Inner Dreaming – World Blog Hop
Sue Vincent passed on the baton of the World Blog Hop to me as it moves from writer to writer across the blogosphere. Apparently, I am to describe my personal writing process and then pass on the assignment to another writer and blogger. Sue and I wrote a book together a while ago but it was all done by email – sort of writing by correspondence! I think it worked though and the book stands as testimony to that process. Just recently, I have done a few interviews and there is always a question or two about the writing process as if it were formulaic. Perhaps for some it is. For me, there isn’t so much as a process as a frame of mind. Firstly, I need to feel the
Read More »Patterns in the Rain
I have always loved rain. Somehow rain always gives me a sense of cleansing and renewal and to walk in rain calms me. Throw in a bit of lightening and ripple of thunder and I am child again in awe of nature. The magical power of water is often forgotten but alluded to in the rites of baptism and ritual cleansing. That cold crystal liquid, a mixture of two gases in liquid form, can be used magically in so many ways either with physical water or with imagined water. Water can be charged with thoughts, emotions and with intent as with holy water and because of this property, it can be used in a myriad of ways to cleanse and renew. When water falls from the sky, it cleanses our
Read More »To be a Fool
If I were God I think I would be devastated by the acts of humanity. But maybe thats the wrong way to think about things? Maybe I would look upon my creation with a parents’ love and understanding and perhaps I would see the good things rather than the bad? Perhaps I would chose to look upon the little acts of kindness, the attempts to understand another’s point of view and the innocence and wonderful imagination of children and marvel that such kindness, such beauty could exist at all. Perhaps I would puzzle over why people seem so deeply burdened when in fact they have life, choice and freedom of expression. Perhaps I would understand that sometimes it is difficult to see the light in the darkness if you have
Read More »Divide et impera
What is the definition of divide and conquer? A strategy for achieving political or military control (my italics). There are a lot of ways to divide and conquer but the three that most easily come to mind are as follows; 1. Nationality 2. Religion 3. Race Politicians use all three of these and many others on an almost daily basis to gain what they want for their personal power. They pit us against one another by playing to our sense of injustice. The us and them statements designed to obtain an emotional response because if we surely thought about what we are being said we would recognise it as BS it really is. I’m English and a yorkshireman apparently. Why? Because by accident of birth I was born there. Nothing
Read More »Reminiscing About Summer
As I look out of my office window, I see a steady stream of drizzle. It is dark enough to have the lights on and if the truth be told, cold enough to put on the heating. It’s also august 27th and it has been like this for much of August. What happened to summer this year? From time to time some strange golden ball does appear in the sky emitting something that passes for heat but it is a pale washed out version of those seen in previous summers. If I hadn’t spent 12-days on Kos, I would swear summer was yet to arrive this year. I guess I shouldn’t moan too much. Maybe I simply betraying my English upbringing with my weather obsession? I remember as a small
Read More »On the Demise of Soup
When I was a kid my Dad made soup. It was tasty stuff full of veggies and meat and I adored it. If we didn’t have homemade soup then perhaps we would be treated to a can of Tomato soup. Soup was a part of the meal though back then. I suppose in recent decades, convenience foods have made a big chunk in most people’s diets and soup – real soup – seems to have disappeared a casualty of the war on dining (or preparation?) time. In the US, I rarely saw soup either except perhaps for the soup and salad restaurants where you could buy a hearty soup and fill a plate with salad for lunch. Soup, it seems is unpopular, unloved and old fashioned. Here in the Czech
Read More »Just 4 More Days to Enter…
Four more days to have a chance of winning a copy of Moon Whispers on Goodreads.com. Enter now if you haven’t already… Click here to enter.
Read More »Not More Poetry??
Yes. More poetry. I have published a new collection of poetry called Best Laid Plans and Other Strange Tails and it is now available in paperback format for a very reasonable price. The kindle version will launch on September 1st and will be free for the first 5-days (at least that is the plan but the amazon site is currently playing games with me!). If you buy the paperback though, you have a very nice book full of interesting poetry to place somewhere strategically. Please do consider it. The cover has already draw a couple of peoples attention. It is actually of a decoration on one of the house down our street in Brno of what I think is a sort of green man. Here is the cover for those
Read More »The Adept Magician
I wonder if any of you have ever met a real magician? Someone capable of making physical magic via their will? Czech magician, Franz Bardon, was one person reputed to have developed such powers and I can recommend the autobiographical account of his life which was written by one of his close associates after his death here in Brno and admittedly goes a bit overboard in its claims. Nonetheless, he could make real magic of that I have no doubts. Despite hanging in magical circles for close to a decade or so, I have never seen or met anyone capable of performing that kind of magic. I have seen and participated in rituals that have had real power and had real results but I have never seen someone make it rain
Read More »Music…. I love it
I have always enjoyed music. Even as a very small boy I was allowed to creep back downstairs to watch Top of the Pops and my favorite back then was Sandy Shore. In my early teens I discovered T.Rex. I still have a lot of T.Rex in my collection. I recall that I also enjoyed 10CC, Roxy Music (early only, The Sweet and a few more besides. I detested Slade primarily because of how they looked. My first album was a T.Rex compilation called Ride A white Swan and my second album was Suzi Quatro’s first effort… Can the Can… I loved that song! However, a strange thing happened in the summer of 1974. A french pen friend cam to visit us and he was desperate to buy some albums
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