Saturday Wordzzle # 41

The idea is, every week Raven (View From 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, both or a megawordzzle using all the words, or even all three, it's up to you, you can post them on your blog or email them to Raven. If you join in go to Raven's and put your name on the Mr. Linky so other participants can come visit you.



Here's my efforts complete with my doodles.


This Week's Ten Word Challenge is: posthumous, flagrant, seven days a week, cheese and crackers, pyramid, civil war, clarinet, microwave, absent without leave, blue jeans

Scarlett didn’t believe the stories that her great, great, great grandfather had gone absent without leave from his unit during the civil war. Her granny had told her tales of his bravery, and the fact that he played the clarinet, over cheese and crackers when she visited, which she did seven days a week. Granny insisted that he was a hero and anything less was a flagrant lie!

When granny died she left the house and everything she owned to Scarlett. Sitting in granny’s old rocking chair Scarlett remembered the tales granny had told. She loved this old house and everything in it but if she was going to live here she would have to modernise it and the first thing she would get would be a microwave oven. Scarlett couldn’t cook, despite granny’s attempts to teach her, and the microwave was her friend.

Scarlett had lived in the house for 6 months and had made many changes but still managed to keep the character of the house. The rubbish skip in the yard was almost full, though she had sent a lot of the treasures she’d found to auction. There were just a few bits and pieces left in the loft to sort through so she donned her old blue jeans and climbed the ladder once again. She was almost to the bottom of the old trunk when she picked up a pyramid shaped box. Opening it carefully she gasped. There it was, the posthumous medal, awarded to her grandfather for his bravery above and beyond the call of duty. Granny was right, he was a hero not a coward.



Mini Challenge: sugar-coated, thermometer, tractor pull, evangelical, masquerade

Mike cursed and swore, unusual for an evangelical minister, but he was annoyed that the thermometer showed his temperature was too high for him to take part in the tractor pull for charity today. Even the effects of the sugar-coated painkillers were not enough for him to be able to masquerade as a fit man.





Megawordzzle

Today was the County Fair and Jessica was determined to be there. She had been working seven days a week lately but today she would be absent without leave and she didn’t give a damn what her boss thought, but she had rung in sick, just in case. She secretly fancied her boss which is why she worked more hours that was contractually necessary, but today she just needed a day off.

Jessica had slept in this morning and was now trying to decide what to have for a quick snack before she set off for the Fair. Rejecting a microwave meal she opted for a cup of coffee and some cheese and crackers. Jessica was in fact participating in the civil war re-enactment at the Fair, a pastime none of her colleagues knew about, and one she had been neglecting of late. Well all that was going to change from now on, she was going to have every weekend off.

She really enjoyed the re-enactments, getting to dress up and following the soldiers round tending to their pretend wounds, it was all done as close to the real thing as possible, even the fallen were given posthumous bravery medals.

There were other events taking place at the Fair such as stalls selling sugar-coated almonds, candy-floss, a local music group playing clarinets, and the police performing the amazing fete of a human pyramid whilst riding their motor cycles, with a seemingly flagrant disregard for Health & Safety issues.

Watching the tractor pull competition her eyes lighted on a cute guy whose blue jeans were wrapped rightly round his fabulous rear end. Jessica’s thoughts were anything but evangelical. If she’d been a thermometer her mercury would have been exploding out the top of her head. Suddenly he turned and caught her eye.

“OMG” she thought “thank goodness I’m masquerading in this re-enactment!”

The guy in the blue jeans was none other than her boss!

Friday 55 Flash Fiction # 53 Secret Admirer...

Secret Admirer

A bouquet arrived, the third in as many weeks.

"You must have a secret admirer" commented Steve "lucky I'm not the jealous type."

Lynn didn't know who'd sent them, but was secretly chuffed.

"I'm back" said Mum " I won a competition.....

flowers every week for a year, I gave them your address, have they arrived?"



 

Friday 55 Flash Fiction is brought to you by G-man (Mr Knowitall). The idea is you write a story in exactly 55 words. If you want to take part pop over and let G-man know when you've posted your 55.

Krakow Part 4...

All too soon it was time to go home.   We had a leisurely breakfast at the hotel then took our luggage and boarded the tram into the city centre. We wandered through the streets once more taking in the architecture and the sunshine wishing we had booked another couple of nights as we discovered that November 1st and 2nd. are All Saints’ and All Souls’ Day respectively and important dates in Poland’s calendar. These two days are dedicated to prayer and paying tribute to the deceased by visiting their graves. Families all over Poland make pilgrimages to the resting places of their relatives, tending the gravesites laying wreaths and flowers and lighting candles that will be kept lit throughout the length of the holiday and beyond. As night descends, the country’s graveyards are aglow with the warm light of literally thousands of flickering candles apparently a sight to behold. Shame we were to miss it.

What we did see though was a sort of military parade, though what it was in aid of we had no idea.

They looked very smart in their uniforms and the horses were beautiful.

We sat outside one of the cafes in the Main Square enjoying a coffee then my friend and I decided to do a little retail therapy in the Cloth Hall.    My friend had been told by a friend that crystal was really cheap but excellent quality in Krakow and she had seen some crystal champagne flutes which had really taken her fancy and she wanted a second opinion.     The price on the glass was 95 zlotys which equated to about £22, now you can pay more than that in England for good crystal but when she asked the stall owner about the price he told her that was the price for SIX glasses!   "Wrap them up" she said "I'll take them!"

I bought a large Baltic Amber cross pendant for myself and an amber heart pendant as a present for someone else.     As we'd been shopping for about an hour we thought we'd better get back to the menfolk and have some lunch before it was time to go to the airport.    We ordered some toasties and another drink and spent another hour watching the world go by in the Square.    We noticed some men stretching nylon rope all around the square and wondered what was happening.  It turned out there was some sort of a road race and before too long the runners were charging past us - this lasted all of ten minutes then the rope was wrapped up again.

We hopped in a taxi to take us to the airport and although the driver didn't speak much English he was very friendly and told us he is coming to England at Christmas to visit his son who lives here and he was really looking forward to English food - I hope he's not disappointed!

Our flight was on time and uneventful and we landed at John Lennon Airport, Liverpool at 7.10 p.m., collected our luggage and car and were home by 8.30 p.m., when we had to go to Asda to do some shopping to stock up the fridge and the vegetable rack.

We probably won't go back to Krakow, as we have seen what we wanted to see, but if you are thinking of going I would certainly recommend it.

I hope you enjoyed our trip.

Bookworm.......

Emmie (Emmas Dilemmas & Great Expectations) has bestowed this award on me, how kind is she?  Thankyou Emmie. x

Now there's rules with it

Rules: Pass it on to five other bloggers, and tell them to open the nearest book to page 46. Write out the fifth sentence on that page, and also the next two to five sentences. The closest book, not the coolest, or the one you think will sound the best. THE CLOSEST

The closest book to me at the moment is 'The Boy in Striped Pyjamas' by John Boyne, so here's the sentences from page 46.

'Yes, Father,' said Bruno.
'You were a help to your mother and sister in closing the house?'
'Yes, Father, said Bruno.
'Then I'm, proud of you,' said Father approvingly. 'Sit down, boy.'
He indicated a wide armchair facing his desk and Bruno clambered onto it, his feet not quite touching the floor, while Father returned to his seat behind the destkand stared at him. They didn't say anything to each other for a moment, and then finally Father broke the silence.
'So?' he asked.  'What do you think?'
'What do I think?' asked Bruno. 'What do I think of what?'
'Of your new home. Do you like it?'

I decided to read this book when we returned from Krakow and our visit to Auschwitz and Berkenhau, as that is where the book is set.

Now I have to pass it on to five bloggers.   No pressure, do it if the mood takes you.

Julia (A Piece of My Mind)
Laney (Liebfraumilch and Lipstick)
Linda (Are We There Yet?)
Cloudia (Comfort Spiral)
Anndi (Transition)

Saturday Wordzzle # 40

The idea is, every week Raven (View From 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, both or a megawordzzle using all the words, or even all three, it's up to you, you can post them on your blog or email them to Raven. If you join in go to Raven's and put your name on the Mr. Linky so other participants can come visit you.




Here's my efforts complete with my doodles.

 

Ten words: pipe organ, ravages of time, lottery tickets, angelic music, five x five, boxes of books, flattery will get you nowhere, yodelling, pig tails, knitting needles

“What’s five x five?” asked Miss Caldwell. The class of 7 year olds looked blank.

Why was she still doing this, she wished she could retire and sit at home with her knitting needles, listen to angelic music and play pipe organ at church on Sundays. The ravages of time were showing on her once pretty face. She remembered when she was a pupil, having her pig tails pulled by the boy sitting at the desk behind her, him telling her how pretty she was and she telling him

“Flattery will get you nowhere!”

Now all she had to look forward to was boxes of books to mark and the sound of the pupils reciting their times tables which sounded like yodelling if she didn’t listen too closely.

“I must keep buying those lottery tickets” she reminded herself.





Mini challenge: canary yellow, grizzly bear, out of the frying pan into the fire, simpleton, Ministry of Crazy Walks

Arthur thought “I’ve jumped out of the frying pan into the fire coming to work here. I must be a simpleton taking on a job where I have to dress in a canary yellow grizzly bear costume, cavorting about like someone from the Ministry of Crazy Walks!”



Megawordzzle

Debbie was like a grizzly bear at the moment, she was so stressed out trying to organise the Christmas Fayre for the church. Lydia, who was supposed to be organising it, was a simpleton who couldn’t even manage to multiply five x five so Debbie was having to do it all. If only she had kept her mouth shut instead of letting it be known she had tons of experience organising events, she’d been happy being relatively unknown in the church now she was the centre of Lydia’s attention.

Lydia had come up with stupid ideas like giving all the church members knitting needles to make pig tails in canary yellow wool to sell.

“Have you ever organised a Christmas Fayre before Lydia?” enquired Debbie.

“Well no, but I’ve sold lottery tickets” said Lydia.

“Ok, then you get to work selling the tickets, there’s boxes of books of tickets over there, and leave the rest to me!” offered Debbie. In the blink of an eye she’d gone from helping Lydia, to organising the whole thing. ‘Out of the frying pan into the fire that’s me’ she thought.

Debbie set to work on the telephone, she organised various competitions such as yodelling, Ministry of Crazy Walks, a karaoke, cake stall, fancy goods etc., etc.

Sitting in church listening to the pipe organ playing angelic music Debbie’s ears pricked up as the Vicar said,

“The Christmas Fayre was a fantastic success, we raised over £1000!”

“Well it was worth all the effort” thought Debbie, “even if I did run myself ragged.”

I just want to thank all the wonderful people who were involved in the organisation of the Fayre” said the Vicar.

“Here, we go, flattery will get you nowhere Vicar” Debbie mumbled to herself.

“Especially Lydia, for overseeing everything and putting it altogether” said the Vicar.

“What?” cried Debbie, who was exhausted, her face showing the ravages of time and lack of sleep she endured whilst organising the Fayre “Lydia isn’t so simple after all!”

Friday 55 Flash Fiction # 52 Air, I need Air.....

Air, I need Air

"I need fresh air" he gasped "but I'll have to be careful, they'll be watching for us to come out of the tunnels."

He inched his head through the opening, trying to be inconspicuous but

They spotted him.

Next thing the worm knew he was the rope in a tug of war between two ducks!

Friday 55 Flash Fiction is brought to you by G-man (Mr Knowitall). The idea is you write a story in exactly 55 words. If you want to take part pop over and let G-man know when you've posted your 55.

Potrait of Words # 3...

Jeff (A Word in Edgewise) has started up this monthly challenge, derived from a previous challenge from R.E.H.'s "Picture Fiction Challenge".


Photo Credits:


(From Flickr.com/creative commons, unless otherwise noted)
Main Character- Trekguy
Backdrop- tootsie 14
Purpose- Uncle Phooey
Item- vodainghia_takeshi
Wild card #3- unknown- (was sent via an email)


Each month Jeff gives FOUR pictures which represent THE CATEGORIES and THREE pictures which represent THE WILD CARDS.


The object is to:
Write a story of any length or style. Long or short, comedy or tragedy, fact or fiction, etc,etc... it's up to you.
Use each of the picture representations in your story. (one from the wild card options)

Here are the portraits for this month's basis of the story and the guidelines:
THE CATEGORIES:
Main Character(s): Your story can be told through or about this person(s), i.e. first or third person. Either way you go, their involvement in the story should be a focal point. Have as many or as few additional characters as you wish, but at least one of the ones pictured should be central to the overall story.

Backdrop: This will create the setting for your story. It can take place at the location depicted, be a destination to it, or be a journey from it.

Purpose: This is what drives or motivates the main character(s) to action. It can also be viewed as the objective of the story.

Item(s): The object(s) should have a significant value to the main character, backdrop or purpose of the story.

Wild Cards: Writers choice here. Choose one of the three options to use in your story anyway you see fit.

Here's my story:




Annee looked longingly at the lake.


“It’s so beautiful, I can’t believe it’s been so long since we were here last” she told Tom.

“I hope the cabin is comfortable” Tom replied “you did book the luxury one didn’t you?”

“Of course I did and I booked a meal at The Lodge for the last night” replied Annee.

The drive from home had been a pleasure in their new convertible, the weather being kind enough for them to have the top down. The weather forecast was good and they were looking forward to recreating their honeymoon in the perfect setting of the cabin and the lake.

“We should have let people know where we’re going, rather than just saying we’re going away for a few days and we’ll be back Friday” suggested Annee.

“Nah, it’ll be fine, we want to be alone don’t we?” replied Tom

The days passed like a dream, spent walking through the surrounding forest enjoying the dappled sunshine and eating simple food outside, whilst listening to the lapping water of the lake. Evenings were cooler, as Autumn was closing in, so they lit a log fire and snuggled up on the sofa whilst listening to their favourite CD’s which they’d brought with them.

There was no telephone or television at the cabin, which they were glad of, no interruptions, no worries. They talked about how special their wedding had been, though they hadn’t been able to afford much. They were both orphans so there were no parents to fund a big wedding, it had been a register office ceremony, a simple dress for Annee and a borrowed suit for Tom, no reception, no cake, but they were blissfully happy.

Their last day was idyllic – they were showering and getting dressed to go down to the lodge for dinner when Tom noticed dark clouds looming over the lake.

“Looks like a storm brewing” said Tom as he started the car up whilst Annee locked the cabin. It was a good hour’s drive to The Lodge but it was through the forest and a lovely run Annee was really looking forward to it. Half an hour into the journey they rounded a bend in the road only to find a fallen tree blocking the road.

“Oh shit” said Tom “we’re going to have to do a detour which will make us late for dinner.”

“I’ll ring The Lodge on my mobile and let them know” offered Annee, only to find the battery was dead. “Oh bugger, I hope they keep our table.”

Turning the car round Tom headed back to the crossroads to take the dirt road through the forest to the Lodge but by this time large drops of rain were hitting the bonnet of the car.

“Tom, you need to stop and put the top up otherwise were going to get soaked!”

Tom pushed the button to put the top up but nothing happened.

“It seems to be stuck” he told Annee as the rain increased.

Annee found a plastic carrier under her seat and fashioned a rainhood.

“Stop messing about with it Tom and just get us to the Lodge!” she said.

By this time the rain was coming down in sheets. The wipers were going double quick but weren’t really making any impression on the driving rain hitting the windshield. Annee’s dress was stuck to her body and Tom’s suit looked like a dishcloth. Suddenly the car stopped dead.

“What now?” cried Annee as Tom desperately tried to get it started again.

“We’re going to have to walk Annee we can’t sit here.”

They clambered out of the car and started trudging down the road, it was only about a mile to the Lodge but the going was hard through the driving rain and the dirt road had turned to mud.

Exhausted and soaked they reached the Lodge forty five minutes later.

There were no lights on but the door was open so they struggled through the door and collapsed in the dark hallway. Suddenly there was a flash as all the lights were switched on.

“Happy Silver Wedding Anniversary” chorused their three children, their families and friends gathered in the dining room.

“Where have you been we’ve been waiting ages for you?” they asked, shocked at their appearance.

The room was decorated with balloons and streamers, a table was laden with food and the most beautiful wedding cake imaginable. It was the wedding reception Annee and Tom had always dreamed of. Once they were able to shower and change they forgot about the misery they’d endured and were able to laugh whilst relaying what had happened to them. The party was better than any wedding reception, Annee and Tom had a wonderful time but both agreed they would get rid of the convertible at the first opportunity.

Cake?....

I hope you'll join me in a piece of birthday cake today.   I'm 21 (again).

I saw this The Birthday Calculator at Mary's (Work of the Poet) who got it from Jamie (Duward Discussion) which gives you all sorts of useful(less) information about your birthdate.   Here's what it says about mine.


Your date of conception was on or about 25 February 1949 which was a Friday.


You were born on a Friday

under the astrological sign Scorpio.

Your Life path number is 7.


Your fortune cookie reads:

If you want the rainbow, you must to put up with the rain. D. Parton

Life Path Compatibility:

You are most compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 1, 5 & 7.

You should get along well with those with the Life Path numbers 4 & 22.

You may or may not get along well with those with the Life Path number 9.

You are least compatible with those with the Life Path numbers 2, 3, 6, 8 & 11.



The Julian calendar date of your birth is 2433238.5.

The golden number for 1949 is 12.

The epact number for 1949 is 0.

The year 1949 was not a leap year.



Your birthday falls into the Chinese year beginning 1/29/1949 and ending 2/16/1950.

You were born in the Chinese year of the Ox.



Your Native American Zodiac sign is Snake; your plant is Thistle.



You were born in the Egyptian month of Tyby, the first month of the season of Poret (Emergence - Fertile soil).



Your date of birth on the Hebrew calendar is 26 Heshvan 5710.

Or if you were born after sundown then the date is 27 Heshvan 5710.

The Mayan Calendar long count date of your birthday is 12.16.15.17.14 which is

12 baktun 16 katun 15 tun 17 uinal 14 kin

The Hijra (Islamic Calendar) date of your birth is Friday, 26 Muharram 1369 (1369-1-26).

The date of Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 17 April 1949.

The date of Orthodox Easter on your birth year was Sunday, 24 April 1949.

The date of Ash Wednesday (the first day of Lent) on your birth year was Wednesday 2 March 1949.

The date of Whitsun (Pentecost Sunday) in the year of your birth was Sunday 5 June 1949.

The date of Whisuntide in the year of your birth was Sunday 12 June 1949.

The date of Rosh Hashanah in the year of your birth was Saturday, 24 September 1949.

The date of Passover in the year of your birth was Thursday, 14 April 1949.

The date of Mardi Gras on your birth year was Tuesday 1 March 1949.



As of 11/16/2008 8:32:46 AM EST

You are 58 years old.

You are 708 months old.

You are 3,079 weeks old.

You are 21,548 days old.

You are 517,160 hours old.

You are 31,029,632 minutes old.

You are 1,861,777,966 seconds old.



Celebrities who share your birthday:

Owen Wilson (1968) Kirk Lee Hammett (1962) Elizabeth Perkins (1960)

Linda Evans (1942) Brenda Vaccaro (1939) Alan Shepard, Jr. (1923)

Imogene Coca (1908) Eugene Ormandy (1899) William Gilbert (1836)



Top songs of 1949

Riders In the Sky by Vaughn Monroe

That Lucky Old Sun by Frankie Laine


Cruising Down the River by Blue Barron (also Russ Morgan)

A Little Bird Told Me by Evelyn Knight


Mule Train by Frankie Laine

Some Enchanted Evening by Perry Como


You're Breaking My Heart by Vic Damone

Slippin' Around by Margaret Whiting & Jimmy Wakely


Forever and Ever by Russ Morgan

A You're Adorable by Perry Como




Your age is the equivalent of a dog that is 8.43365949119374 years old. (You old hound dog, you!)



Your lucky day is Tuesday.

Your lucky number is 9 & 11.

Your ruling planet(s) is Mars & Pluto.

Your lucky dates are 1st, 10th, 19th, 28th.

Your opposition sign is Taurus.

Your opposition number(s) is 6.

Today is not one of your lucky days!

There are 2 days till your next birthday

on which your cake will have 59 candles.



Those 59 candles produce 59 BTUs,

or 14,868 calories of heat (that's only 14.8680 food Calories!) .

You can boil 6.74 US ounces of water with that many candles.

In 1949 there were approximately 2.8 million births in the US.

In 1949 the US population was approximately 131,669,275 people, 44.2 persons per square mile.

In 1949 in the US there were approximately 1,595,879 marriages (12.1%) and 264,000 divorces (2%)

In 1949 in the US there were approximately 1,417,000 deaths (10.8 per 1000)

In the US a new person is born approximately every 8 seconds.

In the US one person dies approximately every 12 seconds.



In 1949 the population of Australia was approximately 8,045,570.

In 1949 there were approximately 181,261 births in Australia.

In 1949 in Australia there were approximately 72,999 marriages and 6,572 divorces.

In 1949 in Australia there were approximately 75,260 deaths.

Your birthstone is Citrine

The Mystical properties of Citrine

Citrine is said to help one connect with Spirit.

Some lists consider these stones to be your birthstone. (Birthstone lists come from Jewelers, Tibet, Ayurvedic Indian medicine, and other sources)

Yellow Topaz, Pearl, Diamond



Your birth tree is

Chestnut Tree, the Honesty

Of unusual beauty, does not want to impress, well-developed sense of justice, vivacious, interested, a born diplomat, but irritable and sensitive in company, often due to a lack of self-confidence, acts sometimes superior, feels not understood, loves only once, has difficulties in finding a partner.



There are 39 days till Christmas 2008!

There are 52 days till Orthodox Christmas!




There, didn't you find all that incredibly interesting?

Krakow Part 3...

Thursday arrived and we were up and down for breakfast for 7.30 as the minibus was picking us up at 8.20 a.m. for our visit to Oswiecim better know to the world under its German name of Auschwitz. We had to pick up others on the way but the actual 75 kilometre trip took about an hour and a half.  There were 16 people on our minibus and when we arrived we combined with people from another minibus and waited for our guide. We then collected a pair of earphones and a receiver each so that we could listen to his tour notes as we walked around and made our way to the infamous gate which states ‘Arbeit Macht Frei' - Work brings freedom.


There is nothing I can tell you about Auschwitz and Berkenhau that you can’t find by searching the web, so I am not even going to try, but I will tell you that whatever you read the reality is a million times worse. We all cried many times during the tour. Feelings of despair at the reality of what happened were foremost in our minds, there were many school groups being taken round and I truly believe that the Holocaust should be part of every school curriculum in every country in the world so that what happened is never forgotten.


We visited Auschwitz/Berkenhau not out of any morbid curiosity, but to pay our respects to the millions who lost their lives in those God forsaken places. We were allowed to take photographs outside, which we did and I have put up a slide show at the end of this post so you can get an idea of the size of both Auschwitz and Birkenhau and better understand how the victims of the two camps lived.  It was forbidden to take photographs inside the buildings and to be honest you wouldn't want to out of respect for the people who's belongings were exhibited there.   It was a pity that some of the other ‘tourists’ did not give the respect due, the ones who insisted on taking photographs of the exhibits, such as the room full of human hair taken from the people who had been killed, despite the signs saying no photographs inside and the guides repeatedly telling them to put their cameras away. There was a man with an American accent in our group, who appeared to be with his elderly mother, who had filmed every building we went in and been told numerous times not to film.  He was behind us filming the walk into the gas chamber and crematorium and I was so incensed that 'Mrs Gobby' reared her head and I told him to put his camera away and show some respect.  He did stop filming but deliberately sought me out after the tour and asked me

“Sprechen Sie Deutsch’ to which I replied
“No, I’m English” his retort to this was
“Well you can thank us lady!”


I couldn’t make my mind up whether he was American and taking credit for American forces liberating Auschwitz, which isn’t true, or whether he was German and telling me to thank his nation for the atrocities that were committed there. Either way he was a tosser, which I informed him of as he disappeared into the crowd as he scurried away before MWM and our friends returned from the toilet.


We returned to the minibus to be taken the 10 minute drive to Birkenhau which is even more desolate than Auschwitz. There was quite a wind blowing as we stood in the open area between the two camps (male and female) though the day was warm the wind did blow straight through you. Our guide pointed out that in winter it is often 20 degrees below and to be standing there dressed only in striped pyjamas without the benefit of good health one could barely imagine what it was like.

We could not see the boundaries of Birkenhau it is so huge.   The four crematorium were destroyed by the Nazis before the camp was liberated as were the 'CANADA' buildings.   The 'CANADA' buildings were so called because Canada was known as the land of plenty and these buildings were where all the possessions of the prisoners were stored to be recycled.


It is said that there is no birdsong at Auschwitz and Birkenhau – I can tell you this is true.

If you hover you cursor over the photographs you will see the description.

_______________________________________________________

We left Birkenhau to return to Krakow where we had just enough time to have a drink and a toastie before we had to go to meet our minibus at 15.55 p.m. to take us to the Salt Mines.


Light was fading as we climbed aboard the minibus for The Wieliczka Salt Mine. It is only a 20 minute drive but the traffic was building – it always seem to be rush hour in Krakow no matter what time of the day – so it actually took us thirty minutes to get there.


We were told before we went in that there were 380 steps to climb down but a lift would bring us back up. What they didn’t tell us was those steps just took us down to level one 65 metres below ground, then there were a lot more steps in the two kilometres of tunnel to take us down to level three at 135 metres. There are seven levels to the still working mine but tourists only go down to level three, which is enough believe me because by the time you get down there your legs are like jelly because of all the steps!


The temperature in the mine is a constant is a truly wonderful sight to behold there are numerous chapels all carved out of the salt such as St Anthony’s Chapel created in the 17th Century and at level three there is a 23,000 cubic metre masterpiece the Chapel of St Kinga which was created by three men, taking them 68 years to complete. There are underground lakes in the mine and a theatre and a restaurant on level three also.

The tour of the mine takes about three hours and it was 8.30 p.m. before we got back to the centre of Krakow – just in time to go to our favourite Polish restaurant to sample more of their delicious food, down a few Polish beers and head off back to the hotel to crawl into bed exhausted.

Krakow Part 4 coming soon.

Saturday Wordzzle # 39 ......

The idea is, every week Raven (View From 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, both or a megawordzzle using all the words, or even all three, it's up to you, you can post them on your blog or email them to Raven. If you join in go to Raven's and put your name on the Mr. Linky so other participants can come visit you.



Here's my efforts complete with my doodles.

This Week's Ten Word Challenge is: palace, hypocrite, canned air, telephone, biscuit, pinball, acorn, customary, fruit juice, waterfall

Twenty-one year old Mia walked into the ‘Acorn Palace’ ordered a fruit juice and popped one of the customary bar snack biscuits into her mouth. She was here for an audition as a singer with the band ‘Pinball’, who had just had a huge number one hit single ‘Waterfall’. Their singer had died from a drug overdose hence the auditions. The group had been around for years, her mother had told her all about them. She listened to the band rehearsing for a few minutes before making herself known to them. The group were really impressed with her voice, Simon, the lead guitarist, said she made a sound like canned air which was really unusual, he was full of flattery and was flirting outrageously with her. Mia got the telephone call from Simon telling her the job was hers and arranged to go back to finalise the details, she asked him if it was ok if her mother came with her as she was a big fan of the group.

“No, probs, hon” he said.

Simon was shocked when he saw Mia’s mother.

“Val, long time no see, how are you babe?” said Simon gingerly “It must be twenty years or more.”

“Almost twenty two actually, like you care, you hypocrite” hissed Val “you’ve already met our daughter Mia haven’t you!”



Mini Challenge: buyer's remorse, lava, haphazard, mildew, soup to nuts

Meldrew Lava hated his name because everyone called him Mildew. His parents told him they had gone through the ‘Babies Names’ book soup to nuts but had been unable to agree on a name for him. Eventually they had named him after the estate agent who’d sold them their dream home. What a haphazard way to name a child, Meldrew could only imagine they were suffering from buyer’s remorse, what other reason would they have for lumbering him with such a name!


Megawordzle

Picking up the telephone Joan dialled the plumber she had found in Yellow Pages in a panic.

“Come quick there’s a waterfall coming through my kitchen ceiling!” she cried.

Joan was experiencing buyer’s remorse since purchasing this house, it had been a disaster from soup to nuts, anything that could go wrong had. How the survey hadn’t picked up on the mildew, dodgy plumbing and haphazard electric wiring, amongst other things, she would never understand.

Barry, the plumber, sorted out the leak from the bathroom in no time and Joan offered him the customary cup of tea and a biscuit but he plumped for a glass of fruit juice and a slice of lava bread instead.

Barry was a good listener and soon Joan was telling him about all the problems she’d had since she’d moved into the house.

“I thought it was a little palace when I bought it but things have just gone from bad to worse since then!” she said.

“I do a lot more than plumbing” Barry told her “I can sort out any problems you have if you like?”

Over the next few months Barry worked on Joan’s house until all the faults were rectified. Joan admitted to herself that she had grown very fond of Barry and would miss him being around.

Then Barry told her he played guitar in a group called ‘Canned Air’ and they had a gig at the ‘Acorn’ club in town and would she like to come along? Joan agreed like a shot and arranged to meet Barry at the club.

They had a great night and it wasn’t until near the end of the night that Joan noticed the man who sold her the house there playing pinball. He recognised Joan and asked how she was enjoying living in the house with a smirk on his face. “Hypocrite” Joan retorted “you knew there was all sorts wrong with the house and never said a word!”

“All’s fair in love and selling houses” he chuckled.

Unfortunately for him his boss, Barry, heard what he said and on Monday morning when he turned up for work he was handed his cards.

Friday 55 Flash Fiction # 51 The Boss Is Coming To Dinner.....

The Boss Is Coming To Dinner

Nadine had everything under control.

She'd tested the menu the previous week.

Bought only the best ingredients, fine wine,

exquisite tableware and linen, couture dress.

She was nervous about entertaining Dominic's boss and his wife.

She needed to make a good impression; Dominic's promotion depended on it.

"Rinner's Deady" she called, clutching her empty wineglass.

Friday 55 Flash Fiction is brought to you by G-man (Mr Knowitall). The idea is you write a story in exactly 55 words. If you want to take part pop over and let G-man know when you've posted your 55.

Krakow Part 2.....

Day two dawned and we had a leisurely continental buffet breakfast at the hotel before heading for the tram stop to go into the city centre again. The taxi had cost us 19 zlotys (about £5) but the tram was only 2.5 zlotys each one way and we wanted to experience the local transport. A very kind Polish lady at the tram stop showed us how to get a ticket and have it validated, a good idea because if an inspector gets on and you haven’t validated your ticket you get fined! The trams are always full and very efficient and the nice lady even showed us where to get off.


The weather was absolutely beautiful, 21 degrees, we didn’t need our coats, hats or gloves and were thankful we had actually taken sunglasses! We found a tourist information office and booked to go to Auschwitz and Birkenhau the following morning and the Salt Mines in the afternoon then we sat in the main square drinking coffee and watched the world go by for an hour. Whilst enjoying our coffee we noticed some golf cart type trains and discovered that you could have a tour of the city for a small price so that’s what we did.

Krakow is a beautiful city with lots of churches and synagogues and our guide pointed them all out to us. We also saw Oskar Schindler’s  factory, those of you who have read/seen the film Schindler’s List will know what a hero he was to the Jews.

We saw the remnant of the wall which was built around the Ghetto and there was still an occupied original building behind the wall. Our guide pointed out a turret where he said the Nazis took pot shots at the Jews, especially if they were trying to climb over the wall to escape.

We also saw the Krakow Ghetto and Deportation Momument which is the memorial to the Jews of the Podgorze Ghetto which includes 33 steel and cast iron chairs (1.4m high) in the square and 37 (1.2m high) chairs standing on the edge of the square at the tram stops. Visitors sat in the chairs remembering the people who were gathered together in the square and then deported to the camps.

Also in the square was the pharmacy "Under the Eagle" (now containing a small ghetto museum), which was used as cover for the Polish resistance who helped the Jews living in the Ghetto


St Mary’s Basilica in the main square of Krakow The church's two towers (15th century) are noticeably of different heights. Legend has it that they were built by two brothers, one of whom grew jealous of the other's work and killed him with a sword. You can even see the purported murder weapon, hanging in the gate of the Sukiennice. Another major highlight is the lone trumpeter in the high tower, who plays a strange hourly call known as the "Hejnal Mariacki." Ringing out to mark each hour, it breaks off on an abrupt half-note to commemorate an unknown bugler who was struck in the throat by a Tartar arrow as he tried to warn the city of the invaders.

At the centre of the ‘Grand Square’ stands ‘The Cloth Hall’ (Sukiennice), founded in the 13th century. It was destroyed by fire and rebuilt in the Renaissance style. It is a magnificent building which now houses many stalls selling cut glass, amber jewellery, leather goods, handicrafts and souvenirs on the ground floor, while the upper floor houses the Gallery of Polish 19th Century Art.

The Pope’s House is where Karol Jozef Wojtyla, who later became Pope John Paul II, resided when he was Archbishop of Krakow. Of course he is still much revered by the people of Krakow and on the way back to the airport our taxi driver, who couldn’t speak much English (though his English was 100% better than our Polish) pointed to what appeared to be village green and said there had been 7,000,000 people there when the Pope visited!

In the Jewish Quarter (Kazimierz) there was another little square called (I  think)Plac Nowy which hosted numerous Jewish restaurants and one Indian Restuarant which MWM christened Bombay OyVey.   The house where the famous Helena Rubenstein was born was also in this square.

There are numerous streets radiating off the Grand Square, shoe/boot shops abound amongst fast food takeaways and clothes shops. You can sample international cuisine at very reasonable prices and the numerous bars stay open very late, of course we didn’t go in all the bars, just a selected few!  We had dinner in the Polish Restaurant again but didn't have the Country Trough, we tried Borsch (Beetroot soup) and pork stuffed cabbage leaves.

I've put together a little slide show for you of some of the other photographs we took of this lovely city.

Krakow Part 3 coming soon.

Krakow Part 1....

As you know we visited Krakow a couple of weeks ago with two of our friends. We spent three nights and four days there. The flight took about two and a quarter hours and it was already dark when we landed. We took a taxi to our hotel which was about 15 minutes outside of the centre of Krakow. We had booked the Galicyia hotel online and weren’t disappointed, it was really clean and comfortable.

As we hadn’t taken much luggage it didn’t take long to hang up our clothes and jump in a taxi to take us into the centre to have a look around and get something to eat. First we found a bar and ordered a beer each. The bar staff didn’t speak much English and when the waitress brought the beers she pointed to a flyer on the table but we weren’t sure what she was talking about. Eventually we figured out that if you bought four of this particular beer you got a free glass tankard! We ordered another four beers and got two. Of course we had to go back the following day and do the same so we could have a tankard each – well you would wouldn’t you?

We had a walk round and decided on a traditional Polish restaurant for our evening meal. We had a look at the menu but were unsure what to order so the waitress recommended the Country Trough – we agreed as we were starving and a trough sounded good! First they brought the drinks (most important) and some chunky, homemade slices of bread with two dishes – one containing pork dripping full of bits of pork and the other contained cream cheese with onions. You might be thinking YUK but let me tell you we devoured all of it and it was delicious!

The trough was literally a huge trough carved from wood filled with huge chunks of pork, beef, lamb, chicken wings, ribs, roast potatoes, dumplings and rice. We devoured that too, but could hardly walk by the time we’d finished.

The bill came to 126 zlottys (about £42) for four of us. We put 2 x 100 zlotty notes on the bill but were careful not to say thankyou as the waitress picked it up. You may think this strange but we had read that if you say thankyou it means keep the change and that would have been one hell of a tip! Of course once she brought the change we did leave an appropriate tip and the food and service were so good we ate there the next two nights!  The following night we did actually say thankyou as the waitress collected the money and the bill and guess what?   She didn't bring any change!

Stuffed and content we managed to stand and button our coats then set off for a walk round the city, calling in a couple of bars for a drink before we got a taxi back to the hotel.

Krakow Part 2 coming soon.

Saturday Wordzzle # 38..

The idea is, every week Raven (View From 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, both or a megawordzzle using all the words, or even all three, it's up to you, you can post them on your blog or email them to Raven. If you join in go to Raven's and put your name on the Mr. Linky so other participants can come visit you.

Sorry no doodles this week I just didn't have time!

This Week's Ten Word Challenge is: France, cold weather, backhoe, light and shadow, Humane society, ambivalent, “Happy Birthday, Sarah Jane,” Martians, Thanksgiving Day Parade, green eyes

Lilly wrote the message on the birthday card, “Happy Birthday, Sarah Jane”, and addressed the envelope to Ms. S. Martians, 7 Esplanade Henri, Lyon, France. That would make Sarah laugh, her surname was in fact Martains but Lilly always wrote Martians. This would be the first year that Sarah had missed the Thanksgiving Day Parade in all the time they had known each other and Lilly could imagine Sarah’s green eyes glistening with tears as she thought about it. Sarah had left her job at the Humane Society to fulfil her lifelong ambition, there was no light and shadow or ambivalence in Sarah’s mind, she made her choice and went for it. The climate was milder in France and Lilly was sure Sarah would miss the cold weather, but was still not sure Sarah was doing the right thing taking the job in France as a backhoe operator.



Mini Challenge: she’ll be comin' round the mountain when she comes, pumpkin pie, yellow jacket, short-changed, life after 50



Putting on her best yellow jacket Denise looked huge. She had eaten far too many pumpkin pies for her own good and life after 50 wouldn’t be up to much if she didn’t do something about her weight. She’d short-changed herself by not watching her diet and if she wasn’t careful they wouldn’t be singing “she’ll be coming round the mountain when she comes” they’d be singing “She’ll be as big as a mountain when she comes!”



Megawordzzle

“Happy Birthday, Sarah Jane France”, Sarah thought to herself as she prepared the pumpkin pie for her family, she called them her family but the children were in fact from her husband’s previous marriage. Today they were going together to watch the Thanksgiving Day Parade, as they always did, and celebrate her birthday.

After packing the picnic Sarah took a walk to the forest and watched the backhoe excavating the clearing. She remembered the day she arrived in the small town of ‘Ambivalent’, on Thanksgiving, it was snowing that night and the cold weather reminded her of home.

It took her some months to really settle in the town but the people were kindly, they even had a Humane Society, and made her very welcome. Sarah had lived in Ambivalent for about six months when she met John. She had been walking through the forest to the clearing when she heard someone singing “She’ll be comin’ round the mountain when she comes’ and there he was in his yellow jacket chopping wood. If there was such a thing as love at first sight Sarah experienced it at that moment. There was no light and shadow about her feelings for John, they were perfectly clear – she was in love and, thankfully, as their relationship developed she found John felt the same way.

She discovered John was a 40 year old widower with two boys and she told him it had been her 40th birthday on Thanksgiving Day when she’d arrived in the town, consequently her family thought she was fifty today but she was I fact much older. It was a whirlwind romance and no-one was surprised when she and John married barely three months after meeting. She looked after John and his boys and John never felt short-changed that they’d never had children of their own because of her age.

The clearing in the forest had appeared overnight all those years ago and now the excavation was the talk of the town. It had been investigated at the time but it was decided, by consensus of opinion, it was just ‘one of life’s mysteries’. Now some professor had arrived in town and wanted to investigate further, hence the excavation.

They had been married now for ten years and Sarah was scared that her blissful existence was about to change. She was hoping the saying ‘there is life after 50’ would be true for her and that the excavation of the clearing wouldn’t find the evidence of her arrival and spoil everything. It would be a terrible shock for everyone if they found out the truth. Sarah was popular in town and everyone commented on her luminous green eyes, what they didn’t know was that it was a trait of her origins – all Martians have them!

Friday 55 Flash Fiction # 50 Proud..

Proud

Archie looked at his trophies lining the cabinet.

At 76 he was proud of his achievements.

A startled Archie looked around to see the man standing in his doorway.

"He must be after the trophies" thought Archie.

The blow rendered him unconscious.

"That'll teach you not to try to rob a Karate expert!" said Archie.

Friday 55 Flash Fiction is brought to you by G-man (Mr Knowitall). The idea is you write a story in exactly 55 words. If you want to take part pop over and let G-man know when you've posted your 55.

Dona Nobis Pacem............

Dorothy Thompson:



Peace has to be created, in order to be maintained. It is the product of Faith, Strength, Energy, Will, Sympathy, Justice, Imagination, and the triumph of principle. It will never be achieved by passivity and quietism.

If you haven't already got your Peace Globe please go to Mimi's and get one then fly it with pride and sign the Mr Linky to let everyone know you have participated.

Gobby?.......

There's a family, Father, Mother and daughter, who live at the bottom of our cul-de-sac who cause lots of problems for their neighbours - in particular two elderly people living in separate bungalows right next door to them. The Father is an alcoholic, the Mother is a sandwich short of a picnic and the Daughter is 21 but probably has a mental age of about 8 and she persistently taunts these neighbours. Over the past few months the police have been called numerous times and after one particular incident it took two policewomen to manhandle the daughter to the floor and cuff her before they could get her in the police van. She was housed in a secure unit for a few weeks after this incident.

A couple of weeks ago I watched the said daughter hide behind a tree in front of the bungalows whilst throwing stones at the windows. Father and mother told her to come away but she took no notice and continued to harrass the poor woman in the bungalow. Eventually the woman lost patience and came out to chase the daughter away. The daughter ran round the side of the bungalow and the woman turned to go back into her home when the daughter jumped on her back. The woman shook her off then hit her in the stomach, which I think winded her but she wasn’t really hurt, however the Mother and Father were shrieking hysterically and phoning the police and an ambulance. The ambulance came but left without the daughter, then the social worker arrived and took the daughter away (presumably to the secure unit again) and then the police arrived.

Now I saw all this from my lounge window, I witnessed the extreme provocation the woman had been subjected to and when I saw the police go to her bungalow I just had to go and tell them what I’d seen. The woman was very grateful that I was willing to be a witness, as she really thought she was going to be in a lot of trouble for hitting the daughter.

Last Saturday I received a letter in the post which was not even addressed to my correct name, it was on a piece of paper torn out of a notebook in scrawly print and poorly written it said:

Mrs Gobby


Keep your mouth shut when you see something that does not concern you OK


Then on Sunday evening, just as we arrived home from a concert, having been out of the house since 6 p.m, there was a taxi driver just going up our path to inform us that our taxi had arrived!

Who do you think wrote the letter and sent the taxi and would you have stepped up to the plate in the same situation?

Don’t get me wrong I don’t regret doing what I did but I can understand why some people don’t want to get involved. I’m just waiting to see if we have any unordered pizzas delivered or a ton of topsoil then I will inform the police and give them the note.

Showers.......

I was sent this by email recently and just had to share it.

How To Shower Like a Woman

Take off clothes and place them sectioned in laundry basket according to lights and darks.



Walk to bathroom wearing long dressing gown.



If you see husband along the way, cover up any exposed areas.



Look at your womanly physique in the mirror - make mental note to do more sit-ups/leg-lifts, etc.



Get in the shower.



Use face cloth, arm cloth, leg cloth, long loofah, wide loofah and pumice stone.



Wash your hair once with cucumber and sage shampoo with 43 added vitamins.



Wash your hair again to make sure it's clean.



Condition your hair with grapefruit mint conditioner enhanced.



Wash your face with crushed apricot facial scrub for 10 minutes until red.



Wash entire rest of body with ginger nut and jaffa cake body wash.



Rinse conditioner off hair.



Shave armpits and legs.



Turn off shower.



Squeegee off all wet surfaces in shower.



Spray mould spots with Tile cleaner.



Get out of shower.



Dry with towel the size of a small country.



Wrap hair in super absorbent towel.



Return to bedroom wearing long dressing gown and towel on head.



If you see husband along the way, cover up any exposed areas.

How To Shower Like a Man

Take off clothes while sitting on the edge of the bed and leave them in a pile.



Walk naked to the bathroom.



If you see wife along the way, shake willy at her making the 'woo-woo' sound.



Look at your manly physique in the mirror.



Admire the size of your willy and scratch your bum.



Get in the shower.



Wash your face.



Wash your armpits.



Blow your nose in your hands and let the water rinse them off.



Fart and laugh at how loud it sounds in the shower.



Spend majority of time washing privates and surrounding area.



Wash your bum, leaving those coarse bum hairs stuck on the soap.



Wash your hair.



Make a Shampoo Mohawk.



Wee.



Rinse off and get out of shower.



Partially dry off.



Fail to notice water on floor because curtain was hanging out of bath the whole time.



Admire willy size in mirror again.



Leave shower curtain open, wet mat on floor, light and fan on.



Return to bedroom with towel around waist.



If you pass wife, pull off towel, shake willy at her and make the 'woo-woo' sound again.



Throw wet towel on bed.