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

#SoCS 5/4 – Falling From The Sky

04 May 2019 36 Comments

by Ritu in #SoCS, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Falling from the sky, Linda G Hill, poem, Socs, Stream Of Consciousness Saturday

Linda’s #SoCS Prompt:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “fall from the sky.” Write about anything that falls from the sky–real, imagined, or idiomatic. Have fun!

What do I wish would fall from the sky?

Chocolate? Pink gin? A big slice of pie?

Or maybe some money, that’d be good

An armful to gather wherever I stood

Books, yes please! I’ve never enough

But the problem is reading them, time is tough

So actually what I would really need

Is a few extra hours just so I can read

A few more minutes to finish that book

And not get disturbed just as I reach the hook!

https://lindaghill.com/2019/05/03/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-may-4-19/

May 2: Flash Fiction Challenge – Sisu

03 May 2019 25 Comments

by Ritu in #CarrotRanch, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: #CarrotRanch, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Flash Fiction, Sisu

Charlie’s prompt.

May 2, 2019, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story about sisu. It’s a Finnish concept of enduring strength, the ability to consistently overcome. Think long-term. Go where the prompt leads!

Sisu Book-su

Finally, time to sit down and read.

“Mum! I’m hungry!”

Don’t worry book, I’ll be back.

“Okay dear.”

Child fed. Back to my book.

“Honey, do you know where my tie is?”

Tie found. Where was I?

Raised voices and screaming.

Book down.

“What is the matter with the two of you? Okay, Tom, you sit here with that Lego. Amelia, draw me a picture over here. No, not near your brother!”

Ah, chapter two I think-

Ring ring.

“Hello? Hi mum…”

Twenty minutes later.

“Okay, bye mum. Speak to you tomorrow.”

That book. I will get it read.

https://carrotranch.com/2019/05/02/may-2-flash-fiction-challenge/

Bookinton’s Finish The Sory Challenge 2

01 May 2019 11 Comments

by Ritu in Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Challenge, Fiction, Finish The Story

I was appproached by fellow blogger Tanmay Jain, of Bookinton Blog to ask whether I would participate in a writing challenge with a difference this month. The Finish The Story Challenge 2. 2 because he ran one similar last year and wanted to extend the challenge to a few more bloggers. It is an opportunity to streach creativity, and share others stories too!

Intrigued, as ever…. I decided to step up, and this is what we are doing.

There are 5 bloggers, myself included, who have submitted a prompt.

Each of us will answer the prompt with a 250 word flash fiction piece on set days.

Let me introduce you to the others who are taking part.

1)Tanmay Jain

Tanmay Jain is a blogger, book reviewer, writer and bibliophile from Jaipur, Rajasthan. He has been reading books since he was a child and hasn’t stopped since. He started his first blog in 2016 and since that, after many unsuccessful attempts at managing a successful blog, he landed on his current and most successful blog, Scion of Society. Tanmay dabbles mostly in fiction writing but sometimes wanders off to poetry, book reviewing and writing tips. He is an editor for his school magazine, X-rays. He’s a teenage writer, aspiring author, and a budding blogger.

Blog – Bookinton

Blog Link – www.bookinton.wordpress.com

Twitter ID – www.twitter.com/Tanmay_and_Jain

Facebook ID – www.facebook.com/TheBookintonBlog

Prompt – There was something extraordinarily ordinary about murder than people just didn’t get!

2)Nideesh Samant

A weaver or short stories, mostly dark ones…

https://thedarknetizen.wordpress.com

Twitter – www.twitter.com/darthnid

Prompt – A standard corporate boardroom meeting is und1erway, but the boss has hidden motives…

3)Sascha Darlington

Tech writer, creative writer and book blogger from Washington, DC

Blog – Sascha Darlington’s Microcosm Explored

Blog – https://saschadarlington.me
Twitter ID – www.twitter.com/darling_sascha

Prompt – A non-risk-taking writer has writer’s block, so they decide to do something they’ve never done before to inspire them.

4)Suchita Agarwal

A writer and content creator, Suchita Agarwal believes words are where the magic is. You can find her on Twitter, Instagram and WordPress. She goes by talesofsuchita.

Blog – Tales of Suchita

Blog Link – https://talesofsuchita.wordpress.com/

Twitter ID – https://twitter.com/talesOfsuchita

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/talesofsuchita/

Prompt – The last thing I remember

And then there is me… who has a HUGE amount written in her bio, and SM Links too, but then you know me… I cannot actually stop talking/writing, and you know I waffle… but if you wanted to read/connect… here you are!

5)Ritu Bhathal

Ritu Bhathal was born in Birmingham in the mid-1970’s to migrant parents, hailing from Kenya but with Indian origin. This colourful background has been a constant source of inspiration to her.

From childhood, she always enjoyed reading. This love of books is mostly credited to her mother.

The joy of reading spurred her on to become creative in her own writing, from fiction to poetry.

Winning little writing competitions at school and locally gave her the encouragement to continue writing.

As a wife, mother, daughter, sister, and teacher, she has drawn on inspiration from many avenues to create the poems that she writes.

A qualified teacher, having studied at Kingston University, she now deals with classes of children as a sideline to her writing!

Ritu also writes a blog, a mixture of life and creativity, thoughts and opinions, which was awarded first place in the Best Overall Blog Category at the 2017 Annual Bloggers Bash Awards.

Ritu is happily married, and living in Kent, with her Hubby Dearest, and two children, not forgetting the furbaby Sonu Singh.

Having published an anthology of poetry, Poetic RITUals, she is currently working on some short stories, and a novel, to be published in the near future.

Blog – But I Smile Anyway

Blog Link – www.butismileanyway.com

Twitter – www.twitter.com/PhantomGiggler

Facebook ID – https://www.facebook.com/butismileanyway/

Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/phantom_giggler/

Told you mine was long!

And here’s my prompt for the rest of the guys!

Prompt – I saw mummy kissing Santa Claus. I did. Well, not Santa, but some fat bearded dude, who wasn’t my dad…

Soooo … there you have it… for now!

The prompts are going to be answered as of 11th May, and the works are kicking off with my take of Sascha Darlington’s prompt… no pressure!!!

Hope you enjoy reading my efforts, and if you feel the urge, feel free to use the prompts and link back so I can read yours too!

Chai And A Chat #29 #ChaiAndAChat

22 Apr 2019 46 Comments

by Ritu in Thoughts Opinions & Memories

Hey there Peeps! Time for our weekly catch up! Gotta tell you, it’s another fun filled, but quieter (thankfully) one!

If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you – I managed to drive an automatic all the way back home, safely, and only stalled once, as we came off the motorway when I wanted to use the clutch, and durr… there isn’t one! But at least we are back in one piece, kinda…
If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you that I have seen more than my fair share of the hospital in the last week. We had to get straight to A & E after dropping the children to their grandparents, but that leg of Hubby Dearest’s needed checking, and after 7 hours on Monday, where we got a triage check by a nurse, and an xray, his back was starting to give in. We had to leave. We were getting set for another long stint on the Tuesday when the Orthopaedic Dr called us at 9pm on the Monday to say that yes, he had definitely ruptured his achilles tendon, yes he would definitely need plaster and no, given all we had to wait for today, we would need to come in the next day, but with an appointment for the fracture clinic. So Tuesday was a two hour visit there where we left with a newly plastered foot, and I had consumed my third Costa Chai Latte in 24 hours!

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A post shared by Ritu Bhathal ✍🏽📚💜 (@ritubhathalwrites)

If we were sipping chai together I’d say that there were still a few days of holiday left, where I needed to occupy the kids and keep them quiet as now their daddy would be working from home indefinitely… not an easy task for an overactive teen, but we managed. Lil Princess enjoyed her time trying on her clothes and taking countless selfies, and I started accompanying Lil Man to the Gurdwara sports park for a walk and a read in the evening or afternoon, so he could get rid of some energy.

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A post shared by Ritu Bhathal ✍🏽📚💜 (@ritubhathalwrites)

If we were sipping chai together I’d say that have spent an untold amount of time reading over the last couple of weeks and I have even managed to hit my Goodreads Reading Challenge Target, and it’s only April! Expect a doozy of an April Review roundup!

I met my goal of reading 50 books for the Goodreads 2019 Reading Challenge! https://t.co/x8GxUOIswd via @goodreads #Reader #Goodreads
— Ritu Bhathal ✍🏽📚💜 #ChickPeaCurryLit (@RituBhathal) April 20, 2019

If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you we’ll be back to school tomorrow. I may just be going back for a break, what with all that happened at home, and this ‘nursing’ lark!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d mention that it will be a little easier on me, childcare wise as the in-laws are back!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d say I am probably already looking forward to the weekend, even though I will have only had 4 days back to school!

Have a wonderful week, Peeps! Let me know how your week went!

#SoCS April 20/19 – Ribs

20 Apr 2019 37 Comments

by Ritu in #SoCS, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Gender, Linda G Hill, poem, Rib, Socs, Stream Of Consciousness Saturday

Linda’s #SoCS prompt for this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “rib.” Use it as a word, or find a word with “rib”in it. As always, use any way you’d like. Enjoy!

I started thinking about this… and what came to mind was Adam and Eve.

So, apparently Eve, aka Woman, was created from one of Adam’s ribs… thereby making her a suitable helper for Man…

But if you dig deeper there are quotes in the bible that suggest that it was not just his rib, but possibly more than a bone, maybe a side of Adam, that was used to create Eve.

So, not a suitable helper as such but really an equal companion that would conmplete Man

Woman was created to be “beside” man, not beneath or above him. In salvation, man is no more “worthy” and woman is no less a citizen of God’s kingdom. “There is neither . . . male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus”
Wikipedia

I like that thought. It has been in my mind since I wrote a flash yesterday about gender at birth, and the so called importance of a male baby within our Indian communities, and others out there.

Why? Why is that dangly genitalia so important?

It’s us women you need to actually create men nowadays. God isn’t doing his Garden of Eden magic nowadays.

Our Sikh first Guru, Guru Nanak says:

“We are born of woman, we are conceived in the womb of woman, we are engaged and married to woman. We make friendship with woman and the lineage continued because of woman. When one woman dies, we take another one, we are bound with the world through woman. Why should we talk ill of her, who gives birth to kings? The woman is born from woman; there is none without her. Only the One True Lord is without woman”
Guru Nanak

Sure, a male was meant to continue the family name, ensuring that the bloodline carried forth for more generations, but doesn’t a daughters offspring do the same, bloodline wise, anyway?

Male or female, hair shorne or tied with ribbons, breasts or dangly bits, we are equal. We were made to be equal, whether Christian, Sikh, Muslim, Jewish… any religion.

Ain’t that the truth?

Boys and girls
Girls and boys
Essentially the same
Though given different toys

Male and female
Female and male
Yet still inequalities
A very old tale

Him and her
Her and him
Together complete
Not made on a whim

A partnership
On equal ground
As God intended
Though not what's found

Differences only
To strengthen and support
Not useless foetuses
That some choose to abort

Man and woman
Woman and man
We should stand together
That was God's plan

Ritu 2019