Thoughts Opinions & Memories | But I Smile Anyway...

#WritePhoto – Window

04 Jan 2018 50 Comments

by Ritu in #WritePhoto, Fiction, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: #WritePhoto, Barbie and Ken, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Fiction, Photo Prompt, Sindy, Window

Sue’s #WritePhoto Prompt this week:

I thought I’d continue the adventures of Barbie and Ken.

“It’s beautiful Ken!”
Barbie gazed out of the window, focusing on the scarlet bloom in front of her.
“Where did you find this place?” she enquired.
“Oh, someone recommended it, said it was a great romantic getaway, and I thought, you know, we needed a bit of time away from the rest of the gang.” Ken was feeling quite pleased with the hotel actually. It was all old buildings and four-poster beds – old skool luxury. Okay so it wasn’t a palace with turrets, but he was pretty sure Barbie would like it.
“Someone? None of your mates would know anything about romance! Can you even imagine Gaz taking Mitzy here? And Joey, well, he’s never had a girlfriend!” She tittered to herself.
“No, Sindy mentio-” He stopped, realising he’d uttered the one name certain to start World War 3.
“Sindy? Sindy? Really?! So, when did you and that tart become such good friends that you started exchanging ideas for romantic getaways?” Suddenly, this room started to feel suffocating.
“Babe, come on, it’s not like that! She’s only trying to help…” Digging himself into a deeper hole, Ken continued, ” she was asking about us the other day, and said she wanted to help-”
“Help? Really? Help with what? Have you been complaining about me? Oh My God, Ken! Sindy? Of all people!”
Ken turned to the window, tuning out the string of compaints flowing from Barbie’s mouth. That rose appeared to be drooping…

To be continued…

#writephoto

#JusJoJan – January 4th, 2018 – Passionate

04 Jan 2018 26 Comments

by Ritu in #jusjojan, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: #jusjojan, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Ill, Linda G Hill, Passionate, Rosemary Carlson

Day two of #JusJoJan!

I’m going to try to write on each of the prompts!

Today the prompt is:

Your prompt for January 4th, 2018, brought to you by the ever-charming Rosemary Carlson, is “Passionate.” Use it any way you’d like in your post. And make sure you visit Rosemary at her blog, “Rosemary Carlson, Writer” to read her post and say hi! 😀 Here’s her link: https://rosemarycarlson.com

Thanks, Rosemary, for a great prompt word!

You can be passionate in so many ways, passionate in love, passionate about something you enjoy, passionate about your beliefs.

I am passionate about my family. I think that would come as no surprise to those of you who have followed me for so long. My family mean the world to me, and I can’t even fathom the thought of a life without them around me. My husband, my children, my parents, my siblings and their families… Without them, I wouldn’t be the me that I am…

I am passionate about my job. Teaching is a vocation, or so I believe, and I go through so much stress at work, but I wouldn’t change it, because ultimately, what I do shapes the futures of those children in my class.

I passionately believe that a smile is the cure for everything. When you smile, even if you are down, certain hormones are released that help with happiness. If you are smiling, even the toughest situations feel just a little easier to handle. Equally, if you smile at someone else, you never know, that smile may have been the positive sign they were looking for, to make their day better.

And right now I feel passionate about my bed… the sickness bug has hit our household, as of 5 am this morning, so there are at least two of us hugging bins/buckets/sinks/toilets… wonderful start to the new term…

No school for me today, methinks…..

See you tomorrow!

If you want to find a full list of rules and the daily prompts visit here.

#BookReview – Sue Vincent – Laughter Lines: Life From The Tail End #Poetry

03 Jan 2018 18 Comments

by Ritu in Reviews, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Book Review, Laughter Lines, Sue Vincent

Another book I have had on my Kindle, waiting patiently to be read, is Laughter Lines: Life From The Tail End by Sue Vincent. And I was finally able to get to it over this festive break!

Laughter Lines by Sue Vincent

My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

A wonderful set of poems, showcasing the talent of Sue Vincent, and her four-legged pooch Ani!
Sue Vincent has a way with words, she can tell a tale in rhyme that hooks you and leaves you wanting more.
Thoroughly enjoyed!

Goodreads review: here

Amazon review: here

Sue is a hugely talented author and poet, and co-director of The Silent Eye – A Modern Mystery School… intrigued? Click here to read more!

I have followed Sue for a good while now, and not only is she a fantastic writer, but a most supportive blogger, sharing the words of many fellow bloggers too. If you ever fancy a writing prompt, her #WritePhoto challenge every Thursday is brilliant! The variety of responses to her given photo shows just how inspired we all become! Several of us have even started serial-like weekly stories based on her prompts! Mine have been focussing on the love life of Barbie and Ken the last few weeks!

One-Liner Wednesday & #JusJoJan – #1LinerWeds – Waste

03 Jan 2018 42 Comments

by Ritu in #1linerweds, #jusjojan, #onelinerwednesday, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: #1linerweds, #onelinerwednesday, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Food, Waste

Waste not want not!

Opened the fridge the other day and decided I needed to use up things that were fast going out of date! Ended up with a container full of spinach and ricotta pastries and some Nutella twists!

For Linda’s #1LinerWeds Challenge.

#BookReview Judith Barrow – Mary’s Shadows Series- 4 Books

02 Jan 2018 32 Comments

by Ritu in Reviews, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Book Review, Judith Barrow, Mary Howarth, War Saga

I haven’t been totally vegetized over the holiday… Plenty of reading went on and I made a teeny dent in my TBR pile!

One set of books I read were by the extremely talented Judith Barrow. Visit her blog here!

I have always loved stories that were based during the war years. It comes from the fact that my mother loves these kinds of family sagas too, and so when I ventured into more grown-up fiction, these kinds of stories were on my mother’s bookshelves, rather than the chick lit, which I am also a bit partial to!

Well, Judith’s books are exactly the kind of stories my mum would love!!!!

Judith Barrow

Pattern Of Shadows

My rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Judith Barrow has spun a fantastic tale about a northern family in the grips of the war, with some extremely sensitive, yet relevant to today issues.
My heart went out to the protagonist, Mary, and all she had to endure, from an awful boyfriend to loving one of the ‘enemy’, rape and coping with the pregnancy of her unwed sister. All this and dealing with her troubled parents, and a brother who was not only an objector to the war, but struggling to come to terms with homosexuality.
A meaty read and I was very glad to see there was a sequel!

Goodreads review – here

Amazon review – here

Changing Patterns

Changing Patterns by [Barrow, Judith]

My rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I was happy to be able to read the continuation of the Howarth family’s situations.
Mary and Peter appeared to be happily settled, but with the death of her brother Tom, a whole host of secrets are brought to the surface. Certain truths are uncovered which create situations where they all feel that things will never be the same again.
I really enjoyed how Judith Barrow took the different threads from the original story, and continued to weave another gripping chapter in the story of Mary and her family.

Goodreads review – here

Amazon review – here

Living In The Shadows

Living in the Shadows by [Barrow, Judith]

My rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Taking a step further into the later years of Mary, and the Howarth family, we meet the various children, and nephews and nieces.
The events of the past have a knock-on effect on the children of the family, and old secrets are unearthed again.
I really enjoyed the whole series of books, and look forward to more from Judith Barrow!

Goodreads review – here

Amazon review – here

Secrets

My rating ⭐⭐⭐⭐

A short spin-off book with some stories about the minor characters from the Howarth family saga – It was a wonderful way to add some context to the characters we learned a little about in the three book series.

Goodreads review – here

Amazon review – here

And I am excited to read the prequel, A Hundred Tiny Threads, which charts the story of Mary Howarth’s parents.

It has also been chosen as The Welsh Books Council’s BOOK OF THE MONTH in January 2018!

100 Tiny Threads by [Barrow, Judith]