Children's author Alan Gibbons said the public library service faced the "greatest crisis in its history".
The government said it funded the roll-out of wi-fi to help libraries adapt.
The BBC has compiled data from 207 authorities responsible for running libraries through the Freedom of Information Act. Our analysis shows:
Some 343 libraries closed. Of those, 132 were mobile services, while 207 were based in buildings (and there were four others, such as home delivery services) The number of closures in England is higher than the government's official estimate of 110 buildings shut A further 111 closures are planned this yearThe number of paid staff in libraries fell from 31,977 in 2010 to 24,044 now, a drop of 7,933 (25%) for the 182 libraries that provided comparable dataA further 174 libraries have been transferred to community groups, while 50 have been handed to external organisations to run. In some areas, such as Lincolnshire and Surrey, the move has led to legal challenges and protests from residents.
The final point does show that there is interest in retaining a library service. Government does have a Library Working Group, but I am cynical about the intentions of a government that is so profit driven.
God Bless
