Category Archives: Short Stories

My relationship with the World

Daily writing prompt
Which relationship has taught you the most about yourself?

My relationship with the World teaches me every day,

So much to learn yet so little to say,

Laughter smiles, they play a role,

Also sadness will take its’ toll,

A walk in the park or a poorly lit street,

Joy or fear about whom we’ll meet,

So where does it end this beautiful planet,

In the pointless bashing of the head of a gannet?

Cruelty and Progress hand in hand,

Or a child counting grains of sand,

There is no doubt in my mind,

The mystery is there for us to find.

Young child in blue sweater playing with sand and shells on beach
AI Generated Image

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

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What the World needs now?

Daily writing prompt
If you could start a new business right now, what would it be?

A business that would solve the confusion,

A magic formula to create cohesion,

A chance to air your differences and choices,

And listen to each other’s voices,

Perhaps it would print a teeshirt or two,

One that says “I’m not that different from you”,

A book that says your colour is true,

And that life is best with a different hue,

I suppose it’s not so magic really,

I call it #HeadlineTherapy,

And each day I pick a new Headline,

And hope that someone somewhere has the time,

To read , digest and understand,

And find a filament or a common strand,

Or even argue that it just isn’t right,

And really all we can do is fight,

That point is valid I suppose,

But it’s not what the World wants to propose,

For fighting is messy and a drain,

For many it causes a lot of pain,

Let’s look beyond the analog,

And cure the World of it’s brain fog,

Find things we can celebrate,

Like solving problems and not berate,

There’s a lot happening from day to day,

And people need a chance to have their say.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

Watercolor cityscape flowing into pastel coastal landscapes with winding golden paths
#HeadlineTherapy

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#HeadlineTherapy Pensioner arrested during Wiltshire drugs raid near town

Thanks to Taine Lardner and the Gazette and Herald Online for the Headline

The arrest by Wiltshire Police of a 70year old pensioner at a property in  the sleepy village of Broham near Chippenham with a population of less than 2000 will have caused a stir no doubt.

The pensioner was in possession of cannabis clippings that were deemed for sale and a quantity of fake cigarettes.

The pensioner has been kept in custody , which indicates the serious nature of the offence. Fake cigarettes are generally brought in from abroad and may contain harmful additives or ingredients which can cause very serious health issues.

Sad to think why someone who is 70 years old would persist in supplying those less fortunate than himself with drugs and cigarettes, considering the average house price in Broham is £400,000.

Still well done Wiltshire Police, one more source of illegal drugs taken off the street.

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

Sealed bags of dried plant material, scale, scissors, pen, and notebook

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

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On food and what not to eat.

What are your best healthy eating habits?

I would like to tell everyone what I think,

On food and what not to eat ,

The only problem is I think it would cause quite a stink,

You see the real problem is hard to beat,

You see nothing is really bad for you if you eat a small portion,

Eggs, Potatoes and Healthy Veg,

Are all OK just one word of caution,

Too much of any of it and you’ll end up dead.

(The same applies to too little but that’s a whole different subject)

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

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Watercolor illustration of salmon, rice, greens, asparagus, and vegetables on a plate

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#HeadlineTherapy East German town bans future Holocaust memorial plaques

Thanks to Emmanuele Berro and Friederike Heine and Reuters News for the Headline.

It is always a worry to me lest we try and reduce the horror of the Nazi Holocaust and as one of the AfD(Alternative For Germany) party founders once said that the Nazi Period was ‘bird shit’ whatever he meant by that.

The” Stolperstiene “are brass plaques placed in cobbled streets  remembering victims of the Holocaust.

The ruling party of the Council of Heidenau ( a town near Dresden) is CDU (Christian Democratic Union)has had to align itself with the AfD to pass this legislation,which is unusual as there is a policy called ‘Brandmauer’ which discourages  National Parties from cooperating with the  AfD.

With the  prospect of German National Elections ,this trend is worrying, and the policy that the Council of Heidenau has reached is that any future Holocaust memorials will be concentrated at a site in a Cemetery in the North of the Town.

Remembrance will  still be acknowledged perhaps encapsulating  the view that some local people felt the “Stolperstiene ” disrespectful,because they could be walked on.

The fact remains that the AfD got their way,perhaps not for the same reasons as the CDU .

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

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A Life Hack

What are some life hacks that you practice?

Perhaps a quick solution,

With definitely no confusion,

To simplify my life each day,

Is to ignore most of what people say,

Rather than  let them talk at you,

Take a walk that’s what I do,

There are plenty of fish in the sea,

Don’t let anyone diss your sanity

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#HeadlineTherapy Insights into the delivery of a 505km electric superhighway between Scotland and England

Thanks to Sotaris Konarsis and NCE Online for the Headline.

There are plans in place to construct a clean energy Superhighway from Scotland,(which is thankfully blessed with wind ,solar and wave power sources )which can use the surplus energy to supply some of England’s requirements.

This project is a joint effort between National Grid Energy Transmission (responsible for Energy Transmission in England and Wales) and SSEN which manages the North of Scotland Energy distribution.

The Superhighway which requires an underground cable will connect Peterhead (in the North of Scotland) with Wren Hall in Drax ( North Yorkshire) . 436km of the cable will be offshore.

The result of this Civil Engineering Project will be a supply of AC current to England enough to power 2 million homes.

This is the first of many proposed ‘clean energy’ highways that could increase energy security in the future for the UK.

A hooded cybernetic warrior wielding electric bolts in a futuristic city with a digital portal.
Electricity

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Karma

Do you believe in karma?

Karma is and comes around,

Whether you believe it,

lt  is soul bound,

Tied to us like a religious hound,

It yaps and tells us we better do good,

And help our Community and Neighbourhood,

When we do it will all work out,

And we won’t have to worry about nout,

It’s a state of mind we should all aim for,

A beautiful status for the hereafter,

Karma is a choice you have to take,

It doesn’t happen if all you do is take.

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The Snow Dog

We met a couple on a walk with my dog.They had a husky which was on lead so we put ours on a lead,not knowing the dog.

When we got close we both said our dogs are friendly,so we let them say hello to each other.The husky was so beautiful with one brown eye and one blue eye and beautiful long fur.A very lovely dog.

The man said that he couldn’t be let off -lead as he would wander off. I asked him about the breed and he said that they were intelligent and stubborn.

I said “He looks intelligent”

His wife piped in “Yes ,when we got him,they told us he would need a six foot fence to stop him escaping ,which was fine.But we also had a log pile at the end of the garden and he gathered the logs together to make steps.He nearly escaped”

She continued “He was the only dog we could have  though,my son’s autistic and he doesn’t like dogs generally, but he likes this one, he calls it his

                               “Snow Dog”

It was then I noticed him, a six foot man hiding behind a tree, he had dark hair and dark clothes and was just looking at us chatting to his parents

I said to his mum “I shall always think of huskies as Snow Dogs from now on.It’s a great name”.

We said our goodbyes and I turned my head and wave at the young man,but there was no response and we all departed our separate ways.

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#HeadlineTherapy Skegness women celebrated in phone box in Germany

Thanks to Grace McGrory and BBC News Online for the Headline

The idea of women and phone boxes with their details and pictures displayed in them and  available to the locals from a German Town Bad Gadersheim made me think of something quite different than an  historic twinning of Skegness   and the celebration of the German Town’s 10th Century heroine Roswitha.

However,the artist John Byford has photographed (tastefully I must add) and told the stories of 23 women from Skegness and with modern technology the people of Bad Gadersheim can scan a barcode and learn about these women from Skegness.

Roswitha( also known as Hrotsvithia or mighty soul)  was possibly Germany’s first lady poet,her writings were discovered in the 15th Century and were written in Medieval Latin.

Little is known about the life of Roswitha,however it’s a nice link to celebrate these Skegness women’s lives in honour of Roswitha and the twinning of the two towns .

Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏

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