David L. Atkinson's Blog, page 68
October 5, 2015
Tuesday Food Blog - Sausage and bacon rustic hotpot
A rustic recipe and possible variations in its use. This is also a very simple recipe which it has to be for someone as inept as I am!
Sausage and bacon rustic hotpot
In some ways this turned out as 'David's comfort food'! I do like casserole's and the wealth of accompaniments that you can serve them with. I didn't follow the recipe slavishly which recommends that you serve it with cheese toasties. (posh cheese on toast).
Hotpot with carrot and swede mash
I really fancied carrot and swede mashed together with plenty of pepper and butter. I find that this form of mas accompanies many different sorts of meat dishes - another comfort food.
Hotpot + mash in a Yorkshire Pudding
Then finally the ultimate in comfort foods - a Yorkshire Pudding. This was a massive cheat because I bought a ready made Yorkshire mainly because it saves on washing up, but also because I wasn't roasting meat in the oven. I believe that Yorkshires are best cooked with some of the hot fat from around the meat in the pudding tin. The bought puddings are really very good, you can't fail, cheap and it saves time. I served it with the last of the mash.
Finally, I made a meal of the hotpot alongside mashed potato. I like creme fraiche, as opposed to milk, and butter in the mash it gives the potatoes a slightly tangy flavour.
Overall then an easy meal to make, tasty to eat, cheap to buy, but not that calorific (well if you take away the accompaniments!). There are only five sausages and 2 rashers of bacon. The rest of the meal consists of vegetables and seasoning. Obviously with the mash and the Yorkshire the calorie count will climb considerably but you could serve this casserole with rice or pasta if you were so concerned.
The full recipe is on the TAB above
God Bless
Sausage and bacon rustic hotpot
In some ways this turned out as 'David's comfort food'! I do like casserole's and the wealth of accompaniments that you can serve them with. I didn't follow the recipe slavishly which recommends that you serve it with cheese toasties. (posh cheese on toast).
Hotpot with carrot and swede mash
I really fancied carrot and swede mashed together with plenty of pepper and butter. I find that this form of mas accompanies many different sorts of meat dishes - another comfort food.
Hotpot + mash in a Yorkshire Pudding
Then finally the ultimate in comfort foods - a Yorkshire Pudding. This was a massive cheat because I bought a ready made Yorkshire mainly because it saves on washing up, but also because I wasn't roasting meat in the oven. I believe that Yorkshires are best cooked with some of the hot fat from around the meat in the pudding tin. The bought puddings are really very good, you can't fail, cheap and it saves time. I served it with the last of the mash.
Finally, I made a meal of the hotpot alongside mashed potato. I like creme fraiche, as opposed to milk, and butter in the mash it gives the potatoes a slightly tangy flavour.
Overall then an easy meal to make, tasty to eat, cheap to buy, but not that calorific (well if you take away the accompaniments!). There are only five sausages and 2 rashers of bacon. The rest of the meal consists of vegetables and seasoning. Obviously with the mash and the Yorkshire the calorie count will climb considerably but you could serve this casserole with rice or pasta if you were so concerned.
The full recipe is on the TAB above
God Bless
October 4, 2015
Write - Emperor's suit of clothes art
You all know the story of the Emperor strutting down the street stark naked and the little boy asking why the king is without clothes. It was fashionable to believe the king/emperor was wearing the most fashionable clothes but the boy wasn't in on the story.
[image error]
When we see visual art that is the work of a fashionable artist I feel a little like the boy in the story above.
Tracey Emin
This is an example. I am sure Ms Emin would explain what she had produced very eruditely, however , for me, there is a BUT!I am not an ignorant man, not as bright as some brighter than others, with some talents but nothing of great note. Art, for me, is an alternative way of looking at things in the modern world and it includes alternative representations.
Damien Hirst
However, half a beast in formaldehyde in a glass case; and, a rather dishevelled bedroom scene - I have a problem. I once attended an exhibition of modern art in the Pompidou Centre in Paris and saw a doorway, the frame of which was constructed from strip lights, there was a 12 feet long iron girder with a lump of cotton wool tied round the middle, and 144 blue ceramic tiles in a rectangle on the floor imaginatively called 'The Sea'!
To me some of that is not art - that opinion is purely personal. The question is why do we like some art, some books, and not others? Sometimes it is because critics have decreed that they are good so we must like them.
Similarly, books and authors are subject to such 'fashions'. Many people over their lives read hundreds of books, some may read very few but quite often we read on the recommendation of others. We actually don't know whether a book is good or not until we have read it for ourselves. There are a few below to get your teeth into and if you enjoy please spread the word, write a review and I will be eternally grateful.
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
[image error]
When we see visual art that is the work of a fashionable artist I feel a little like the boy in the story above.
Tracey Emin
This is an example. I am sure Ms Emin would explain what she had produced very eruditely, however , for me, there is a BUT!I am not an ignorant man, not as bright as some brighter than others, with some talents but nothing of great note. Art, for me, is an alternative way of looking at things in the modern world and it includes alternative representations.
Damien Hirst
However, half a beast in formaldehyde in a glass case; and, a rather dishevelled bedroom scene - I have a problem. I once attended an exhibition of modern art in the Pompidou Centre in Paris and saw a doorway, the frame of which was constructed from strip lights, there was a 12 feet long iron girder with a lump of cotton wool tied round the middle, and 144 blue ceramic tiles in a rectangle on the floor imaginatively called 'The Sea'!
To me some of that is not art - that opinion is purely personal. The question is why do we like some art, some books, and not others? Sometimes it is because critics have decreed that they are good so we must like them.
Similarly, books and authors are subject to such 'fashions'. Many people over their lives read hundreds of books, some may read very few but quite often we read on the recommendation of others. We actually don't know whether a book is good or not until we have read it for ourselves. There are a few below to get your teeth into and if you enjoy please spread the word, write a review and I will be eternally grateful.
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
October 3, 2015
Writing - 10 more silly news snippets
This week's snippets are almost entries for weird science!
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1. Quentin Tarantino still records films from TV on VHS cassettes.
I can understand the attraction.
-----------------------------------
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2. People tweet more egocentrically from phones than they do from computers.
And that is so hard to understand - NOT!!! If you are tweeting from your phone you are tweeting about a subject that has impacted you at that moment.
-----------------------------------
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3. Gay, lesbian and bisexual people in the UK are more likely to smoke than heterosexuals.
Doesn't it depend on where and when such a survey was carried out?
-----------------------------------
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4. Getting into an ambulance to celebrate scoring a goal will earn you a yellow card in Argentina.
What can anyone say?
-----------------------------------
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5. More than one person every minute is arrested for marijuana possession in the US.
Could be construed as a waste of time man!!!!!
-----------------------------------
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6. Ten boroughs account for a quarter of all stamp duty collected in the UK - nine of them are in London.
Amazingly logical as it is the part of the country with the most expensive housing.
-----------------------------------
[image error]
7. Cyclists in a peloton school like fish.
Loads of similarities - no water, no fins, bikes, air breathers!!!!
-----------------------------------
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8. The English composer Benjamin Britten wrote a national anthem for Malaysia, only for it to be rejected in favour of a cabaret tune.
As I have had the misfortune to have sung a number of Britten's pieces I could have been a cabaret artist!!!
-----------------------------------
[image error]
9. Interstate 19 in Arizona is the US's only interstate highway where distances are measured in kilometres rather than miles.
This reminds me of a conversation I had with an operative working for a well known DIY store just after the metric system was adopted in the UK.
Me: I'd like to buy some 8 feet long pieces of chipboard please.
Operative: I'm sorry sir we only sell chipboard in 2 metre lengths.
Me: Ok I'll have 4 please.
Operative: What thickness would you like sir half an inch or 5/8ths of an inch?
-----------------------------------
[image error]
10. The odds of developing cancer go up by 10% in men and 18% in women for every 10cm above 1m they are tall.
Great news for a short arse like me. On the other hand I'm 6 inches taller than my mum was and she got cancer!
What a load of rubbish! I'm amazed that whoever even bothered to try and establish such a relationship.
-----------------------------------
God Bless
[image error]
1. Quentin Tarantino still records films from TV on VHS cassettes.
I can understand the attraction.
-----------------------------------
[image error]
2. People tweet more egocentrically from phones than they do from computers.
And that is so hard to understand - NOT!!! If you are tweeting from your phone you are tweeting about a subject that has impacted you at that moment.
-----------------------------------
[image error]
3. Gay, lesbian and bisexual people in the UK are more likely to smoke than heterosexuals.
Doesn't it depend on where and when such a survey was carried out?
-----------------------------------
[image error]
4. Getting into an ambulance to celebrate scoring a goal will earn you a yellow card in Argentina.
What can anyone say?
-----------------------------------
[image error]
5. More than one person every minute is arrested for marijuana possession in the US.
Could be construed as a waste of time man!!!!!
-----------------------------------
[image error]
6. Ten boroughs account for a quarter of all stamp duty collected in the UK - nine of them are in London.
Amazingly logical as it is the part of the country with the most expensive housing.
-----------------------------------
[image error]
7. Cyclists in a peloton school like fish.
Loads of similarities - no water, no fins, bikes, air breathers!!!!
-----------------------------------
[image error]
8. The English composer Benjamin Britten wrote a national anthem for Malaysia, only for it to be rejected in favour of a cabaret tune.
As I have had the misfortune to have sung a number of Britten's pieces I could have been a cabaret artist!!!
-----------------------------------
[image error]
9. Interstate 19 in Arizona is the US's only interstate highway where distances are measured in kilometres rather than miles.
This reminds me of a conversation I had with an operative working for a well known DIY store just after the metric system was adopted in the UK.
Me: I'd like to buy some 8 feet long pieces of chipboard please.
Operative: I'm sorry sir we only sell chipboard in 2 metre lengths.
Me: Ok I'll have 4 please.
Operative: What thickness would you like sir half an inch or 5/8ths of an inch?
-----------------------------------
[image error]
10. The odds of developing cancer go up by 10% in men and 18% in women for every 10cm above 1m they are tall.
Great news for a short arse like me. On the other hand I'm 6 inches taller than my mum was and she got cancer!
What a load of rubbish! I'm amazed that whoever even bothered to try and establish such a relationship.
-----------------------------------
God Bless
October 2, 2015
Writing - Brian Friel RIP
It seems to me that many play writes and screen writers go by unnoticed except by the ones who work closest with them.
[image error]Brian Friel (1929 - 2015)
Brian Friel was referred to on occasions as the Irish Chekhov but in all honesty I didn't remember his name. Actors, politicians and more are singing his praises on the event of his death, but what was he known for?
Books - Wonderful Tennessee, The Communication Cord,
Films - Dancing at Lughnasa (Meryl Streep, Michael Gambon), Philadelphia, Here I Come (Siobhan McKenna, Dermot Kelly)
Plays - Dancing at Lughnasa, Translations, Faith Healer and many more.
Brian also adapted a number of plays by Chekhov.
He was born in Killyclogher, County Tyrone in 1929. He worked as a teacher in Londonderry before moving to County Donegal in the 1960s.
In 1992, Friel won three Tony Awards for Dancing at Lughnasa. The play was later made into a film starring Meryl Streep.
When you consider the amount of time and effort that must have gone into his portfolio it was prodigious. Long may his name be remembered and not just in Ireland.
The books below are mine and as such there are occasions when I have a political point to make which if 'dumbed down' could be lost. Please read them all, learn and enjoy. The books are available through all good booksellers in all formats.
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
[image error]Brian Friel (1929 - 2015)
Brian Friel was referred to on occasions as the Irish Chekhov but in all honesty I didn't remember his name. Actors, politicians and more are singing his praises on the event of his death, but what was he known for?
Books - Wonderful Tennessee, The Communication Cord,
Films - Dancing at Lughnasa (Meryl Streep, Michael Gambon), Philadelphia, Here I Come (Siobhan McKenna, Dermot Kelly)
Plays - Dancing at Lughnasa, Translations, Faith Healer and many more.
Brian also adapted a number of plays by Chekhov.
He was born in Killyclogher, County Tyrone in 1929. He worked as a teacher in Londonderry before moving to County Donegal in the 1960s.
In 1992, Friel won three Tony Awards for Dancing at Lughnasa. The play was later made into a film starring Meryl Streep.
When you consider the amount of time and effort that must have gone into his portfolio it was prodigious. Long may his name be remembered and not just in Ireland.
The books below are mine and as such there are occasions when I have a political point to make which if 'dumbed down' could be lost. Please read them all, learn and enjoy. The books are available through all good booksellers in all formats.
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
October 1, 2015
Writing - All sorts of Art #bbcgetcreative
All sorts of things going on in the world of writing. You will notice that I'm using the hashtag #bbcgetcreative who are doing a major push on creativity currently.
Michael Robotham
Australian writer Michael Robotham beat off efforts by such writers as J K Rowling, writing as Robert Galbraith, and Stephen King for the prestigious British Golden Dagger Award.
Former journalist Robotham's tenth book 'Life or Death' is the story of a prisoner who escapes jail shortly before his release. Mr Robotham, who lives in Sydney, said he was grateful for the respect of his fellow writers.
Oh how I wish
[image error]Warhol's Barbie (Portrait of Billyboy)
I believe that the above was the last piece Andy Warhol produced. He of the Marilyn Monroe, Soup tin, Mickey Mouse and dollar bills wanted to paint his friend Billyboy who initially refused. After much persuasion eventually Billyboy suggested to Warhol that he paint him as Barbie saying that 'after all Barbie c'est moi'! Billyboy responded to the portrait by building a collection of the dolls numbered in thousands by the 1980s.
The power of art!
[image error]John Guillermin
Film director, John Guillermin died at the age of 89. He was the director of the now classic film Towering Inferno which was released in 1974. It was nominated for three oscars and starred, Michael Holden, Faye Dunaway, Steve McQueen and Paul Newman.Mr Guillermin was seemingly difficult to work with once breaking a chair during a screening of a movie and was described in a biography as having an irascible streak. Perhaps it was just frustration with the creative muse.
Reminds me of a T-shirt that warns of us - blessed are the weird people, the poets and misfits, the writers and artists, the dreamers for they force us to see the world differently.
Jonathon Clark - sports poet
Jonathon Clark was a rugby player who turned to writing poetry and has had plenty of opportunities for inspiration with the world cup currently running. However, he has also written about cricket and tennis. He has been adopted temporarily as the BBC's sports poet in residence. Below is a sample from one poem.An ode to the Rugby World CupTwenty teams from around the World
Converge on Britain's shores.
The finest rugby specimens
Can they create a new folklore?
They've trained so hard together
This last few months not least,
In fact for past few years
To create these rugby beasts.
The pinnacle of their rugby prime
These sculptured specimen
Hope to shine this World Cup
To create another gem.
What is interesting is Jonathon's reason for writing poetry is to combat the stresses of modern life, a position with which I can concur.
God Bless
Michael Robotham
Australian writer Michael Robotham beat off efforts by such writers as J K Rowling, writing as Robert Galbraith, and Stephen King for the prestigious British Golden Dagger Award.
Former journalist Robotham's tenth book 'Life or Death' is the story of a prisoner who escapes jail shortly before his release. Mr Robotham, who lives in Sydney, said he was grateful for the respect of his fellow writers.
Oh how I wish
[image error]Warhol's Barbie (Portrait of Billyboy)
I believe that the above was the last piece Andy Warhol produced. He of the Marilyn Monroe, Soup tin, Mickey Mouse and dollar bills wanted to paint his friend Billyboy who initially refused. After much persuasion eventually Billyboy suggested to Warhol that he paint him as Barbie saying that 'after all Barbie c'est moi'! Billyboy responded to the portrait by building a collection of the dolls numbered in thousands by the 1980s.
The power of art!
[image error]John Guillermin
Film director, John Guillermin died at the age of 89. He was the director of the now classic film Towering Inferno which was released in 1974. It was nominated for three oscars and starred, Michael Holden, Faye Dunaway, Steve McQueen and Paul Newman.Mr Guillermin was seemingly difficult to work with once breaking a chair during a screening of a movie and was described in a biography as having an irascible streak. Perhaps it was just frustration with the creative muse.
Reminds me of a T-shirt that warns of us - blessed are the weird people, the poets and misfits, the writers and artists, the dreamers for they force us to see the world differently.
Jonathon Clark - sports poetJonathon Clark was a rugby player who turned to writing poetry and has had plenty of opportunities for inspiration with the world cup currently running. However, he has also written about cricket and tennis. He has been adopted temporarily as the BBC's sports poet in residence. Below is a sample from one poem.An ode to the Rugby World CupTwenty teams from around the World
Converge on Britain's shores.
The finest rugby specimens
Can they create a new folklore?
They've trained so hard together
This last few months not least,
In fact for past few years
To create these rugby beasts.
The pinnacle of their rugby prime
These sculptured specimen
Hope to shine this World Cup
To create another gem.
What is interesting is Jonathon's reason for writing poetry is to combat the stresses of modern life, a position with which I can concur.
God Bless
September 30, 2015
Poetry Thursday 180 - Sunderland, Fracking and September 29th #bbcgetcreative
These three poems are almost a commentary on my week. I was subject to another humiliating defeat engineered by Sunderland AFC on Saturday gone; the local TV station is focussing on fracking this week; and, I attended an interesting session on God, Creativity and Me.
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For Sunderland Fans
It’s never been easy but we’ve hit a new low.Yet they expect us to pay when we choose to go.It should be free then if things are bad,we can leave the SoL without feeling sad,at the waste of money, time and energyin the vain hope of a crushing victory.Aahhh!That’s the thing you seethere’s a hidden driver in us all,in spite of lots of poor football,because we’re born close to the Wearfor Sunderland AFC we have to appear.Eehhh!!There was a time when going was fun,it seemed that every match played we won,but that was at the old ground - Roker Parkwhen going with me dad was a Saturday lark.But along with the red bricks of the standsthe team’s form drifted as the sea takes the sand.Oohh!!There I go once more hoping perhaps not in vain,that things will turn once againto winning ways and a higher placein the Premier League title race.© David L Atkinson September 2015
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What the frack?
Again!It makes my blood boil,when humans motivated by profit,permit poisons in the soilto extract filthy lucre for their wallet.Again!Earth needs no encouragement to have the shakes,it trembles and shifts freely,but fracking, a mixer it creates -those trembles occur daily.Again!Authorities hide complaints and facts,cooking up their own excuses,hiding truths so they can frackscrewing wealth from the Earth without consequences.© David L Atkinson September 2015
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Tuesday September 29th
Car headlights diffused yellow by the grey, wet curtain,an impenetrable blanket whose purpose is to conceal goals.A short stop and step into the cool blue shared by many souls,all striving to achieve the target - some will miss.
To return to warmth and a satisfied glow,to the exciting, verdant application ability,producing the statements you hope flowslinked to anticipation of a talk producing frivolity.
A quiet period of solitude and invented scheminghiding away in the artistry of others.Deriving pleasure from the creators dreaming,closing out the mundane of sisters and brothers.
To return to warmth and a satisfied glow,to the exciting, verdant application ability,producing the statements you hope flowslinking to the successes of creativity.
Then off to the house shared by all,a select, amorphous group of friends,bent on exploring the divine immortal,with mixed media, chatter and pens.
The day ends with the rising moon,massive in the clear, autumn, night sky,to go to bed for sleep comes soon,reflecting on me, God and creativity.
© David L Atkinson September 2015
God Bless
[image error]
For Sunderland Fans
It’s never been easy but we’ve hit a new low.Yet they expect us to pay when we choose to go.It should be free then if things are bad,we can leave the SoL without feeling sad,at the waste of money, time and energyin the vain hope of a crushing victory.Aahhh!That’s the thing you seethere’s a hidden driver in us all,in spite of lots of poor football,because we’re born close to the Wearfor Sunderland AFC we have to appear.Eehhh!!There was a time when going was fun,it seemed that every match played we won,but that was at the old ground - Roker Parkwhen going with me dad was a Saturday lark.But along with the red bricks of the standsthe team’s form drifted as the sea takes the sand.Oohh!!There I go once more hoping perhaps not in vain,that things will turn once againto winning ways and a higher placein the Premier League title race.© David L Atkinson September 2015
[image error]
What the frack?
Again!It makes my blood boil,when humans motivated by profit,permit poisons in the soilto extract filthy lucre for their wallet.Again!Earth needs no encouragement to have the shakes,it trembles and shifts freely,but fracking, a mixer it creates -those trembles occur daily.Again!Authorities hide complaints and facts,cooking up their own excuses,hiding truths so they can frackscrewing wealth from the Earth without consequences.© David L Atkinson September 2015
[image error]
Tuesday September 29th
Car headlights diffused yellow by the grey, wet curtain,an impenetrable blanket whose purpose is to conceal goals.A short stop and step into the cool blue shared by many souls,all striving to achieve the target - some will miss.
To return to warmth and a satisfied glow,to the exciting, verdant application ability,producing the statements you hope flowslinked to anticipation of a talk producing frivolity.
A quiet period of solitude and invented scheminghiding away in the artistry of others.Deriving pleasure from the creators dreaming,closing out the mundane of sisters and brothers.
To return to warmth and a satisfied glow,to the exciting, verdant application ability,producing the statements you hope flowslinking to the successes of creativity.
Then off to the house shared by all,a select, amorphous group of friends,bent on exploring the divine immortal,with mixed media, chatter and pens.
The day ends with the rising moon,massive in the clear, autumn, night sky,to go to bed for sleep comes soon,reflecting on me, God and creativity.
© David L Atkinson September 2015
God Bless
September 29, 2015
Writing - God and Creativity
This blog is pre-empting a discussion group I'm due to attend this evening on as the title says. To be frank I'm not sure what to expect.
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I'm fortunate to have been in the Sistine Chapel and seen the famed ceiling; I've also walked the length of the Map Room in the Vatican Museum; I have spent a day in the Louvre and seen its' wonders; I've seen the Angel of the North; I've seen Tutankhamen's sarcophagus and the pyramids; and, I have visited many natural wonders. This is not a bragging list I've been very fortunate and have done a lot of saving up - that isn't the point.
The point is they ARE!
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Human beings like you and me that breathe, hurt, feed, give birth and all the things a human needs to do to deserve that classification, created these wonderful things. In fact the list is a tiny fraction of the amazing art that can be seen around the world.
I have often written of the art that children do.
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The point is that humans produce art, since the first caveman created his messages to us on the walls of caves, people have created original works.
The question is who is responsible?
Has God given us a creative gene?
Is it just serendipity?
Some people would say that they are not in the slightest bit creative while others yearn to achieve success through creativity.
Is it down to God?
Banksy may have the answer in the above piece he produced.
'What we do in life echoes in Eternity'As a member of the baby boomer generation, just, I was fortunate to live through a time when people felt the need for greater freedoms and chose to demonstrate peacefully and with love. To a degree that movement has never left.
It seems to me that more people are being unashamedly creative in a variety of ways but the beauty of it is, God driven or not, creativity is as much part of the human soul as respiration.
God Bless
[image error]
I'm fortunate to have been in the Sistine Chapel and seen the famed ceiling; I've also walked the length of the Map Room in the Vatican Museum; I have spent a day in the Louvre and seen its' wonders; I've seen the Angel of the North; I've seen Tutankhamen's sarcophagus and the pyramids; and, I have visited many natural wonders. This is not a bragging list I've been very fortunate and have done a lot of saving up - that isn't the point.
The point is they ARE!
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Human beings like you and me that breathe, hurt, feed, give birth and all the things a human needs to do to deserve that classification, created these wonderful things. In fact the list is a tiny fraction of the amazing art that can be seen around the world.
I have often written of the art that children do.
[image error]
The point is that humans produce art, since the first caveman created his messages to us on the walls of caves, people have created original works.
The question is who is responsible?
Has God given us a creative gene?
Is it just serendipity?
Some people would say that they are not in the slightest bit creative while others yearn to achieve success through creativity.
Is it down to God?
Banksy may have the answer in the above piece he produced.
'What we do in life echoes in Eternity'As a member of the baby boomer generation, just, I was fortunate to live through a time when people felt the need for greater freedoms and chose to demonstrate peacefully and with love. To a degree that movement has never left.
It seems to me that more people are being unashamedly creative in a variety of ways but the beauty of it is, God driven or not, creativity is as much part of the human soul as respiration.
God Bless
September 28, 2015
Tuesday Food Blog - Adapting a recipe.
I have decided that I'm quite slow on the uptake really. I also like to do things in an ordered regimented way which is in line with my mild OCD, so the title of today's blog is against everything Atkinson in many ways.
.
David's deviant cholent
Cholent is that Jewish recipe that is usually prepared between Friday evening and the morning of the Sabbath. I must admit the version of the recipe that I have used is rather comfort eating. The recipe is on the relevant TAB above but I did a little 'fiddling' with it last weekend.Usually you put new potatoes in the Cholent and everything cooks together but I decided to use boiling potatoes sliced on the top for a change. I also popped in a couple of red chillies that were left over from earlier in the week.
So the meal was prepared as per the recipe but without the potatoes and I cooked it on the hob in a large pan letting it simmer for a good hour to get the meat going. Then I transferred the body of the Cholent to a casserole and sliced the potatoes on top. Initially the dish was covered with foil while the meat continued to simmer but an hour or so before the end I removed the foil, dotted the potatoes with knobs of butter and ramped the oven temperature from simmer to hot.
The resulting meal was most definitely spicy comfort food.
God Bless
.
David's deviant cholent
Cholent is that Jewish recipe that is usually prepared between Friday evening and the morning of the Sabbath. I must admit the version of the recipe that I have used is rather comfort eating. The recipe is on the relevant TAB above but I did a little 'fiddling' with it last weekend.Usually you put new potatoes in the Cholent and everything cooks together but I decided to use boiling potatoes sliced on the top for a change. I also popped in a couple of red chillies that were left over from earlier in the week.
So the meal was prepared as per the recipe but without the potatoes and I cooked it on the hob in a large pan letting it simmer for a good hour to get the meat going. Then I transferred the body of the Cholent to a casserole and sliced the potatoes on top. Initially the dish was covered with foil while the meat continued to simmer but an hour or so before the end I removed the foil, dotted the potatoes with knobs of butter and ramped the oven temperature from simmer to hot.
The resulting meal was most definitely spicy comfort food.
God Bless
September 27, 2015
Writing - Elitism and the Irish Potato Famine
A riot took place in London on 26th September in which 200 or more people damaged 'The Cereal Killer' cafe and a nearby estate agents. The riot was described as an anti-gentrification demonstration.
[image error]The Cereal Killer Cafe
As always there was a criminal element within the mob that threw objects and daubed paint on shop windows. The thing is, as with many such groups, there is an element of justifiable anger within the protest. One spokesperson commented that they were engaging in a protest about the lack of availability of affordable housing in the area whereas there were such places as the cafe selling cereal at £4.50 a bowl. It actually goes deeper and raises questions of community as well as the selling off of property in London to the super rich which is then left empty.
Sadly the capitalistic government we have allows this to happen without thought to the consequences for ordinary people.
[image error]
The Potato Famine of 1845 in Ireland had similar disturbing trends but on that occasion led to the deaths of a million people. It was caused by a potato blight that seemed to begin in the USA then spread to Europe. By October it was plain there would be a total crop failure but that was when things went awry. Scientist blamed a damp summer causing rot but when a fungus was suggested as the cause the scientific community ignored the idea and as a result it was 30 years later that a cure was produced.
The first year of blight, while harsh, saw relatively few deaths from hunger. Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel bought in maize from America and sold it at cost price to the poor. They tolerated this ‘yellow meal’, but few found it a palatable alternative to the potato. A system of public works was designed to give employment to the destitute – but malnourished people struggled to undertake hard labour on roads and stone walls. Discontent grew. Everything depended on the next potato harvest.
[image error]
The conservative government of Peel resigned and was replaced by a Whig government led by Lord Russell and a year on there was a food deficit in Ireland. However, the economic hardliners objected to what they saw as Ireland's 'cancer of dependency' and did not believe in providing free or subsidised food to the hungry. Russell's promise to alleviate the famine proved hollow.
By 1847 soup kitchens were legislated for and fed three million people but when the potato crop did not fail that year the famine was declared over. However, people continued to starve and in the end many turned to the workhouses for support. In December 1847, with the destitute poor far outnumbering the capacity of the workhouses, the authorities allowed food to be given to people ‘out of doors’. But there were harsh conditions, those deemed ‘able-bodied’ were obliged to break stones for up to 10 hours a day.
[image error]
A leaflet 'The Irish Crisis' produced by Charles Trevelyan, Assistant Secretary to the Treasury, suggested that the crisis was over and insisted that any further “extraordinary” assistance to Ireland was unjustified and likely to prolong dependency on aid. Trevelyan saw the Irish as lazy and feckless. He sought to justify his own ideological commitment to forcing them into “self help” during a crisis he believed sent by God for Ireland’s improvement.
It doesn't take much imagination to translate this position into the policies adopted by the current government. In this time of austerity everyone in the UK has suffered excepting those with over £1 million in there banks who are £40 000/yr better off because of tax cuts for the rich.
In 1848 it was declared that over half the potato crop had failed and the death rate in work houses was running at 52 000 each week. There was little aid by this time.
[image error]Queen Victoria
During the years of the famine various foreign aid had been forthcoming. Pope Pius IX, various American and English charitable groups and the Queen made contributions. The Queen was still popular in Ireland and had sent £2000 of her personal funds but when she visited the country in 1849 she was shown the recovering east but not the forgotten west.
A census carried out in 1851 reported that the population was 6.5 million but it was estimated that it should have been closer to 9 million.
God Bless
[image error]The Cereal Killer Cafe
As always there was a criminal element within the mob that threw objects and daubed paint on shop windows. The thing is, as with many such groups, there is an element of justifiable anger within the protest. One spokesperson commented that they were engaging in a protest about the lack of availability of affordable housing in the area whereas there were such places as the cafe selling cereal at £4.50 a bowl. It actually goes deeper and raises questions of community as well as the selling off of property in London to the super rich which is then left empty.
Sadly the capitalistic government we have allows this to happen without thought to the consequences for ordinary people.
[image error]
The Potato Famine of 1845 in Ireland had similar disturbing trends but on that occasion led to the deaths of a million people. It was caused by a potato blight that seemed to begin in the USA then spread to Europe. By October it was plain there would be a total crop failure but that was when things went awry. Scientist blamed a damp summer causing rot but when a fungus was suggested as the cause the scientific community ignored the idea and as a result it was 30 years later that a cure was produced.
The first year of blight, while harsh, saw relatively few deaths from hunger. Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel bought in maize from America and sold it at cost price to the poor. They tolerated this ‘yellow meal’, but few found it a palatable alternative to the potato. A system of public works was designed to give employment to the destitute – but malnourished people struggled to undertake hard labour on roads and stone walls. Discontent grew. Everything depended on the next potato harvest.
[image error]
The conservative government of Peel resigned and was replaced by a Whig government led by Lord Russell and a year on there was a food deficit in Ireland. However, the economic hardliners objected to what they saw as Ireland's 'cancer of dependency' and did not believe in providing free or subsidised food to the hungry. Russell's promise to alleviate the famine proved hollow.
By 1847 soup kitchens were legislated for and fed three million people but when the potato crop did not fail that year the famine was declared over. However, people continued to starve and in the end many turned to the workhouses for support. In December 1847, with the destitute poor far outnumbering the capacity of the workhouses, the authorities allowed food to be given to people ‘out of doors’. But there were harsh conditions, those deemed ‘able-bodied’ were obliged to break stones for up to 10 hours a day.
[image error]
A leaflet 'The Irish Crisis' produced by Charles Trevelyan, Assistant Secretary to the Treasury, suggested that the crisis was over and insisted that any further “extraordinary” assistance to Ireland was unjustified and likely to prolong dependency on aid. Trevelyan saw the Irish as lazy and feckless. He sought to justify his own ideological commitment to forcing them into “self help” during a crisis he believed sent by God for Ireland’s improvement.
It doesn't take much imagination to translate this position into the policies adopted by the current government. In this time of austerity everyone in the UK has suffered excepting those with over £1 million in there banks who are £40 000/yr better off because of tax cuts for the rich.
In 1848 it was declared that over half the potato crop had failed and the death rate in work houses was running at 52 000 each week. There was little aid by this time.
[image error]Queen Victoria
During the years of the famine various foreign aid had been forthcoming. Pope Pius IX, various American and English charitable groups and the Queen made contributions. The Queen was still popular in Ireland and had sent £2000 of her personal funds but when she visited the country in 1849 she was shown the recovering east but not the forgotten west.
A census carried out in 1851 reported that the population was 6.5 million but it was estimated that it should have been closer to 9 million.
God Bless
September 26, 2015
Writing - 10 things for the end of September
I'm fast coming to the conclusion that some of these things we don't know aren't worth knowing.
1. A dog can learn Gaelic in three weeks.
Indairire! (Really!)
--------------------------------
[image error]
2. Selfies have killed more people than shark attacks so far in 2015.
Not surprised.
--------------------------------
3. Lies are more convincing when the person telling them needs to urinate.
So why wait until you need to pee to tell a lie?
--------------------------------
[image error]
4. Napoleon's daily shopping list during his exile on St Helena included 42 eggs, 68lb of bread, 31 bottles of Cape wine, 10 bottles of claret, three bottles of "malt liquor", three bottles of cider and a bottle of champagne.
No wonder he looks stuffed.
--------------------------------
5. In a small community in the Dominican Republic, some boys don't grow a penis until puberty.
So they should be okay at telling lies for around 11 - 13 years.(see number 3)
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6. More than a third of the firefighters battling wildfires in California are prisoners.
It is good community service so why not.
--------------------------------
[image error]
7. An as-yet-unnamed species of dinosaur that lived in what is now Montana looked like "a fat pony".
Hippocampus plumposaurus
--------------------------------
[image error]
8. The writer of All About The Bass has only made $5,679 from the song being streamed - even though it has been streamed 178 million times.
For somebody who has made about £5 from book sales - Am I bothered!!!!
--------------------------------
[image error]
9. Scots have 421 words for snow.
They need to make their minds up.
--------------------------------
[image error]
10. Coral-eating starfish that are damaging the Great Barrier Reef can be killed by injecting them with vinegar.
This is another example of man interfering in things they should leave well alone. So the coral is good to look at but surely, so are the starfish.
-----------------------------
God Bless
1. A dog can learn Gaelic in three weeks.
Indairire! (Really!)
--------------------------------
[image error]
2. Selfies have killed more people than shark attacks so far in 2015.
Not surprised.
--------------------------------
3. Lies are more convincing when the person telling them needs to urinate.
So why wait until you need to pee to tell a lie?
--------------------------------
[image error]
4. Napoleon's daily shopping list during his exile on St Helena included 42 eggs, 68lb of bread, 31 bottles of Cape wine, 10 bottles of claret, three bottles of "malt liquor", three bottles of cider and a bottle of champagne.
No wonder he looks stuffed.
--------------------------------
5. In a small community in the Dominican Republic, some boys don't grow a penis until puberty.
So they should be okay at telling lies for around 11 - 13 years.(see number 3)
--------------------------------
[image error]
6. More than a third of the firefighters battling wildfires in California are prisoners.
It is good community service so why not.
--------------------------------
[image error]
7. An as-yet-unnamed species of dinosaur that lived in what is now Montana looked like "a fat pony".
Hippocampus plumposaurus
--------------------------------
[image error]
8. The writer of All About The Bass has only made $5,679 from the song being streamed - even though it has been streamed 178 million times.
For somebody who has made about £5 from book sales - Am I bothered!!!!
--------------------------------
[image error]
9. Scots have 421 words for snow.
They need to make their minds up.
--------------------------------
[image error]
10. Coral-eating starfish that are damaging the Great Barrier Reef can be killed by injecting them with vinegar.
This is another example of man interfering in things they should leave well alone. So the coral is good to look at but surely, so are the starfish.
-----------------------------
God Bless
