Kos in a Time of Covid 19: Finale. #Cats of Kos.

This little stray appeared to be living under a parked car! This is the last piece about our recent stay on Kos. Just a light-hearted post especially for the many cat-lovers around the world. This one lived among the ruins in the Western Archaeological site. No idea who the young woman is, but the cat …

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The Book Review Companion, by David Wogahn: #BookReview.

212 pagesPublishing and Books/Writing Reference/Writing Skills Reference. Subtitled ‘An Author’s Guide to Getting and Using Book Reviews’, this is manual designed to do what the title suggests. Unfortunately, in common with a number of other books offering similar advice, it has little new to say about fiction, concentrating mainly on nonfiction. This isn’t a fault …

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Kos in a Time of Covid 19: 10th Day.

Monday was our last day in Kos; we were due to fly home on Tuesday morning. So, we went in search of those places we hadn’t yet found. First on our list was the Casa Romana, a Roman house dating from the 2nd century, built on the ruins of an earlier Hellenistic house. The building …

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A #Romantic Short Story for You.

In hope of giving you some entertainment in these peculiar times, here’s a short story. It’s a gentle romance, with a touch of humour, from a collection of such stories I published some time ago. A Perfect Solution Under the heat of a Mediterranean sun it seemed ludicrous to care about his worries back home. …

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Kos in a Time of Covid 19: 9th Day.

View from the road leading to the Asklepion Sunday was our 32nd wedding anniversary, so, naturally, we set out on a long trek up a hill. We’d decided early in the stay that we’d visit the Asklepion. It’s the most popular destination for tourists on the island, so we expected it would be quite busy. …

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Today’s Pictures: 5 Nov 20

Today is Bonfire Night (Guy Fawkes Day) here in England. It’s an odd tradition marking the brutal execution of a man who attempted, with a dozen others, to blow up the Houses of Parliament. His reasons were largely religious, in that his particular sect of believers, the Roman Catholics, were being persecuted by the then …

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National Cake Day in Ruritania, by Mark P. Henderson: #BookReview.

362 pagesSatire Fiction/General Humorous Fiction/Humour Humour is so personal. What makes one person laugh can make another frown or fail to respond at all. I’ve no wish to put readers off, but this book, included in the ‘humour’ genre, didn’t tickle my laughter muscles, I’m afraid. That doesn’t mean it will fail to stimulate yours. …

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Grenade Rain Dance, by Calibna J. Kerr (Junk Talk Poet): #BookReview.

Poetry is such a varied medium that a reader approaches any work with cautious curiosity. What will this piece say, will it be formal, contemporary, or simply chopped prose? The very fact that Calibna prefers his Junk Talk Poet handle may well put off a number of potential readers due to the propensity to pre-judge. …

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Kos in a Time of Covid 19: 8th Day.

This post should have appeared yesterday. Unfortunately, my PC was temporarily disabled by a Windows 10 update. It had to be remotely invaded before it could be persuaded to comply with my wishes. Out of action for the whole day. But back now. Saturday sent us on another walk into the town to see more …

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Today’s Pictures: 29 Oct 20

Just back from today’s walk, taking advantage of a brief spell of relative calm from the wind and rain coming in from the Atlantic. More on its way. But, undeterred, we trod the firm tracks and absorbed the spirit of the woods, made our daily connection with the trees. Wildlife mostly had the sense to …

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Today’s Pictures: 26 Oct 20

The morning looked dull with skies full of potential rain, so we waited until after lunch for today’s walk. As it happened, the morning rain was sparse and short lived. But our afternoon saunter found us in a world full of contrasts in both light and shade and colour. Parts of the woodland have turned …

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Today’s Pictures: 25 Oct 20

Horton Bridge. The forecast for today was, shall we say, variable? Rain was a possibility both this morning and this afternoon, with sunny periods in each half of the day. Here in the UK, our clocks go back an hour on the last Sunday in October, so the sun will set today around 16:54, making …

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Kos in a Time of Covid 19: 6th and 7th Days.

Passing the castle walls. Thursday we decided to visit the Wetlands at Psalidi, where, apparently, a flock of flamingos feed in a small lake. The place is about 4 kilometres out of town, so we set off after breakfast, water in the backpack and camera on my shoulder. The coast of Turkey We passed the …

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Today’s Picture: 22 Oct 20

A brief respite from the wet weather today, bringing us bright sunshine. The next three days are forecast to be wet and windy. So, we took full advantage and set off after breakfast for our walk. We managed a four-mile saunter through the forest, and saw not another soul the entire time, which suited us …

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A Short Story for You.

This short story is from the collection in my anthology, Ten Tales for Tomorrow. I present it here for your enjoyment. (If it inspires you to read the rest of the collection, you’ll find links to that at the foot of this post. Enjoy!) Smoke A thin curl of greenish smoke rose from sand ahead, …

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