Lance Greenfield's Blog, page 64
May 9, 2016
Don’t Derail Your Writing Career Before it Starts: 8 Ways New Writers Sabotage Themselves – Anne R. Allen’s Blog… with Ruth Harris
This is great advice. Well worth a read.
Silver Threading ~ Fairy Whisperer
What great advice! You will want to read this one!❤
By Anne R. Allen We all make mistakes. It’s how we learn. But some mistakes have the potential to end a writing career before it starts. Today I’m talking about the things a lot of writers do that can keep them from having a career—or derail it for a long time. How do I know […]
May 8, 2016
#WeekendCoffeeShare: Invictus Warriors – Inspiring the World
If we were having coffee this Sunday evening, you would think that I was being terribly rude, and I am afraid that you’d be correct. It is not very sociable to have the TV on when one has company, but not even you, dear blogging friends, are going to distract me from viewing the opening of the Invictus Games in Orlando.
You may help yourselves to as much tea, coffee, wine, beer, soft drinks and snacks, but please join me in watching some of the most inspiring people in the whole world. Find yourself a seat and make yourself comfortable. This is going to be a terrific party!
Invictus Games: Orlando 2016 – May 8-12
The word “Invictus” means “unconquered.” It embodies the fighting spirit of the wounded, ill, and injured Service members and what these tenacious men and women can achieve, post injury. The Games harness the power of sport to inspire recovery, support rehabilitation and generate a wider understanding and respect for those whom serve their countries.
Invictus Choir
They are dapper celebrity choirmaster Gareth Malone ’s latest project.
Some could already sing, others needed teaching from scratch. But all 10 members of the Invictus Choir have one thing in common. They are rebuilding their lives after suffering while serving Queen and country.
They met just two months ago but on Sunday they performed at the opening ceremony of this year’s Invictus Games , for wounded ex-servicemen and women, in Orlando, Florida, in front of Prince Harry and Michelle Obama and an audience of thousands.
They even penned a new song, Flesh and Blood, inspired by their harrowing experiences.
Gareth says: “I sobbed like a baby after I talk to some of them. They’re all in the same boat; they have to redefine their lives. This will be a marker in their lives. By the time we’re finished they’ll have sung about their vulnerabilities, their weaknesses and their strengths to millions.”
Allow me to introduce you to just one of these heroes (You can browse through the others if you have the time on your hands):
Rifleman Paul Jacobs was left blind after being blown up aged just 21
Private Paul Jacobs was just 21 when he was blown up as a fellow soldier stepped on a bomb in Helmand Province, Afghanistan, in the spring of 2009.
Paul said: “I should be dead. Shrapnel cut through my right eye, through the right side of my nose and up into the brain.”
The blast also blew away chunks of his right arm and leg. Despite his horrific injuries he managed to carry his fatally injured colleague out of the minefield.
Paul was left with only 20% vision in one eye but an operation to improve it went wrong and he was left blind.
In hospital he fell for Louise, one of the health assistants nursing him, and they married in 2010. They have a four-year-old son.
Paul has ambitions to climb Everest and swim the English Channel
Paul has climbed Kilimanjaro and aims to be the first blind veteran to conquer Everest and swim the English Channel.
He hopes to compete at the Paralympics in the future before working in the charity sector.
Paul said:
You don’t need sight to have vision.
You’ve just got to pick yourself up and keep dusting yourself off.
What a fantastic quote from an heroic young man!
Click on the “Invictus Choir” sub-title further up this page to read the stories of four more incredible members of this amazing choir: Captain Bernie Bambury, Lieutenant Colonel Stewart Hill, Sergeant Andy Mudd and Lance Corporal Maurillia Simpson.
You can sit and do that while we sip on our drinks, nibble on our snacks and watch and listen to the Opening Ceremony.
My hope is, now that I have explained why I am being so rude, you will understand, accept, and enjoy this with me.
Let’s enjoy the sports of the Invictus Games
#weekendcoffeeshare
Pingback: #WeekendCoffeeShare: 5/7/16 by Diana
May 1, 2016
#WeekendCoffeeShare: Father, dinner and NEW great-grandson!
If we were having coffee this Sunday evening, I would tell you something about my eventful week, leaving the most momentous news until last.
The saga of that began with my aging, invalid father eloping with a woman of similar age, Willow, continues. On Tuesday, he celebrated his 85th birthday. My brother, Oli, and I arranged to meet up with him in London. In the evening, Dad and I would go to dinner at Hardy’s in Dorset Street with the Statistical Dinner Club. Before that, the three of us had a lovely afternoon together in at Primrose Hill. Oli wasn’t attending the dinner, and Dad and I were booked in to the Hampstead Britannia hotel.
Shana Swash
We had lunch in The Washington, Hampstead. I enjoyed a fish finger bap, a beer and a coffee. We were served by a gorgeous young lady who told us that she was an actress and had appeared in Eastenders. I told her that this was impossible as she was smiling and the pub was so well lit. Only British followers will understand that. In fact, it was true. Shana Swash had appeared in the famous soap for several years. She is delightful and she lit up the pub and made us all smile. And I love her hair! I sincerely hope that she would appear in the film of one of my books someday, if such a film is ever made.
Although my father suffers badly from Parkinson’s Disease to such an extent that he often falls over, he can really motor if he proceeds in a straight line and neither stops nor tries to turn. And so it was that he almost sprinted up Primrose Hill. The three of us sat on a bench in the sunshine and admired the magnificent view of Regents Park, the zoo and the City of London.
After Oli had left us to return to his home in Petersfield, Dad and I took a taxi down to Dorset Street. We met lots of old friends who sang “Happy Birthday dear Tony!” There were speeches and the guest of honour was the President of the Royal Statistical Society, Peter Diggle. Amongst other topics, he spoke about his commitment to reach out with education to six African countries. I was delighted that he bought a signed copy of Eleven Miles, giving me twice the asking price because he admired the charitable intentions that I have for the proceeds.
I hardly slept a wink that night because I could here Dad moving around in the next room and I was worried about his welfare. I was relieved to see him onto his train back to Chesterfield and even more relieved when I heard that he was safely home in Bakewell.
On Thursday, my lovely granddaughter, Marley, went into labour. We knew that the baby was a boy. It took until Saturday afternoon for Kenley to finally enter the world: my third great-grandchild! How exciting! We received photos from my son and daughter-in-law. Marley and Kenly both seemed quite chilled about the whole experience and so they were.
This evening, Marley was home in Overton and Joy and I visited. What a super little bundle he is. I am proud to show him to you. Here we are: Kenley and his very proud great-granddad!
Smile with me and enjoy your celebratory coffee folks!
Lance with Kenley
#weekendcoffeeshare
Pingback: #WeekendCoffeeShare: 4/30/16 by Diana
April 27, 2016
#WQWWC – The Queen of the Arts
ARTIST or ART?
When I was a young boy, I was very lucky. I had a scientific father and an artistic mother. My Mum was a concert pianist, a jazz musician, a model and an actress. My Dad was a mathematician and a statistician. As you can imagine, each of them had a very different approach to bed-time stories and the conversations that we’d have as we walked around the countryside. But that is a story for another day.
My Dad always related everything that we saw and heard to maths in some way or other. I learned that everything in the universe can be modeled mathematically. I enjoyed the beauty of it all.
Many years later, I studied for my Bachelor degree a the Open University (OU), the first ever distance learning university. My subjects were mathematics, computing and technology. In those days, all OU degrees were designated as Bachelor of Arts degrees. I felt that my subjects merited a Bachelor of Science degree. Lots of students felt the same way and eventually the change was made. However, my Dad convinced me that mathematics is the Queen of the Arts so the award of a BA was correct.
I am very proud of my BA in maths, computing and technology!
I am an ARTIST and I studied ART!
This has been a very obtuse way of making a case for my favourite quote for this week. It comes from the preface of the book that I am currently reading: The Humans by Matt Haig. It is hilarious but it contains a lot of home truths. The premise is that an alien is sent to Earth on a mission of discovery. He inhabits a human body. The whole book is an account, a report, from the point of view of the alien. The human to whom our alien is assigned is a Cambridge Professor of Mathematics.
I know it is a very tenuous link, but it allows me to use the following quote. As our alien describes his observations of humankind, he concludes . . .
Oh, and let’s not forget The Things They Do To Make Themselves Happy That Actually Make Them Miserable. This is an infinite list. It includes – shopping, watching TV, taking the better job, getting the bigger house, writing a semi-autobiographical novel, educating their young, making their skin look mildly less old, and harbouring a vague desire to believe there might be a meaning to it all.
Matt Haig
This makes you think, doesn’t it? What really matters in life?
Pingback: #WQWWC – Writers Quote Wednesday Writing Challenge – Artist or Art
April 25, 2016
EU Referendum – Do you need to re-register to vote? NO you don’t!
There are some vicious rumours going around that the British government is deliberately cheating the electorate out of their right to vote in the EU referendum on 23rd June. This is simply not true. If you are already registered to vote in the UK, then you are entitled to vote in the referendum, just as you would be in any general or local election.
The main points are as follows.
Can I vote in the EU referendum?
You can vote in this referendum if you are registered to vote in the UK, are 18 or over on 23 June 2016 and are:
A British or Irish citizen living in the UK, or
A Commonwealth citizen living in the UK who has leave to remain in the UK or who does not require leave to remain in the UK
A British citizen living overseas who has been registered to vote in the UK in the last 15 years
An Irish citizen living overseas who was born in Northern Ireland and who has been registered to vote in Northern Ireland in the last 15 years
How do I register to vote?
If you want to have your say at the EU referendum, you must be registered to vote.
Do I need to re-register to vote in the EU referendum?
Anyone who was already registered to vote (or recently registered) before the 18 April deadline for the elections taking place across the UK on 5 May will also be registered to vote at the EU Referendum and will be able to cast their vote. You do not need to re-register.
If your circumstances change, for example you move home between now and the EU Referendum registration deadline on 7 June, then you will need to re-register at your new property.
In England, Scotland or Wales, you can register to vote online anytime at gov.uk/register-to-vote.
If you are a British citizen living abroad, you can register to vote online in the same way.
In Northern Ireland, visit our Register to vote in Northern Ireland page to download a registration form.
How do I check if I’m registered to vote?
Every local authority holds the electoral register for their area. There is no online electoral roll.
If you are not sure whether you are registered to vote, you should contact your local electoral registration office. They will be able to let you know.
To find the contact details for your local electoral registration office, enter your postcode in the Your local area section of our homepage.
If you are a British or Irish citizen (who was born in Northern Ireland) living abroad, you will need to contact the local electoral registration office for the address you were last registered at in the UK.
I just posted this because there seems to be a lot of confusion and I hope that the article can clarify for those who were confused.
April 24, 2016
#WeekendCoffeeShare: Inspired by the London Marathon
If we were having coffee this Sunday evening, I would not be able to conceal my excitement. I have been inspired by several aspects of today’s Virgin Money London Marathon.
There are too many to mention. From the wheelchair and disabled competitors, to the elite athletes, to the amazing “ordinary” yet extraordinary people who participate for so many amazing personal reasons: they all fill me with huge emotion which, I suppose is mostly pride.
I am immensely proud of a local friend of mine, Kate Towerton, who always impresses us at Andover parkrun and other races around Hampshire such at the Eastleigh 10k. Today, she ran an amazing sub-3 hour London Marathon to finish as the 36th female runner. Not only that, but she ran at an incredibly consistent pace of 4:06/km, varying only by one second either way. It is an honour to occasionally eat her dust in the Andover parkrun.
Well done Kate! I am full of admiration for you.
While I was tracking Kate’s fantastic progress on the London Marathon App on my phone, I was watching the elite runners on the television. For more than half the race, the men’s field looked as if they were heading towards a world record. As it happened, the eventual winner, Eliud Kipchoge smashed the course record with the second fastest marathon of all time in 02:03:05. He missed the world record by just 8 seconds! I am sure that he will break it in the next 12 months, maybe in Rio. I wouldn’t be surprised if he, or one of his close rivals, ran sub-2 hours.
Lance – London 1992
In the early nineties, I ran three marathons, Sheffield once and London twice. What I witnessed today from my friend and from all the other participants puts my average of 4 hours 16 minutes very much in the shade.
But, despite my time, I cannot tell you how elated I felt when I crossed the line on Westminster Bridge (the end of the course has changed since then). All marathon runners, from Kipchoge to the last finisher, feel that elation.
Jemima Sumgong falls
Then came the women’s elite race. This was the element which affected me the most. You will soon understand why. There was a tremendous battle between the main contenders. A few kilometres from the end, three of the women fell. Jemima Sumgong cracked her head on the road. Another lady fell on tom of her. It must have hurt. Yet she got to her feet and ran on. She caught the leading pack quite quickly. Incredibly, she went on to win the race, convincingly.
That in itself is awe-inspiring. But what affected me more was that this real-life scenario was an almost exact replica of a scene that I described in chapter 18 of my debut novel, Eleven Miles. For a few moments, I actually wondered if Jemima had read my book and been inspired by my little heroine, Boitumelo Hope Tumelo (Boi). Of course, I was deluding myself. The great Miss Sumgong has never heard of my or Boi. It would be wonderful if she did read my book and went on to endorse it. I would be able to afford a whole fleet of school buses for the kids in remote villages in Botswana.
Now, as we while away our evening, drinking coffee, or tea, or wine together you fully understand why I am so excited.
#weekendcoffeeshare
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April 21, 2016
Writers Quote Wednesday Writing Challenge – The Strength of Diversity
Once again, I am slightly out of step with the new challenge that has been thrown out by Silverthreading and Ronovan Writes, which is #WQWWC Writers Quote Wednesday Writing Challenge. This week their theme is “mystery,” but Silver kindly gives all contributors her permission to step out of line if there is something off-theme that they feel is important to share. I promise to behave some day soon, Silver!
In the United Kingdom and in the British Commonwealth of Nations we are celebrating our Queen’s ninetieth birthday. We are all very proud of our monarch. She is a remarkable woman, and probably the most famous and widely-respected woman on our planet today.
My family are also celebrating my lovely wife, Joy’s birthday. She has had lots of lovely messages from friends and family and a few very nice gifts. This evening, I am treating her and my younger son’s family, and a life-long friend of my son, to that most British of meals: a pub curry and a beer. It will be fun.
It is also the birthday of a very good friend of mine.
So today is a right royal occasion.
I deliberately slipped that comment about the British curry into our conversation because I see it as a wonderful example of how cultures overlap and merge. Every day, I celebrate the diversity of cultures, languages and cuisines that exist on planet Earth. I celebrate the similarities at the same time as I marvel at the differences. Aren’t we lucky to have such wonderful diversity all around us to make our lives so interesting?
This is why I love the following quote from my monarch’s 2004 Christmas message.
Her Majesty went on to say, “But there is every reason to be hopeful about the future. I certainly recognise that much has been achieved in my lifetime.
“I believe tolerance and fair play remain strong British values and we have so much to build on for the future.
“It was for this reason that I particularly enjoyed a story I heard the other day about an overseas visitor to Britain who said the best part of his visit had been travelling from Heathrow into central London on the tube.
“His British friends were, as you can imagine, somewhat surprised, particularly as the visitor had been to some of the great attractions of the country. What do you mean they asked? Because, he replied, I boarded the train just as the schools were coming out.
“At each stop children were getting on and off – they were of every ethnic and religious background, some with scarves or turbans, some talking quietly, others playing and occasionally misbehaving together – completely at ease and trusting one another. How lucky you are, said the visitor, to live in a country where your children can grow up this way.
“I hope they will be allowed to enjoy this happy companionship for the rest of their lives.”
Queen Elizabeth II is an inspiration to us all!
Her wise message fills my heart with joy. How does it affect you?
Pingback: #WQWWC – Writers Quote Wednesday Writing Challenge – Mystery!
April 20, 2016
Review: This is Not My Hat
This is Not My Hat by Jon Klassen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
What a terrific little book!
This would touch many of the emotions of every reader, young and old.
The little fish has clearly stolen somebody else’s hat. The clue is in the title.
That is very naughty indeed!
But the rightful owner will never find out.
The story is so simple, and the big bonus is that, in the end, there is an easy to understand moral to this fish’s tail tale!
April 19, 2016
Silver’s Birthday TEA Party
It was interesting to learn about the “Beddian Birthday.” Unfortunately, it is already too late for me to celebrate mine. Well, perhaps not. My own followers will know all about my time-traveling coach tours, so perhaps we could all go back to 16th December 2010 and I could throw a party!
You should read on through Silver’s post which I’ve re-blogged here. Erika’s description of the matrix transformation is wonderful. As somebody who believes in the [energy] interconnectedness of EVERYTHING across both time and space, it makes perfect sense and it is exciting to read about.
You can also read about Andrew Joyce’s new book, Resolution. It looks interesting.
Hello, and good day! Welcome to my birthday tea party! Much like the weekend coffee sharing event from Part-Time Monster, my monthly tea party is where I want to catch up with friends, old and new! This is also a way for me to introduce you to some great new blogs and people that I have virtually met along the way! In addition, I want to share my great love of tea, and all things TEA!
April is a special month for me. My oldest granddaughter was born on April 14th, and our 31st wedding anniversary is on April 16th! The main event, of course, is my birthday on April 18th! WOO-HOO!
In fact, today, I am celebrating my Beddian Birthday! That means I was born in 1958 and am celebrating my 58th birthday! I found out about this rare phenomenon…
View original post 1,802 more words
March 28, 2016
Review: The Photo Traveler
The Photo Traveler by Arthur J. Gonzalez
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Poor Gavin! Everything in his life seems to go wrong for him. He lost his parents in a house fire when he was very young. He got fostered many miles from home by an initially very kind couple. Bang! It goes wrong again for him. His foster-Mum gets shot dead whilst trying to protect him in an armed robbery. This turns his foster-Dad’s mind, and he becomes very cruel towards Gavin, whom he blames for his wife’s death.
To top it all, he discovers that his paternal grandparents are still alive and appear to have given him up for fostering after his parents dies.
This very believable and tragic background provides a strong foundation for the main, imaginative time-travel story.
Gavin has the gift to be able to travel through images. Not just photographs, but drawings and paintings too. As the story progresses, he comes across more people with the same gift, some of whom he can trust, and some who are definitely his enemies.
He also has a gift for photography, which leads to a good friendship a with a boy called Mario when they are paired up for a school project.
Gavin’s travels lead him into all sorts of dangers. There are many of the paradoxes that you would expect in a time-travel story, and the twists and turns continue all the way through to the final paragraph.
All the way through, I had it in my mind that this would all end tragically. Was I right, or was I wrong? Well, you’ll just have to read it for yourself to find out!
The pace and the tension are maintained throughout. There has to be a sequel. There will be. Arthur J. Gonzalez is already working on it.
I love the cover too!
