Trav's Trivia Meme....

Travis (Trav's Thoughts) has started a new meme – a trivia meme, here’s his instructions:

OK...here's your 'structions:

Your challenge, should you choose to accept it, is to:

1. Choose a category from one of these: Television, Stage & Screen, Nightly News, Publishing, Lives & Times, Music
2. Find 8 bits of trivia about your selected category
3. Be sure to let me know when...ok, if...you decide to play along so I can see what you come up with.
4. You may tag, or simply offer the meme for borrowing or stealing as you like.


OK I’ve chosen Music, in particular Beatles songs

1. Yesterday started life under the name "Scrambled Eggs". McCartney wrote the line "Scrambled eggs, oh, my baby, how I love your legs", but nearly left the song unfinished because he thought he had heard the melody somewhere else.
   
   
2. John Lennon said that the song Norwegian Wood is about an affair he had, apparently with a female journalist. He later admitted that he had several affairs with other women during his marriage with Cynthia. McCartney said the song title was inspired by "cheap Norwegian pinewood."
   
   
3. Come Together was originally a political campaign song given to Timothy Leary, who in 1969 had decided to run as governor of California against Ronald Reagan, the future US president.
   
   
4. George Harrison's Something is the Beatles song that's been covered the most by other artists, after Yesterday. Frank Sinatra called it the "the greatest love song of the past fifty years."
   
   
5. Michelle is the most recorded Beatles song after Yesterday. It was Jan Vaughan, the wife of Paul McCartney's school friend Ian Vaughan, who came up with the phrase 'Michelle, ma belle'. Jan was a French teacher and she translated all the French phrases in the song on request from Paul, who didn't speak French.
   
   
6. Eleanor Rigby's grave is located in the graveyard of St Peter's Parish Church in Woolton, Liverpool, within yards of the spot where John and Paul met for the first time in 1957. However, the song Eleanor Rigby has, according to Paul McCartney, nothing to do with this gravestone. McCartney has said the name Rigby is taken from a shop in Bristol and that Eleanor is taken from actress Eleanor Bron, who starred in the Beatles movie Help!
   
   
7. Paul McCartney got the idea to the song She's Leaving Home in February 1967 after reading an article in the Daily Mirror about 17-year-old Melanie Coe who had run away from home. What McCartney didn't know at the time is that he had actually met Melanie three years before on the TV program Ready Steady Go.
   
   
8. On Lennon's song Girl from Rubber Soul, one can hear Paul and George constantly repeat the word "tit" in the background. John also breathes heavily several places. This could have been done to emphasize on the fact that the song had sexual references.

Thanks for starting this meme Travis, I really enjoyed doing it.

I’m not going to tag anyone but if you would like to do it feel free, just let Travis (and me) know you’re doing it and link it back please.

More Childhood Memories....

It was uncommon, when I was young, for working class people to have a car, but my uncle Adam had one. My Dad and his brother (Adam) went into business together and a couple of years on the business must have been doing well because Uncle Adam and Aunty Peggy bought a car. Uncle and Aunty had no children, just a Scottie dog called Morag, so they could afford a lot more luxuries than Mum and Dad, who had myself (8) and my brother (3) to provide for.

I thought the car was wonderful. I think it was a Ford Anglia, off white with a Salmon Pink roof, Aunty made a point of telling everyone the colour of the roof as though it was really important. To me the car was the height of luxury and Uncle and Aunty used to take us all out for a ride often, and as they paid for the petrol it meant that we had more outings than if we'd had to do the outings on the coach. I don’t think it was a big car but we managed quite well, Dad used to sit in the front with Uncle, Mum would sit in the back with brother on her knee, Aunty would also be in the back with Morag on her knee and I sat on a little stool in the back too. Of course there were no seat belts in cars in then and no thoughts regarding health and safety either!

I loved the outings in the car, we’d go to Blackpool or the Lake District, or just a drive in the country. We used to sing songs whilst riding along like ‘Ten Green Bottles’ and ‘There were 10 in the bed and the little one said, Roll Over, Roll Over’ or ‘We’re off, we’re off, we’re off in a motor car’. Uncle Adam was so much fun I adored him. I remember one particular time we had gone on a little jaunt and had to park the cark in a multi storey car park. As we were driving up the ramps into the car park Uncle said “you’ll all have to lean forward going up here so we don’t roll back!” Well of course we all leant forward, except my Dad who was laughing his head off. We always took a picnic which Mum and Aunty had lovingly prepared and I think that’s where my love of eating ‘al fresco’ originated.

I used to like dogs until Morag bit me! I was dancing with Uncle Adam one time when Morag jumped up and took a chunk out of my leg. It scared the living bejebus out of me and I was hysterical, I have been wary of dogs ever since, except our own lovely crossbred Guinness. So, as you can imagine, I really didn’t like sharing the back of the car with Morag on our trips. Morag and I would sit eyeing each other up and sometimes she used to bear her teeth at me and growl lowly if she thought I was having too much fun, she knew I was scared of her. Eventually Morag and I called a truce and she would even sit on my knee and let me stroke her head, but I still didn’t trust or like her very much! Anyway it was a small price to pay for being able to go out in the car.

I have such happy memories of our family trips in the car but once brother number 2 arrived a couple of years later there wasn’t enough room in the car for all of us, so the trips came to an end, well until a few years later when Dad passed his driving test and we got our very own family car. Now our grandchildren are so used to being ferried about in cars that if they go on a bus or a train it's a big thrill for them.

Oh happy Days!

Saturday Wordzzle # 10

The idea is, every week Raven (View From A Raven's Nest) gives you between 8 and 10 words/phrases and you have to create a small but coherent paragraph using every one of them and the same with the mini challenge. You can do either or both it's up to you, and you can post them on your blog or email them to Raven.

This Week's Ten Word Challenge is: pleasant, flukey, desperation, penumbra, hoarsely, triumph, burden, colander, Kermit the Frog, lavender



Miss Piggy tried, in desperation, to contain her excitement as she drained the sprouts in the colander. Kermit the Frog was coming to dinner and if she pulled this off it would be her greatest triumph. Her decision to cook sprouts had been flukey but she was sure he would like them, him being green and all. At least she didn’t have the added burden of deciding what they would drink, Kermie said he’d bring the wine. She was looking forward to a pleasant evening, they would eat outside in the penumbra of the apple tree where they would be able to enjoy the fragrance of the lavender, which grew profusely around the patio. The doorbell chimed and Kermie stood there looking absolutely splendid in his tuxedo. Taking the bottle of wine from him Miss Piggy exclaimed her pleasure hoarsely, (hoping it sounded sexy and not like she had a cold), as she ushered him into the lounge. Kermie was apprehensive about the evening not knowing exactly what she had in mind but knowing Miss Piggy it wouldn’t be just an ordinary evening, it was going to be interesting to say the least. “Kermie my love, dinner’s ready………………”


And for the Mini Challenge: avalanche, masterpiece, yellow, alligator, thieving


Eduardo hadn’t thought twice about thieving the masterpiece from the Governor’s art collection but it didn’t seem like such a good idea now, as he fought his way through the avalanche of mud desperately hoping he and the painting would make it back to the rendezvous with the art collector. As he stopped to catch his breath an alligator with yellow eyes watched silently as Eduardo bent to wash the mud from his hands, it then lurched out of the water, grabbed him and the painting and rolled them to the bottom of the swamp.



Megawordzzle – using all 15 words



Brian was really looking forward to the safari, he’d been saving for two years to pay for it. He wanted this holiday so badly he had even, in desperation, got an evening job at the local pub. It had been a bit of a burden trying to save without starving, but the petty thieving he engaged at the pub had supplemented his income. As the day dawned for his departure he punched the air in triumph, at last he was going to realise his dream. It was a long flight, or seemed that way in the economy class seat, but the next seat was occupied by a pretty young woman called Dawn, who was, miraculously, booked on the same safari. Descending from the land rover at the camp he marvelled at the masterpiece that was the scenery. He found the accommodation to be quite pleasant, having a veranda in the penumbra of a huge Acacia tree. He was also surprised when he smelled the unmistakable scent of lavender, which he at first thought was growing, only to discover it was in the dishes of pot-pourri which were scattered about. They had been told they could drink the water but it was a bit flukey so he didn’t take the chance, opting for bottled instead. The makeshift open-air shower turned out to be a large colander through which the tepid water fed in more of a trickle than an avalanche, but it was adequate and added to the ambience of the place. He was thrilled to find that he got on well with Dawn and was hoping maybe there would be a bit of romance. Their days were spent out on the plains photographing the wildlife, with hairy moments like the day a rhino had charged the land rover and when a bull elephant had decided it didn’t like the look of them. He and Dawn spent hours talking about what they’d seen that day and at night, after the evening meal, they spent their time looking through the night-sight binoculars training them on the waterhole. The first time they used them he spotted two glowing yellow eyes, at first he thought it was an alligator but it turned out to be a Kermit the Frog look-alike which the guide identified by the chorus of croaks hoarsely emitting from it’s throat. Love blossomed, as Brian had hoped, he and Dawn would be a couple when they got back to England and they hoped to return to Kenya together. What he didn’t know was the landlord of the pub had discovered that he had been fiddling the till and had informed the police!

I'm away for the weekend, I will catch up with you all on Monday. Have a great weekend!

Friday 55 Flash Fiction # 24 Decimal

I'm going away today for the weekend and have used the new blogger draft thingie (it's brilliant) to post my Friday 55 Fiction, and Saturday Wordzzle tomorrow. I will catch up with all your posts on Monday, via Google Reader another recent discovery of mine - I know I'm way behind the times but I'm no techie!

On 23rd April 1968 decimal coins reach the British high street in preparation for replacing Pounds (£) Shillings (s) and Pence (d) in 1971, much to the confusion of the British public.

I remember it well!

Decimal


5p, 10p, shilling and a florin.
50p for a ten bob note.
95 pence that’s nineteen shillings
We have to change, so better show willing.

No threepenny bit, no shiny new sixpence.
Twelve and half pence, that’s the old half crown.
Elevenpence-ha’penny used again - never.
We’re decimal now isn’t that clever!
£sd – gone - forever.

Friday 55 Flash Fiction is brought to you by G-man (Mr Knowitall). If you want to take part pop over and let G-man know when you've posted your 55.

Memoir..........

Jo (Jo Beaufoix.com) tagged me for the six word memoir meme. She was tagged by Rosie who apparently nicked it from Miss Corey.

It all started over at Smith Magazine, and the copy and paste history is thus:


Legend has it that Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in only six words. His response? “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Last year, SMITH Magazine re-ignited the recountre by asking our readers for their own six-word memoirs. They sent in short life stories in droves, from the bittersweet (“Cursed with cancer, blessed with friends”) and poignant (“I still make coffee for two”) to the inspirational (“Business school? Bah! Pop music? Hurrah”) and hilarious (“I like big butts, can’t lie”).


The rules of the meme are:
1. Write your own six word memoir.
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post, and to the original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere.
4. Tag at least five more blogs with links.
5. Don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

So, I had a think and I came up with the following:

1. Hatched, matched, will be (eventually) dispatched.
2. I cared, tried, hoped and loved
3. I did my best, hopefully enough.
4. Mucho ups, downs, in-betweens – my life!

I think I like #2 best, what do you think?

Now who to tag?

To be fair I choose the first 5 people who commented on my last post so that's:

Miss U ( A Sideways Look At Womanhood) - you said you were short of stuff to blog about!

Flowerpot (Flowerpot Days)

Buffalodickdy (Opinions & Rectums)

CG (The Compulsive Worrier)

Bee (Muffin53)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

NEW THINGS ON THE BLOG

MWM produced this award for me to hand out, it will be unique to people I give it to , not to be passed on.

I would like make the first recipient of the 'YOU'RE BRILLIANT' award

Tisha (Crazy Working Mom)

who very kindly helped me to condense my blogroll into the little scrolling box you see in my sidebar now. Thank you Tisha for all your help you are truly BRILLIANT!

If you don't see your blog there and you link to me please let me know so I can add you. If I've missed you off it was accidental honest!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Also you may have noticed that I have taken all my awards off my sidebar and put them on a slide show instead. If you click on View All you can see who awarded me what.

The Hubby Meme....

The Hubby Meme - I pinched borrowed this from Skittles.



How long did you date? Initially for 6 months (aged 14/15) then we split for 8 years and have been together ever since.

How old is he? He's 13 months older than me.

Who eats more? Me definitely, I'm a pig

Who said “I love you” first? I think he did. I was only 14 and quite shy.

Who is taller? He is by 2" (he said!)

Who sings better? Oh definitely me, he's tone deaf!

Who is smarter? He's a mine of information, great on general knowledge, but I know lots of things he doesn't and regularly amaze him.

Whose temper is worse? Mine, I lose it easily.

Who does the laundry? He does since he retired.

Who does the dishes? He does, he's better at stacking the dishwasher and I think he likes washing up.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? The right side as we lay in it would be me.

Who pays the bills? We each pay different ones, but he pays most.

Who cooks dinner? Me. But he can cook and makes the best Yorkshire Puddings in the world - but then I taught him how.

Who drives when you are together? He does unless he intends having a drink then I drive but don't drink of course.

Who is more stubborn? He is and very set in his ways.

Who asked who out first? He asked me out. I had visited his house with his cousin (my friend) and he told me later he couldn't get me out of his mind.

Who kissed who first? He kissed me.

Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Me, he's never wrong (or so he says)

Whose parents do you see the most? We see them all every Saturday.

Who proposed? It was just understood it would happen, once his divorce came through - it's a long story.

Who is more sensitive? Me.

Who has more friends? We have mutual friends and I have work friends.

Who has more siblings? I have two brothers he's an only child.

Who wears the pants in the family? He's the boss and he has my permission to say so. ;)

Obviously because I pinched borrowed this I'm not going to tag anyone but if you'd like to have a go let me know in the comments so I can come round to your place and read the gossip.

Saturday Wordzzle # 9

The idea is, every week Raven (View From A Raven's Nest) gives you between 8 and 10 words/phrases and you have to create a small but coherent paragraph using every one of them and the same with the mini challenge. You can do either or both it's up to you, and you can post them on your blog or email them to Raven.

This Week's Ten Word Challenge is: cocker spaniel, penultimate, fetters, warranty, tarmac, quartz, paparazzi, apple sauce, earsplitting, lackadaisical


Jazzy, Tricia’s cocker spaniel, chewed through the fetters binding her to the post outside the supermarket and chased across the car park just as Tricia had reached the checkout. She had just nipped in for some apple sauce to go with the pork she was planning for dinner with the family, to celebrate John’s retirement and she was penultimate in the checkout queue. John had telephoned her earlier to say he’d been presented with a quartz carriage clock as a retirement present and that she could expect to see a bit in the local paper about it, as the paparazzi had been there this morning. Tricia was busy thinking about all the jobs she had to do this afternoon, including arranging for a local firm to come and give them a quote on tarmac for drive, John said she mustn’t forget to ask about a warranty too. It wasn’t until she heard the earsplitting scream and looked out of the window that she realized that Jazzy had run off and was causing chaos on the car park. Supermarket employees were chasing him round trying to catch hold of his lead. Tricia groaned inwardly, she mustn’t have tied him up well enough, John was always saying how lackadaisical she was and he was right, oh bugger!

And for the Mini Challenge: spinach, interwoven, compromise, tennis, intangible

Carrie awoke in a sweat - what a weird dream! It was intangible, she didn’t recognize anyone in it apart from that cartoon character that ate spinach, Popeye that was it. The dream was interwoven with cartoons and a game of tennis she’d played at the weekend when she’d had to compromise about a call that she didn’t agree with. She really must stop eating cheese at bedtime she chided herself.


Megawordzzle:

Tim lived in the penultimate house at the end of the quiet lane and as he drew level with his gate he noticed that there was a hole in the tarmac of his drive. “I must get on to them about that” he told himself “It must still be under warranty after only 6 months.” He quickly checked the time on his new quartz timepiece as he took Molly, his cocker spaniel out for her daily walk. Molly stopped suddenly, pulling on the fetters attached to her collar, Tim looked down to see her licking up what appeared to be apple sauce, but he couldn’t be sure, then he heard an earsplitting scream from a child walking with it’s mother a little further down the lane. It turned out that the child had dropped its ice-lolly, which Molly had just devoured. He was feeling rather lackadaisical at the moment, probably burnt out because of the hectic filming schedule he’d had recently, he was well known actor but enjoyed a modicum of peace as only close friends knew exactly where he lived. After a good hour’s walk Tim and Molly rounded the bend on their journey home and as they entered the lane Tim was shocked to see a large group of paparazzi outside his gate. Turning swiftly he made his way to the local pub, he’d stay there until closing and hopefully they would think he was in London and get fed up of waiting, anyway it was a good excuse to go for a pint. Unable to get home for lunch he picked up a menu off the bar, he knew the landlady grew her own vegetables and chuckled as he realized she must have a glut of spinach as all the savoury dishes on the menu were interwoven with the stuff! He ordered some lunch and found himself a seat in the corner opposite the television. The pub was quiet with just a few regulars watching tennis on the television, he’d never been a fan, in fact the scoring system was intangible to him. He would have preferred to have watched motor racing and wondered if the regulars would compromise and switch channels if he bought them a pint. He mentioned the motor racing on the other channel and was pleasantly surprised to hear that the other customers were amiable and willing to watch it, thanking them he bought them a pint and settled down to watch. By closing time he and Molly were ready to head back home and thankfully when they arrived the paparazzi had all disappeared.

Friday 55 Flash Fiction # 23 Vandals

Vandals

“We’ll have to stop” said Brad “Don’t open the windows.”

“That crowd looks angry”, said Karen.

One of them pulled off a wiper whilst another tugged at the wing mirror.

“Drive, now, Brad please!”

They were all over the car now, banging, menacing, screeching.

“Hell” said Brad “We’re not coming to the safari park again!”

Friday 55 Flash Fiction is brought to you by G-man (Mr Knowitall). If you want to take part pop over and let G-man know when you've posted your 55.

Hair today, gone tomorrow......

David's (Authorblog) Weekend Wandering question this week is:

Have you ever had a hairstyle that makes you cringe when you think about it now?

If you'd like to join in here's what David would like you to do.

Please answer today's question on your own blog, any time until next weekend. Just link to this blog (or to this post) so I can follow the progress of the discussion.The question is: Have you ever had a hairstyle that makes you cringe when you think about it now?

I tended to follow fashion as far as hairstyles were concerned once I got into my teens, but only three hairstyles really stand out in my memory.

When I was 18 ish the fashion was very long and straight with a fringe, like Cathy McGowan off Ready Steady Go. I loved that look and it stayed with me until I was about 22.

Then there was the Purdey cut that Joanna Lumley made famous when she played Purdey, John Steed’s (Patrick Macnee) sidekick in the Avengers – everyone went mad for that one, including me and Princess Diana.





Do you remember curly perms in the late 70’s early 80’s ? I had one – to my utter dismay! That is the hairstyle that makes me cringe.

It looked very much like the photo below (not me btw).



Of course everyone had perms then, it was the fashion, but when I look at photographs of me from that time I just think “OMG whatever was I thinking?” If you had a lot of hair like me you ended up looking like an explosion in a mattress factory. Even men had perms – like Kevin Keegan – both my brothers copied this look. MWM didn’t need to his hair was naturally curly but he hated it.


Apparently perms are making a comeback now, but I think I’ll give it a miss that was one hairstyle I wouldn’t want to repeat.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Guess what?

I've been given another award. If you think I'm ebarrassed think again, I'm not I love them!

Tisha (Crazy Working Mom) very kindly gave me this award.

Thank you Tisha. x

You know I like to share any awards I get and this one didn't come with any instructions so please, if you make a comment on this post, take the award with my love.

Cures for Cancer?.............

You may have seen my ‘Make A Wish’ star recently which said:

“I wish someone would find a cure for all types of cancer”

My mother died from cancer in 1988 and I have lost other members of my family and friends to the disease. You are lucky these days if you don’t know anyone who has suffered or died from one form of cancer or another. However, in recent years great strides have been made in medical research, which have resulted in excellent treatments for cancer, if not cures. I do believe that eventually man will conquer this terrible disease and the scientists, doctors and researchers are making great headway in the fight against it.

Hopefully scientists will find a cure in the not too distant future, here are just a few of the groundbreaking results they’ve had:

Breast Cancer
The most common cause of death from Breast Cancer is the spread of cancerous cells to other parts of the body. Scientists have pinpointed a key gene, SATB1, which controls the behaviour of other genes in tumour cells. US researchers have found that knocking out this gene causes the cancer cells to stop their runaway proliferation. Drugs which interfere with the gene could provide valuable new treatments for the disease.

Ovarian Cancer
Doctors have made the first breakthrough in the treatment of ovarian cancer in 20 years by proving that a common breast cancer drug can significantly cut relapse rates. Tests using an anti-oestrogen drug on a small group of 44 patients extended some of their lives by up to three years and delayed the use of painful chemotherapy for others. If larger trials repeat the findings it will be the first new therapy since the 1980s for a cancer which is often deadly because early diagnosis is so difficult. Apparently the drug Letroxole starves the site of the cancer of Oestrogen which stops tumour growth. Half of ovarian cancers are oestrogen receptive, a similar mechanism to that which works in many breast cancers. Doctors hope to do large scale studies of the drug’s impact earlier in the disease’s progression to see whether it will ‘catch’ it before it reaches the more dire stages.

Testicular Cancer
Scientists have located a gene which increases men's risk of testicular cancer by up to 50 times. Apparently the rogue gene is located on the X chromosome which means it is inherited from the mother. The newly located gene, which has been called TGCT1, makes men who carry it more susceptible to testicular germ cell tumours (TGCT) which make up 95% of all testicular cancer cases. The fact that it has been discovered means scientists are just one step away from identifying the gene itself. They also believe that the discovery will help in the treatment of the disease and other forms of cancer. .

Lung Cancer
Scientists have discovered a genetic change in cells that could take them a step closer to identifying those most at risk from this disease, which means that it could lead to a screening programme as in breast and cervical cancer. Most lung cancer deaths are preventable if it is diagnosed at an early stage. Currently the only way to diagnose it is by taking a sample of flesh or cells from inside the lung for analysis and by the time the diagnosis is made the disease is often untreatable. Scientists are working on a non-invasive test using a nebuliser-inhaler which induces a cough and enables scientists to analyse the sputum.

Nature’s Cure?
Could Mint be a cure for cancer? Scientists at Salford University, Manchester, are working on a possible cure for cancer - from mint leaves. The mint in question is a Chinese variety called ‘Scutellaria Barbata’, discovered hundreds of years ago by Chinese doctors. Apparently it has the ability to kill cancer cells by cutting off their blood supply and it seems only to target cancer cells, because normal healthy cells are not vulnerable. Cancer cells are weak and rely on oxygen and nutrients from the blood which makes them susceptible to this drug. I’ve always thought that ‘what nature creates it can cure’ – maybe this could be the answer?

The most exciting news I’ve read recently is that scientists say that Cancer sufferers could be cured with injections of immune cells from other people within two years.

Dr Zheng Cui, of the Wake Forest University School of Medicine and his colleagues discovered a male mouse that appeared to be completely resistant to virulent cancer cells of several different types in 1999. Since then more than 2000 mice in 15 generations have been bred from the original cancer-free mouse and 40 per cent of the offspring have inherited the immunity. Dr Cui, whose work is highlighted in New Scientist magazine, has previously shown cells from mice found to be immune to cancer can be used to cure ordinary mice with tumours and a single dose of the cells appeared to give many of the mice resistance to cancer for the rest of their lives. US researchers have been given the go-ahead to give patients transfusions of “super strength” cancer-killing cells from donors. Dr Cui is confident patients could benefit from the technique quickly because the technology used to extract granulocytes is the same as that already used by hospitals to obtain other blood components such as plasma or platelets. This research is truly exciting, you can read about Dr Cui’s exciting discovery here.

A vaccine against cancer – what a wonderful thought!

+++++++++++++++++++++

Just when you thought the awards were finished for another season - look what I got

from the lovely Mother Of This Lot (Mother's Pride). She was handing out a whole bunch of awards and kindly included me in her ministrations. Thank you Mother! Can I call you Mother?

I get to pass it on and as you all cheer me up everytime you comment I'd love for all of you who comment on this post to take it and pass it on, if you so wish. Love you all. xxxx

Saturday Wordzzle # 8

The idea is, every week Raven (View From A Raven's Nest) gives you between 8 and 10 words/phrases and you have to create a small but coherent paragraph using every one of them and the same with the mini challenge. You can do either or both it's up to you, and you can post them on your blog or email them to Raven.

This Week's Ten Word Challenge will be: galaxy, delta, redecorate, dearth, offshoot, Uthar Pendragon, cordial, gingerbread, foretold, bonnet

Here's my Ten word one:

Jane sat in the garden reading her library book about Uthar Pendragon, wearing her bonnet to shield her eyes from the sun. She had a few days off from work after setting up an offshoot company from her husband’s window blind company. Settled in her garden chair, with a bar of Galaxy chocolate and some gingerbread by her side, she tried not to think about what she should be doing. The aim of having some time off work had been to redecorate the dining room, but as the weather was unseasonably warm she decided to take advantage of it. Delta, her daughter, was calling round later with her new boyfriend Charles, who was a very cordial young man, this pleased Jane greatly as there seemed to be a dearth of nice young these days. When they arrived Jane barely had time to sit them down before they announced to her that they were to become engaged. Jane laughed out loud at the news and told them “I could have foretold that, you are a perfect match!”

And for the Mini Challenge: palliate, functionality, jungle, brass, asphyxiate

Here's mine:

Chris hated being a part of the human jungle, the daily journey to the city was beginning to asphyxiate him. He didn’t see the point, didn’t understand the functionality of what he was doing anymore. The ‘brass’ were a waste of space being palliate when dealing with problems, he’d had enough. “I quit!” he told his boss and walked out with a spring in his step and a smile on his face.

And I did a Megawordzzle using all 15 words:

Uthar Pendragon was from a different galaxy, or so it seemed to his co-workers because he wore a bonnet to cover his red hair, drank cordial and ate gingerbread. He was a little strange, but then he had lived in the jungle for a few years around the Orinoco Delta, until deciding to return to ‘civilisation’, as he put it. No-one really knew him or what he’d been doing for the last five years, he kept himself to himself. He had enjoyed his time living with the natives, who had welcomed him as a God when he’d arrived in a canoe, and he had taken to the role of top brass like a duck to water. He’d been educated at Oxbridge and blinded the natives with science, like when he foretold the next lunar eclipse and explained the functionality of intricate drainage system he helped them build away from the main camp. He lived a life of luxury, well as luxurious as you can get in the jungle, having a hut built for him right next to the tribe’s Chief and someone assigned to generally look after him. Things were just perfect until the Chief brought in a new wife from a neighbouring village, a beautiful young girl called Myani, who literally took Uthar’s breath away as soon as he set eyes on her and the feeling was mutual. There was a dearth of beautiful females in the jungle, all the women seemed to be ugly, which was why Uthar hadn’t taken a wife yet, though the natives had urged him to. At first Uthar tried to keep out of her way, he didn’t want to get involved with her because she was married to the chief, but she was friendly and she was fascinated with his red hair. She visited him frequently and helped him redecorate his hut, bringing fripperies to give it that female touch. He learned that she belonged to an offshoot of the chief’s family and that she hadn’t wanted to leave her home and was desperate to escape. Uthar and Myani became secret lovers and were almost caught out on numerous occasions, but Uthar’s palliate excuses smoothed things over. The Chief was cruel to Myani, she endured beatings and one time he even tried to asphyxiate her, she was saved only by Uthar’s sudden appearance at the Chief’s hut. That was the last straw, Uthar hatched a plan to leave the village and Myani agreed to go with him. He told Myani to tell the Chief she was visiting her family and he would pick her up downriver in a canoe. The plan worked perfectly and they were soon on a plane back to Blighty. They built a new life for themselves in, Uthar picking up where he left off at the bank and Myani keeping house and looking after their two children. Of course neither could ever return to the village but that was a price they were both happy to pay.

Friday 55 Flash Fiction # 22 Robbery

Robbery

“Hand over the cash and don’t make a fuss”.

“What? You can’t do this” she said


“Just put the money in the bag and hand it over”

“You don’t frighten me” she snapped


“You’re gonna get hurt if you don’t do it!”

“Go away and leave us alone.”

“Mummy, Johnny’s spoiling our game of shop!”

Friday 55 Flash Fiction is brought to you by G-man (Mr Knowitall). If you want to take part pop over and let G-man know when you've posted your 55.

Bargain.....

Whilst I was off work on Easter holidays recently, we (MWM, youngest son and I) went to a wholesale book warehouse where they have a sale a couple of times a year and all children's reading and activity books, games etc are just £1 each. Now most of these books are between £4.99 and £7.99 each normally but I spent just £14 and got this lot

When I totted up the prices it came to £68! How's that for a bargain?

I'm saving them all until Christmas when I will make up little parcels for our grandchildren - hopefully they will love them.


Youngest son spent £20 and got a shed load of books for his two boys, I don't think we duplicated any, so the Christmas parcels should be OK.


Oh and MWM bought put a book for himself in the basket "Codes - How to make them and break them"! Perhaps he thinks it will help him figure me out! LOL



Now for more awards.........


Mother Of This Lot (Mother's Pride) a recent blog find, (which, if you haven't already, you should read), has a wonderfully talented daughter called Fixer who makes awards for MOTL to dish out. I am a lucky recipient of this masterpiece

How cool is that?


Anyway I get to pass it on to others (in no particular order) who like a good chat, so please take a and a slice of get chatting, and pass it on will you please.......

Queenie (Queenie's Random Ramblings)

Miss U (A Sideways Look at Womanhood)

Linda (Are We There Yet?)

CG (The Compulsive Worrier)

Miss Bee (Muffin 53)

RC (Confessions of a Rotten Correspondent)

Flowerpot (Flowerpot Days)

Mimi (Mimi Writes)

Marmie (Twaddle Everyday Rubbish)

Ciara (Ramblings & Whatnot)

Ron (Vent) - yes I know he's a man but he loves a good chat!

Also Bindi (Beautiful World) gave me this cracker


Thank you Bindi. I get to pass this on too, so please accept this

'Be The Blog' award



Julia (A Piece Of My Mind)
Smalltown RN (A Place I Call Home)
David (Authorblog)
Buffalodickdy (Opinions & Rectums We All got one)
Dumdad (The Other Side Of Paris)

Goodbye.......

I was watching a daytime talk show recently and the subject of saying goodbye came up – specifically how easy or hard do you find saying Goodbye.

I’m one of those people who has to hug and kiss my friends/relatives when saying goodbye but I know a lot of people who would just rather throw a wave in your general direction as they rush out of the door.

The hardest goodbye I’ve ever had to say was to our youngest son when we left him at his digs in Huddersfield when he started university. We’d done a few trips there before the big day – well I had to make sure it was clean before my baby moved in – and of course there was the inevitable ‘supplies’ of bedding, food and cleaning materials etc., etc., to be transported. When the ‘actual’ day came I wanted it to be a happy occasion – “You’ll be fine darling, ring us at least once a week to let us know how happy you are”, you know what I mean. What actually happened was somewhat different. We did all the jolly stuff like I’ve just mentioned, then he stood at the gate as we drove away, waving at us until we reached the top of the hill and turned the corner. I don’t know if he had tears because he was just a blur through mine! I was distraught and MWM was struggling to hold back the gush of water just desperate to sprout from his eyes. An hour or so later, when we got home, I had calmed down but the sadness of leaving my baby to fend for himself was overwhelming, he may have been 18 but he was still my baby! MWM made all the right noises – “He’ll be fine, stop worrying, he’ll have the time of his life”. He said it often and almost convinced me.

The next morning the postman pushed an envelope through our letterbox and as I bent to pick it up I recognised the handwriting – it was my baby’s! I tore open the letter and the first sentence broke my heart……

Dear Mum and Dad

It’s half-an-hour since you left me here and I am sitting in my room writing this because I miss you……..

He must have written it and gone out to post it straight away! How could I have said “Goodbye” and just left him?

I’m a BAD mother!

What has been the hardest goodbye you’ve ever said and are you a “I’m going now cheerio, mwah, mwah” sort of person, or do you sneak out hoping no-one will notice?

Saturday Wordzzle # 7

The idea is every week Raven (View From A Raven's Nest) gives you between 8 and 10 words/phrases and you have to create a small but coherent paragraph using every one of them and the same with the mini challenge. You can do either or both it's up to you, and you can post them on your blog or email them to Raven.

The words/phrases for this week's Ten Word Challenge is: fruitcake, necromancer, gibberish, marshland, Lone Ranger, hog-wild, effluvia, plaintiff, phonograph, fern

And for the Mini Challenge: frozen, history, myrmidon, Shylock, incapacitated

I've decided to be brave and attempt a MEGA-WORDZZLE this week. Here it is:

Miss Funnyfanny, the necromancer, welcomed her clients with the William Tell Overture, (which everyone knows as the theme to the Lone Ranger), playing on the phonograph. She explained that rousing music helped raise the vibes in the room where the Séance was to be held. Her home was out in the wilds, almost in the marshland, it was a beautiful place and the garden was full of fern. As they sat down to take part in the Séance they noticed what could only be described as effluvia. They didn’t mention the stink as they didn’t want to appear rude, especially when Miss F promised them fruitcake and tea after the Séance. As Miss F slipped effortlessly into a trance the words coming out of her mouth could only be described as gibberish and the deeper she went into the trance the more hog-wild she became, thrashing about like a mad woman. Miss F’s myrmidon, Ethel, stood guard over her like a frozen statue making sure that none of the guests broke the circle, which could, in certain circumstances, cause a medium to become incapacitated, she also collected the contributions from the guests which went towards paying the shylock they owed a fortune to. After the Séance the guests left the house complaining to each other that they thought Miss F was a charlatan and Lord Farquarharson vowed to look into her history. He discovered that Miss F was well known for scams whereby she extracted money under false pretenses and Lord Farquarharson eventually became the plaintiff in the latest case against her. Of course Miss Funnyfanny and Ethel fled the country before they could be brought to court, just as they'd done many times before.

TWO.......

TODAY!

Our youngest grandson

Nathaniel

celebrates his 2nd birthday today.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY

Lots of love sweetiepie - we love you!

Nanna & Grandad

xxxx

Friday 55 Flash Fiction # 21 The Letter

The letter


Maggie opened the letter.

“Maggie, I’m sorry I didn’t have the courage to tell you face to face” it read.

“I had to leave, I didn’t have a choice”.

“I’d known for a while, it was inevitable”.

Maggie’s eyes filled with tears

“I’m sorry I died and left you, always remember that I love you”.

Friday 55 Flash Fiction is brought to you by G-man (Mr Knowitall). If you want to take part pop over and let G-man know when you've posted your 55.

Mindful Moments....

Some of you may have noticed that I have, in my sidebar, a new Thought For Today every day from Brahma Kumaris. This one from a a while back really made me think.


Mindful Moments

Most of us are of sound mind, but many of us have trouble maintaining a note of harmony and peace. Most of us know how to think, but few of us are able to control our thoughts. We all have the capacity to be creative, to image new ideas, but few of us are able to do it together and co-create in harmony with each other. We could all do with some mental training so that we may use the most powerful energy in the universe, the mind, which is always at our instant disposal.




We can begin with mindfulness. It's a simple way to gently help our mind go where it is best to go, do what is the best thing to do. It begins by simply being fully aware of what you are doing. Mostly we are not fully aware, as our minds wander into the past and then into possible futures. We spend most of our time watching others and so rarely fully focus on what we are actually doing ourselves. Next time you sit down to a meal, watch your self. Be aware of only what you are eating. Every time your mind wants to wander, bring it gently and lovingly back to the action and sensation of eating. Then do the same when cleaning, when writing, when working. The more you do it stronger and more focused and more rational will be your concentration, the more natural will be your actions, the more peaceful you will feel, and the more relaxed you will be, no matter what you are doing.



Daily Thoughts fromwww.thoughtfortoday.org.uk



How often do you actually think about what you are doing throughout the day - eating, drinking, cleaning, cooking, washing etc., etc? Most of our daily life is accomplished on auto-pilot, things we do regularly, so familiar that we can do them without thinking - like breathing. I know I have even driven to work and when I've thought about the journey I can't really remember much about it unless something unusual has happened.



I think we take so much for granted we don't really experience every moment and everything we do, unless we are ill and can no longer do the everyday things we take for granted.



Take a moment to concentrate on your next task, no matter how mundane it may seem and see if you feel a difference in what you accomplish.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Storyteller (Small Reflections) has very kindly passed on this lovely award to me.

Storyteller received it from the creator of the award Greatfullivin who bestowed it onto 12 lucky bloggers.

Now you know me by now I find it very difficult to choose from the many blogs I read so as Greatfullivin gave it to 12 I'd like the first 12 people who comment on this post to take this award because I am grateful that you bothered to stop and read and comment. Now don't be shy at taking it because I'll be over to check out your blog to see if you've posted it!

Lost.......

David's (Authorblog) Weekend Wandering question this week is:

What is the most important thing you have ever lost?

If you'd like to join in here's what David would like you to do: Please answer today's question on your own blog, any time until next weekend. Just link to this blog (or to this post) so I can follow the progress of the discussion.

I have included this story in a different Weekend Wandering post but it fits in so well with this week’s question that I’m posting it again.

A few years ago, we had been out to a local club to a Christmas Eve party, we had a really good time with friends and were all a bit tipsy by the time we were going home. It was only when I got home and had taken off my coat that I realised that I had lost my gold watch. The loss of a gold watch is not something to be taken lightly, but this gold watch had belonged to my mother who had died some years previously. I was heartbroken as you might imagine. It was now the early hours of the morning but I searched the house thinking it may have fallen off my wrist as I had taken my coat off but it was nowhere to be found, I even retraced my steps down the garden path and up the street, looking for the watch, but to no avail. At first light the next day I retraced my steps again all the way back to the club and even telephoned the club to ask if the cleaners had found it – no luck.

I was devastated; I kept apologizing to Mum for losing it and begging her to let me find it. I spent a totally miserable week and couldn’t summon up a smile on New Year’s Eve, all I could think about was ‘I’ve lost my Mum’s watch!”. On Mum’s birthday (2nd January) I opened the coat cupboard and there, on the floor, in full view, was the watch! There is absolutely no way it could have been there for a week it would have been trodden on. MWM suggested that it had been caught in the sleeve of the coat I had worn, but I pointed out that I had checked the coat and I had worn it at least twice during the week the watch had been missing. Of course I was over the moon to have the watch back and I am convinced somehow my Mum was responsible for returning the watch, don’t ask me how because I don’t know, but there is no other explanation. Needless to say I had a safety chain put on the watch immediately and thankfully it is now safe.