Frank Prem has followed up his first children’s poetry story book with more of the lovable bears in A Beechworth Bakery Bears e-Book (too) and I have enjoyed this book as much as the first.
About the story
What are the Beechworth Bakery Bears up to this time?
Has Tom sold out of Bee Stings?
Take The Beechworth Bakery Bears (too) home to read, and find out!
My review for the book 18th February 2021
I don’t get to read very many children’s picture books as I have no-one to read them to in our extended family. But even an oldie like me can appreciate the wonderful images in this little book of Teddy bears and pastries. Frank Prem has a way with words in his poetry for adults, and clearly also for the younger generation. I loved book one, and this second volume too which would make a lovely gift for a small child who loves teddies and listening to bed time stories.
Tough to choose my favourites but highlights Three-bear bobsled and a Snicker -What?
I’ve been a storytelling poet for about forty years. Longer in fact, as I remember the first poem I wrote while at secondary school was about 150 – 200 words long and was accepted in lieu of a 500 word essay. I think that may have been the start.
I love to read my work to a live audience, and have audio recorded some recent recordings and popped them on my author page. I have also done some studio- recorded work under the direction and accompaniment of my wife Leanne Murphy that can be listened to there. These poems are on mythological themes and the accompaniment by Leanne makes them a little bit extraordinary.
By profession, I am a psychiatric nurse and have worked across most facets of public psychiatry and the mental health/mental illness spectrum. My experiences and reflections on what I have seen and done are the subject of a forthcoming memoir – scheduled for late 2019, or perhaps more likely, 2020.
I’ve been published in magazines, zines and anthologies, in Australia and in a number of other countries, but for a long time I haven’t sought much publication. The whims of editors are a little too capricious and unknowable, so I have preferred to hone my craft and self-publish on my poetry blogs
Leanne and I reside in the beautiful township of Beechworth in the North-East of Victoria (Australia).
Thanks for dropping in today and I hope you will be leaving with some books… thank Sally.
Each week William and I will select two top hits from the charts starting with 1960 for two weeks followed by 1961 etc..through to 1985. We will also include some of the notable events in those years for the up and coming stars who were centre stage at the time.
Every four weeks at the weekend there will be a spin-off show where we will feature four guests sharing their memories of the music of a particular decade we are working on. An opportunity to share your work and your can find the details: The Breakfast Show 2021
Welcome to our show and we are excited to share decades of music with you in 2021. Here is my first selection of top 1963 hits which I hope you will enjoy. William.
News Event:February 23rd Luciano Pavarotti makes his debut at the Vienna State Opera in “La traviata”
Inez and Charlie Foxx – Mockingbird
‘Mockingbird’ was based on the lullaby ‘Hush Little Baby’. It reached #5 on Billboard’s Hot 100, #3 on Cashbox, and #34 in the UK.
News Event: March 22nd Beatles release 1st album, “Please Please Me”
Sam Cooke – Twistin’ the night away
‘Twistin’ the night away’ slid into the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 at #9 and peaked at #1 in Billboard’s R&B chart. It also climbed into the UK Singles Chart at #6.
News Event:March 23rd 8th Eurovision Song Contest: Grethe and Jorgen Ingmann for Denmark win singing “Dansevise” in London
Now time for my picks from 1963 and these are tracks that dominated my teenage years and reinforced my love of music.
The Beatles – She Loves You
“She Loves You” is a song written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and recorded by English rock group the Beatles for release as a single in 1963. The single set and surpassed several sales records in the United Kingdom charts, and set a record in the United States as one of the five Beatles songs that held the top five positions in the charts simultaneously, on 4 April 1964. It remains the band’s best-selling single in the United Kingdom and the top-selling single of the 1960s there by any artist.
News Event:April 19th Johnny Cash releases his single “Ring Of Fire” written by his future wife June Carter and Merle Kilgore
Andy Williams – Cant’ Get Used To Losing You.
“Can’t Get Used to Losing You” is a song written by Jerome “Doc” Pomus and Mort Shuman, first made popular by Andy Williams in a 1963 record release, which was a #2 hit in both the US and the UK. Twenty years later, British band The Beat took a reggae re-arrangement of the song to #3 in the UK.
News Event: May 10th Decca signs Rolling Stones on advice of Beatle George Harrison
William Price King is an American jazz singer, crooner, and composer.
His interest in music began at an early age when he studied piano and clarinet in high school. At Morehouse College in Atlanta where he grew up, he sang in the Glee Club and studied classical music. After graduation he went off to the Yale School of Music where he earned a Masters degree. From there he journeyed to New York where he created a jazz trio ‘Au Naturel’ which performed in some of the hottest venues in Manhattan including gigs on Broadway and the famous ‘Rainbow Room.’ These gigs opened doors for performances in Montreal and a European tour.
While touring Europe he met a lovely French lady, Jeanne Maïstre, who, a year later became his wife. King left the group ‘Au Naturel’ and settled in the south of France where he started a new life on the French Riviera, opening his own music school – the “Price King Ecole Internationale de Chant.” He has had the pleasure over the years of seeing many of his students excel as singers on a professional level, and some going on to become national celebrities. He continues to coach young singers today, in his spare time.
Sally Cronin is an author, blogger and broadcaster who enjoyed four years as part of the team on Onda Cero International’s English speaking morning show in Marbella and then for two years as a presenter on Expressfm the local radio station in Portsmouth. She co-presented two ‘Drive Time’ shows a week with Adrian Knight, hosted the live Thursday Afternoon Show and The Sunday Morning Show guests including musicians and authors. Following this she became Station Director for a local internet television station for two years, producing and presenting the daily news segment, outside broadcasts and co-presenting the Adrian and Sally chat show live on Friday evenings.
She and her husband David have now returned to Ireland where they live on the Wexford Coast where she blogs and continues to write books.
Thank you very much for joining us today and we would love you to join us in the spin off shows where we share your memories of the 1960s and your favourite music.. please read how you can take part: The Breakfast Show 2021
Next week 1963 Part Two.. we hope you will tune in.. as always we love to hear from you.. thanks William and Sally.
I have missed participating in this challenge and hope to be more active again this year… This week Colleen Chesebro offers us a choice.. Abhanga or Poet’s Choice
Since I have one coming up this month, I thought I would create a Garland Cinquain on the subject of Birthdays.
Garland Cinquain – Birthdays
Birthdays
a reminder
of the passing of years
celebrated with lit candles
and cake.
Wrinkles
are etched on skin
laughter lines they tell you
signs of character and a life
well lived
People
in the present
and in our memories
are thought of with love as this day
passes
How fast
they come around
the older that we get
a caution to make the most of
each day.
Tempting
as it might be
to disregard this date
it stands as a testament to
our lives
Birthdays
are etched on skin
and in our memories
a caution to make the most of
our lives.
Welcome to the round up of posts this week on Smorgasbord that you might have missed.
I hope everyone is doing well and not to badly impacted by the winter storms across America and Europe… we don’t tend to get snow very often in our part of the Irish coast but it looks like we may well get hit tomorrow and then a freeze next week. I took the precaution of doing the weekly shop today instead of Monday and went early. By the time I was leaving at 10.00 the built up as a lot of others had the same idea.
Virus numbers seem to be coming down although not early enough here at the moment. We shall see if the March 5th lifting of restrictions will take place.
In the meantime as one of the five million people still choosing to use the Classic Editor.. I was furious when they updated the programme two days ago which now means adding two steps instead of one to inserting images, short links, centering text, bolding text, adding colour, and italics. Thankfully there are a few keyboard shortcuts for some, but otherwise you now have to click an up arrow to the editing icons instead of them being visible whilst you format the post. Pain in the butt and another move in my opinion to drive us into using the block editor.. underhand.
Of course unless you are a paid subscriber to WordPress you cannot access help in person. The irony is that if they could guarantee that I could retain the classic editor and keep the current format, I would be happy to pay them an annual subscription. I am sure that most of the other 5 million people still using the Classic Editor would probably be happy to do so.
The latest news from the forums is that they say, if the demand is still there after December 31st 2021, they will reconsider supporting it into 2022.
Whilst it might sound like I am an entrenched luddite, it is more down to the way I blog, which is several times a day. I appreciate that for many that is breaking the rules of blogging, but my vision was of a magazine style blog with varied topics and an effective book marketing platform. I am not going to throw the baby out with the bathwater, but if they keep mucking around with the functionality of the editor then I will be looking at making some changes.
I love doing this and it is frustrating when I can’t do it the way I want. Which incidentally was their grand opening mission statement.. ‘Your blog, Your Way.’
Anyway.. enough of the rant.
Thanks very much for keeping me motivated by your visits and comments… Also to the guests this week who are participating in the Breakfast Show specials and the Posts from the Archives.
This second review this week is for the1960s thriller – Paris Escapade by Ted Myers.
About the Book
In the summer of 1963, seventeen-year-old Eddie Strull goes off to Europe with a supervised camp group of New York Jewish kids. But Eddie, ever the rebel, has other plans. Eddie wants to live as an adult. A writer. Right now. When they arrive in Paris, the last stop before heading home, Eddie sneaks out of the youth hostel and disappears into the bohemian labyrinth of the Left Bank. There he encounters a colorful array of artists, writers, actors, and one extraordinary prostitute, who draws him into a risky adventure. Ultimately, he becomes a wanted man. Instant adulthood turns out to be much more than Eddie bargained for.
My review for the book February 6th 2021
A fast paced, adventure filled thriller set against the backdrop of 1960s Europe, and in particular the avant-garde culture of Paris at that time.
First impressions of seventeen-year-old Eddie Strull, offered in his own words, are of a rather entitled, over confident and dismissive teenager whose goal is to escape from under his boring parent’s oversight. To this end he plans his escape under the noses of the guardians of the tour of Europe he is signed up for.
In the first part of the book we are treated to a whistle stop tour of the highlights of the European major capitals, with the author paying great attention to detail on the tourist trail of that time. Paris is depicted in all its glory, and it is easy to feel drawn into the ambience of the free- thinking and inclusive culture offered to emigres and foreign creative talent. This is the place that Eddie feels is his destiny, with the intention of becoming a world renowned author worthy of his literary idols.
He is certainly going to need some bravado to survive his adventure once he cuts loose from the tour group, including navigating the egos and self-interests of the resident literary crowd and other artists who are reluctant to cede any of their attention to others. There are those with honest intentions, but Eddie finds them few and far between, and in the main he falls in with those who are living life on the edge, or deep in criminal activities. Passions run hot, a murderer is stalking the streets and Eddie makes some decisions that put his life in danger.
The author has created a complex character in Eddie and we get to know him in more depth through the first person narrative, including the side he might not show to those he connects with, which is a vulnerability and need for his own identity. The events of the next two years certainly test his resolve as he finds love, experiences loss and faces difficult choices to achieve his dream.
The story has flow and the references to events, music and prominent artists and writers of that time provides plenty of nostalgia for readers who remember the 1960s fondly. It would be interesting to see where the story of Eddie Strull goes next.
After twenty years trembling on the brink of rock stardom and fifteen years working at record companies, Ted Myers left the music business–or perhaps it was the other way around–and took a job as a copywriter at an advertising agency. This cemented his determination to make his mark as an author. His nonfiction has appeared in Working Musicians (Harper Collins), By the Time We Got to Woodstock: The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Revolution of 1969 (Backbeat Books), and Popular Music and Society.
His short stories have appeared online at Literally Stories and in print in the To Hull & Back Short Story Anthology 2016. His epic and amusing memoir, Making It: Music, Sex & Drugs in the Golden Age of Rock was published by Calumet Editions in 2017 and more short stories appeared in Iconoclast magazine, The Mystic Blue Review, Centum Press’ 100 Voices Anthology, and Culture Cult Magazine.
In 2018, his work appeared in The Ink Stains Anthology, and Bewildering Stories. His first novel, Fluffy’s Revolution, was published by Black Rose Writing in 2019. His second novel, Paris Escapade, was published by Black Rose Writing in December 2020.
Thanks for visiting today and hope you have enjoyed my review for Ted’s book and will check it out for yourself.. Sally.
Each week William and I will select two top hits from the charts starting with 1960 for two weeks followed by 1961 etc..through to 1985. We will also include some of the notable events in those years for the up and coming stars who were centre stage at the time.
Every four weeks at the weekend there will be a spin-off show where we will feature four guests sharing their memories of the music of a particular decade we are working on. An opportunity to share your work and your can find the details:The Breakfast Show 2021
Welcome to our show and we are excited to share decades of music with you in 2021. Here is my first selection of top 1962 hits which I hope you will enjoy. William.
News Event : January 13th Chubby Checker’s song “The Twist”, credited with starting the Twist dance craze, goes to #1 in the charts two years after first reaching number one spot
The Four Seasons – Sherry
‘Sherry’ hit #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100 and remained there for five consecutive weeks, and made it to #1 on the R&B charts for one week. It peaked at #8 in the UK. The song appears on the soundtrack album of the films ‘Stealing Home’ (1988) and ‘The Help’ (2011).
New Event: January 26th Bishop Burke of Buffalo Catholic dioceses declares Chubby Checker’s “The Twist” to be impure and bans it from all Catholic schools
Neil Sedaka – Happy birthday sweet sixteen
‘Happy birthday sweet sixteen’ written by Neil Sedaka and Howard Greenfield, reached #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, #9 on Cashbox and #3 on the UK Singles chart.
News Event: February 11th Beatles record “Please, Please Me”
Now time for my picks from 1962 and these are tracks that dominated my teenage years and reinforced my love of music.
Acker Bilk – Strangers on the Shore
“Acker” Bilk MBE is an English clarinettist who was born on the 28th January in 1929. He is famous for his style which includes the trademark goatee, a bowler hat and a striped waistcoat. His clarinet style is breathy with notes on the lower-register and is vibrato-rich.
Stranger on the Shore reached No. 2 in the UK and No. 1 in the US in 1961.
It was the theme tune for the BBC TV drama also called ‘Stranger on the Shore’. onemediamusic
News Media: March 18th 7th Eurovision Song Contest: Isabelle Aubret for France wins singing “Un premier amour” in Luxembourg
Cliff Richard – The Young Ones
“The Young Ones” is a single by Cliff Richard and the Shadows. The song, written by Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett, is the title song to the 1961 film The Young Ones and its soundtrack album.
With advance orders of over 500,000, it was released in January 1962 on the Columbia (EMI) label and went straight to No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart, the first British single to do so. It held that position for six weeks and spent 20 weeks in the chart. It has sold 1.06 million copies in the UK, and 2.6m worldwide
William Price King is an American jazz singer, crooner, and composer.
His interest in music began at an early age when he studied piano and clarinet in high school. At Morehouse College in Atlanta where he grew up, he sang in the Glee Club and studied classical music. After graduation he went off to the Yale School of Music where he earned a Masters degree. From there he journeyed to New York where he created a jazz trio ‘Au Naturel’ which performed in some of the hottest venues in Manhattan including gigs on Broadway and the famous ‘Rainbow Room.’ These gigs opened doors for performances in Montreal and a European tour.
While touring Europe he met a lovely French lady, Jeanne Maïstre, who, a year later became his wife. King left the group ‘Au Naturel’ and settled in the south of France where he started a new life on the French Riviera, opening his own music school – the “Price King Ecole Internationale de Chant.” He has had the pleasure over the years of seeing many of his students excel as singers on a professional level, and some going on to become national celebrities. He continues to coach young singers today, in his spare time.
Sally Cronin is an author, blogger and broadcasterwho enjoyed four years as part of the team on Onda Cero International’s English speaking morning show in Marbella and then for two years as a presenter on Expressfm the local radio station in Portsmouth. She co-presented two ‘Drive Time’ shows a week with Adrian Knight, hosted the live Thursday Afternoon Show and The Sunday Morning Show guests including musicians and authors. Following this she became Station Director for a local internet television station for two years, producing and presenting the daily news segment, outside broadcasts and co-presenting the Adrian and Sally chat show live on Friday evenings.
She and her husband David have now returned to Ireland where they live on the Wexford Coast where she blogs and continues to write books.
Thank you very much for joining us today and we would love you to join us in the spin off shows where we share your memories of the 1960s and your favourite music.. please read how you can take part:The Breakfast Show 2021
Next week 1962 Part Two.. we hope you will tune in.. as always we love to hear from you.. thanks William and Sally.
A very special Rodeo Classic over at the Carrot Ranch in honour of blogger, author, poet and friend to so many of us, Sue Vincent.. Sue has cancer and yet continues to shine with her writing and to support her fellow authors. This 99 word or syllable rodeo has an amazing prize of $100 and a book of Sue’s to enjoy. It is also a way to donate $5 to a fund raiser. Even if you are not entering the challenge, you can still help raise awareness by reblogging the original post from Carrot Ranch, buying Sue’s latest book, which incidentally looks like a great read, or reblogging posts from her blogs. Thanks Sally
Here at the Carrot Ranch, we take the business of 99-word literary art seriously. Those who participate in the Ranch prompts or yearly Rodeo saddle up to TUFF (The Ultimate Flash Fiction) it out and train new Rough Riders as we go. Now, the Ranch is hosting a new event to sharpen minds, welcome new hands, and celebrate one of our own the best way we know how: our first ever Rodeo Classic.
In this Rodeo Classic, we’re here to celebrate a stalwart center of many blogging corners, Sue Vincent. Sue has variously contributed to the community here at the Carrot Ranch, through communication with many other bloggers, and run her own famous #writephoto weekly blog prompt. You can (and should!) follow her on her blogs, The Daily Echo and the shared blog France & Vincent. She has inspired us to become better writers and shown…
What a way to start the week.. Of course getting a new review is amazing and Jacqui Murray has been kind enough to share her thoughts about Life is Like a Bowl of Cherries.. and also Jessica Bakker’s Guns of Perdition which is an incredible read.. with a recommendation for Markie by Anneli Purchase which sounds like a wonderful read.. please head over to read the reviews.
Sally Cronin’s Life is Like a Bowl of Cherries: Sometimes Bitter, Sometimes Sweet (2020) delivers exactly what the title promises–a lovely collection of real-life stories about ordinary people. They are heart warming and satisfying, showing the kind side of people despite dreary events or circumstances. There are no dark…
Time for Carol Taylor’s weekly round up with Tofu for meatless Monday, Coconut oil, foods and culinary terms ending in the letter (T), yoghurt, healthy body cleansers with Bael Tea or Juice and a walk around the block..Always a great selection.
Welcome to this week’s edition of my weekly roundup of posts…Especially for you just in case you missed a few posts during this last week…It is a lovely sunny and still morning here…and the last day of the month…To say I am pleased is an understatement it’s just suffice to say January is proving to be my nemesis…the month where I am often lost for something to say when I just really want to curse but can’t…I also don’t like to swear and most swear words do offend me…I think it must be my age…Joe knows what to say…
Right…Unlike yesterday when the brain would not engage…my weekly catchup is a doddle ..no brain required so here goes I hope you enjoy the roundup…x
Meatless Mondays …are going well and proving quite popular… I am enjoying my meatless meals and I wish to thank…
Welcome to the round up of posts you might have missed on Smorgasbord this week.
A quick intro today as I have very little to report on the home front.. the weather is the same, lockdown extended to March 5th and more travel restrictions in place. On the bright side, we did binge watch the last four James Bond’s to get ourselves ready to watch the new one when it eventually gets released.
We are also enjoying our foreign language series,particularly the Scandinavian shows, and amazing how quickly you forget the subtitles. They are also very well made and thankfully missing so much of the unnecessary chit chat that the English speaking series seem to contain.. in one show we watched last week 20 minutes of a murder mystery was spent with two of the detectives bickering in a car on their way from one scene to another.. I must be getting old…or grumpy… or both.
Anyway.. thankfully there are some great people around to cheer me up including William Price King and the hits of the 60s.. four guests join us this week in the special shows.. the first today and one tomorrow.. Hopefully more of you will join us with your memories of the music of the time as we move through the decades.
Also of course Debby Gies who has been sending funnies my way to share with you.. she does a great job.. And thank you for visiting and sharing the posts, it is very much appreciated.
I write southern historical fiction and local history. The novel I'm writing is set in the Carolinas in the 1760s. I blog about my journey as a writer and a reader.
