Welcome to the posts you might have missed this week on Smorgasbord..
Hope all of you are doing well.. I know that some people have had a challenging time with Covid and sending love and wishes for a full recovery.. The cases are on the rise here too as expected with the opening up of various indoor spaces… and now that travel is back on the agenda we hope that the high rate of vaccinations in Ireland will soften the response.
On a brighter note.. there is a new short story series starting and over the next two weeks I am sharing stories from the original series I recorded on radio in 2004. There are details of how to participate at the end of this first story today and I will share another next week. Then I hope I will have received your stories to share.
I have not forgotten the fact that there are some wonderful non-fiction memoir stories that need to be shared and that series will follow this one.
The added feature to this new series is that I will put every participant’s name in a hat and draw out three names. I will record those for the podcast and to share here as well.
Here is this week’s story with details on how you can participate.
As always my gratitude to William Price King (hopefully enjoying his summer break) D.G. Kaye and Daniel Kemp – the blog would not be the same without them.
Welcome to the round up of posts you might have missed during the week.
I hope you are all well.. as in the UK, Covid cases are on the increase here as expected, although they have been quite strict about non-essential travel. That all changes later in July and thousands of Irish families are heading off on holiday… long awaited. I think we will be sticking around in our coastal backwater and keeping out of the way.
The garden has been watered naturally for the last two weeks without my intervention and despite the sparcity of sunshine…has continued to blossom.. I have a number of lilies that I have cultivated from bulbs over the years and then divide and repot at the end of the season. This last two weeks has seen them bloom and this year I used a different potting soil and instead of orange they have emerged as dark red…
I was delighted to be invited to join Rebecca Budd on her podcastTea and Trivia to talk about memories, writing and book marketing. It was a wonderful experience and Rebecca did a wonderful job of making it seem like a chat between two friends. Her husband Don is also a technical genius who edits and produces the broadcast. I hope you will head over to join us.
Recently I ran a series Public Relations for Authorswhich focused on how we are perceived by those who view our profile photographs, biographies and presence on social media. This included guest posts on other writer’s blogs. Here is an opportunity to not only promote your own blog or books, but those of someone you admire as well. Instead of Sunday Lunch with a guest,this year I have cut back a little on the food side, but you will get a slice of cake!!
Is there an inspiring individual, blogger or an author you would like to give a boost to who might enjoy joining you for a coffee and a piece of cake with us all?
For the first post in this new series, editor Alison Williams has brought author Norman Matheson as her guest. Norman as you will discover, is an inspiration to all of us who might think we are too old to take on a new challenge.
Details on how to participate are at the end of the first post in the series on Tuesday.
This week I was joined by my friends and collaborators William Price King, D.G. Kaye, Carol Taylor and Daniel Kempand my thanks to them for their wonderful contributions.
William is off for the next few weeks on his annual summer break with family but he will be back in September. In the meantime he has left his selections and thoughts on the chart hits which will go out as normal on Tuesdays…Wishing him a wonderful summer.
Welcome to the round up of posts you might have missed this week.
Reasonably quiet here in our part of Ireland with some great sunshine during the week that prompted time in the garden reading and I have eased the strain on my TBR.. reviews to follow.
I had my first hair cut in a week on Monday after a year of home cuts. What bliss to walk out afterwards having had a good catch up with my hairdresser Sam and her family, a moan about the weather and the state of the world and a short but delightfully shaped hairstyle. I am hoping that unlike the last time I went to have a hair cut last year, they will still be open in six weeks for another trim!
I have been out and about this week but this time it was a lovely surprise feature by author Harmony Kent. A very thoughtful and kind gesture.
My thanks to William Price King, D.G. Kaye and Malcolm Allen for their amazing contributions during the week.. and to you for all your support and encouraging comments.. as always very much appreciated.
Welcome to the round up of posts you might have missed this week on Smorgasbord.
I hope that everyone is doing well. From Monday we will have a few restrictions lifted and we can buy clothing again in the supermarkets and other non-essential items which is useful. Not that I buy many clothes these days as I have more than I could possibly wear in a lifetime along with bags and shoes… and some of them even fit! But, I do like their t-shirts and everyday clothes and it will be pleasant to be able to browse through them again. Of course I will be looking for just the perfect bikini for the summer lol.. I have no ideas what it would do the breeding cycle of the common garden sparrow if I wore that in the back garden!!
On another note.. Tales from the Irish Garden comes to an end next weekend and because I am currently spending weekends knee deep in the sequel for later in the year, I will be sharing another of my books. You can help me out please… Let me know which of these books you would liked shared again.. I know that regulars to the blog over the years might have read them before but hopefully newcomers might enjoy reading.
Book One – What’s in a Name? Volumes one and two – 36 short stories
Our legacy is not always about money or fame, but rather in the way that people remember our name after we have gone. In these 36 short stories we discover the reasons why special men and women will stay in the hearts and minds of those who have met them. Romance, revenge and sacrifice all play their part in the lives of these characters.
Book Two – Just an Odd Job Girl
Imogen was fifty! Life is unpredictable and will often throw you a curve ball that knocks you out of the park.
For Imogen this curve ball knocked her out of a twenty five year marriage and a lovingly renovated home into a single life at age 50. She had been a very contented wife and mother of two children, who for every one of those 25 years had thought her husband had been equally as happy. It was a shock to find out that she had been delusional and replaced so easily.
Her confidence was non-existent. She had forgotten any skills she possessed and was totally unprepared to enter the modern job market. Or so she thought.
Book Three – Tales from the Garden
Fairy Stories for children of all ages, from five to ninety-five that will change the way you look at your garden, forever. Set in my garden in the mountains of central Spain, the statues tell their stories and we meet Queen Filigree and her court for the first time before they have to seek sanctuary in the Irish Garden.
With over 80 photos/illustrations, “Tales from the Garden” by Sally Cronin,reveals the secrets that are hidden beneath hedges and trees.
You will discover what really happens at night as you sleep unaware in your bed. Stone statues and those hidden worlds within the earth are about to share their stories.
The guardians who have kept the sanctuary safe for over fifty years will allow you to peek behind the scenes of this magical place. They will take you on a journey through time and expand your horizons as they transport you to the land of fairies, butterflies and lost souls who have found a home here.
All you have to do is write Book One, Two or Three in the comments section.. otherwise I will pick one out of a hat!! (you will get them all eventually over coming months)
Time to get on with the posts from the week… thanks to William Price King and Debby Gies who are the main contributors this week.. and you will be delighted to know that Debby will be back with us on May 10th with her new relationshiop post that will touch your heart.
Thank you for all your comments of encouragement and interest over the week and have a wonderful weekend.. Sally
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 Writing Through the Soul. Every writer writes through their soul and I understand. Here you can read about anything having to do with writing. I share my writing tips and prompts. Enjoy reading my poetry, short stories and what's on my mind in the Writing Through the Soul section. I have something for every reader and writer out there.
Inspirational stories and motivational quotes about Life In Africa how people struggle just to survive and how hard it is to make a living.Here we are teaching people skills and crafts business ideas and survival tactics in third world countries
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