Saturday Wordzzle # 25

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, 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 are my efforts - complete with my doodles.

This Week's Ten Word Challenge is: middle finger, text message. the letter “Q,” Shangri-La, melodramatic, compensate, elixir, band of brothers, quadruped, explicit

Chris sent a quick text message to the ‘Band of Brothers’, his rock group.

“Meet you at the Shangri-La at 8 for some elixir, I’ll be arriving on a quadruped”.

An immediate reply came from Jimmy in the form of the letter “Q”, which Chris knew meant OK.

Tony’s text said

“Why do you always have to be so explicit and melodramatic? Leave the horse at home!”

“OK” replied Chris “but you’ll have to compensate me, so you’re paying all night.”

“No way” thought Tony, mentally giving Chris the middle finger.




And for the Mini Challenge: deposition, monosyllabic, better off dead, dubious, posh

Standing in the dock Jane couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The prosecution lawyer was reading a deposition from the cleaner she had employed. Someone must have helped her write it thought Jane, she was only capable of monosyllabic conversations usually.

She couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

“I was always dubious about her, too posh, conniving, married to an old man with money, I heard her tell him he'd be better off dead” relayed the lawyer.

“What was she talking about?” thought Jane, they really think I killed Arthur!



Megawordzzle

After the accident Melissa thought she would be better off dead. She felt she had been scarred for life in the crash but her family and friends said she was being melodramatic. They continued to visit and cajole her like a band of brothers, ignoring her monosyllabic replies to their enquiries as to when she was thinking of going back to work.

She had been knocked out in the crash and her memory of the accident was sketchy but she was having flashbacks, not enough to give a deposition in court though, as yet. She remembered leaving the country restaurant, The Letter “Q”, with Mark, he was driving his sports car along the windy roads back to town when the quadruped appeared in the middle of the road as they rounded the sharp bend.

Melissa was remembering their first date, she hadn’t been dubious at all as Mark was the brother of Tricia, a colleague from work. Tricia had been on at her for months asking if she fancied a date with Mark, eventually she relented and told Tricia she could pass on her mobile number to Mark. He sent her a text message and they arranged to meet. After only a few dates she found they got on like a house on fire, being with Mark was like elixir, exciting and heady. After six months Mark proposed, dinner at the posh restaurant was to celebrate their engagement.

Waiting for Mark to come and take her to dinner she flicked through the holiday brochures. During dinner Mark wanted to know what he could do to compensate her for the broken middle finger she had sustained in the accident.

“As a matter of fact, I’ve been looking at some holiday brochures and there’s this fantastic place called Shangri-La in the Caribbean where we could get married” said Melissa, giving Mark a dazzling smile.

“Could you be a bit more explicit?” asked Mark with a wink.

Friday 55 Flash Fiction # 38 The Trip

The Trip

“Come on, we’re going for a little drive” he said

“Oh great” she thought, rushing out to the car “I’d rather go for a walk, but beggars can’t be choosers”.

Suddenly he stopped.

"Out you get.......

I'm sorry,

we can’t keep you,

someone will find you and take you in, you’re such a lovely puppy.”

The number of abandoned dogs inspired me to write this rather poignant tale.

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.

Kefalonia Part 1 ......

Ok y'all it's time to bore you with the holiday photos!

First of all the above picture is actually a photograph MWM took late at night of the moon on the sea on the beach road just near out hotel - isn't it beautiful!

We had a really early start to our holiday being picked up by taxi at 3.30 a.m. on Thursday 17th July for a 6 a.m. flight out of Manchester. We'd had about an hour's sleep but were raring to go. I'd packed everything except the kitchen sink and an umbrella but we weighed the luggage to make sure we wouldn't have to pay excess baggage, (the airports are really strict on luggage now), and off we went.

Our flight didn't actually take off until 6.25 a.m. but made up the half hour delay so we landed in Kefalonia spot on time. We were off the plane and on the bus on our way to the resort of Skala within 30 mins which is excellent for a Greek airport I can tell you.

The ride across the mountains and through the little windy streets of the villages in a huge coach is quite an hairaising one I can tell you, the coach drivers deserve a medal! The scenery was spectacular though so we didn't dwell too much on the sheer drops at the side of the mountain roads. The journey took about one and half hours with the drop offs at varioius hotels but it meant that we got to see the other hotels and were happy with our choice once we got there.

We stayed at the Aeolos Beach Hotel in Skala which is set up quite a steep hill about a twenty minute walk from the centre of Skala itself. You'll see from the slide show the magnificent views we had from the balcony and the pool area and it was really peaceful compared to the busling resort during the day.

The rooms are huge, with a power shower, comfortable beds, very clean and well maintained. The pool and it's surroundings are beautiful, with wonderful views and there are more than enough sunbeds and umbrellas even when the hotel is full. The staff at the hotel are friendly helpful - Angela is a charming and helpful manager, she is helped by Lisa, who always has a cheery good morning/afternoon and a lovely smile. Kat organises breakfast and cooks at lunchtime - her BLT's are to die for! Evo (the handyman) apparently was an Olympic weight lifter, which is believable when you see him lift two 20kg suitcases and run up and down stairs with them as though they were two bags of sugar! Michael, the barman, is friendly and mixes great drinks, we asked for our favourite - Ouzo, topped up with sprite and a dash of Grenadine - he said Ouzo Specials will now but put on the cocktail menu!

The hotel is about a 20 minute walk into the centre of Skala but we enjoyed it - a nice way to work up an appetite and walk off your evening meal. The hill up to the hotel is a bit of a killer though - not for the infirm, though saying that I didn't have a problem even though I had a knee replacement 16 months ago, I managed it with no problem apart from getting out of breath! We suggested they install an oxygen station half way up the hill. If you don't mind a walk it's the ideal location, if you turn left at the bottom of the hill instead of right into Skala centre, there are some great restaurants that way too - that would be a long walk if you staying in the centre though so we were ideally situated for a variety of restaurants. All the restaurants are good and we got 10% discount when dining at the Hotel's Restaurant, Aeolos, on the beach road. There was a Chinese and Italian restaurant which were a nice change from Greek food.

If you hover your cursor over the slides below it will show the description of the photo.

Hope you enjoyed your introduction to Skala, more soon.

Oblivious....

We have just spent two idyllic weeks on a Greek island obivious to the fact that our eldest son, Nick, was the victim of knife crime. Thankfully he had suffered no more than a broken foot which is why neither son had informed us whilst we were away.

Knife crime in Britain has become an epidemic of late with the youth of today.

Nick was walking home at 2 a.m. last Friday morning from a stag night for his friend, for whom he was best man last Saturday. It was no more than a 25 minute walk to his home, a walk he has done countless times. He is a respectable 37 year old father of three who had enjoyed a few beers with his friends but had left them to walk home alone because he was working the following day.

There were two young men on the opposite side of the road walking towards him and as the gap got smaller they crossed the road towards him, pulling up their hoods at the same time. Nick is a big strong man, he is fit for 37 because he cycles and runs, he has done Judo and Kick boxing and can take care of himself if he has to, his instincts told him there could be trouble.  As they approached him they asked for cigarettes, Nick said he didn't have any, not content with the answer the elder one, being only about eight inches away from him put his hand into his belt and started to pull a knife from it. Nick had the presence of mind to grab his wrists and turn the man's hands inwards preventing him from using the knfe. Nick said "You don't want to do this mate" to which the man replied "Why not?".

They tousled and Nick threw the man against a wall causing him to fall down and he dropped the knife, Nick ran. He could hear someone chasing him, he didn't know whether it was both of them or whether they had the knife, so he just kept running. The one who had drawn the knife was chasing him and managed to stamp on Nick's right foot stopping his flight. Nick went down and the man tumbled over the top of him. Nick jumped up and carried on running putting as much distance as he could between them before glancing back to see both men searching the floor, looking for the knife obviously.

Nick dialled 999 on his mobile, breathless and in pain from his foot he told the operator he had been attacked. They kept him on the line asking if he could see his attackers, they wanted a description and details of where they were heading. A few minutes later a passing patrol car had them in custody. They sent another car to Nick and an ambulance, which took him to hospital where they Xrayed his foot and found three broken bones, so they encased his leg in plaster. The police said he was very lucky but his escape with only a broken foot was down to him having had his wits about him.

The police told Nick when they challenged the men the elder one (one was 15 the other 23) produced the knife saying "I've got a knife!" When asked why he was carrying a knife he replied "for protection, I've just been jumped down the road". When they were questioned at the station the elder of the two would only say "No comment" but the younger one admitted to being there but did not take part in the attack, thereby dropping his friend right in it!

Presumably the two will be up in court, sometime, and get a slap on the wrist and told not to do it again. In the meantime Nick is on crutches for two weeks, then a walking plaster for four weeks, he cannot drive, he cannot work, he doesn't feel he did the right thing by running, but of course everyone has told him he did exactly the right thing. Had he stayed and fought he could have been stabbed, he could be dead, or he could have picked the knife up and killed in self defence and be facing a prison sentence himself.

What is this country coming to? I despair I really do. I thank God that my son is a fit man who can take care of himself but even that is not enough these days. Had it been anyone not as quick witted and fit the outcome could have been so different. MWM commented that had he been in that situation, at almost 60 years old with high blood pressure, the outcome would most definitely have been very different.

I feel sick.

Friday 55 Flash Fiction # 37 Kaleidoscope

I got back off holiday yesterday afternoon but couldn't resist doing a 55, even though I've got a ton of washing to do!

Kaleidoscope

She sat fascinated, watching the colours swirling around.

Blending, dancing, embracing, circling around each other faster and faster.

A Kaleidoscope of colours.

“This is amazing” she thought “I’ll do this again!”

"Hang on, I don't remember seeing that before" she thought.

as she sat in the Laundrette watching her washing spin wildly in the machine.

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.

Remembering a Birthday.....

SOPHIE

Our Grandaughter

Would have been 15 years old today.

Remembering you on your birthday sweetheart

and every day

Love you always

Nanna & Granddad

xxxx

Saturday Wordzzle # 22

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, 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 are my efforts - complete with my doodles.

This Week's Ten Word Challenge is: cardboard box, liquor cabinet, ostrich feathers, longitudinal, hamburger helper, partnership, laundry detergent, magnificent, San Francisco, prognosis

Shane helped himself to a drink from the liquor cabinet; he was spitting ostrich feathers as he’d been out riding the range all morning checking on the longitudinal fences that bordered his magnificent ranch. Throwing back the whisky he poured himself another just as Emma walked in from the kitchen carrying a bottle of laundry detergent.

“Want one?” he asked

“Yes please, and can you carry that cardboard box upstairs for me later?”

He’d been riding in the rodeo when he met Emma, who was still in a state of shock from losing her husband to cancer. He had only been diagnosed two months before and the prognosis had been good but the doctors had obviously made a mistake. After her husband’s death Emma decided to leave San Francisco and do some travelling, taking any job that came up, which at the moment was as a hamburger helper at the rodeo.He had recently purchased the ranch, having saved for years, and this would be his last rodeo. He and Emma got on well together so he offered her the job of housekeeper and cook on the ranch, and two years down the line the partnership became more than business when they admitted they’d got feelings for each other. All the ranch hands laughed when Shane told them he and Emma were going to be married. Of course they weren’t surprised they had noticed the signs.On the night of their wedding Emma said “I have something to tell you, please don’t be mad that I didn’t tell you before the wedding but I had to be sure you were marrying me because you love me.”“Of course I love you, what is it you have to tell me?”“I’m rich Shane, very rich, my husband was a ranching tycoon and I am the sole beneficiary of his estate!”The look of disbelief on Shane’s face was very convincing.Of course he’d known all along.

Now he could pay off the mortgage.

And for the Mini Challenge: worst case scenario, marginalia, water fountain, specialized, fortitude

Agnes checked the marginalia on the job description to remind herself what she wanted to ask at the interview. She desperately wanted the job, it was just up her street being quite a specialized area, she would not let herself imagine the worst case scenario of not getting it. Not many people had her talents and fortitude, it had taken years of practice to perfect the art of entertaining children and they just loved it when she took a whole glass of water into her mouth and projected it up into the air like a water fountain.

Megawordzzle

Patsy’s life has taken a turn for the worse. She had gone from being a celebrated actress, who’s life was a constant round of Lear jets travelling longitudinal southern hemisphere and yacht parties to living in a downtown San Francisco apartment that was not much bigger than a cardboard box. Her dependency on the contents of the liquor cabinet had resulted in her belief that she was beyond reproach when she didn’t turn up for filming because she had a hangover, or behaved impossibly when on the film set. The industry could no longer afford the spiralling cost of delays caused by Patsy’s unreliability.Patsy had received the “you’ll be dead in two years if you don’t give up the booze” prognosis from her doctor. That was the worst case scenario he’d told her, and he had recommended she go to a clinic that specialized in alcohol dependency. She spent two months in the clinic where each patient was given specific duties to keep them occupied and allow them to function with some normality; Patsy became an expert on laundry detergent during her time there.

The day arrived for Patsy to leave the clinic and before exiting the door into the bright sunshine she stooped to take a drink from the water fountain reflecting on the fact that she was drinking water instead of vodka now. She felt ready to face the world. No longer resplendent in magnificent satin and ostrich feathers Patsy took a job working as a hamburger helper. Her time in show business was over, she realised that but she had shown great fortitude in turning her life around, helped by Ben who she had met in the laundry at the clinic and with whom she now enjoyed a loving partnership.

Standing on the dais six months later, Cameron’s eyes filled with tears as she accepted the Oscar. The part of Patsy in the film “Riches to Rags” had been an overwhelming success. The script for the film containing her marginalia had been auctioned off for charity and raised $100,000. Returning to her seat to thunderous applause, Cameron smiled and took hold of Ben’s hand.

Hope you enjoyed my efforts. Please don’t forget I’m away on holiday until the end of the month, so I’ll catch up with you when I get back.

Friday 55 Flash Fiction # 36 Spiked?

Spiked?

He’d insisted she had a drink, though they’d only just met.

She’d gone along with a friend who knew him.

She was enjoying herself dancing and flirting.

Suddenly she felt sick…… the room spinning……..

It must have been the drink!

Luckily her Mum had just arrived to take her home from Johnny’s 10th Birthday party.

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.

Bye, bye.....

We are off to sunnier climes at 3.30 a.m. in the morning. We have two weeks on the Greek island of Kefalonia to look forward to – go on admit it, you’re jealous.





The film ‘Captain Corelli’s Mandolin’ was filmed in Sami on the north east coast of Kefalonia. For those of you who don’t know Captain Corelli's Mandolin, a 1993 novel written by Louis de Bernières, is a story about an Italian captain (Antonio Corelli) and the daughter (Pelagia) of the local physician (Dr. Iannis) on the island of Kefalonia set against the background of the Italian and German occupation of the island during World War II. It is 1941 and Captain Antonio Corelli, a young Italian officer, is posted to the Greek island of Cephallonia as part of the occupying forces. At first he is ostracised by the locals, but as a conscientious but far from fanatical soldier, whose main aim is to have a peaceful war, he proves in time to be civilised, humorous and a consummate musician.

When the local Doctor's daughter's letters to her fiancé - and members of the underground - go unanswered, the working of the eternal triangle seems inevitable. But can this fragile love survive as a war of bestial savagery gets closer and the lines are drawn between invader and defender?

We are staying in Skala in the south of Kefalonia. The current village was built in 1956 and replaces the old village which was leveled during a devastating earthquake in August 1953, killing 36 and injuring hundreds of villagers. The original village was located on the hill behind the present one, as many of the island's were, in order to avoid invasion from raiders and pirates during the previous centuries. The name 'Skala' originates from the Greek word for stairs. It was given this name because when it was in its original place, the houses seemed to ascend almost as though they were a set of stairs.



Of course there will be plenty of photographs so make sure you come back in August to see what we’ve been up to.





I will be scheduling my Flash 55 and Saturday Wordzzle to post this week, though I won’t be able to visit other participants until I get back.



I'll be busy reading (I'm taking six books), sunbathing, eating and drinking, but I will catch up when I get back I promise. 



Be good while I’m gone.

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

PS  Any Queenie fans - she's back posting.

Presidents in drag 1.....

George W Bush

Jimmy Carter

John Kerry

John Kerry / George W Bush

Jimmy Carter

George W Bush

Saturday Wordzzle # 21

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, 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 are my efforts - complete with my doodles.





This Week's Ten Word Challenge is: gouged, symmetrical, Spanish moss, ATV, parallel parking, Luscious, origami, amphibian, turkey, gravy train

Cathryn’s head was buzzing with things she had to do as she sat in her dining room eating her Sunday lunch, which consisted of roast potatoes, vegetables, turkey and gravy – “train the Spanish moss up the pergola, plant the lettuces so that they were symmetrical in the vegetable plot she had gouged out of the lawn, cut the grass…..” She’d been watching a programme on ATV about origami, which had reminded her she had a lesson with a driving instructor later to learn parallel parking. Cathryn had passed her driving test a few weeks ago, after two years of lessons. She could have passed a lot earlier but she fancied the driving instructor, he was just luscious, he’d served his time as an Army Amphibian Engineer and was now settled in civvy street. She would have to make a move on him soon, she was running out of ideas for more lessons and it was costing a fortune!

And for the Mini Challenge: pouring rain, mastiff, church bells, wedding dress, stock car races

Walking Oscar, her bull mastiff, Jenny stopped at the church to watch what was taking place. She felt sorry for the girl in the simple wedding dress running down the path hand in hand with her new husband in the pouring rain to the sound of the church bells, then throwing herself onto the back seat of a car that was only fit to be entered into stock car races. Jenny’s wedding would be so different, only the best would do. First she had to find a man though.





MEGAWORDZZLE

Joanna smoothed the luscious silk of the wedding dress against her body, this was the one she decided. She had won a competition on the ATV television station, which was an all expenses paid wedding anywhere in the world and, as it included the wedding finery, she was having the best dress money could buy. She and Erkan had decided on Turkey as the venue because his family lived there so that would solve the problem of them being able to attend the ceremony.Most of her friends had been shocked when she told them she was marrying Erkan. It was true she’d only known him six months, after meeting him at the stock car races, but she didn’t believe what they were saying about him jumping aboard the ‘gravy train’ because he made a good living breeding bull mastiffs, so he definitely wasn’t after her money.



She could hear the peal of the church bells over the thunderous sound of the pouring rain as it clattered on the windows of her room. Joanna was thankful that the rain had ceased and the sun had made an appearance, there was a point where she thought she might have to arrive at church in some sort of amphibian landing craft instead of a sleek limousine. Luckily it was driven by a chauffeur who was a master at parallel parking, because there was barely enough room left by the guests at the entrance to the church for him to park.



Walking through the avenue of trees leading to the door of the little church, Joanna thought how pretty the curly Spanish moss type plant hanging from the trees looked. She looked down at the well trodden path gouged out of the cobbles wondering if all the brides who had entered this church had been as happy as she. As Joanna walked down the aisle she was pleased to see that the decorations on the end of the pews were perfectly symmetrical, some people thought she was too fussy about things like that but she was a master at origami so what did they expect. Erkan was waiting for her, looking handsome in his suit, the church was filled with family and friends, everything was perfect. There was just one tiny niggle at the back of her mind. Why had Erkan insisted on a pre-nuptial agreement?

Friday 55 Flash Fiction # 35 Just a Job

Just A Job

Hello darlin’, lookin’ for a good time? she said peering seductively through heavily mascaraed eyes.

I’m doing a special offer at the moment only £20.

'Ere open the door and we’ll go somewhere quiet.

It’s not far and we won’t be disturbed.

She waited for his answer.

“Fantastic” said the director “You got the part”.

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.