Fred's Blog

WHAT I DID IN THE HOLIDAYS by Adrian Sturrock

20/7/2019

The latest memorable life experience in our 2019 Authors Showcase is a wonderful piece from well-known author Adrian Sturrock.

Enjoy Adrian's spectacular story WHAT I DID IN THE HOLIDAYS here.

Adrian Sturrock is a writer, occasional musician, teacher and ethnic minority (except when in Wales), specialising mostly in observation and unconsidered opinion.

His first book, The Sat Nav Diaries, was nominated for the 2018 Kindle Book Awards, while his second full length publication, Random, is currently

receiving kind words from both sides of the Atlantic. He has also contributed pieces for Travel Stories and Highlights, 2019 Edition, edited by Robert Fear.

Adrian also publishes a successful weekly blog on www.adriansturrock.com which is continuing to attract a growing and loyal readership across social media.

He has had excerpts of his poetry/lyrics displayed alongside those of Benjamin Zephaniah, in Luton Town Hall (though it is very unlikely that Benjamin is aware of this). He has been smiled at by Madonna and once spent an afternoon watching Ace Ventura, Pet Detective in Barry Gibb’s living room, where Bee Gees manager, David English, remarked on his shoes.

Adrian currently lives in Buckinghamshire, England, with wife Natalie: his travel companion, best friend, and person responsible for keeping him out of trouble on social media. There are rumours that he is working on follow ups to both of his recent publications, which he aims to publish in the near future.

You can find out more about Adrian Sturrock and his works on:

Amazon UK:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Adrian-Sturrock/e/B07QQDZMKQ

Amazon.com:
https://www.amazon.com/Adrian-Sturrock/e/B07QQDZMKQ/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0

Weekly blog & news: www.adriansturrock.com

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FORGET THE ROYAL WEDDING by Jill Stoking

17/7/2019

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A warm welcome to Jill Stoking with her first submission in the 2019 Authors Showcase.

I am sure you will enjoy her refreshing contribution about the wonders of modern technology.

You can read Jill's story FORGET THE ROYAL WEDDING here.

Jill Stoking

Born 1949 - Not dead yet. Qualified as a teacher for children with severe learning disabilities and taught for a while in Surrey before moving to Devon in the early 1970s. Jill has had loads of different jobs since then, most of them in the care sector, either residential homes or in the community. Divorced and her son now living in New Zealand (the two events aren't connected) Jill moved back to the south east in 2010 and lives with her dog QT in a mobile home in Kent, surrounded by the fantastic scenery of the North Downs and a vast expanse of sky.

"Joan's Descent into Alzheimer's" is the first book Jill has written, though she has had odd bits published in local and national newspapers.

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What Mrs Molloy Taught Me by Ronald Mackay

13/7/2019

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It is a privilege to share this latest story from Ronald Mackay, his fourth submission in the 2019 Authors Showcase.

Enjoy reading What Mrs Molloy Taught Me here.

Ronald Mackay

Ronald grew up in Scotland speaking two dialects. He spoke Scots until he went to the Morgan Academy in Dundee when he was five years old and mastered Standard English. His ability to speak both Scots and English helped him in the many of the part-time jobs he held as a child and as a teenager. He often did the shopping for older neighbours, he worked on farms picking raspberries, strawberries, blackcurrants and potatoes and laboured in forests limbing fallen trees. He was also employed on sheep farms in the Highlands and spent a summer fishing codling offshore from Peterhead on the Aberdeenshire coast.

Ronald and his wife Viviana live on the shores of Rice Lake in Ontario, Canada. He writes plays for the theatre and is the author of “Fortunate Isle, a Memoir of Tenerife” and “A Tenerife con Cariño”.

Robert Cordiner

Ronald Fishing

Ronald July 2019

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Delaine’s Revenge by Tina Mattern

10/7/2019

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It is a pleasure to feature this third contribution from Tina Mattern in our 2019 Authors Showcase.

Tina explains, 'This is the next segment of my memories on the farm.'

Read Tina's latest submission, Delaine's Revenge here.

Tina Mattern

Tina Wagner Mattern is a 68 year old Portland, Oregon writer. She has been published numerous times in anthologies such as Chicken Soup for the Soul, The Maine Review and A Cup of Comfort. She dabbles in short, humorous fiction but her main focus is on finishing her memoir-in-progress, “Butter Side Up.” This memory is a scene from that work.

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Havana: The Love I Have for You I Cannot Deny – Chan Chan by Cherie Magnus

6/7/2019

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We are now into the second half of the 2019 Authors Showcase and it is a privilege to feature our latest contributor, Cherie Magnus.

Her story is an extract from her upcoming memoir Intoxicating Tango: My Years in Buenos Aires.

Enjoy reading Havana: The Love I Have for You I Cannot Deny – Chan Chan here.

Cherie Magnus, a California native, returned to Los Angeles in 2014 after teaching tango in Buenos Aires, Argentina, for 11 years. She was a dance research librarian in the Los Angeles Central Library and a dance critic for local newspapers before moving to France, Mexico, and finally to Argentina in 2003.

Many of her articles on dance, books, travel and international culture have been published in magazines, professional journals, and several anthologies, such as Solamente en San Miguel, Cris K.A. DiMarco, ed., and Chicken Soup for the Soul: Reboot Your Life.

A Finalist in the Buenos Aires Tango Championships of 2006, she has appeared in two video documentaries with her Argentinian partner. She wrote a blog on expat life, Buenos Aires culture, and tango from 2008-2014. The prequel to the award-winning The Church of Tango, -- Arabesque: Dancing on the Edge in Los Angeles -- was released December 2014. Soon to come, the stand-alone sequel, Intoxicating Tango: My Years in Buenos Aires.

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The Summer of 1969 by Roger Knight

4/7/2019

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A warm welcome back to Roger Knight with his third submission to our 2019 Authors Showcase.

Roger's story is a nostalgic recollection from his youth. Enjoy reading his latest contribution The Summer of 1969 here.

Roger Knight

I have lived and worked in around 15 countries and having recently retired, I have finally got around to writing about some of my experiences spent in several exotic and far flung destinations. I have spent a third of my life in Australasia, so consequently have quite a bit of varied experience to draw from, as regards that region of the world.

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Dark Chocolate by Susan Mellsopp

30/6/2019

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It is an honour to feature this latest submission from Susan Mellsopp in our 2019 Authors Showcase.

Susan has asked me to stress that It is a very personal story so she hopes that readers will understand that.

Read her very moving contribution Dark Chocolate here.

Susan Mellsopp is retired and lives with her golden retriever guide dog Jay in Hamilton New Zealand. Much of her life has been spent as a dairy farmer and also working as a librarian, archivist and accessible transport researcher. She belongs to a writers group and is constantly being challenged to write in genres other than travel and memoir. She has published two school histories and writes for a national magazine. She is a voracious reader, loves to travel, listen to classical music, cook, and enjoys learning to use modern technology.

Susan at Government House

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All at Sea by Robyn Boswell

28/6/2019

6 Comments

The latest submission in our 2019 Authors Showcase is the second from a regular supporter of this blog, Robyn Boswell.

I always enjoy reading her stories and this latest one is no exception.

Catch up with Robyn's memorable life experience, All at Sea, here.

Robyn Boswell

I live in the Far North of New Zealand, a long narrow peninsula bordered by the Tasman Sea and the Pacific Ocean. Apart from a couple of stints overseas, I have always lived no more than 15 minutes from the Pacific. I was brought up in a beautiful bay on the stunning Whangarei Harbour where I learned to swim in the ocean and always had access to boats big and small to go fishing, holidaying and adventuring on the water. When it was time to travel the world, it was inevitable that my love of the sea and the experiences of my childhood would have a bearing on my favoured mode of travel.

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AMSTERDAM HAZE AND LONDON DAYS by Syd Blackwell

26/6/2019

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As we approach the halfway point of our 2019 Authors Showcase, it is a pleasure to feature this third contribution from Syd Blackwell.

His first story took us to Portugal in 1991 and his second to India in 1977. His third intriguing memorable life experience takes us to Amsterdam and London in 2001.

Enjoy Syd's latest piece AMSTERDAM HAZE AND LONDON DAYS here.

Syd Blackwell

I am pleased to have reached a time in my life when the answer to the question of what I do, is that I am a writer and an artist. It wasn´t always so as I worked through various roles in education and business during my sixty-one years in western Canada. But, in Uruguay, I am jubliado - retired. I do not have to make a living doing anything. I have actually earned some monies from my writing and my artwork, but that is not very important or necessary. I create for the pleasure it gives me and for the pleasure that others find from my creative efforts.

I have lived in Atlántida, on the coast of Uruguay, for a dozen years. My wife and I share our home, Casa Inspiración, with our five dogs, our family.

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Lice Friend by Catherine Berry

24/6/2019

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I am loving the variety of memorable life experiences that are being submitted to the 2019 Authors Showcase. I hope you are too. If you have missed any of them then you can catch up with all 27 contributions (so far) here.

Our latest story is from a newcomer to this year's showcase, Catherine Berry. I am sure you will enjoy her story Lice Friend as much as I have. Read it here.

Catherine Berry

Catherine was introduced to the French language at high school in Australia and whilst immediately fascinated with this subject had no idea that it would guide many of her life choices. With a dearth of Maths teachers at the time of her high school graduation, she went on to complete a Maths Science degree imagining that this would be her passport to employment.

In fact, it was her French that led her from teaching posts in Tasmania to country Victoria, to France as an assistant to the English teachers at her allocated schools in Grenoble and back to Melbourne. A Graduate Teaching Diploma, a Graduate Diploma in Educational Management, a Certificate in TESOL, a Masters in Education and roles in educational leadership (Head of LOTE, Head of School, Head of Professional Development) followed. This, alongside her marriage and three children, meant that her inner Francophile took a back seat for quite some time.

A series of lucky coincidences ultimately led Catherine, her husband and young family to set out on a French adventure of their own. ‘But you are in France, Madame’ is this story. After several years living in France, Catherine returned to Australia, but unable to turn the page on their French adventure, she and her husband purchased a home in France (search for Our French Village House in Talloires on the Annecy Lake).

To connect with Catherine:

Blog: https://butyouareinfrancemadame.blogspot.com

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/butyouareinfrancemadame/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/butyouareinfrancemadame/

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