Silver Lining
I can hardly believe that it’s time for Friday Fictioneers again, but it is! This week’s photo has been contributed by Dawn Q. Landau, prompting us to write a 100-ish word story. Friday Fictioneers is hosted as always by the lovely Rochelle.
I have to admit, I have no real idea what this photo is of. It looks to me like an aerial view of fields, but with a huge person standing there!
To read this week’s other contributions, click on the little blue chap below. More stories are added throughout the week!
Copyright Dawn Q. Landau
Javik scrambled out of the way as the aged giant tottered across the field. Marick wasn’t so lucky, disappearing with a grisly crunch in a cloud of red mist beneath the giant’s uncaring feet.
A few more steps and the monstrous figure, evidently hard of sight, lost its footing and fell from the cliff. A huge cloud of dust signalled the creature’s landfall.
Javik counted himself fortunate, more fortunate than the mangled villagers at the base of the cliff. When, hours later, he reached the bottom he smiled as he watched the survivors cut meat from the corpse. No-one would starve this winter.
Sharing My World Week 36
It’s Share Your World time here at draliman’s blog. The questions are posed every week by Cee – give her a visit and check out her wonderful photos!
Do you prefer reading coffee table books (picture), biographies, fiction, non-fiction, educational?
I have a small number of each of these type of book, but I prefer fiction. That’s what I read for fun.
I had enough of educational books back when I was getting myself educated, thanks. I prefer fantasy/sci-fi type fiction. Nothing heavy. After all, I’m trying to relax, unwind, not stress myself out trying to plough through a so-called “classic”.
Besides, I’m sure many of the books I read today will be “classics” in a hundred years 🙂
Most of my recent books are on Mr Kindle, because I ran out of space where I used to live, but here is a couple of exciting action shots of one of my bookcases to give you an idea.
One day I’ll see about getting them into some sort of order. Maybe.
What is your biggest fear or phobia? (no photos please)
I don’t have any phobias that I’m aware of.
I’m quite afraid of fear. Sometimes I dread something I’ll have to do because I know that although it will be fine I’ll be afraid of doing it during the days leading up to it, and that annoys me.
And then there’s spiders, of course. The bigger, hairier ones. Obviously none of them here are poisonous – we have only one poisonous animal and that’s the adder snake, and that’s not even particularly poisonous. Well, “venomous” I should say, strictly speaking, but let’s not split hairs.
If a spider gets on me or comes rushing towards me, you wouldn’t believe how fast I can move. Then I’ll spend the next however long it takes trying to catch it, because I can’t be having no icky spiders wandering around somewhere.
What is your favourite cheese?
Mmm, cheese. Bring on the cheese. Any cheese, I don’t care. As long as it’s cheese.
Yellow, orange, blue, hard, soft, holes, no holes – I’ll eat it all!
What is your favourite month of the year?
I like sunny summer months and cold and crisp winter months. September is quite nice – it reminds me of primary school, collecting leaves, playing conkers and harvest festival.
January is rubbish – the excitement of Christmas is over and it’s back to work with a vengeance. February is a bit iffy. October is a bit blowy and November is neither one thing nor the other. A bit like March. I’m indifferent about several other months.
On balance, my favourite is therefore Septaugdecember.
An Adventure to Die For
It’s time for Friday Fictioneers, so here’s my contribution!
Hosted by Rochelle, this week’s photo prompt has been provided by Janet Webb. Thanks, Janet!
Click on the little blue chap below to see all the other contributions, as they are added during the week.
Copyright Janet Webb
Through the portal lay a room, a room Marlon had discovered existed over 200 years in the past. He checked his clothing – the costume shop had assured him that it looked authentic. He was ready.
His anticipation reaching fever pitch, he stepped through. A keen historian, he was determined that this, his second trip, would be an adventure to die for.
“See, loike oi said, yer honour!” came a woman’s voice as he materialised. “Witch!”
Further cries of “Witch!” were accompanied by flaming arrows, throwing Marlon’s body back through the portal.
“A truly 18th Century death!” thought Marlon as the flesh melted from his bones.
A Trip to Golitha Falls
Last week I took a little drive to Golitha Falls, an hour’s drive or so away. It’s not a big waterfall, but a series of tiny dinky little waterfalls. And I use the word “waterfall” lightly.
Here are some photos from my trip.
Sharing My World Week 35
It’s Week 35 at Cee’s Share Your World – thanks for posing the questions, Cee! Go over to her blog and check out her great photos, people!
Have your blogging goals changed?
I wouldn’t say that my blogging goals have changed. I wanted to write “stuff” and put it out there, because what I have to say is important, right? 😉
However, the content has changed. I started out musing on life, and life’s experiences. However, I soon ran out of “wisdom”. I finally discovered that people write fiction on their blogs too, so I started in on that. I used to love writing at school, and now that the interweb is here people can read what I write. Much better than it all languishing in a notebook in a drawer somewhere (probably).
If you were to perform in the circus, what would you do?
Me, the circus? Surely you jest! That pretty much makes me the centre of attention.
I couldn’t be a clown, they’re sad and creepy. And not in the least funny.
I couldn’t do any athletic stuff because I’d end up in a broken heap.
I couldn’t do anything animal-related because I don’t like the idea of animals shut in cages being driven around the country.
I think I’d have to be the ring master. Although he’s there by himself and may seem the centre of attention, no-one is actually interested in what he’s doing, as he’s only there to link between acts.
If you could go back and talk to yourself at age 18 what advice would you give yourself? Or if you are younger than 25 what words of wisdom would you like to tell yourself at age 45?
There are so many things I could tell myself, but I wouldn’t listen. Who, at age 18, would listen to words of wisdom, cautioning restraint, a slower pace?
At the end of the day, I’m the sum total of the experiences I’ve had, good and bad. No matter how it’s turned out, I wouldn’t want to mess with that.
Ooh, that was a bit deep for me. I’ve gotta cut back on the double Espresso shots.
What is your favourite comfort snack food?
That’s tricky. I don’t really snack. I need to keep my body in tip-top athletic condition! (It’s not.)
If I did snack, I like that old favourite, chocolate. It’s a classic for a reason. I save it for special occasions, though. Last time I went on a chocolate kick, I was putting away several hundred grammes of Galaxy milk chocolate a night. I had to wean myself off it slowly via chunky Kit-Kats.
Ice cream’s good too. Mmm, ice cream.
Well, it all turned a bit serious this week. See you next week for more questions from Cee!
Drimericks – Man in a Tank
It’s time for another Drali Limerick (Drimerick)! Here’s one about a rather foolish tank owner. As always, it is accompanied by a DraliDoodleTM, professionally drawn by the DraliDoodleTM team.
There once was a soldier named Frank
Who wished to sail off in his tank
The beach was quite sandy
Which turned out quite handy
But on reaching the water he sank.
Memories
Here’s my contribution to this week’s Friday Fictioneers, a 100-ish words challenge hosted by Rochelle. This week she contributed the picture as well!
To read the other entries, click on the little blue chap below.
Copyright Rochelle Wisoff-Fields
Carlos looked deep into the fire, hypnotised by the tongues of flame. His mind drifted back to candlelit dinners with Sally, watching the fire together. Sharing everything, one mind, one heart. But…
… she had hated his job. They had argued, every day towards the end. His job was important, he told her. Someone had to do it. In the end their love hadn’t been enough.
A groan brought him back to the present, back to his job. He pulled a coal from the fire and placed it under his victim’s chin, pushing the head down, and smiled. He loved to hear the screams before the vocal chords burned away.
Mr Coffee
I’ve bought myself a new gizmo! Here it is.
Mr Coffee
It’s amazing! You pop one of these little pods in the top.
Mr Pod
Then you fill the little tank in the back up with water and push the button. Hey presto, coffee. It’s, like magic or something.
Sharing My World Week 34
It’s time to Share My World again. Didn’t it come round quickly? This challenge comes courtesy of Cee at her photography blog – pop over and check out her beautiful photos!
What is your favourite smell? What memory does it remind you of?
Well, there’s the sweet smell of bacon. That reminds me of eating bacon.
Mmm, bacon.
There’s also cut grass. That reminds me of hot summer days as a child.
Then there’s that certain undefinable cold, freshness you get early in the morning around Autumn/Winter time, when there’s maybe a light frost and the air is still, which reminds me of all the winter days leading up to Christmas, and a warm cosy house.
Name a song or two which are included on the soundtrack to your life?
Well, this is a tricky one. I’ll go with “Honestly OK” by Dido and “Land of Confusion” by Genesis.
Do you play video/computer game? Which one(s) or most recent?
Do I play video games? Why yes, yes I do. “Which ones” would be quite the list, the most recent is “Wolfenstein – The New Order”. There’s nothing quite like running around shooting people, robots and robotic people to de-stress you. It’s a good storyline as well.
Which of Snow White’s 7 dwarfs describes you best? Plus what would the 8th dwarf’s name be? (Doc, Happy, Bashful, Sleepy, Sneezy, Grumpy, Dopey)
Since I’m “Dr” maybe I should be “Doc”. I can be “Grumpy”, I’m usually “Sleepy” most of the time and when I’m out and about I’m “Bashful”.
The 8th dwarf would be called “Lucky”, I’d sure like having him around!
Shopping Around the World August
Yesterday was the scheduled date for Bacon and Fozzie’s “Shopping Around the World” feature! I’m a day late as yesterday I did my Friday Fictioneers (yes, Friday Fictioneers starts on a Wednesday).
Here are the prices for the goods they have chosen for the south west of England.
Water. Let’s shoot for a price on a 24 pack of water. This is something that we use every day and can’t live without. Some people drink it straight from the faucet while others of us buy bottles. What is the price of a 24 pack of water in your area and what brand?
I occasionally drink water, but I only buy 6 packs of 500ml bottles, so I’ll have to go online for this price! Off to tesco.com…
First off, it has to be sparkling water. If I want still water, I’ll get it from the tap (which apparently is what “faucet” means). I looked and looked and I can’t find any 24 packs, the most was 12. I’ll show the ones I buy – 6 x 500ml.
This costs £1.50, which is US$2.49. In terms of quantity, as Bacon posted his in “ounces”, 500ml = 16.9 US fluid ounces.
As a bonus, the website proudly proclaims that this water is vegetarian-safe! Who knew?
Bath Soap. Something ‘most’ of us use when we shower – or I hope so anyway snorts. What brand do you get, how many boxes together and how much. I say how many boxes because I know sometimes they are sold in packages of 1 or 2 – sometimes more.
To be honest, I haven’t bought a bar of soap for many many years. Maybe decades. So I’ll have to give you the price for shower gel. I buy Lynx shower gel, which is £2.40 (US$3.98) for one 250ml bottle. Currently it’s on offer for £1.20!
Because, obviously, shower gel doesn’t go off, I tend to wait until it’s on offer and then buy loads.
Deodorant. This is something that has blown mom’s mind lately – the price of deodorant – WOW! Again, this is something that most of us use every day or should. Tell us what brand you get and how much.
Again, I buy Lynx deodorant. According to the TV adverts, all you need to do is squirt it a bit and then thousands of women come running. It hasn’t worked for me yet, but I live in hope that one day it will live up to its advertising. I’m not greedy, one woman will do.
This is currently around £3.50 for a 200ml bottle (it varies a lot). Again, I wait for an offer and buy loads at once.
Laundry Detergent. Another product that is important in our lives while washing our clothes. What kind do you buy, the price and size.
There are lots of different types of this – colour fast, bio, non-bio… As a bloke I don’t care, as I chuck everything in together anyway. I buy Ariel “whatever”. This is the one I currently have in my cupboard (cupboard not shown).
This comes to around £6.00 (US$9.94) for 20 washes. One of these boxes will last me around 4 months. I expect someone’s going to work out my “washes per week” now. Be kind.
Random Item. This is something that we are going to start incorporating every month. This is your choice. List a random item from your area, what it is and the price. ALL YOUR CHOICE
For my random item I’ve chosen half a dozen medium-sized free range “happy eggs” from the Happy Egg Co. Because nobody likes an unhappy egg. These cost £1.95 (US$3.23) and I used two last night to make this scrummy omelette, with bacon and cheese.
This is the first omelette I have ever made! My boss at work gave me instructions (thanks, boss!) and although it turns out I have neither omelette pan nor mixing bowl, I made do.
Now that I’m clearly a master chef, I’ll need to try a soufflé or baked Alaska next, because how hard could they really be? 🙂
Click for a random post!
Woohoo!
I totally didn't win!
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