Writing - 14th October

 The history of the date is quite significant from several occurrences going back as far as 1066. The Norman conquest began way back then on this date. 

In 1322 Robert the Bruce defeated Edward II at the Battle of Old Byland forcing Edward to accept Scotland's independence. 

For writers everywhere, Winnie the Pooh appeared in 1924 in a collection of stories by A. A. Milne. The character was created when a teddy bear was bought in Harrods, London alongside visits to bears in London Zoo. The first story was commissioned by the London Evening News to be published on Christmas Eve 1925. 

A. A. Milne

Alan Alexander Milne was an English writer best known for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh, as well as for children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winnie-the-Pooh overshadowed all his previous work. 

A. A. Milne wrote stories about Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends for his son, Christopher Robin, after he heard Christopher use voices for his toys while playing with them. A. A. Milne named the boy in the book Christopher Robin too! 

Stories can be generated from anywhere and for a plethora of reasons. There isn't a formula for success because sources of stories are infinite. We tend to hear about the quirky beginnings but my opinion is that there is no one formula to guarantee success. You just have to keep trying. 

“People say nothing is impossible, but I do nothing every day.”

A. A. Milne 

God Bless 

Poetry Thursday 61 - Consequences

 Our current age could be described in Yorkshire, England as 'slack set up'. We no longer seem to allow disappointment at sub-optimal performance. As individuals, it is also okay to have some pride in the successful completion of even the most basic tasks. 

Consequences

 

A man failed to complete a task,

a job within his skillset,

his group have to do more than asked,

without a display of upset.

 

Another man failed to complete a task,

a job within his skillset,

his group have to do even more than asked,

without a display of upset.

 

At last a man completed the activity,

within his skillset but suffering injury,

the job is completed rather sketchily,

one of the group suffering accidentally,

because others failed to perform adequately.

©David L Atkinson October 2024 

God Bless 

Writing - Creation

 Today we celebrated creation Sunday which was not about creativity on a human level but as a source of inspiration at that level, a very interesting perspective. 

The Earth is a topic we should all be aware of daily and not just as observers. We all have a responsibility to maintain our environment. 

Lecture over and now creativity. Again it is the planet we inhabit that is the source. Everything from flora to fauna, weather and natural events, provide inspiration for every branch of art and creativity you can imagine. The book jacket above I created in my own clumsy way, to illustrate what is going on in the story trapped between those covers. The blurb is not going to help explain but does hint at what is transpiring.

A man is found dead in the massive Kielder Forest in Northumberland and the initial reports suggest suicide. A member of Patrick A Steele’s team feels that is not the whole story and an investigation ensues that leads the team into conflict with some of the most powerful people in the UK. Steele can mete out his own brand of justice initially but when the power companies and the government become involved Steele has to tread carefully.

As the author my feelings towards the subjects of corporate greed and global warming come through in this story and can be purchased for Kindle at £3.07 from Amazon. 

Advertisement over creativity requires shades to enhance the 3D nature of the works we produce and the Earth provides us with a gloriously over-stuffed source of enhancements that we can use in all forms of creativity. 

What would Picasso's blue period be like without the blue? Why that colour? 

Van Gogh made sunflowers famous. 

Wordsworth wandering lonely as a cloud would have been bereft without his daffodils. 

Creativity mirrors creation in a continual stream of different viewpoints, styles and media and will always do so while there are people on the Earth to produce such artefacts. 

God Bless 

Poetry Thursday 60 - Poisonous Mushroom

The conflict in the middle east has stirred memories of the 1960's that are rather disturbing. 

Hiroshima 

Poisonous Mushroom

 

The spectre of roiling mushrooms haunted the sixties,

overshadowing the lives of teenies and oldies,

municipal responses through civil defence,

because countries took international offence.

 

Anderson shelters built during World War 2,

kits dug into gardens to protect you,

no Anderson value today if bombs begin to fall,

against the earthquaking fireball.

 

Lifetimes passed and conflicts came and went,

still no learning a conflict in development,

protagonists different but arguments the same,

they are all right, nobody takes the blame.

 

Malevolence spreads like Covid 19,

the Zionist sheriff targets where Indians have been,

firing their Gatlings indiscriminately,

to displace first nations brutally.

 

The innocents suffer the politicians’ plans,

cannon fodder to be buried in the sands

of time lost to all levels of reason,

the depths of humanities treason.

©David L Atkinson October 2024 

God Bless 

 

Writing - Celebrity or not?

I have made my attitude towards celebrity before but last week I was delighted to read about someone I would say is a 'proper' celeb. 

Keanu Reeves 

Keanu Charles Reeves is a Canadian actor and musician. He is the recipient of numerous accolades in a career on screen spanning four decades. In 2020, The New York Times ranked him as the fourth-greatest actor of the 21st century, and in 2022 Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world. 

His father left him when he was 3, his daughter died at 8 months, his wife died in a car accident, his best friend died of an overdose. And through it all, he never lost his shine, his world never fell apart. While filming the movie “The Lake House”, he overheard the conversation between two costume assistants, and one woman cried because she would lose her house if she didn’t pay $20,000 He transferred the money to her account. On his birthday in 2010 he went to a bakery alone and bought himself a cupcake with a single candle. While he was eating out, he offered free coffee and bread to all customers. This was his lavish birthday. With what he made from the Matrix trilogy, he distributed $50 million to the special effects team because he believed they were the real heroes of the movies. He almost never used stuntmen, except for very special things, and that’s why he recognized the work of his stuntmen by gifting each of them a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. To this day he regularly uses the subway and other public transport like the bus when necessary because it is the most practical thing, and he is never ashamed. A large number of hospitals claim to have received tens of millions of dollars from him. He donated 90% of his salary to some movies so the production could hire other stars. In 1997, a paparazzi found him on the street, sitting next to a homeless man, listening to the homeless man’s story and having breakfast with him. All the good we know about Keanu Reeves, he didn’t tell us himself but those who benefited from him. He never said anything about it. For all that he’s been through, he could have had a sadder and more pessimistic outlook on life, but despite everything, he’s chosen to do some good. Great role model for many wealthy people.

God Bless

 

Writing - Thank you Maggie

 Dame Maggie Smith died 27/09/2024 aged 89 years. 

Maggie Smith 

Royalty of stage and screen, 

an amazingly talented acting queen, 

she entertained millions throughout my journey, 

in a myriad of roles with consummate ability. 

Exhibiting acerbic wit and even magical powers, 

Maggie entertained us for hours and hours, 

but now her earthly journey is done, 

we will be subjected to hours of fun, 

watching reruns of films she has done.

©David L Atkinson September 2024

God Bless 

Poetry Thursday 59 - Them

 We are not an island. The human animal is a social creature but nevertheless still a biological entity that is not above any other creature but part of the biosphere that is our Earth. 

Them

 

Why do we stare at screens,

watch shows with thousands of scenes,

read books with super stories,

depicting a myriad of human glories?

And crave more of the same,

similar takes with similar name.

 

It’s all because of them,

providing a sparkle, making a gem,

magnetic relationships are the draw,

encouraging us to beg for more.

 

From their very youngest member,

from January to December,

the way they spend time united,

with unknowable light touch delighted.

as strong as a spider’s gossamer,

and warm as the sun in summer.

Capable of actions with dazzling magic,

but with outcomes that can be tragic,

every scene written or filmed a gem,

all about interactions between them.

©David L Atkinson September 2024 

God Bless