I decided to have a complete break away from world news while I was in Turkkey. I deliberately left my tablet at home, and although I took my mobile phone for emergencies, I didn’t switch it on at all. There was a large TV in the hotel room, and we didn’t turn that on once. … Con … | Continue reading
Last week was the fourth time I had been to Turkey. I had previously been to Istanbul, Antalya and Alanya, and Bodrum. Kusadasi is a busy fishing port with a safe harbour inside a large natural bay. It has a lot of history dating back to Neolithic times, and was also occupied by … | Continue reading
Back from our 7-day holiday in Turkey, and pleased to report it was excellent. I will have no chance to catch up with all the posts I missed while we were away, though I will try to answer the comments you left over the next couple of days. Back to normal soon, with some reports … | Continue reading
As you all know by now, tomorrow is the start of our holiday. I will be offline while I am away, so will start fresh with all your posts and comments once we are back in Beetley. Apologies for all the posts I will miss and not comment on I will hopefully have some reports … Conti … | Continue reading
This is the final part of a fiction serial, in 862 words. After three years in Arboria, Jenny was completely at home. Her time learning from Patricia had seen her develop into a skilled chair maker, and when the old lady had died, she took over being in charge of that section in … | Continue reading
Another song featured on this blog before, and my favourite of all of Stevie Wonder’s songs. This comes from his 1980 album, ‘Hotter than July’, and was released as a single by Tamla Motown the following year. Stevie has enjoyed an amazing career in music since his first record d … | Continue reading
These are self-explanatory, and you might find them interesting Times Square, New York City Beaumont Hamel, France. During WW1, and now. Phoenix, Arizona. Montmartre, Paris. American man with his car. Manhattan, New York City. | Continue reading
This is the twenty-first part of a fiction serial, in 797 words. While they were eating that night, Gwen was chatty. The food was really good, and Jenny had her first ever taste of wine. It was sharper than the fruit drinks she had been used to, but she immediately noticed how it … | Continue reading
No complaints about the weather this week. It has been dry, sunny, and warm, with one day reaching 19C. (66F) That is very warm for early March. It is set to drop again next week, but we will hopefully get warm weather on holiday from Wednesday. ————————————————————————————— Juli … | Continue reading
Most of these seem quite genuine, but they might not be. Nice and sunny again this morning. | Continue reading
Billy Ocean is a British-based singer originally from Trinidad, probably best know for his 1985 song ‘When The Going Gets Tough, The Tough Get Going’, which was used in the successful film, ‘The Jewel Of The Nile’. That gave him a worldwide hit which is still played on the radio … | Continue reading
This is the twentieth part of a fiction serial, in 842 words. Once the silence was broken, Jasper turned out to be very chatty. “You probably wouldn’t know, coming from the machine world over the river, but a very long time ago, much of the land to the south and east of London wa … | Continue reading
This is the nineteenth part of a fiction serial, in 777 words By the time the door opened again, Jenny was dozing off sitting up, only kept awake by thirst and fear. The light coming in from the doorway made her shield her eyes, then she recognised James’s voice. “Here’s some wat … | Continue reading
My thanks to Gavin from New Zealand for sending this to me. Two guys grew up together, but after college one moves to Georgia and the other to Texas. They agreed to meet every ten years in Florida to play golf and catch up with each other. At age 32 they meet, finish their round … | Continue reading
Some more ‘believe it or not’ information. This time it is about eyes. | Continue reading
Growing up, I often enjoyed seeing musical films at the cinema, or on TV. One I liked a lot was ‘Babes In Arms’, starring Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney, released in 1939. It had a particular song that I liked at the time, ‘Where or When’, a Rogers and Hart composition. ‘Babes In … | Continue reading
I do not assert that any of these are true. But some of them are. | Continue reading
This is the eighteenth part of a fiction serial, in 810 words. Sadie was just starting to open her food stand when Jenny walked up to her. It was obvious to Sadie that something was wrong as the woman looked as white as a sheet, appeared to have been crying, and was shivering as … | Continue reading
My Funny Valentine became one of my favourite songs when I was still a child. My dad had different versions of the song on records, including one by Frank Sinatra. And he also sang it when he was performing in pubs. The Rogers and Hart song dates from 1937, and was in the musical … | Continue reading
Remember that I do not claim that any of these are true, though some undoubtedly are. (I think this means all the cruise ships, not just the one in the photo) I have seen one of those. | Continue reading
American singer/songwriter Mac Rebennack released records and performed as ‘Dr John’. Growing up in New Orleans with a very mixed heritage, his songs contained elements of Blues, Jazz, and Soul, all sung in his distinctive southern accent. His live performances took inspiration f … | Continue reading
I found some more! | Continue reading
I am reblogging this from zerothly. It is a long read, but worth your time. It relates in part to the recent posts from Sarada Gray and myself about the fact that you do not own books purchased on Kindle, and will soon not be allowed to transfer them to another device, therefore … | Continue reading
This is the seventeenth part of a fiction serial, in 800 words. When the Field Telephone rang, the noise of the bell was so loud it made Jenny jump out of her skin. Thomas lifted the top part to his ear and spoke into the lower part. “We have a serious issue with the tokens … Con … | Continue reading
My thanks to Gavin from New Zealand for sending these to me. I’m sure we can all think of people that they might apply to in the modern world. | Continue reading
There is a Londoner named Chris Ross with a large online presence as ‘The East End Poet’. He also makes ukeleles and is a fan of West Ham football club. He wrote this, which I think is great. (Copyright Chris Ross) You can discover more about him using these links, including his … | Continue reading
Hard to believe, but this is an actual newspaper article writing about a recruitment campaign for women to join London’s Metropolitan Police. It dates from the 1930s. | Continue reading
The old weather-related saying is that ‘March comes in like a lion, goes out like a lamb’. I’m pleased to say that is not the case this year as we have sunny weather and temperatures up to 10C (50F) that are forecast to last all week. Okay, it has been below feezing overnight and … | Continue reading
This is the sixteenth part of a fiction serial, in 840 words. Before they went to sleep that night, Jenny had a question for Stacey. “Why do you have barrier guards with weapons? Does anyone try to attack you? It seems peaceful here, so I don’t understand why so many people are w … | Continue reading
I do not suggest that any of these maps are accurate! (Though some probably are.) | Continue reading
To cheer ourselves up, we decided to book a short holiday to Turkey, leaving later this month. I haven’t been overseas since 2011, though Julie has made a couple of short trips while I stayed home to look after Ollie. It all seems straightforward enough. Book a room direct with t … | Continue reading
I was thinking about this song today, and checked my blog to discover I had featured it previously, in 2017. But that was in one of my A-Z series, so I decided to give it another outing today. The information is from Wikipedia, but I bought the single when I was 18 years old in … … | Continue reading
I do not claim that any of these are true! You can decide for yourselves. | Continue reading
My blogging friends Ed Westen and Susanne Swanson frequently post photos of the Hummingbirds that are attracted to feeders in their gardens. https://catsandtrailsandgardentales.com/ https://deartedandjody.wordpress.com/author/democratizemoney/ They both live in the north-west of … | Continue reading
This is the sixteenth part of a fiction serial, in 811 words. Dinner was a communal affair. A short walk back in the direction of the bridge took them to what had once been a theatre and concert complex next to the river. The former foyer was now a large dining hall, with people … | Continue reading
Yesterday I reblogged Sarada Gray’s post about changes to Kindle book storage and ownership being brought in by Amazon. In a reply to one of my comments on her post, ‘zerothly’ wrote this. What I’ve done is download them all and put the Kindle Fire into airplane mode, which unfor … | Continue reading
I am reposting this from Sarada Gray to let everyone know that Amazon is removing the facility to download Kindle books that you own, and they will only be available on Amazon devices in the future. If you close or delete your Amazon account, you will no longer have access to tho … | Continue reading
I have no idea of any of these are true, so this is a disclaimer in advance. However, we have been using Himalayan Pink Salt for years now, and I do recommend that. | Continue reading
This is the fourteenth part of a fiction serial, in 828 words. James didn’t say much, and Jenny thought it best not to ask too many questions until she met Thomas later. When she had finished eating, he took her further down the train into a carriage marked Female Quarters. Insid … | Continue reading
Sad news that Roberta Flack has died at the age of 88. I have seen many tributes featuring her most well-known songs, so here is one that I bought on a single in 1972. Two of my favourite singers at the time with a duet. Where is the love? (Where is the love?) Where is … Continue … | Continue reading
Never too old to learn something new. Most of the images can be enlarged by clicking on them. Locations where Roman coins have been found. This may no longer apply to America. The topography of South America, with The Andes shown on the left. Actual size of countries in dark blue … | Continue reading
1994 sounds fairly recent, until you remember it was 30 years ago! The British Duo with the unusual name, Everything But The Girl, released their latest album that year, and then this song from it, as a single. I already liked them, mainly for the crystal-clear vocals of Tracy Th … | Continue reading
Today’s selection has nothing controversial, upsetting, or completely unbelievable. In fact I went the extra mile and fact-checked these and they are all true. The Ratfish is even on video on You Tube. This might be Smitty’s Pizza in Ohio, or it might not… At the edge of the Boha … | Continue reading
This is the thirteenth part of a fiction serial, in 831 words. Choosing the nearest bridge, Jenny looked across and could see a barrier on the other side. It was higher than a tall man, and well-constructed from metal and wire. Afraid of the water below, she walked in the centre … | Continue reading