On a date with a new beau,
To an avant-garde cinema we did go,
It was all in French with subtitles,
And as time went on it affected my vitals,
My heart began to race,
And red was my face,
For the action it didn’t stop,
The movie was a real flop,
I must have seen every angle,
That from a bed a human could dangle,
Not that anyone did any harm,
Perhaps that was the film’s charm,
Nevertheless it was a sad end,
There was no second date you can depend.
Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏
Filed under Short Stories
Thanks to Alys Davies and Alba Morgade and BBC News Online for the Headline.
Very sad to read that Maricarmen Abascal, the Madrid resident who was evicted from her flat that she had called “home” for the last 70 years has passed away in hospital.
She wanted more than anything to stay in her home and instead was subject to law courts and a media circus, which focused on her predicament.
May she rest in Peace now .
Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏
Filed under Short Stories
Thanks to Rebecca Whittaker and the Independent Online for the Headline
Wheat , apples and carrots are half as nutritious as they were in the 1960’s a new study as suggested due to declining soil quality.
Researchers found food, such as cereals and bread had lost 20 to 50 per cent of several key nutrients, including potassium, magnesium and copper and that people today have to eat about twice the fruit and veg today to get the same benefits of those 60 years ago.
Potentially, along with the use of weight-loss drugs, this drop in nutrients could mean that 5million working adults in the UK are functioning with below safe levels of essential vitamins and minerals. The worrying trend in working environments of working lunches or no lunch at all will I think contribute to this.
The supplement manufacturers will have a field day based on this research.
Worldwide , the study authors warn more than 2 billion people still have at least one clinical mircro-nutrient deficiency. This is well documented in the UK and US where despite a diet high in calories , diet is still low in nutrients such as selenium and folate.
Apparently soil health is the answer and farmers can achieve this and still be profitable , improving nutrient density, yields and climate resilience all at once . The article doesn’t explain how they can do this or what they have been doing that has caused this situation. Where is Jeremy Clarkson when you need him?
I had a quick look at some recommendations which include less tilling( let the worms do their work).Aiming for better nutrient balance routinely and scientifically test soil and match the status of the soil to crop requirements. Add farmyard manures, digestate , compost and biosolids which can increase soil organic matter in arable soils .ie we need cow manure and chicken manure. There’s just too many ways to improve the soil for me to list here.
So actually organic farming isn’t far off from what we need to do, it’s application of all these principals to get back to where we were 60 years ago. I haven’t watched Clarkson’s Farm but yet again the farmers are the ones who have to put this in place and we have to support them to do it.
Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏
Filed under #HeadlineTherapy
Just when does morning begin?
Is it waking up or when the birds begin to sing?
Sometimes I know I’m not quite ready,
So I close my eyes and cuddle my teddy,
Or if it’s time to face the day,
And have a shower and get on my way,
But wait I must have breakfast,
It’s breaking a fast,
Somethings are never meant to last,
And nutrition and sustenance must be had,
Being hungry is just plain bad,
I try to stick to porridge, yoghurt and honey,
But it depends if I have the money,
Or perhaps if I’ve been to the store,
Shopping is really quite a bore,
Nevertheless the one thing that is routine,
Is to check the latest news on my phone.
Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏
Filed under Short Stories
Thanks to Andy Jones and the Dorset Echo for the Headline.
This Headline links very well to the Headline about “The Grand Atlantic Hotel” in Weston Supermare except this time it’s a Saudi Investment Company who are letting the fabric of a classic Art Deco building from the 1930’s deteriorate. The hotel is at Bowleaze Cove and has beautiful views of the bay. The building in it’s prime would have fitted in well on the set of Poirot.
It is a listed building and has also been recognised as a “Building at Risk” by the Twentieth Century Building Register. A new roof was put on it in 2024 but no work has been done on it since and it is deteriorating further and beginning to look unsightly surrounded by wire fencing.
A campaign to save the hotel known as “The Riviera ” has been launched by Tess Shepherd who had her wedding there. The local MP Lloyd Hatton is also working with the Council to bring the Hotel back to life which has gained support from local people.
AI Generated Image
Filed under #HeadlineTherapy
You don’t need to go so far,
All you need is a go-pro and a car,
It’s more than sending a card to granny,
Actually the production deserves a grammy,
That guy who played along with his guitar,
And the chap that turned up with a sitar,
It really just was a local do,
But everyone came including you,
We had such fun and filmed it all,
The sunset at the end was made to enthrall,
The locals felt life film stars,
And we really were welcome in all the bars.
We didn’t do many silly antics,
And we got lots of green arrows on Google Analytics.
Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏
Filed under Short Stories
Thanks to Dan Martin and BBC Online News for the Headline.
Queniborough, a village in Leicestershire has suffered the loss of a key bus service , because a pedestrian island installed by a Housing Developer proved too wide and resulted in the bus drivers having to mount the pavement to manoeuvre their bus around the pedestrian island. The bus Company cares about pedestrian safety and have withdrawn their service until there is a “safer” option.
The Developer and the Traffic Management Inspectorate of the Council are now in discussions about how to solve the problem. A local councillor is furious as he says that he discussed this with the department responsible for Highways and they assured him that the plans would make it possible for the buses to be able to negotiate the turn.
Apparently the situation has been going on some months and the nearest bus stop to the locals living near the crossing is another 500m away, which is quite a distance if you are not well or are infirm.
Frankly with developers putting all sorts of crossing and roadworks up and down the Country, local planners and Highway Agencies have to listen to local people and their needs and keep an eagle eye on Housing Developers plans , which in this case have caused significant heartache.
Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏
Filed under Short Stories
Thanks to Babak Kamiar and Euronews for the Headline
I can’t claim to understand what is happening with the current situation in the strait of Hormuz all I know is that it is causing and will continue to cause everything to get more expensive. Yes what is our inflation figure published by the Office for National Statistics? About 3.1% currently.
Iran, however, and I think more about the people in Iran, not their Government , are now suffering exhaustive hyper-inflation.
In 1979 (the time of the Islamic revolution , the US dollar was worth approximately 7 tomans. 1 toman is worth ten rials. (The rial is Iran’s official currency). Today the US dollar is worth 270,000 tomans on Iran’s informal market, more than double it’s level at the start of this year.
Now that is crippling inflation, one which if we were experiencing would be crushing.
Perhaps this is a war of attrition.
Namaste and Thank you for Reading.🙏
Filed under Short Stories
Anyone who has read or seen his work,
Knows Herbert George saw the Universe and didn’t shirk,
He knew alien life like the back of his hand,
It wasn’t imagination that made his heroes take a stand,
Their derring- do, now, seems a bit out of touch ,
Their time machines didn’t have a clutch,
They had little direction and couldn’t change gear,
They were a way a second but it was really a year,
In HG’s vision he really saw,
That one day with Alien’s we’d have to jaw,
Like we all must be one day; HG is now subterrestrial,
Though in true Wellsian fashion I bet that he’s celestial,
He’s seen the Universe in all it’s charm,
And know the Alien’s will do us no harm.
He probably regularly gets to meet and greet,
An alien on every street.
Namaste and Thank You for Reading.🙏
Filed under Short Stories
Thanks to PA Media and STV News Online for the Headline
I’ve returned to having oats for breakfast as my cholesterol is edging into the danger zone, or perhaps I just got the wrong person’s results. (I need to have a second test ).
Still it was the Porridge Making Championships up in Scotland at the weekend and the win for Gina Saarberg from the Netherlands that caught my eye. She won the “Golden Spurtle” at the World Porridge Making Championship.
A Spurtle is a traditional 15th -century wooden utensil(practical version) used to stir oatmeal smoothly without forming lumps .A slimmer, longer version of the honey wand.
Weirdly the lady insisted on bringing her own water from the Netherlands to mix with the organic pinhead oats from the Dutch Company De Halm. Scottish Spring Water just wouldn’t do it, interestingly enough.
De Halm pinhead oats can be ordered online from specialist retailers in the UK. Still to be honest a bag of oats does take me a while to get through so this isn’t too much of a problem as I’m not a fan of online shopping.
Also, especially for the competition ; Gina added a little salt which brought out aromas and nuances of flavour that made the porridge taste even better. Unfortunately, salt is also a blood pressure raiser , so that for me is a difficult one. Taste over health? Well perhaps a little salt.
Another winner was a gentleman from Australia who won the ” speciality” title ,where you are allowed to add one special ingredient to your porridge. He won with his Sicilian inspired Canoli Porridge. Not one for a rushed breakfast before work I fear.
However, well done to the winners and my sympathies to the Scottish Water Suppliers who seem to have been edged out by the “Netherland Nectar”.
Namaste and Thank You for Reading. 🙏
Filed under Short Stories
