Smorgasbord Blog Magazine – Weekly Round Up – May 1st – 7th 2023 – The Coronation, Family Photographs, Big Band Era, Guest Columns, Podcast, Book Reviews and Funnies

Welcome to the round up of posts you might have missed this week on Smorgasbord.

I hope you have had a good week. We have enjoyed some sunshine but also some high winds which meant our blossom was short lived…

I am watching the Coronation in bursts on YouTube over the next couple of days. We don’t have television and only watch downloaded shows and films from Netflix or other streaming sites. I get my news from the various international papers I follow on a regular basis and to be honest I find that means I manage how much bad news I am exposed to on a daily basis.

Anyway back to the Coronation and currently the BBC coverage I am watching has racked up 4.4 million views since yesterday. I would imagine that would be mainly international by those who don’t have access to UK TV.   If you would like to watch the short highlights you can find them here Coronation Highlights the full length 7hrs 30 min BBC Coverage is Here.

Personally I am all for a monarchy as I feel it is a permanent and consistent reminder of our heritage and history which our revolving governments cannot provide. I know there are critics and certainly some members are not as contributory to the role as they might be and take advantage of their position. But, seeing the outpouring of support and joy at the processions and the events taking place, it is a much needed celebration after Covid and the loss of Her Majesty the Queen.

On the home front I have been working though probably a thousand or more photographs, cataloguing and filing so I know what we have. Some of the photos go back over 100 years and also includes a photo of one of my great-grandmothers on my mother’s side. Wonderful to revisit the family photos taken on our times overseas with my father but also our own travels in the last 43 years. Definitely a walk down memory lane and some possible inspirations for short stories in the future.

As always my thanks to my friends who contribute to the blog…

William Price King joined me this week for the Big Band Era with Benny Goodman, Larry Clinton and the Hokey Cokey…  On Friday William shared the first part of the series featuring Diana Krall.  You can also find William – Blog– IMPROVISATION– William Price King on Tumblr

Debby Gies​ was here on Monday with a post in the Spiritual Awareness series and this time an exploration of Timing of the arrival of peole in our lives or events. Debby also found some great funnies to share with you. On her own post you will find her book review for the poignant collection Grief Songs by Elizabeth Gauffreau, and a reminder of her post on Automatic Writing and her recent guest post on Intuition. Head over to …D.G. Kaye

Carol Taylor will be here on Wednesday with her A-Z of food and the letter ‘W’. On her own blog Monday Musings Carol shares what I consider to be an amazing breakthrough mobile 3D dissolvable vaccine patches, a poignant ceremony to honour the unknown dead in Thailand, in The Green Kitchen a sobering look at the statistics for cancer, and the impact that has on Carol’s own family, fueling her passion about cooking from scratch and sustainability. Also food waste and how to make tasty chips using potato peelings in an air fryer. Also a wonderful recipe for Spicy red curry, Pork, Rice and Coconut Balls using up your cold cooked rice and an interesting use of egg shells and bananas to help your garden grow. In Thursday Thoughts the fascinating story of Lady Dai… a mummy who is in excellent condition despite her age and who might have been embalmed with a combination of ingredients that clearly have magical properties. Head over to check on all of the posts CarolCooks2 weekly roundup…30th April-6th May 2023

Delighted to welcome Toni Pike to the team on Wednesday and then every two weeks with her series on Personal Power and in her first post, Self Valuation… something we are not necessarily very good at…

..Thank you very much for your visits, comments and shares to social media, as always it is appreciated ♥

On with the show…

The Big Band Era with William Price King and Sally Cronin – 1930s/40s – Benny Goodman with Helen Forrest, Larry Clinton and Bea Wain, Hokey Pokey/Cokey

William Price King Meets Music Legends – #Jazz – Diana Krall Part One

Spiritual Awareness – Timing by D. G. Kaye

Author Toni Pike joins us with a series on Personal Power and how we can be in control of our lives with regard to relationships and our own well-being.

Personal Power – Self-Validation by Toni Pike

Podcast #Poetry – Rain and The Power of Trees by Sally Cronin

Something to think about – The R’s of Life – Relationships Part One – Childcare costs and socialisation issues, School bullying by Sally Cronin

The Body our Greatest Asset – The Immune System and our role in its efficiency by Sally Cronin

New Book on the Shelves – #Crime #Thriller – Restless Mayhem (The Mayhem Series Book 6) by Sue Coletta

#PostApocalyptic #SciFi – Once Upon a Time in the Swamp by C.S. Boyack

#Crime – Remember No More ( D.S. Kite Mysteries) by Jan Newton

Book Reviews – Round up April 2023 – #Contemporary #Thriller Lisette Brodey, #Thriller WWII Allan Hudson, #Media #Memoir Alison Ripley Cubitt, #Mystery Gwen Plano, #Shortstories Joan Hall, #Thriller Lee Child, #Fantasy Nicholas Conley

Meet the Authors 2023 – #Memoir #Flash Pamela S. Wight, #Shortstories Beem Weeks, #Romance Staci Troilo

#Fantasy D.Wallace Peach, #Shortstories Joan Hall, #Romance #Paranormal Jan Sikes

Hosts Sally Cronin and Debby Gies – Dog Collars and Holidays

Hosts Sally Cronin and Debby Gies – Driving Lessons and Cats and pills

 

Thanks for dropping in and I hope you will join me again next week.. stay safe.. Sally