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

Sue’s Songs For The Seasonally Challenged – We Feel Ill…

14 Dec 2018 49 Comments

by Ritu in Music, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Christmas, Festive Bleurgh!, Ill, Sick, Smule, Sue Vincent, We Three Kings

Sue Vincent, over at Sue Vincent’s Daily Echo blog is feeling ill… She has been rewriting traditional Christmas songs with her own very special lyrics, and yesterday’s offering was a verse to be sung to the tune of We Three Kings.

It resonated.

Why?

Because after not feeling too unwell so far this month, two kind children came in yesterday with the coughs and colds from Hell!!

Seriously!

And I sat in bed last night, unable to sleep as my chest congested, and today, well, my nose has been dripping like a tap that needs a washer changed!

To top it off, it was also Christmas Jumper Day for the Save the Children charity. Mine happened to have Rudolph on it, and by the end of the day, I had the red nose to match!

View this post on Instagram

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

Anyway, back to Sue and her great words… well, yesterday, I just had to sing them as I read them, and I mentioned to Sue that I crooned away… and threatened to record the song… and she welcomed the idea (crazy woman!) so, bunged-up, and sore-throated, I sang…

And here is the result! Click the link below to hear me making a fool of myself!

https://www.smule.com/recording/christmas-songs-we-three-kings/571646742_2670604866

And the words, if you want to join in!


Dog and mistress suffering are,
Fever-ridden, stuffed with catarrh…
Snuffling, sneezing,
Coughing, wheezing,
Feeling quite under par…
Oh…ohh…
*
Chorus:
Got the lurgy, don’t feel great…
Christmas chores are running late,
Early closing?
Should be dozing!
Think that we should hibernate…
 *
Dog’s complaining ‘cause I won’t go
Out for walks in frost, fog and snow,
She is seething,
I’m not breathing…
So much for ‘ho, ho, ho’.
Oh…ohh
*
Chorus
*
In the shed the tree’s still in store,
Baubles, tinsel, angels galore,
They can stay there,
I just don’t care!
Feeling too stiff and sore…
Oh…ohh…
*
Chorus
*
Haven’t baked a cake or mince pie,
I should make the effort and try,
Guests arriving,
Feel I’m skiving,
Think I’ll curl up and cry…
Oh…ohh…
*
Chorus
*
No gifts wrapped for Santa Claus’ sleigh,
Christmas cheer? Not much here today,
Nose is glowing
And it’s snowing…
… I need a holiday…
  Oh…ohh…
*
Got the lurgy, don’t feel great…
Christmas chores are running late,
Early closing?
Should be dozing!
Think that we should hibernate…

Sue Vincent

Songs for the seasonally challenged…

2018 Christmas Charity Appeal – Help Me Raise £250 For The Dogs Trust By Leaving Me Links To Your Blogs And Books – Hugh’s Views & News

13 Dec 2018 8 Comments

by Ritu in Thoughts Opinions & Memories

Head over to Hugh’s blog to help him raise money for The Dog’s Trust charity… All you have to do is leave a link, and visit a few others!

2018 Christmas Charity Appeal – Leave a link to your blogs and books and help author Hugh W. Roberts raise £250 for The Dogs Trust.

Source: 2018 Christmas Charity Appeal – Help Me Raise £250 For The Dogs Trust By Leaving Me Links To Your Blogs And Books – Hugh’s Views & News

Chai & A Chat #10 #ChaiAndAChat

10 Dec 2018 34 Comments

by Ritu in Chai and a Chat, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: #ChaiAndAChat, Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Chai and a Chat

Well, well, well! We’ve got to the tenth week of Chai & A Chat! And what a week I’ve had… again! (is it ever quiet…?)

If we were sipping chai together I’d tell you my week at school has been even more manic than a usual manic run-up-to-Christmas week! We’ve had a colleague taken ill, and hospitalised, which meant that I had to take my Reception class for more time, but my manager had to take the other class, so… I ended up having no observation! I was gutted as it was all planned for, but what can you do? I’ll have to get it looked at in January instead… more waiting.
If we were sipping chai together I’d let you know that the nativity play songs are running through my head constantly, but the worst thing is that I won’t get to see it being performed to parents, as the day they do that, is my Nursery day!
If we were sipping chai together I’d mention that the craziness of ferrying Lil Man to and from his district trials is finally over. Three weeks of rushing to and from this place, in the dark – over. We just need to wait for the results to see whether he has been selected!
If we were sipping chai together I’d excitedly tell you that the Capital Radio Jingle Bell Ball was amazing! We saw Liam Payne, Ellie Goulding, Olly Murs, Rak-Su, Jonas Blue, James Arthur, Dalton Harris, Loud Luxury, Halsey, Anne-Marie and Rita Ora. David Guetta was there too but we slipped out before he came on to get the girls back home without being stuck in traffic! Seeing a concert at a proper venue was great, even though I can admit to you all that I knew about 4 of the acts by name before… and had to listen to the songs to realise I knew the others too… old? Me…? Nah!!!!

fbt
oznor
oznor
oznor
oznor
oznor
ptr
oznor
oznor
oznor
oznor
oznor
oznor
oznor

If we were sipping chai together I’d also mention that we did some visiting on Sunday (yup, I told you it was full on!) We embarked upoin a 2 hour journey to a little place in East Preston, called Littlehampton, where Hubby Dearest has a cousin. She has a gorgeous 20 month old, and also is now proud mum to 3.5 month ond twins! So I got a full on baby fix today! Clucky much? Oh they were gorgeous! ❤

View this post on Instagram

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

If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d tell you that next week isn’t going to be too much easier… we are still short staffed so I shall be juggling an awful lot of stuff at school…
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d whisper that I am so NOT prepared for Christmas…I haven’t bought proper presents for anyone, other than the children… I am forseeing a crazy shopping spree next weekend… eeeks!
If we were sipping that chai together, and possibly reaching for cake or cookies I’d mention that it will be Lil Princess’s last ever Christmas performance at Primary school… time for me to get a little choked up… but she doesn’t want me to come… so I will be sneaking in at the back to watch!

And that is the end of this exhausting week! Phew!

Tell me, how has yours been?

December 6: Flash Fiction Challenge #CarrotRanch – Graffiti

07 Dec 2018 24 Comments

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

Charli’s prompt this week:

December 6, 2018, prompt: In 99 words (no more, no less) write a story about graffiti. It can be an artist, art or the medium itself. Get out your can of spray paint and go where the prompt leads you.


Pure Art

Stepping back, he looked up to admire his work.
He inhaled the spray paint, fresh on the wall.
A huge mural filled with colour. 
It had taken him the best part of six hours, what with dodging 
oncoming traffic.
His tag proudly displayed at the bottom.
Sure, the wall wasn’t his property, and there was a slight chance that 
if he got caught, he’d end up at the police station again…
He pulled his hat down firmly and wrapped his scarf over his mouth, 
rendering himself unrecognisable.
Some might call it graffiti, but to him, it was pure art.

December 6: Flash Fiction Challenge

#Blogmas2018 Ritu’s Blog Tips #7

07 Dec 2018 30 Comments

by Ritu in Blogmas 2018, Thoughts Opinions & Memories Tags: Blog, Blog Post, Blogger, Blogging, Blogmas, Blogmas 2018, Schedule

Day 7!

Plan and schedule!

We are not supermen/women… It is not easy to blog daily/weekly/monthly with all the rest of our responsibilities (for most, of us, anyway!)

It is important to have some semblance of routine on your blog. Your regular readers will come to expect certain things from you.

If you know you are going to be busy, use the scheduling tools that are out there. I am on WordPress and I often schedule posts that I have been able to write across a few days, as a lot readers find it a bit much to have several posts from the same blogger on one day.

Create some sort of timetable for what you may be posting, and when. Then try to stick to it.

And sharing is also important.

Set up your sharing options on your blog ( I know WordPress have this fuction). Link your Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn etc. pages to your blog and your posts will automatically share there for you, as you publish them.

All these different Social Media sites offer you a fresh audience – use them !