Welcome to the weekly round up with posts that you might have missed during the week.
I don’t have a great deal to report this week which in many respects is a good thing. We are waiting to hear the government decision regarding lock down today or tomorrow but it looks like it has been extended to the end of April with certain services such as hairdressing being one of the last to open.
Just as well my husband has become so deft with the scissors and clippers and as my hair is short anyway it has not been too bad. I take the clippers to his hair too and after nearly a year we may continue after the restrictions are lifted.
I have been out and about however in the virtual sense which was a lot of fun. This week I was delighted to be the guest of author Hugh Roberts where I shared the story of my acting debut….I hope you will head over to read..
As always my thanks to William Price King and delighted that the Breakfast Showis going down well, despite the fact that it is a little early for many of you to remember the songs.. If you do have memories and a favourite track from the 1960s we would love to include you in the Breakfast Show Special at the end of March.. details here The Breakfast Show 2021
Thank you also to you for all the visits, comments and shares again this week.. I do appreciate the support very much.
Over the last four weeks we have been featuring the hits in the charts of 1960-1962. We have also included some of the notable events in those years for the up and coming stars who were centre stage at the time. You can find these posts:The Breakfast Show with hosts William Price King and Sally Cronin
We will be sharing the music of the 1960s until the end of May before moving on to the 1970s. Participate in the spin-off shows and share your memories of the music of the 60s. An opportunity to share your work and here are the details:The Breakfast Show 2021
The first guest today is John W. Howellwho shares his wonderful memories of the 1960s and his time as a D.J on radio.
John in the 1960s
Thanks, Sally for allowing me to give my impressions of the decade of 60s music.
When I look back on the 60s, my memories always go to the very earliest part of that decade. I had graduated from high school and was off to college. I left a high school sweetheart behind, and of course, time and distance do not make suitable relationship binders. The relationship fell apart, and so there were plenty of songs to help balm the bruised heart. In May of 1960, Roy Orbison released his biggest hit, “Only the Lonely.” This song became my anthem for the rest of the year.
In addition to losing what I thought was the only love of my life, I was also serving as a class officer, so I tended to work hard to avoid thinking of my problems. The term ended, and it was time for the summer break. The biggest song that wouldn’t go away was “Theme from a Summer Place” by Percy Faith. I can still imagine us all at the drive-in restaurant with the radios up loud, trying to convince our dates that we were in love.
School came back into session, and around October 1960, Edith Piaf released her finest song Non, Je Ne Regrette Rien. Edith and I went way back. When I was ten, my father passed away, and I collected Edith Piaf records. They ended up almost unplayable after I listened to them hundreds of times. For some reason, her story and her songs gave me a lot of comfort. Her release of the record brought back the earlier sadness. More importantly, the song with Edith singing it had the effect of making me realize I had weathered the storm and had nothing to regret. So I offer as my favorite 1960’s song Edith Piafand “Non Je Ne Regrette Rien.” ondrejtis
John Howell turned to writing as a full-time occupation after an extensive career in business. John writes thriller fiction novels and short stories. His story Cold Night Out won an honorable mention in Writers Digest Popular Fiction contest this year. He also won first place in the Kurt Vonnegut Kilgore Trout novel contest, celebrating Kurt Vonnegut as an author. His short story Never Give Inn was selected to be published in the Miracle E-zine fifth issue published in April of 2014. Since then John has published three books in the John Cannon thriller series, a novel Circumstances of Childhood, a collaboration with Gwen Plano, The Contract a paranormal thriller, and his latest release Eternal Road an adventure in the afterlife.
John lives in Lakeway Texas with his wife Molly and their spoiled rescue pets.
The final guest this weekend is Jennie Fitzkeewho shares the music that she grew up with and which she now shares with the children in her class every morning.
A new generation discovering the music of the 1960s
My parents had a HiFi that was off limits to me and my sisters. I was fascinated by the record changer and being able to stack multiple records at one time. They loved playing albums, particularly Frank Sinatra albums. His music remains a favorite of mine to this day. Do you know that young children need to hear soft jazz in the background at school? Yup, I play Frank at school every morning.
And then it was 1962.
I discovered American Bandstand on TV. Every rock and roll song was played. Teenagers voted on the songs. And oh, the dancing! I was on my feet for the entire show. That fall I started in a new school, 7th through 12th grade. The lunch cafeteria was in the basement, and there was another room with a juke box. The juniors and seniors always played songs and danced. I walked in on my first day and listened to “Do You Love Me” by the Contours. That was it. I was in rock and roll Seventh Heaven, and still am. R&B was in my blood.
And then it was 1964.
The Beatles had made their first record album, “Meet the Beatles.” I remember going downtown to the department store and buying the album with my babysitting money. I have played it hundreds of times. I still play the album. It was “ I Want To Hold Your Hand” that sent me to the moon. I’ve been there ever since. February 9, 1964, I forced my parents to watch Ed Sullivan and even threatened anyone who dared talk. It was wonderful.
My love of rock and roll and R&B has never waned. As the music grew, I did too. From the Supremes to Janis Joplin, this was a decade of great music. Woodstock is still one of my favorites albums. I bring my 1960’s music into my classroom, playing my albums on a record player. This is fascinating for children. They love the music as much as I do. Most recently a Boston Massachusetts robotics company videoed their robots at Boston Logan Airport dancing to “Do You Love Me”. I nearly jumped out of my skin when I saw this! I showed this to the children many times, and we have written a letter to the company.
“One of my favorite songs is “Twist and Shout.” The original is by the Isley Brothers, and the redo is by the Beatles. Both are terrific! I danced and did the Twist in stocking feet till I had no stockings left on the bottom of my feet.”
Good music never goes away!
Here is the Beatles version “Twist And Shout” The Beatles
About Jennie Fitzkee
I have been teaching preschool for over thirty years. This is my passion. I believe that children have a voice, and that is the catalyst to enhance or even change the learning experience. Emergent curriculum opens young minds. It’s the little things that happen in the classroom that are most important and exciting. That’s what I write about.
I am highlighted in the the new edition of Jim Trelease’s bestselling book, “The Read-Aloud Handbook” because of my reading to children. My class has designed quilts that hang as permanent displays at both the National Liberty Museum in Philadelphia, and the Fisher House at the Boston VA Hospital.
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.
Welcome to the round of posts you might have missed this week on Smorgasbord.
A rollercoaster of a week on many fronts and hard to stay hopeful in a time of such unrest and the pandemic. Ireland saw cases rise to around 500 mark in May during the first wave but yesterday recorded over 8000 new cases. With only 5 million population the cases so far have shown that being a small nation makes it just as hard to contain.
This does not of course compare to the over 300,000 new case in the USA and similar horrific figures in Europe and other countries. Vaccines are slowly being rolled out but the logistics of vaccinating whole countries, to ensure that those in most need such as front line health carers, those most at risk. We are down the list without any underlying health issues and being under 70, and also I cannot have the Pfizer vaccine as I have a severe allergy to both Penicillin and Tetanus.
Allergy warnings have been issued by the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) following reports of anaphylaxis among two recipients of the vaccine last week.
The head of the MHRA, Dr June Raine, said: “Any person with a history of anaphylaxis to a vaccine, medicine or food should not receive the Pfizer BioNTech vaccine.
“A second dose should not be given to anyone who has experienced anaphylaxis following administration of the first dose of this vaccine.” allergies and Covid vaccine pfizer.
I firmly believe in vaccinations but will wait until the Oxford variant is available.. and if you would like to know more about how the various Covid vaccines work with out bodies to help protect us then these articles are very helpful.
One of the bright spots of the week has been the wonderful support of the writing community who have been kind enough to share their thoughts on Life is Like a Bowl of Cherries.. and if you would like to read their reviews you can find some on Goodreads and all of them on my book page. Thank you for the motivation.
And I do have more news on the book. We have always printed my books independently and uploaded to Amazon and paid them commission to sell the books. However, despite Ireland not being part of the UK and without VAT on printed books at the time, Amazon said that to continue to sell print books we would need to register for VAT.. so we removed my print books and I have sold them at fairs and via paypal.
So we decided to try out Amazon’s print on demand and so for those who would like the book in print it should be available in the next week. Looking forward to seeing how it works out.
On the blog and book promotion front for you….
Since this series began in January 2018 there have been over 1000Posts from Your Archives where bloggers have taken the opportunity to share posts to a new audience… mine.
The topics have ranged from travel, childhood, recipes, history, family and the most recent series was #PotLuck where I shared a random selection of different topics.
In this series I will be sharing posts from the last six months of 2020
It is an opportunity to showcase your writing skill to my readers and also to share on my social media. Which combined is around the 46,000 mark. If you are an author your books will be mentioned too, along with their buy links and your other social media contacts.
As always my thanks to William Price King, Debby Giesand Daniel Kemp for their contributions this week and so pleased that the new Breakfast Show is going down well.
And of course many thanks to you for visiting and leaving your comments and sharing around the usual haunts.. it is much appreciate..
Welcome to the round up of posts on Smorgasbord that you might have missed this week.
If I have not already wished you Happy New Year, then please accept my wishes for a fantastic 2021.. in the hopes that it will be better behaved than 2020.. I posted a little tribute to the heroes of the year, and to our pets who have been there with us all the way. There were a few funnies and music of course to mark the occasion..
My thanks as always to you for visiting and sharing the posts.. and this year has been made special by the warmth and kindness of the writing community…something to be treasured.
On with the posts from the week…and I hope you will join William Price King and myself on Tuesday for the new Breakfast Show with music and news from the 1960s.
Welcome to the round up of posts you might have missed on Smorgasbord this week.
I hope you are all doing well and despite the restrictions looking forward to Christmas next week.. Despite everything that has happened this year with Covid-19, US elections and Brexit, the time has flown which is a good thing as personally I cannot wait to get into 2021.
And on that note…The new Music Column begins on January 5th hosted by William Price King and myself
Each week we will select two top hits from the charts starting with 1960 for two weeks followed by 1961 etc..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.
I appreciate that some of you are not as old as I am …. and therefore have no memories of the 1960s, but your turn will come as we move through the decades. For those of you who can recall those distant years…..we would love to hear from you. It is an opportunity to strut your stuff in more ways than one. I will include your links to blog or books or both and social media and also play your 1960s track of choice.
To give you an idea of how it will look in the post here is my music memories of 1960s, my first record I bought and my links. We are looking for between 200 to 300 words rather than a couple of sentences.. so do give it some thought..Also if you have a photo of you in the 1960s please share too..
Music has always played a major role in my life in one form or another. My parents loved to dance so I grew up with the Big Band Sound and crooners such as Nat King Cole. My mother was a musical fan and every Saturday afternoon we would watch and sing along to the best of the 1940s and 50s showstoppers.
My father did not embrace the music of the 60s as much as my sisters and I did, and we were banished to the basement with our record player to play that awful ‘Pop’ music. The stereo combined cocktail cabinet, was tuned into the world news service and big band shows, and we were forbidden to touch the nobs. Then in the mid-1960s, pirate radio hit the airwaves, and I had a small portable wireless to tune into Radio Caroline. I attended a youth club dance every Saturday night from the age of fifteen and many of the groups such as the Beatles and the Rolling Stones were well established by then and dominated the playlists.
I played guitar for several years, sang in public on occasion and ended up plugging tracks as a radio presenter on local radio.
The first record I bought with my pocket money was an EP by Richard Chamberlain (Dr. Kildare who was the object of a major crush) in 1964 which included All I Do is Dream of You
I think that gives you an idea of what your post will look like...
What I need from you
If you have featured here before… I just need your 200 to 300 words and your song choice, or first artist you bought in the 1960s.. A good idea to give me a couple of choices in case of duplication. If you have a photograph of you in the 1960s then that would be great.
Email me on sally.cronin@moyhill.com
And don’t forget we will be working through the decades so you if you were not old enough to remember the 1960s (lucky you) you can join in later in the series.
Time now for the posts from the week…
First a big thank you to D.G. Kaye, Debby Gies. I have not planned a bit launch for my latest book, but Debby invited me over for a chat about blogging, social media and to share a short excerpt from one of the stories.. I will reblog on Monday but in the meantime if you have time here is the link: Q & A with D.G. Kaye – Featuring Sally Cronin #Booklaunch – Life is Like a Bowl of Cherries
A thank you too to William Price King for another wonderful series, this time about Aretha Franklin. And as an extra treat this week, more international carols to ensure we maintain the festive spirit..
Welcome to the weekly round up with posts you might have missed this week on Smorgasbord.
As you will see it has been a busy week on the Christmas Book Fairfront and it looks like I will have just enough time to include all the authors currently in the Cafe and Bookstore with recent reviews before Christmas. I won’t be taking any new authors until the New Year now and already have some terrific ones lined up.
The Cafe and Bookstore is seven years old now and time for a revamp for 2021. The book fair has been a great opportunity to update the authors on the shelves and I have some more details to add to them to provide more comprehensive information.
Next year I also want to go back to the Blogger Daily at least three times a week as I know I have neglected to get around your blogs as much as I would like. I am going to tie this in to the authors in the Cafe so that I can take another opportunity to promote your books.
Anyway more on that in the New Year..
In the meantime as I have been into author’s Amazon and Goodreads, I have noticed that there are some missed opportunities. Here is a quick check list.
Make sure that your bio is on both US and UK Amazon author pages. They will put books up, but not your bio from your country of origin.
Some books are missing from author pages and also on Goodreads and need to be claimed through your author central page.
Some authors are not linking their blogs to their twitter so posts about their books or promotions not going there automatically.
I found quite a few Twitter accounts without a pinned tweet, which is very useful to expand your profile, or to promote books or blog.
Just to let you know that the slots for the Christmas Party have all been filled and some wonderful pets have been brought along.. I am sure you will enjoy meeting them..thanks to all those who have participated.
On to the posts from the week and my thanks to William Price King, Debby Gies, Marcia Meara and Joy Lennick for their contributions.. and to you for all your support..
I was delighted to be a guest at Ani’s Advent party along with co-host Sue Vincentand there will be a new guest every day through December, something to watch out for… My post is about the food treats that your pets can enjoy at Christmas and those that might be toxic.. there is a lovely poem introduction from Ani.. and I hope you will head over to read in full: Ani’s Advent Party – Christmas Treats for Pets.
Welcome to the round up of posts you might have missed this week on Smorgasbord.
Nothing really new to report this week on the home front as we have both been getting on with projects. I have been completing the first few rounds of editing on my new collection due out we hope in December, and also working on a couple of projects next year. It is the 25th anniversary of my weight loss and I will be releasing a new edition of my weight loss book Size Matters, updated and with new material. I also have a novel on the go which has been so long in the writing it will need completely updating to be current.. so plenty to be getting on with.
I did give myself a haircut this morning..I take care of the front and David tidies the back. One of the benefits of having very short hair. Our lockdown ends on December 2nd but we don’t know what restrictions will be in place in the run up to Christmas. My hairdresser is likely to open for extended hours but I am sure will be slammed to get everyone who needs colour and highlights in during that four weeks.
The days of popping in to have a wash and blow dry are gone, at least around here so that they can fit in the cuts and longer appointments. I don’t think my hair looks too bad but there again I had to do it without my glasses on and haven’t dare look in the mirror since!!!
Anyway.. with a mask and a hood because of the weather, only David is seeing my haircut these days and it is something he will just have to live with……
As always my thanks to William Price King for bringing music into our lives and Debby Gies, D.G. Kaye for her wonderful funnies to brighten our days. I am also grateful for all your support and comments during the week. They certainly keep me motivated.
Welcome to the round up of posts that you might have missed this week on Smorgasbord.
I hope you are staying safe wherever you are. Hurricanes, Covid, Civil Unrest and Political upheavals have been the focus of the headlines this week and in the global scope of events, the celebration of our 40th Wedding Anniversary tomorrow pales into insignificance.
However, for us it is an important milestone, and despite best laid plans of a wonderful villa and pool in Malta with my two sisters, and a weekend away when that was cancelled, we are going to celebrate in style at home with just the two of us. Which is okay, in fact more than okay.
On our trip to Ireland to meet David’s Family November 1st 1980
A few days before the wedding
Our whirlwind romance
September 16th 1980 David arrived as a guest at the hotel I was assistant manager of in Mid-Wales. I did arrange some meeting rooms for him but other than that he was Mr. Cronin until the night of his departure 27th September when he booked himself in for an extra night and asked if I would like to go out to lunch the next day.
On September 28th he took me out on my day off and we walked on Harlech Beach and then ate Chinese takeaway on the floor of my small living room as I didn’t have a table.
The next day September 29th he was returning to Liverpool and he arrived at my flat at 9.00 to say goodbye, or so I thought, but he proposed instead.
On October the 2nd when the hotel shut for the season David came back down from Liverpool and drove me to Portsmouth so he could meet my parents.
On October 5th we moved into a holiday flat in Dolgellau.
November 1st we caught the ferry from Liverpool to Dublin to meet his family with gale force winds and 12 metre waves.
On November 15th we married in Dolgellau registry office with both sets of parents and my best friend Joan Nicholson. With pouring rain and gale force winds.
Here are some of the surviving photographs from the day, most taken by my father-in-law Geoff Cronin which is why he is not in them…
These new fangled cameras…..
The weather here is gale force winds and driving rain, as it was forty years ago which is fitting!. As both our parents and my friend Joan have passed away, it is up to us to celebrate what was an amazing day, just the two of us which is perfect. We have already made a start with cards and roses, and the fridge is stocked, a couple of bottles of Champagne are chilling, and we have created a menu of all our favourite foods, many from the places we have lived and worked around the world.
We are very lucky.
Anyway.. on with the posts from the week and as always a huge thank you to William Price King, D.G. Kaye, Carol Taylor, Silvia Todesco and Robbie Cheadle for their amazing contributions this week.
Next week the Christmas Book Fairs begin for both the main Cafe and Bookstore and the Children’s Cafe. I will be including every author on the shelves so I need to get started to make sure I feature everyone. I hope it will give you some ideas for gifts for all the family.
Welcome to the round up of posts you might have missed on Smorgasbord this week.
Happy Halloween and I hope that despite the restrictions on Trick or Treating in some of our countries, children will still get to dress up and enjoy the night with their families.
The headlines are certainly not festive.. The world experienced a record breaking 573,000 worldwide cases yesterday worldometers info coronavirus
Not sure where some are getting their information from about a slow down when America had over 100,000 new cases and UK and the rest of Europe racked up 100,000s more. And those who feel that wearing a mask is not their responsibility, or that the pandemic is a hoax, should listen to those who have suffered from Covid-19 and are experiencing the long term effects, even if they dismiss the experts.
Here in Ireland there has been a slight dip in cases but we have come to the realisation that even with a vaccine we are likely to be following our current restrictions until at least Spring next year. Along with this realisation comes a decision to make the best use of the time to work on sidelined projects both in our house and personally.
Keeping fit is obviously high on the list and eating well and exercising is a priority. But also that feeling of completing projects with something tangible to show for it. I don’t want to look back on this year with nothing to show for it. Finishing writing projects is one way, but also coming out the other side fitter and more resilient is also a goal we are pursuing. Both of us are heading into our 70s and I am damned if we are going to slide gracefully into ‘vulnerability’, a word that has been attached to this age group by both the medical profession and the media. Since our age will play a factor in our treatment options in very severe cases, it is up to us to ensure we do all we can to reduce our risk factors where we can.
I am not prepared to spend the next twenty or so years, or the time I have left, sitting waiting for the inevitable…I want to go out on my own terms with more adventures, love, laughter and good friends. I also intend to keep on writing books, this blog and in particular promoting health with a focus on resilience as a follow on from the series Smorgasbord Health Column – Project 101 – Resilience – An opportunity to get fighting fit –
On that note, many of you have been following the posts of two amazing women, Mary Smith and Sue Vincent as they take on Cancer with such courage and grace. They are sharing their experiences on their blogs to educate and inspire, something they are certainly achieving.
Here are the links to their latest posts and I am sure they would be delighted to have your positive thoughts added to the many already supporting them.
This community is incredible and there is always someone awake around the world 24/7 ready to chat, share a smile and a word of encouragement..
Whilst I loved the Simon & Garfunkel original version, and Aretha Franklin’s, I was amazed when I heard Elvis sing this song so brilliantly… And I think it sums up the warmth and generosity of spirit I have experienced here in blog world over the last 7 years.
And as I complete the stories for my new collection… trying to maintain a positive and hopeful vibe (for most of the tales anyway), I received a wonderful boost this morning.
Despite a wild night with gale force winds and heavy rain I woke up to a ray of sunshine. I received an amazing review from John Maberry of Eagle Peak Press.To be sandwiched between Stephen King and Blake Crouch is something I never expected to happen, and to be on the same page as Paulo Coelho and Viktor Frankl is surreal. Some great books and (including mine of course lol) I hope you will head over John Maberry – Five Books we Recommend
Time to get on with this week’s posts. And as always a huge thank you to William Price King, Carol Taylor and Debby Gies for their contributions.
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.
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