Celebrating the successes of an Old Year

I had a lovely e-mail today which read:

You are among the 25 authors whose prose or poetry has been selected for the 2014 Mariner Awards.  As our Annual Review says, "The 40 titles listed — out of 304 for the year — are the ones that the Review Board has rated most highly in 2014. They have earned Bewildering Stories’ most signal honor."

There are TWO of them :)
Bewildering Stories has passed it's 600th Issue and I so proud to be part of that!

Christmas was properly but if anything, modestly celebrated here at Chateau Joslin with pork, apple, roast vegetables, sprouts (of course), individual Xmas puds, Alnwick rum butter and cream. Didn't have room for coffee but I had been basically pigging out for the past three weeks so no kudos there.
The presents were lovely and we spoke with family and friends. Special thanks to Kath and Jim way over there in Minneapolis for your call 
and emails from afar too, Jody Costa, Amy Corbin and Jane Vandenburg.

Apparently there is SNOW in some parts. It was frosty for the past few nights but no snow here and the frost is all gone too. Sometimes the NE is milder than the SW. This IS BRITAIN!!! Here in the garden there are still roses and a couple of other hangers on, despite a recent frost.

I have a poem today in PPandP -- a true story of lost love Ahhhh! In fact that is my third 'garden' based poem there -- coincidentally. So here you go: 

Pretty poems all in a row.
AGNESENGA

Liaison at Dusk  

Doomed Love 
 




As you make your New Year Resolutions, remember the first one should be to be KINDER and more POSITIVE. 

'cos what's the point of being skinny if you're beastly and MEAN?

Food for Thought for Friday -- Happy Yule

The Wassail cup -- a libation for apple trees

filling the house with scents of

gold, frankinsence, 

bay, holly, ivy, mistletoe, oak; 

the Yule Log that burns brightly for 12 days

 or the chocolate log that lasts 12 minutes :)

However you celebrate the Winter Solstice

this weekend sees the turn of the season 

and the last Sunday of Advent all at once.

so CELEBRATE 

Nothing to do with polar bears -- I just like him!

Thought for Friday -- Five Armies and lot more

A lot more of the same that is... I wasn't expecting a great deal from the last of the Hobbit films; just over-egging. I got what I expected and a couple of laughs but the best scenes were not the big action stuff and this is where all of these films fell down. All I ever wanted was that STORY and instead in my opinion Jackson lost the plot in prolonged battle scenes, cold elf eyes and protracted plots. And this one disappointed me in another way too -- there was no tune I could 'hum as I left the cinema' as Tom Lehrer put it in Oedipus Rex. So that as they say is that and I for one am quite glad it's over. If I saw one more Legi moment or another cave troll or 'mercenary goblin' whatever that is... I would get serious latex costume cramp.

By all means go and see it but don't say I didn't tell you so -- and there are two lines worth the laugh :) and a couple of nicely acted scenes amongst the CG HooHaa.

Baah! Humbug!

 

Thought for Friday -- It's beginning to look a lot like

Yes it has happened. Our first frosts have arrived. I looked out at 5 in the morning on Wednesday, and the world was picture postcard white. It's turned mild again now. The good old Gulf Stream and Jet Stream are keeping us cosy this year so far. 

And my plans for this weekend -- put up our tree :) I fancy some twinkliness.
Here are some memories frozen into my mind from childhood..

Frost
The swish and whoop
of boys sliding sideways
across the schoolyard.

The sharp edge of the glassy dam
where swans preen yellowish plumage
less than pristine.

On the playing field grass bristles white.
Swings dangle chains too cold to touch
even with mittened hands.
The roundabout’s in stasis.

The snap of leaves,
and crackle of fire as the Parky
burns the pyre of summer.

Broth, bed socks and lemonade
bottles filled with hot water
blankets and eider
weight the eyelids down

patterns form
inside the window panes.
A million questions greet each day.

Why don’t birds freeze to the trees?
Old fashioned glitter cards, silver tinsel,
a snowman skiing on a fruitcake.
Frost.

© 2014 Oonah V Joslin

 

Black Friday Disturbing Trend -- Don't DO this

There are so many advertts on TV for BLACK FRIDAY. What is it? The day after THANKSGIVING of course. The American eqivalent of BOXING DAY sales.

WHY?

Has it escaped your notice my fellow Brits that we are NOT actually Americans? We don't have Thanksgiving. And with our government trying to roll out all things American -- health systems and labour laws  

(fewer holidays in fact, less security, what -- unions? Why would workers need unions and holidays -- after all you have  three low paid jobs already, Drone!!) 

We already have much higher personal taxes and fuel taxes and food prices than in America -- really we have little to be thankful for.

And may I just add that my American friends really hate this Black Friday business too!

So don't do this. Stay home. It's going to be SALES SALES SALES

as long as you buy they'll sell -- but how can they afford such great savings??? Simple -- the stuff is worth a lot less than the so-called rrp to start with.

There's nothing that's worth buying. None of it's worth having. 

It can't buy you a moment more in this world or an ounce of happiness. 

It won't save the rainforests. 

It won't prevent a single extinction. 

It won't contribute to saving this planet for your children.  
(I don't have any so why should I care? Yet I DO.)

But I see by the news I am too late and people are out there fighting for holiday bargains for a holiday that doesn't exist.

Capitalism is the greater part of the problem. BE part of the solution. 

It's a black Friday indeed that sucks you into its retail vortex.  

If you ask me -- this is the real nightmare before Christmas!

Put on your wellies. Go for a nice walk somewhere peaceful. Stare a tree and breathe real air. Insist on a human face for the future.

Food for Thought for Friday -- SCONES

Scones are handy. They are quick to make, they taste good, they freeze well for quick reheating, they are the perfect accompaniement to a cup of tea and they are traditional part of High Tea. which was ever an upper class persuit and remains a great luxury for most people. But it can be done cheaply at home -- sandwiches, scones, cake :) Basically if you were a 
Farmer: Breakfast really early, Dinner about noon, Supper or Tea around 6 --early to bed
Worker: Breakfast really early, Lunch (pie or bread & cheese), Supper or dinner (maybe soup or stew) around 6 -- early to bed.
Gentlefolk: Breakfast later, High tea about 3 or 4, Dinner around 8 

The nouveau riche and middle classes tried wherever possible to emulate the wealthy lifestyle.

makes 6-8 scones

preheat the oven  
Tea Scones

8oz self raising flour (I always add an extra teasp of Baking Powder to this.)
OR the same amount plain flour with 4 tsps BP added)
half tsp salt
2oz butter (real butter!)
1oz fine /caster sugar
about a quarter pint of milk + a little for brushing 

Method
sift flour into bowl 
rub in butter
add sugar
salt
milk 
(I actually use a food processor and just dump the lot in an zizz it with the blade)

mix and turn out onto a floured surface
the dough should not be sticky but if it is just roll it round a bit in the flour. Don't knead it like bread! Just shape it into a round flat shape about an inch and a half inches thick. (I like nice big scones) but it's up to you. Cut with a round biscuit cutter or just cut into triangles with a knife. Place on a tray. Bake at 230C/ 45OF /Gas 8 for about 10 minutes. When they are risen and sound 'hollow' when tapped on the bottom they are ready for butter, cream (preferably clotted cream), jam (preferably home made) :)

For fruit scones add sultanas or raisins or dried cherries at the shaping phase.
Cinnamon and dried cherries make them festive.

All Purpose Scones

Why all purpose? Well they have no sugar and so you can make these into fruit scones by pushing a couple of oz sultanas in at the shaping stage OR you can put some cheese in with the flour and some mustard (English please) in the milk OR you can add herbs and put them on top of a stew for the last 20 mins of cooking -- like dumplings. These are versatile! I like to use wholemeal flour if I make cheese scones but it's up to you. Experiment. For a richer scone add an egg beaten with just a little milk and use the extra to brush the top for a shiny finish.

8oz SR flour or as suggested above
same amouts of salt, butter and milk as above

Same method and cooking times etc.

So there you are... Get scone making!
Invite some friends over for High Tea.

Food for thought for Friday -- Be an angel and BOGOFF

In her blog this week, my friend Amanda was railing against commercial Christmas pressures and I don't blame her. It's a pudding way over-egged. On the other hand Eat drink and be merry is not new. And in a way the feasting aspects of Christmas were a necessary boost in the middle of Winter for the lifestyles of the past. 

Elizabethan Christmas

It's just that we now gorge ourselves on a daily basis that is unacceptable (I am one to talk!) whilst others starve in this world of plenty. So take a look at the link above just for comparison on how to enjoy Christmas. At least we don't have 12 days of it -- or do we have 365? 

On Boxing Day they will advertise holidays and Easter Eggs will appear in supermarkets shortly after. The next thing and the next thing and the next.

I really feel sorry for those who have to accede to the demands of modern gadgetry, to fulfill the wishes of their children. That's pressure! A doll and a stocking full of sweeties was all it used to take.

I still haven't baked my Christmas Cake. I am wondering whether to bother. After all I don't NEED Christmas Cake AND Mince Pies AND shortbread. Do I? DO I?

 Be an angel and BOGOFF

Things to Remember in November

Hallowe'en and Guy Fawkes are over and Winter lies ahead. This week we remember.

For this remembrance weekend MAYBE THE BRAVE


Just Doing Her Job is my latest Microhorror tale. This one was written for my sister Esme who worked as a midwife in the Cottage Hospital at Ballymena and she once told me how on night duty she'd been on her way to the nursery to attend to a crying baby and on the stairs she came upon a very cold area. She found herself slowed in her progress 'like trying to wade through treacle', as she described it, and only when she said she was trying to get to the baby, did the cloud dispel. She was afraid to go back down on her own so waited for someone to come up before doing so. 

Now I for one believe her having had a similar experience in broad daylight in Little Dean Hall in the Forest of Dean, which is supposed to be haunted but nobody had mentioned that particular room!

I think my story is less terrifying that the real incident but I thought I would lay that ghost to rest as it has haunted me for years. We used to pass this building every morning on our way to primary school and I always thought it looked spooky. I wonder if anyone has ever seen the ghost?

Chasing Ghosts is What we Do and Little Human Voices are my other two microhorrors this season. 

I have some work coming up at PostcardPoems&Prose and also at Bewildering Stories and we are currently taking submissions at The Linnet's Wings and do go and browse our latest issue to see the kind of thing we like.


Also visit my Tuesday Blog Parallel Oonahverse for the rest of this month for some lovely poetry by Kathleen Cassen Mickelson.

7 weeks to Christmas

A Horror a Day Keeps the Horrors Away -- HAPPY HALLOWE'EN

My short story Duplicititous the Dawn began life as flash fiction. The middle section was the first part written. However the main character would not be done with and insisted in being dealt with in a less piece-meal fashion and so I had to set about writing the longer version and after a lot of revisions it is now published in Bewildering Stories for Hallowe'en.

Don Webb has aptly asked: The question is less ‘Who is Sebastiano?’ than ‘What is he?’ 
The two of us had a little discussion on the matter. Is the character Deluded? Evil? Redeemable?
But I do not ask you to judge Sebastiano.
I just hope you enjoy the story.

I hope you have enjoyed all the stories this week and if you missed a day go back through
and if you liked them, please let me know.

HAPPY HALLOWE'EN

A Horror a Day Keeps the Horrors Away 6 -- Never waste a Good Nightmare.

Yesterday I spoke of nightmares. I have used those as a basis for stories too. Apres Longtemps: A Troubadour's Return is based on one of my more florid dreams. And in another instance I wrote Marrying Maud for my sister because she'd told me about one of her nightmares. And Sown on the Wind -- another of mine. What's with the dream animal theme, I wonder?


There's still time to enter the Hallowe'en MicroHorror Competition 2014. The prizes are always unique and well worth having. I can't win having won three times in a row in
2007 Autumn Fruit
2008 The Final Chapter which has now turned into a long story still to be published
2009 Smolensk the Second Time which I linked to the to the other day.

MicroHorror Prizes

I have two stories up at the moment and one to come (I hope) but I have over 90 on the site.

Little Human Voices

Chasing Ghosts is what we do

My MicroHorror Links Page 

Go and explore MicroHorror -- a great little horror site run by Horror Master, Nathan Rosen in Baltimore Maryland. 

A Horror a Day Keeps the Horrors Away 5 -- We all carry our horrors within.

Poetry to petrify you -- well unsettle at least.

The Oxford English Dictionary was in large part compiled by W C Minor. His true story is sad and disturbing.. DEFINITIONS

You know that dream you dread? You know how it begins but never precisely how it will end or exectly what images will confront you but you will be LOST  for sure. Welcome to mine. Dream of Lost

Why do we fear change? Oh you know why. It's because  Change has Tenses All its Own 

You don't have to imagine this because I wrote the poem that went with the painting which you can also see at this link. What intrigues me is --who will have 

The Last Laugh 

Sometimes horror just happens to us in the middle of a normal day or a holiday because we all carry our horrors within!

Touching the Tiger 

Why do I love Horror? Because it gets it out of my system :)

A Horror a Day Keeps the Horrors Away 4

I have a track record in writing about how the exploitation of resouces, big companies and corporates will drag us all to hell! It's a theme I have revisited often.

But this story is somewhat different. In Root of Evil again I did a good deal of research into calcite crystals and optics and the sqaure root of 666 which is the number of words allowed at MicroHorror. I like using  funny little details like that to amuse the reader and I always have to hope people pick up on those because I rarely write unleavened horror. But I had to imagine the landscape and that took some doing. Also I used a fair amount of dialogue which is not easy in such a short piece. In fact the reason it is one of my favourites is that it reads like a much longer story -- well -- I think it does. See if you agree.

Bonus Reading: Tranparency and Pure Research and Clear and Cold the Rising Moon  BwS. 


This little piece will set you back a COOL $999 apparently! It is available at this LINK should you  wish to acquire. It is very cool though. Follow the link and look at the detail.

A Horror a Day Keeps the Horrors Away -- 3

 I was watching a TV programme the other week, austensibly it was about -- There you see? I can't remember what it was about because there was so much music covering every image and every explication that it turned into a kind of game of 'Name that Tune' for me or 'These You Have Loved'. There was Grieg, Beethoven, Massenet, Berlioz, Rodriguez... the playlist went on and on and I have really forgotten the content!  
Sometimes you even get asked, "What do you listen to when you are writng?" 
Silence! How else would I concentrate on writing? It's like asking:

What newspaper do you read while you're making love?

Modern life is like that. Our lives are so full of busy and so full of things and so full of noise that we don't notice the content, the richness, the patches of paucity, the textures of life. It's called Constant Partial Attention but to me it just seems like lack of appreciation of the moment, the person, whatever is there to be attended to. And that is the thought behind this piece of writing.

The title is deliberately in capitals and spaced. It can be read as 'avoid' or 'a void' because it is about the void and the lengths we all go to, to avoid it -- space to think, space to move, space to be yourself.

Take a little space to yourself and read this aloud, softly, slowly. Savour the voice from the void.

A V O I D

I wrote in it the second person which is risky. It can come over as preachy. I know this didn't because I have read it aloud and the audience was totally silent and a bit spooked out. Most, I have to say, took it to be a prose poem. It is rather cross genre but then it is a voice from the VOID: not as in STV:Night, the void out there, a favourite episode of mine. No this is the void we all inhabit and are. The vast quantumness that is all around and within. To a Neutrino we, our planet and our whole solar system is just a collection of particles and force fields that it passes through. My body is insubstantial at that level. I am just another part of the forces of this universe. I love physics! I think it's rather a comfort in a way to know that all our molecules belong in this vast ocean universe. But that is not ALL we are -- otherwise how could be be AFRAID?

Vacuous? Me? :)

and now a little clip from NIGHT.

Ensign Kim (Garrett Wang) plays his composition: Echoes of the Void

Do one thing at a time today and enjoy each process and savour each moment.

A Horror a Day keeps the Horrors Away -- 2

Smolenskthe Second Time  has to be one of my favourite stories because it took so long to write. Does that seem odd? It won’t if you are a writer. The more involved you becoame the better the story, the better the poem, the better the writing.

This story stemmed from an interest in history and from a statisticalmap by Joseph Minard. I have always loved maps and history but I was just terrible at Geography and History when I was at school -- it wasn’t a lack of interest but of aptitude.This is one of the earliest statistical diagrams ever made and it is simply wonderful so do please take time to study it.

All I really knew about 1812 was Tchaikovski's overture (I do adore Tchaikovski!) but I began reading around this not because I liked Napoleon – quite the opposite. My interest was in La Grande Armee itself. Almost 600,000 men! Who were they? Where did they come from? What did they wear? How were they fed? 
Napoleon typically managed to get his boney ass back to Paris of course but apparently only an estimated 10 to 40 thousand of his army crossed the Niemen River in the end. What happened to the rest? The more I read the more horrified I became and at last I knew, if I did nothing else, I had to give one of these poor souls a VOICE and that is how the story came about. I hope you will read this story now not only as a horror but with a degree of sadness for those (on both sides) who were caught in this terrible history.

And I really recommend this link Destruction of La Grande Armee if you want to read more of their history.

My reading also spawned a sister story The Boneparte Tree which you may also enjoy. There you go 2 for1 today :)

"The Grande Armée Crossing the Berezina", by January Suchodolski, 1866

If you like my work do let me know. It means a lot to me.

MicroHorror Competition 2014

A Horror a Day keeps the Horrors Away -- One a day 'til Hallowe'en

 
Carousel-o-saurus was written after a trip to Como Park (lovely place!) Minneapolis where I saw the lovely Cafesjian's Carousel which was built in 1914 and so is now 100 and still works.

 Happy Birthday horses :) 

and in the science museum I encountered this.

Put the two together in my mind and you get

THIS


Enjoy the read and come back tomorrow for another of Oonah's MicroHorrors.

MicroHorror Competition 2014

Food for Thought for Friday -- Trilogy of pet peeves

First of all let me direct you to AGNESENGA up today at PP&P.
Second let me tell you about two things I know are coming up next week. My Monday Blog at Parallel Oonahverse features a very special poet! And I will have a Horror Story for you every day at my Facebook Page and a rather longer than usual story at Bewildering Stories. Do send them a story!
Thirdly I hope some of you will buy a PRINT copy of The Linnet's Wings Autumn Issue out NOW. It really is a great issue!

Pet peeves? Well -- I HATE that we are being punished by the EU for being too well off. Anybody feeling that well off. btw???

I love supermarket wars, don't you? But I hate Loyalty Cards which are specifically designed to stop you from shopping around. And I hate the government's idea about loaded plastic for people who receive benefits so they have little or no choice about what to buy. -- HEY YOU! You'r poor! How dare you have a beer? Do you really need that skirt? Sweets? Dessert? Xmas presents? Sorry it's not allowed with this card! And I hate that pharmaceutical firms are more interested in MONEY than in health or research. Did you know that most of them pay researchers only find what they want found and that as a result a lot of PURE research is underfunded or ignored? And of course they do not provide drugs for "third world" diseases. Hence the pickle we are now in over Ebola which should have been dealt with years ago! And so because these topics have a short shelf life, I offer you my trilogy of pet peeves.

shop Shop SHOP

We launched our brand new loyalty card today

along with the promise -- You will never pay

more here than in a cheapest retail store

because we believe in customer power.

We will refund the difference between

what we thought last week and what our profits have seen

is going to happen next month if you don’t shop here.

Shop here and we will give you points. Yes points.

That’s right. Shiny big starry plastic points

you can only spend here.

So pointed and plastic you can almost smell the fear.

Doctor W H O?

We launched our brand new medical ship today

Along with the promise – you may not have to pay

what the pharmaceutical companies demand in terms of wealth.

Because we believe in world wide health

and we will pay for the difference between

years of indifference and this easily foreseen

totally predictable pandemic, endemic

to the third world. But the western world could disintegrate in panic.

That’s right. Big black spiky riots of manic

justified anger -- well beyond our power to control.

You can smell the collective political sweat as heads of state roll.

right Right RIGHT

We launched card credits for the poor today.

We didn’t mean anything we said yesterday

about people power or freedom. We’ve developed a vaccine you see

to protect the people who really matter So don’t flatter yourselves.

Because we believe in the trickle down effect and we don’t need

half of you, workers, old people, invalids and general shirkers.

We need to get on with the business of government greed;

save money on services. Make money on investments and expenses.

That’s right Far right. Operation can you credit it should run smooth as silk

When we makes sure the farmer gets nothing for milk

and the commonality of animals get exploited.

Food for Thought for Friday -- The Unessential Obscenity of POWER

Having spent last week contemplating my own back yard so to speak, I now turn my attention the Oonahverse as I would create it. I was thinking about Don Webb's article in BwS from a few weeks ago The Year Civilisation Collapsed -- a look back from the future at the potential devastation of today -- the fall of civilisation as we know it. And I was thinking how very avoidable all this was -- I do not say IS because I think it is slready too late.

At this stage in our development we could already have a world in which every person on this planet has a right to:

Sanitation -- it is not that difficult to bring clean water to even the most remote parts of the world these days and yet we prefer to bring fracking. We waste squillions of gallons of water every day and there are those  who even argue that water is not a basic human right and would prefer to SELL it to the poorest coutries in the world to make -- guess -- MONEY. It is the one thing none of us can do without. Doesn't that make it a basic right?? And toilet facilities do not even have to involve water -- waste can be composted and used to make ground productive.

Health Care -- we have medicines in the developed world and scientists who do vital research. If that was rolled out to all humanity, then we would not now be facing the spectre of Ebola. Everyone would have proper facilities on  hand, trained staff and hospitals and no volunteers would be needed to GO anywhere. This and many other situations are a result of negligence by world powers who are interested only in the welfare of the few. In addition our own government here in the UK is trying to undermine the NHS so thay can -- guess -- make MONEY out of PRIVATE health care which they can then invest in.( I know it is overstretched butwell thought out immegration rules could settle that. )

Nutrition -- an increasingly obese population (me included I have to admit) :( eats three times as much as we need and can't make up our minds between chicken kiev and roast beef whilst others starve or butcher monkeys/shoot down cuckoos -- whatever it takes -- to survive. You know everybody could eat -- today! Instead we destroy tons of food every year in order to keep prices atrificially high so that big corporates can make -- guess -- MONEY

Power  -- we can use waves, wind, solar panels, hydrogen. Do we? Not if the OWNERS of the power companies have anything to say about it -- they and their political puppets! Instead they want to make more £££££££££ $$$$$$$$$ maybe even by FRACKING and contaminating WATER.

Well you can't eat and drink ££££££££ and you can't take $$$$$$$$$ as a cure for ebola. Mind you, you could burn both as fuel -- but not if you want to go on breathing this thin envelope of air which is all we have to breathe!

Here is a FUN interactice map that lets you play about with climate change and simply
WATCH YOUR WORLD DISAPPEAR

Co-operation not competition.  We have the technology. 

Related links:  Bewildering stories

TRANPARENCY

PURE RESEARCH 

Food for Thought for Friday -- There's no place like home, There's no place like home...

Four years ago today 10/10/10 we were at the RenFest near Annapolis Maryland,with Nathan and Jenesta,eating giant turkey legs and steak on sticks.

That first inscription really took our eye ;)

It was very warm weather. But here we are in the cool of a Northumberland October and no immediate plans for travel.

Do I mind? No. There seems to be such mayhem in the world today that I am happy to sit in my quiet corner hoping it stays quiet!

Sometimes all you need in this world is the view from the windscreen of the car, after a walk in local woods, on the way 

                                    HOME.

clicks ruby shoes  

My thought for Friday 3rd October 2014

My lovely sister-in-law, Essie -- a wonderful wife and mother and that was always enough.


Rest in Peace






The Separation of Things

Albumen slips

between the fingers.

Yolk rests like a breast

in the hand.

Melted butter clarifies:

solids from oil.

Vinaigrette demulsifies:

gold on top of red.

Life slips

away.

The soul settles

in a parallel place.

© Oonah V Joslin -- September 2014

Food for Thought for Friday -- The Future belongs to...

The Future belongs to our Children's children

(of course)

but only if we adults can learn to listen in Sandish..

A two part story poem by Amanda Baker

A beautiful tale with lyrical notes, Casey and the Surfmen has an ageless appeal. It sifts through the sands of time and finds the child in all of us.

You could listen for FREE or DOWNLOAD for £1 -- c'mon! £1.00!Be a mensch!

Food for Thought for Friday -- Scotland the Brave

Mr Cameron, Mr Clegg, and yes-- Mr Milliband,

The real issue is that you are disenfranchising the majority of ordinary people in the UK.

You threaten to disnmantle a health care system we have all paid into all our lives and hand over the reigns to private companies who will literally KILL people who cannot pay. Most of us cannot pay.

You are allowing people into this country who have criminal records in their own country. America would not do this. Neither should we EU or no EU!

If I go abroad I have to wait in line with other EU citizens to have my passport checked. I want a UK passport. I was BORN HERE! Surely that should carry some weight?

If Scotland now gets a better deal than regions of England, Wales and N Ireland, that will create more inequality and resentment. We need the rich to pay more taxes not take advantage of the poor and we need a government that listens to our legitimate concerns over a whole range of issues.

Scotland went to the polls 89% of them! Scotland decided to stay in the UK and I for one, am very glad they did. Of course a lot of Scottish people are disappointed today but at least it's democratic disappointment. And they were right about one thing -- Westminster must change its attitude. Most people have modest wishes but make no mistake -- we are no longer consider ourselves born to support the vast wealth of the few nor to serve your petty ambitions.

Take a lesson Britain -- next MAY when we have a chance to vote, turn out and VOTE.

Scotland the brave!

Food for Thought for Friday -- Take a walk with us at Cragside

Northumberland does not get better than on a warm September.

To view the pics at their best, click on them in sequence and take that walk with us!