Tree Tops Lodge - Kenya

I did say about two years ago I would blog about Treetops, well now I will.

 It was the summer of 1978 and my wife’s birthday was a couple days earlier when we finally set out for the Aberdare National Park in Kenya. We were to spend the night of June the fifteenth at the lodge. The one that Princess Elizabeth had stayed in 1952 was burned down by the Mau Mau in 1954 but a new one had been built. The lodge is actually built in the treetops near the same waterhole where the original one had been. All authentic stuff, but first we stopped at the Outspan Hotel which was nearby and had tea and scones on the terrace looking out onto the lawns – all very civilised – no lions attacking us – actually we never saw any lions during the visit

Eventually we went to the ‘Treetop’s Lodge’ well quite near to the ‘Lodge’ and here we met ‘White Hunter’.  Well that was how he was introduced. Seemed a nice old boy carrying a rifle – just the one ‘White Hunter’ and I did think considering we were in wild animal territory and were crossing the waterhole clearing, which already had some visitors, that we should have had more ‘White Hunters’, he kept saying keep together, and I for one didn’t challenge the suggestion. The ‘Lodge’ was impressive - high up in the trees with wooden steps/stairs to which we hurriedly gained access avoiding the animals that were looking at us and quickly went up to the ‘Lodge’ watched over by our escort! Then we were shown to our bedrooms. Now I’m quite a big man and these were very small rooms with a small window which I promptly opened – and my wife just as promptly closed. ‘There are wild animals out there and some can climb!’ she was aware of our situation more than me. We settled in and then went for a walk about – which meant looking at the observation lounge and the roof terrace.

 By this time our visitors were arriving for the ‘salt lick’ and water hole, a selection of Buffalo and Rhino and others yet to be identified. We looked down and watched - tea was being served on the roof terrace so went up and helped ourselves to sandwiches and tea. Now my wife and I have different versions of what happened next – a troop of baboons came through the trees to join us for tea. I quickly went down the stairs to the lower floor and checked that it was clear for everybody to go below. My wife has a different explanation. I was off without waiting to see what the others were doing and my wife followed behind me, unprotected by her gallant husband who had led the way. To this day she mutters about lifeboats and who will be first in them. The baboons finished the sandwiches and soon had the roof terrace to themselves!

Eventually we were called for dinner in a small and narrow dining room with one long narrow table down the centre, then once seated you were in, and the food was passed up on a trolley in the centre of the table – no room for anyone to serve at table, all very cosy. The menu was very good. Melon followed by soup, then Veal with a variety of vegetables, for desert Linser tart, next Cheese and finally coffee and liquors. It was then time to get seated in the observation lounge.

Now the observation lounge is at a reasonable height but the wild life seemed close enough but we were just high enough. It was the first night when there were no elephants or lions. We could hear the elephants screaming in the distance but this was be the first night for six weeks when they didn’t come to the water hole. However there was plenty to see and a display was put on by Rhino – Buffalo – Water Buck who performed with considerable noise and action stamping and snorting. Was that all we saw. No, there was Bush Buck – Wart Hog grunting in the clearing along with the Giant Forest Hog – Genet Cat – White Tailed Mongoose – Bush Babies – African Hare, and of course Baboons – and all were close – yes very close. We spent most of the night watching and then were first up in the morning (6:30 am). White Hunter was also up early and was watching with us. My wife pointed to a very small antelope near the edge of the clearing ‘What’s that one?’ White Hunter became interested ‘Looks like you are in luck, it’s a Red Forest Duiker, not often you see them, must be because no one is about’ We continued watching for some time but we were still first in for breakfast.. Did we see plenty of wild life? It was amazing all night long the waterhole had been a scene of great activity, not just the odd animal but dozens all night long. We did go to other waterholes but none were as impressive as Treetops.

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URL's and all that

I didn’t think I would get round to blogging today – one of those days when you plan all sorts of things and then get snowed under with trying to sort out one particular problem. Now I use Google Adwords for some of my advertising – or rather I did then a couple of years ago I seemed to lose track of what I had to do making up the advert layout – so I stopped – well I had other things to think about.

But I have got back into several things that have lain neglected and last weekend decided I should get on top of it. Several helpful young ladies at Google AdWords also got involved and so I moved back into the world of Google Adwords for my sins. Now you will notice I said young ladies – I presumed they are young as they seemed to understand what they were talking about – I didn’t. As someone who is in their late seventies the world of URL’s Display or Destination is one I am still trying to understand – maybe tomorrow I will get there – maybe! So it’s late afternoon here in Northants and it’s time I gave that one a rest

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Went to look at the house my daughter has just bought and looked with amazement at the amount of work she is taking on. I suppose I should look back to when I was younger and bought a 17^th century farmhouse which had one cold tap in the house, and one bucket in a shed/hut in the garden.  The builder who worked with me never did understand why I ended up with five toilets but I don’t like to be caught short, and so the sanitation I installed was needed. The only question I asked about to my daughter on the work she was contemplating was ‘Is there going to be a toilet downstairs’

Soon be summer! Well that’s what I am hoping, too much of this damp weather is not much fun. The birds are still blaming me. We have Red Kites here in Northants, never used to, they seem to have settled here a few years ago and now you see them every day, at least they haven’t got round to blaming me for the wet weather.  I often wonder if anybody else has unusual wildlife in their area – not just in England where I live but on a worldwide basis. Always happy to receive comments at the end of my blogs.

Think I’ll wrap up for the day, possibly miss out tomorrow and try and solve the mysteries of URL’s

Regards to all Patrick

Funny thing the Heart

Funny thing I thought no one really looked at my blogs – I just enjoyed writing them.  In answer to those who read them in the past and wondered why I stopped!                            Health was the reason and I have now sold my villa in Spain and no longer spend time traveling to and fro – back and forth, from my home in England. I have done little to correct my health problem – well the consultant said they needed to change some tubes and valves in my heart. I’m a coward and declined his offer, and the odds he gave were not the sort I fancied!  So I decided to settle for a much quieter life and now I fancy blogging again.

Now before I get political or heavy (you can read some of my old blogs if you like) I have decided to try and be light hearted – now there’s a daft comment.  It’s still wet today, and the birds are still looking. The only ones who don’t keep looking are the Goldfinches, we have a couple who arrive settle on their special containers  -  eat as much as possible and disappear for the day. The Doves , Pigeons and Jackdaws just keep hanging around all day. And those starlings, what a crowd, we call them spivs, shows how old I am using terms of the 50’s and 60’s. The Blue Tits come in quietly and take what they fancy, nice people (birds) Blue Tits, very polite and wait for a quiet moment before going onto the tubes and tables.

Same news as usual, do people really love killing each other – the politicians are itching to start a war, why I can’t understand – but then they don’t usually go and do the fighting – just say how sorry they are that somebody is killed or maimed. Pity they can’t be made to lead from the front line – some hope! Getting a bit heavy am I.

I planted an orchard a few weeks ago, if you looked at my garden you would ask where – there isn’t enough room for a table tennis table. But I saw this advert –two apple trees, one pear, a cherry and a plum. All they needed was a large pot each and guaranteed not to grow more than six feet!!! So I thought why not. Five sticks arrived with roots and in tiny travelling pots looking very health, they were soon planted, and that was about five weeks ago. What an idiot you may be thinking – however all are now in leaf and judging by the blossom on the apples and we shall be picking some fruit this autumn - heart permitting. My neighbour muttered something about scrumping, he must be as old as me – nobody goes scrumping anymore –fruit comes from the supermarket in plastic bags.

Joined a Helicopter Club a few weeks ago and go for a flight once a fortnight – another of my flights of fancy. No these helicopters are radio controlled and will fit on the palm of my hand but they can be recommended to anybody who wants to have some fun. – What else?  Well you will have to wait for my next blog.

Regards to all    Patrick

The Early Birds

It’s wet today, not actually raining just looking as if it might. The birds get annoyed with me – yes definitely with me as I feed them a lot of bird seed etc; If it’s wet then I don’t put out so much as it gets damp and they don’t like damp food – so it seems it’s my fault and they peer in through the windows and look at me in a very annoyed way. First it seems I should sort out the weather and then put out more food.

It reminds me of a time when I was responsible for making sure everything on the estate where I lived was kept in order. One of my fellow residents wrote to complain that the waves on the coastal path outside her villa were very noisy and could I do something about it. I declined to go and have a serious talk with the sea and put the matter to one side.

The problem with the birds and the damp/rain is that they know which room I sleep in and first thing in the morning arrive to fix their eyes on me as I lie in bed. Eventually I get up and place a bit of seed on their table and in the hanging tubes. Promptly they leave the terrace area which is the first place I go to and fly round to the front of the house and look at the empty table etc there. Again the routine of looking through the windows continues and I have to put some food at the front of the house ….then they fly off!          Actually they go off and find their friends and then they all return and clear everything in next to no time and go back to looking at me              or is it just that I have a guilty feeling.

I thought I would just tell you about this as it seems much more important than the news I had been watching from my bed. Now that is a load of rubbish and I wonder why I watch it – I tell my wife how to solve all the problems they have – but nobody listens to me.

The birds on the other hand have faith in me it just takes a little bit of concentrated looking!

I will try and a be a bit more serious next time I blog, but I thought this was an easy way to get started again.

Bankers and Politicians Lack Morality

Bankers and Politicians Lack Morality

The public cry out loudly that the Bankers are corrupt, that the politicians are not to be trusted. And now they want to know who is to blame?  We have progressed to a wonderful society of greed, and this, as is often the case, stems from the roots, a plant that is dying always has poor roots. The people - the man and woman in the street of the different nations they are to blame. The public, and they alone, have chosen to elect the politicians of their choice, and they in turn pass the laws that control our society. The politicians pass the regulations that control the banks, and the banks will, finding themselves lacking in the necessary rules to abide by, find they attract the wrong type!

We had established an order of morality, it took many generations, but now that it seems is all to go. The arrival of politicians like Ed Balls and Gordon Brown and their greed for more taxes to give generously to the idle and wasteful meant that the drive to make more taxable profit has given us bankers whose only ambition was to make these bigger profits, and therefore a greater bonus for their banks and themselves.

Honesty and integrity became lost and what has seemed a time of more for all has become bound up in a system of benefits, and the money which we thought we were entitled to, without earning it, has become a monster. Now it seems we have to pay. Well not me, somebody else should pay, anybody but me!

Gone are the days of Prime Minister’s like Gladstone and Thatcher, Prime Ministers not frightened to bring in reforms, the first to bring the civil service under control, the second to ensure our factories could produce the good we needed for export and not controlled by inflexible unions.

David Cameron has replaced Gordon Brown. We have a new Prime Minister who after a couple of years is giving even more money away to overseas countries, who has done little to control the civil service who are out of control again. Companies are endeavouring to put more money into our industries, goods that could be sold throughout the world are being produced, we are still world leaders. But all our leaders, the ones we elected, only seem to be worrying about helping countries that only wish to have civil war.

Sorry gentlemen (Cameron and Clegg) – you were not elected to lead our country – that was done by the party faithful, who are now leaving both parties in droves. Get your priorities right. Bring the soldiers back to the U.K. and maintain them at their current level, the money saved in stopping overseas aid will be enough to do that.

Stop this immigration, possibly some of them could be a benefit to our workforce, but the word benefit sticks in my throat, it seems to be linked to immigration in other ways. We are a crowded country almost the most crowded in the world, we don’t need more people, and you only have to look at the recent unemployment figures to understand that.

Change the House of Lords …why! Just because Mr Clegg has no principles and has forgotten that it was only agreed to vote on it FREELY. by the fortunate well paid few. Mind you it could possibly do with a little alteration.

Still we voted at the last election, and if you didn’t well then you have no axe to grind

John Freame said - !and you know of him of course? -  John Freame said - Honesty, Integrity, and Plain Dealing should be the bye word of every honest fellow. He believed that, and lived by that code. He must now be turning in his grave – he founded Barclays over three hundred years ago.

Holidays in Greece to be really inexpensive -cheap!

Holidays in Greece to be really inexpensive -cheap!

So Greece has solved its problems by yesterday’s vote. We wait to see, and there is a lot more to see. And are they, the pundits’ right – which ones – either I suppose?

Will Greece withdraw from the Euro? The experts say that is not a good idea! But are they right.

Now the problem Greece is suffering is a lack of cash – why! Well it’s not selling enough to pay its bills – some say they spend more internally that they can afford. But that’s another discussion. At the moment they need cash, but not loans – loans only cost more money as you repay one day with interest. That is of course if you repay!

So what do they sell? – HOLIDAYS – we all like a cheap holiday, so the need is to make their holidays cheaper. But to do that it seems they need to be paid less and that they don’t want to be paid less - I mean who does.  They could sell other products, and I’m sure they will, but it is still the same problem. So what is the answer?

We mustn’t let them default on the loans they already have. Well I’m not sure about that – how do we stop that happening if they have no money, and as they are now situated it looks like they will be having even less for a long, long time. We might as well put those loans on a back burner interest free and wait for the proverbial miracle; and concentrate on the now!

So who has the answer, let’s go back to 1967, to the days of Harold Wilson; who! You might well ask. Well maybe I’m a bit older than most. He devalued the pound by 14% and said;-

‘From now on the pound abroad is worth 14% or so less in terms of other currencies. It does not mean, of course, that the pound here in Britain in your pocket or purse, or in your bank, has been devalued. What it does mean is that we shall now be able to sell more goods abroad on a competitive basis." Well that’s what he said and we believed him!

As to Greece, so they can make their products and holidays cheaper if they devalue, as the Dracma will be worth X per-cent less or so in terms of other currencies. It will not mean of course in Greece that the Dracma in their pocket or in their bank has been devalued; it seems they can resume their way of living! What it does mean is that they will be able to sell more goods abroad on a competitive basis. They start earning from their holiday industry, we can  have cheaper holidays. And the people of Greece have still the same money in their pockets!

What else did Harold Wilson say? ‘The only alternative’ he said ‘was to borrow heavily from governments abroad.’ And he didn’t want to do that! Which is what is being suggested for Greece –and that wouldn’t be a good thing for various reasons. The then (1967) Prime Minister of England Harold Wilson, defended his decision to devalue the pound saying, ‘It will tackle the “root cause” of Britain’s economic problems.’ Now as we all know we entered a time of prosperity for Great Britain in the late sixties. I suppose the same thing could apply to Greece. There is only one problem – members of the Euro are not allowed to devalue. Time to leave the Euro I think – well for Greece anyway – the English never joined – so let Greece be the same as us (Out of the Euro)

However to all intents and purposes we devalued in 1992 – Black Wednesday they called it – but that was a very dodgy time for businesses and property prices. But it was described as Golden Wednesday by some as it was followed by a very strong and good economy for the U.K. and the Conservatives were able to hand that over to the Labour in 1997, Mind you Labour soon spent all the money and then flogged off our gold cheap. Seems you just can’t win.

I still think Greece would be better off to get out of the Euro, and Great Britain to get out of the Common Market!

THE WORLD TODAY

The World Today

I started to write a blog then wiped it all out as rubbish. Like so much in the world today. Now I am starting again and will probably scrub this lot after a short while.

First I should like to know why we have such a large number of politicians. I remember someone saying that when God create the world (So it’s all his fault!) , he asked a small committee of men to design a horse and they came up with the camel. So he did the design himself. So I ask myself, should we not get rid of eighty per-cent of Parliament, well to start with, we can consider the situation about the remaining twenty per-cent later. And the same goes for the House of Lords. Personally I would keep the Lords to a select hereditary ones, non of this coming from the House of Commons  – if the Commons have no further use for them then they should go out to pasture!

The next thing is this business of Conservatives – Labour – Coalition etc. WHY. If you’ve been elected to govern then give your opinion and vote for what you believe is best for the country. SOD the party they are a bigoted lot, I am concerned about the country.

Now the money we pay in Taxes, wow that’s a biggy. Still we have to pay them in order to have a well-run country. But that’s my first worry; having given my money – our money to have a well-run country – then told we have to borrow as it isn’t enough – why do we give it to other countries. Don’t tell me it is to help good relations, I don’t agree. I shall blog on Taxes another day!

Why do we have our armed forces patrolling the world. It made sense when we had an Empire. They sent us goods and money, and we kept them as subjects. You don’t know what a subject country is – well look it up. BUT WE HAVEN’T GOT AN EMPIRE, bring them home to look after us and not spill there blood on foreign shore.

But we need to control drugs and terrorists – good idea, but in Great Britain. In Afghanistan the poppy production is up. We are often shown our troops patrolling through the poppy fields. Actually if not channelled through the drug trade we could use more of it for medicine. – look it up. The terrorists train how to place IED’s on dusty terrain then come to lush green Great Britain! Read my blog of the 10^th March2010.

I keep hearing how badly we are doing in trade and finance. I don’t deny there are serious problems, but I also hear Great Britain is becoming a safe haven for investing your money. Foreign investment in the car industry – whisky – e-commerce – and other is steadily rising. We sell more armaments to the world than anybody else apart from America, bit of a worry that,  but then if you can turn an honest buck why not, they don’t have to pull the trigger!

So I’ve got rid of most of the politicians – kept our money in Great Britain – brought our armed services back home – said it’s Great Britain, and will expand another day on all subjects and more. Kindest regards to the World - Patrick

Return to the blogs

In case the world thinks I fell off the edge I should say I haven't. But have been writing  earnestly on a new story of which 104k words are written and I'm half way there! Also have been trying to decide if my second home on Tenerife is for me - times change and twenty two years of flying back and forth I am beginning to find tiring - well at 75 one should start to slow down a little. Had a look at Brittany last month we a view to possibly having a second home nearer to our English home. Margaret objected to my driving for eight and a half hours on the last day on our return - funny lady. Mind you my legs complained so that means I shall have to think of something else. Margaret suggested a rocking chair - as I said funny lady. I shall now think up some things to write about if you're interested. Not intending to say much about this coming weekend - Yes I am a Royalist. I did swing on the gates of Buck House sixty years ago. It was in the evening and nobody arrested me, and the Coronation was fantastic - and I did visit Tree-tops some years later with Margaret. So I'm in there with the rest of the Royalists. Regards to all Patrick.

 Come to think of it I could write about Tree-tops. 

Spanish Tapas

An extract from my book ‘The Bougainvilleas

Hilary and Carla decide to have a get together and what could be more fun than a visit to a restaurant for Tapas – read the following extract when Carla decides to dig for information and also enjoy herself. Here Carla opens the conversation. Read on

‘If you don’t mind I think a set meal is to formal, shall we go for the tapas? They make a surcharge if you have them at the table but there’re fun, and if done well delicious. Here they’re really good, set meals tend to be tourist orientated, but with tapas you get a real Spanish feel.’ At that moment the waiter returned with the fruit juices, set them down on the table, and then stood waiting in anticipation for the order. ‘Shall I order?’ said Carla.

‘You’d better, I wouldn’t know where to start,’ Hilary replied.

‘Bien,’ Carla spoke to the waiter. ‘Jamón serrano, gambas a la plancha, calamares fritos y patatas bravas, mejillones a la marinera tortilla y salada verde, oh y salpicón de mariscos,’ she looked at Hilary. ‘Would you like some of the local potatoes, they’re cooked in very salty water?’ Hilary nodded. ‘Y papas arrugadas,’ she glanced towards Hilary again. ‘Do you like Cava … sparkling wine?’ then as Hilary nodded. ‘Bien, Cava Seco.’ At this the waiter departed.

‘What did you order it sounded quite a lot to eat?’

Carla smiled at Hilary’s question, as the company was paying she had ordered most of her favourites. ‘The Spanish salt cured ham, prawns, squid rings, potatoes in spicy sauce, mussels. Then Spanish omelette, a salad and finally the local potatoes.’ She didn’t mention salpicón de mariscos; the dish was her favourite but inclined to be expensive. ‘Don’t worry it comes up in quite small dishes which are placed on the table between us. You put what you want onto your own plate, then you pick at it slowly while you sip your wine, it’s great, you’ll love it.’

‘Tortilla I know, but surely that’s mainly potatoes, there sounded like a lot of potatoes!’ Hilary saw anything resembling a controlled diet going out of the window. ‘You did say salad, a plain salad?’ she added hopefully.

‘Look, eat only what you want,’ said Carla, ‘we’ve a couple of hours, and we can pick and chat without worry.’ At that moment the waiter came with the sparkling wine and some more glasses. ‘Just open it, we can pour it ourselves,’ Carla was feeling in a party mood, ‘Would you like some in your orange juice, a Buck’s Fizz?’

The extract is about Spanish Tapas and continues for over two hours. Did Carla find out all she wished to know? For that you need to read the book!

Regards to all Patrick

HOW TO STOP SMOKING!

Everybody has the answer – just log on and pay for their advice! This time the advice is free based on my personal experience. You can follow it and I hope you are successful.

I was smoking approximately 100 cigarettes a day, is that a heavy smoker, I’m told yes. Why did I want to stop, actually it was because we were about to fit the house out with new velvet curtains and I knew they would be tainted by the smell, and colour change, caused by a heavy smoker. Health and cost wasn’t a consideration. So I stopped and here is how.

I looked at some books on self hypnosis, very lengthy and detailed but I analysed what they had to say and worked out a programme.

Every morning I arose from my slumbers/bed at 6am, my normal time had been 7am so I was only losing one hour lying in bed wondering when to get up.

Downstairs within a completely silent house I would lie comfortably on my back on the floor, and carefully tell my body to relax. This meant I would consciously tell each part of my body to relax starting at my toes, working up through my body until every part of my body except my mind had become completely relaxed with a sort of numb feeling. My body didn’t move , not even a twitch.

Next I would visualise standing amongst some clouds with ten steps leading down before me. Slowly I would descend and with each step I would instruct my body to go further into a state of complete relaxation. By the time I reached the bottom I would be almost (probably was) in a trance.

I was now below the clouds and before me stretched a meadow of grass leading down to a lake. Slowly I would walk down to the lake. Remember this is all a visualisation within my mind but I really felt it was taking place.

At the water’s edge there was a small boat, I got in and headed out onto the lake where there were two islands. I had to choose which one to go to. On one were a crowd of people smoking, choking on their cigarettes, spluttering. The air was polluted, horrible atmosphere, you can visualise the scene making it as unlikeable as you fancy. The other island was also occupied, but this time with healthy, good looking, pleasant people. The air was clean and everybody walked, or sat around, talking pleasantly. Not a cigarette in sight. Again your mind can make the scene as pleasant as you can.

Which island to row to; of course you choose the second and mix with the pleasant people who welcome you to join them. Finally, and reluctantly, you leave and reverse the route you took to get there, do this slowly and in detail. As you walk carefully up the meadow and then ascend the steps you let your body come out of the trance like state. Eventually you arrive back where you started, on the floor downstairs in your house. You find you have been there about an hour, possibly slightly more.

Yes – but does it work you ask? I can only speak for myself – all this was thirty four years ago. I set myself a date to stop smoking, it was for the 1^st December 1977, and I constantly reminded myself of the date. One day, six weeks after I started my programme I smoked my usual one hundred cigarettes, often lighting one from another. That night I went to bed and the next morning I arose, this time not to go downstairs – but never to smoke again; never to want a cigarette again, never to fancy a cigarette again, it was the 1st of December! The cure was absolute!

I never criticise smokers, sometimes I ask if they ever fancy giving up, usually the answer is yes. But then who am I to criticise them for smoking, I smoked heavily for quite a few years!

I hope you try my cure, it costs nothing, and the benefits are great.

Paperbacks or e-books

With the sale of over one million copies of some individual books on kindle, and other e-book libraries, all being downloaded on to PC’s, ipads, iPhones, iPod Touch, iPod, Kindle, the concern shown by the publishers and retail outlets of paperbacks is brought into the spotlight.

Major high street shops selling the printed books, whether paperbacks or hard cover, have to consider just how viable the sale of books consisting purely of text will be when in competition with e-books. Certainly e-books are normally less expensive than a paperback and for the indie author it is an easy way to see their stories available to the public.

Is the content of a story any less intellectual, less interesting, does it lose any of the content value because it is an e-book? As an author the difficulties of entering within the closed wall of the established publishing world becomes apparent. Not because you are not welcome. Not because your work is not worthy of being published. It’s the cost of putting a book out onto the market place that is the problem. Estimates are usually put at roughly £30,000.00. for one book. No publishing house will take the risk unless they are certain of some return.

Writing a series of books, of which the author feels sure are going to be a block buster, takes time. To then find what you consider your epic series will never go before the public is to say the least heartbreaking. So more, and more, authors are turning to placing their cherished works with the electronic world of the e-book. Once you have established the distribution, something that requires some work on your part but only work, then you can forget about the cost of printing.

You can of course advertise, but that can prove costly! Getting known to the public means diligent work. Now you can go twitter, facebook, blogging, and by asking friends to mention you and your link to the book or books you become known for free. Home and dry, not really, the question of cost per book must now be tackled. In this your distributor has a say, how low, how high, or are you not going to charge, it no longer is going to cost you anything so why not give it away? Writing costs money and time , you should have a return.

This is where the printed paperback hits several problems. The cost of printing and distribution of a printed book, and the retail outlet shops including their staff, the profit margins, and the holding of stock. All this can be very heavy. However on the internet there is a different story!

This writer has several books in his stable and the prices have been set. But the guide lines have now been redrawn. Take one of my books ‘Hocus Pocus and the Pentacle Pendant’. The paperback is part of a series and is £6.49, the kindle version was £3.39, but no longer. I can sell it at a much cheaper rate, it has become a ‘loss leader’ without actually being a complete loss, now it’s 70p, and I still retain a profit! Do you have to search for it on the internet? No - all you have to do is click on the following link, this link this now appears on all the non cost outlets! http://amzn.to/jAD5PR or you can type ‘Hocus Pocus and the Pentacle Pendant’ onto books Amazon web page search window.

IRELAND

Now I am always being told ‘You should go to Ireland, you will love it!’ So a couple of weeks ago my wife and I booked the ferry to Dublin and we were ready. Well not exactly I planned to drive to the ferry on Monday catch the 5:15pm ferry and be there (in Dublin) by 7:10pm and zip into our hotel which was pre-booked!

My wife thought not - better to travel to Holyhead on the Sunday, stay at a hotel and catch the 12 noon ferry on Monday and be in Dublin by 2:00 pm. OK so my plans would have been a bit tight to say the least,. So we went to Holyhead on Sunday. Now there is an expression that goes ‘The best laid plans of mice and men etc.’ The Valley Hotel was fine and the food very commendable, the staff very friendly, any way before breakfast I checked my e-mails – whoops what was this.

' Adverse weather conditions exist, your fast ferry is cancelled and you are booked on the slow ferry at 4:00 arriving Dublin 6:00pm. Now I am a patient man and I agree rough weather on the Irish crossing is not to be ignored, anyway it was roughly the time I had originally expected to arrive so that was fine.

Now from the Ferry terminal to our hotel is a fifteen minute drive (O’Connell Street), now that was what I expected BUT – I hadn’t allowed for President Obama, now President Obama may be of Irish descent – I know not! But two and a half hours later we got to our hotel. The President was in town and everywhere was blocked – you can go off people and the American President was not my favourite person when I finally booked. The hotel restaurant had closed (the less said about the hotel the better) and we had to go hunting for our dinner!

The next morning I (we) were up early – no breakfast and let’s get out of town.

Did we enjoy our trip, well I did. It did rain a lot, and it was cold, and as I was researching the ‘Nine Year’s War’ –Tyrone’s Rebellion’ for me the trip was a success. For Margaret who was feeling cold and wet it may not have been great. Tyrone’s Rebellion – Yellow Ford – Curlew Pass – Clontibret mean anything to you, it didn’t to most people I spoke to. It all happened in 1594 – 1603 and was the time when the Troubles in Ireland really started – followed by the Plantations. I know it suddenly got boring if you’re not into it. So I enjoyed the trip. And I will write a little about another time, in fact I intend to write a complete book set during the Rebellion, fiction of course but fiction does need to be correct on anything factual you include. Keep reading my blogs – have been very remiss lately but shall now give it some attention.

Regards to all Patrick

Music in the Garden

During the summer of June, back in 2009 to be exact, my daughter suggested we go to The Stables to see John Dankworth, or rather listen to his new group Tugboat. With Alan Barnes they would be playing some great jazz. Now for the American followers The Stables is to be found near Milton Keynes and is a small but internationally known Jazz and Music venue; a very popular centre for entertainment in the Old Rectory. The house is the residence of Cleo Lane which she shared with her husband.

At The Stables they hold performances in the gardens, and if the weather is fine then you can picnic while listening to the music.

They will hire you a gazebo, and provide a picnic if you don’t wish to bring your own.

This was to be our first visit to The Stables and having bought and listened to the John Dankworth music over the years we settled down to await the performance. There were some nice old chaps fussing around cameras take you in closer to the subject and with it came the realization that the nice old codgers on the stage were actually Johnny Dankworth and Alan Barnes

Yup, I was getting older and had been listening to Sir John Dankworth and Dame Cleo Lane for more years than I like to remember. I like to remember the music, but not think about how many years.The Jazz was great, the music was great; as they say - real cool. It was a pleasure to see the performance live and we resolved that this would not be our last visit to see John perform. We now have our memories of that day almost two years ago but sadly we shall be unable to repeat our visit to see him perform again. He left us to enjoy his music on record, and no doubt he is playing on a higher level.

To go there with my wife – daughter – granddaughter made it a lovely visit.

Stables is still a great venue for a varied choice of entertainment and I can only recommend that you log onto the web site and see if there is something you can go and see either in the gardens or in the theatre.

Monet's Gardens at 'Giverny'

On a lighter note I thought I would blog about flowers. But anybody can blog about flowers so I have given it a twist and taken Monet’s Garden at Giverny as the subject.

I always like to read a little about anywhere we are about to visit and on this occasion had made a careful study of the information that explains this garden. I'm the chap on the right! My first surprise was to find it is in two parts. The upper gardens around the house and the water garden are on the lower area below the road.

Margaret in front of the house

The first area to look at is the Clos Normand which is also where you can view inside the house.

Monet settled at Giverny in 1883 and planted the hectare of land which had originally been an orchard but he preferred to plant out with varied flowers.

He liked to mix flowers and let them grow in a disorganised manner, but his blending of the varied colours created beautiful flower beds on either side of a central walk

Iris's and long stemmed grow freely with daises and poppies. Roses climb the iron arches and you can wander along the main and sidewalks which divide the flower beds admiring the varied varieties of flowers.

It is certainly not a place to be missed, especially the Water Garden. In 1893 Claude Monet bought the land lower down and using the waters from the small stream- the Ru – there he created a small pond the first attempt of what was to be a much larger pond, this he planted with Water Lilies –Nymphéas.

Eventually the small pond was made much bigger and the Water Lily Garden, which is famed throughout the world as a result of his paintings, was created.

Here also is the famous Japanese bridge with the wisterias growing over it in profusion. There are weeping willows and smaller bridges but the Japanese bridge is a must to view and possible have your photo taken on.

But as a founder of the ‘impressionist’ style of painting, and his wonderful Water Nymphéas paintings he has made the gardens a must to visit.

After Monet’s death in 1926 his step daughter Blanche looked after the garden, but after the Second Worlds War they became neglected. In 1966 the Academie des Beaux-Arts became responsible for them and in 1977 restoration was started. In 1980 thanks mainly to this work which was greatly helped by donations from the USA, the gardens were opened to the public.

The bit that amused me finally was when standing by the Water Gardens a voice behind me was asking a friend if Monet still looked after the gardens himself. I started to explain some of the story behind the gardens pointing to the bridge and the various plants, and explaining the part his family and then how the restoration came about. After a short while I turned to look behind me to see if the two ladies were still listening and found not just two ladies but a small crowd of about twenty had gathered. It seemed I was amongst the few that like to know before I visit what I shall be looking at.

The Way Forward

We complain about the way our politician’s fail, in our opinion, they fail to lead us on the golden path to prosperity but do we suggest anything to help!

The current problems are down to them or maybe us as we elected them! But then they were the cause because they didn’t follow our words of wisdom! What of the future? It’s a fact that what people have they will be loathe to give up hence the protests in Greece, Cairo, Tunisia and others. So we have to take what we can back but don’t expect much cooperation. The answer is don’t give away anything more.

To start with all Government departments are overloaded. So don’t recruit any more staff, redeploy that which you have. Retire everybody at the same age. In the U.K. that is 65 at the moment, and it should apply to all workers throughout Europe – private or civil service. They won’t agree to that! But why not, it should be a new retirement age for all or out on your ear, they will have to listen. Strike they will cry – if they wish go on then strike, but we should make sure it’s without pay.

The biggest problem is too many people. True we cannot go in for mass extermination of sections of the people. But why keep producing more than we need! The world wide increase in population over the last century has been from 1,650 Million to 6,707 million. True the fertility rate in the developed countries is 1-2 children, but even in the U.S.A. it is 2-3 children. This fertility rate should reduce the numbers that draw on those nations resources. But Sub Saharan Africa and some Middle East countries have a fertility rate of 5-6 children and in some areas 7-8 children. And now with the ease of movement from one country to another, immigration is having a drastic effect on some of the indigenous populations.

As much as one country would like to assist another, we cannot support a massive explosion of population in other countries. And that is exactly what we are trying to do. Our governments must stop giving our money away and spend it more wisely at home. We should reduce any form of benefit that encourages more than a fertility of 1-2 children. I didn’t say stop but taxation after two children would stop much of the unbalance that is occurring in some developed countries by the immigrant population taking advantage of the child benefit allowances.

The use of the motor car draws on the petroleum industry; in the first place the design of electric cars should have greater emphasis. We can produce electricity from nuclear power; thereby our reliance on petroleum will be reduced. Something that will take our power supply needs away from external influence which should be seriously considered. It will also help to reduce climate change by less pollution.

Maybe you don’t agree with these comments. I can think of other ways forward, but maybe your comments may have some, and your opinion on my suggestions are very welcome1

To Blog or not to Blog

The last few months seem to have come and gone. Work on my books and the printing seems to have occupied all of my time, consequently I have seemed to have had a chaotic past twelve months and blogging has got less and less – well I now hope to rectify that and get into a regular routine. First if anyone is interested they can go on line to Amazon.co.uk or .com depending on your geographical location! Click onto patrick c coulson and both paperbacks and kindle sales will be revealed?

I am now back on the volcano and writing diligently for the next book in the ‘Celestial Seven ‘ series but intend to blog as well! And also a small amount of tweeting. So I shall start with a little of my personal life.

For those that have read my blogs in the past – and everyone is welcome to go over old ground and read previous blogs – they are meant to be general and interesting, a quick brief look into things I have done or think. Think is possibly the more boring but should I hope nevertheless give the reader something to conjecture with.

Having changed homes last year and also having some much needed refurbishment on my Tenerife villa has meant a continual tramp of builders – carpenters – conservatory erection men tramping through our life. At this very moment I can see and hear drilling for new locks on the doors in progress. And I still manage to write, still the sun is shining and the temperature is very pleasant – my wife swims in the open pool every day. In England it is still very chilly or so I am reliably informed by my granddaughter who is looking after our house.

The cat is pleased to see us back here – Miss Hiss is what could be loosely described as a feral cat. Having adopted us ten years ago she still will not allow us to touch her and if approached arches her back and hisses at us – hence her name. We where away for eight months last year and within minutes of our return appeared on the doorstep asking for food. We were treated to mice and lizards being placed on our balcony for several days as by way of an explanation of her diet when we were not here. She is back on her favourite seat every day, for most of the day – except for regular meals - and still remains outside at night by choice!

Well for those that might be interested I shall be opening some interest blogs by the end of the week so don’t forget to log in.

Regards to my followers old and new - Patrick

A 17th Century Christmas

In a castle the servants ate well, none more so than the kitchen staff, this extract from 'The Early Life of Erasmus O'Rourke' takes you into early Irish life! More extracts can be read on Google Book Search

. The castle had been fed and was now resting and the festivities in the kitchen could now commence. The tables had not only been put up but were laden with a meal fit for the kitchen servants, who were never known to skimp when it came to eating.

By now the pages, grooms and most of the older retainers were milling around filling their mugs with ale. The chambermaids were behaving in a manner most unbecoming for young ladies, not that they were young ladies, but still propriety would have been expected this early in the proceedings, already they were loosening their bodices and being coltish. This thought Erasmus was not like the Christmases past. The cottage had always celebrated the occasion, but the diet by midwinter had already become meagre. His mother would make an effort and his father would drink the poteen he had made and become drunk. He realised that the latter part of his thoughts were not dissimilar to the scene in front of him, and he reflected that lining his stomach with milk had not been a bad idea.

‘These stools are for us.’ He felt Deidre’s hand on his arm as she pulled him and Paddy to one side where already some mugs of ale awaited them. Quickly the stools were filled and the trenchers were piled high with roast beef, pieces of wild geese, colcannon and black and white puddings chunked into mouth size pieces, assuming you had a wide mouth. Then as they were finishing their first mugs of ale Aingeal aided by the scullions carried the wassail bowl to the central table and removed the clothe covering it. Without the refinement of a jug to serve there was much jostling and elbow digging. Paddy quickly dipped their mugs into the liquid pushing the roasted apples that were bobbing on the surface to one side and filled the mugs to the brim.

‘There we go, a real good mix by the smell, all wine, and plenty of spices and sugar,’ said Paddy who was already sipping at his mug. ‘And there’s something else in there, has cook been adding a little poteen to give it a little extra?’ He looked at Deidre as if expecting an answer, but she was already paying attention to Erasmus.

‘Did you like your bed, kept the wood real smooth, shouldn’t think there’ll be any splinters; what with the new mattress, I should think it’s better than before for sleeping.’

If anything could have been inferred by her comment then it was lost on Erasmus who was wondering just how much food was on his trencher and hadn’t been paying attention to either of them, not that it was possible to hear much above the noise He cut a slice from the beef and with some colcannon started to make some headway on his trencher. Without thinking, and not having paid attention to Paddy, he took a large quaff from his mug which was substituting for a wassail cup. The liquid hit the back of his throat making him almost spit it out, recovering in time he swallowed in one gulp only to bring water to his eyes. ‘What was that,’ he spluttered looking at his companions.

‘Ah to be sure you like to drink heartily, we’ll be carrying you to your bed tonight if you’re to be drinking like that.’ Paddy was now laughing out aloud.

Erasmus on the other hand was resolving to pay more attention to what was being put in front of him. He had come to the conclusion that though festivities could be enjoyable, the after effects could be less so.

‘Here have this, maybe it’s not so spicy,’ Deidre handed him a smaller mug.

Now being more careful he took a sip, but he had already smelt the sweet smell of mead, and knowing its effect despite its mild nature, he placed it to one side. Then in order to avoid too much liquid he ate slowly from the trencher. A trickle of unidentified liquid trickled over the table and over the edge. Before it could reach his léine Erasmus moved his legs to one side, and then taking hold of a clothe wiped the table surface.

Deidre misunderstanding the movement was only conscious of his legs pressing against hers and respond by leaning onto him. ‘This is more like it, nothing like Christmas to get close.’

Maybe it was the wassail, or the ale, or the mead, but Erasmus was beginning to like the pressure of her body against his and on this occasion was not inclined to move away. ‘Do you like having your hair down, I mean it looks nice, and I was wondering …’ Small talk was not one of Erasmus’s attributes and he was fumbling for some thing to say. ‘It’s very long, I mean when you’re working you have it all coiled up under your coif, but it’s a fine length.’ As he spoke he trailed his fingers through her hair.

This time it was Paddy’s time to choke on his mug of wassail. Watching from the corner of his eye, he had sensed the growing awareness in Erasmus, that there was more to be enjoyed than merriment on these occasions, affection he hadn’t seen up till now. Though he told himself it was none of his business, he resolved to keep an eye on the relationship. It was in his interest to ensure that the patronage given to Erasmus was not sullied.

Enjoying the attention being given, Deidre started to cut from the ham to place some on Erasmus’s trencher. Then remembering a forgotten intention, she slipped from the stool and went off to the pantry only to return moments later to surreptitiously place some large prawns by the side of Paddy’s and Erasmus’s trenchers. ‘Special they be, extra large, some say from Dublin, but I’d not be knowing these things.’

Then the kitchen maids made to the hearth, and taking the platters placed mincemeat pies still hot on them, large oblong shaped pies filled with mincemeat heavy with fruit, spices and meats. The cook had been helping herself to some Spanish brandy that had found its way into the buttery and now the mince pies. Sugar had given the fermentation of the mincemeat added sweetness. Butter had been liberally used in making the pastry and this oozed from the surface of the lidded top. Soon a large portion found its way onto each of the trenchers in front of them, and Paddy’s face was again wreathed in smiles. ‘To be sure this is the way to eat, and will we be having plum pudding to follow?’

‘I hope not,’ said Erasmus, ‘I shall never eat this, well not all of it.’ Then removing the belt from his waist he laid it around his shoulders.

Almost unnoticed Deidre was stroking his thigh. This she decided was going to be a Christmas to remember and she was savouring every moment.

Claire came around the table. ‘You’ll not be forgetting the plum puddings, Aingeal said to tell you to fetch the thick cream and the butter from the pantry. You do that, and Niamh will help me put the puddings on the table.’ That said, she motioned to Niamh who had been watching them talking. Quickly they put the puddings on their platters along the centre of the table while Deidre carried bowls heaped with thick cream, and some with butter. The appearance for Paddy was as if they had come from heaven itself, and he was reaching for a helping of the delicious luscious fruit and suet laden puddings as they filled the air with a fragrance of spices and fumes, fumes from were they had been drenched in spirit. Before they were barely on the table his trencher would seem to be filled. The plum pudding was followed by enormous ladles of cream, topped with a dollop of butter. And then as if to make sure he would be ill later he poured honey over the top watching it spill over the edges. ‘Now that’s a pudding,’ he said to his companions quaffing at the mead he had resorted to as the wassail bowl was now empty.

Erasmus did not wish to offend Aingeal, who he remembered some weeks ago spent hours with the kitchen maids stoning the plums, and cleaning the suet. Aingeal had then kept awake half the night, taking it in turns with Claire topping up the water while the puddings were boiling. So he placed some on his trencher, intending to stop at that. Deidre thinking he was not aware of the cream took a ladle and covered his plum pudding.

‘Err, no butter, I think I have enough.’ He looked around for something to drink whilst eating, then realising that there was only ale, or mead, he settled for the former rather than becoming involved in drinking mead.

It was some time later when sitting near the doorway with Deidre that he noticed Paddy had, by his absence, already gone to his quarters. The kitchen was now clearing and the scullions were wearily clearing up some of the mess. ‘Seems that that’s the end of Christmas,’ he said almost sorrowfully. ‘Time to gather our strength for the morrow.’

‘Mmmm …, that’s a good idea, I have to be up early getting this lot straightened out,’ but she still kept her arm close around his waist.

‘Come on let’s be having you it’s nearly daybreak,’ Paddy gave Erasmus a shake to awaken him.

‘What’s the haste, we’ve not to be anywhere in particular today.’ Erasmus stirred lazily slowly coming out of a lethargic stupor.

‘Ay, maybe you haven’t but this one has,’ and lifting the covers high he playfully slapped Deidre’s naked bottom, ‘come on my girl, if they catch you here, they’ll be sending you both out the door.’ Seeing her confusion he continued, ‘It will be no good saying you were just keeping him warm. And for you to be saying you were just showing her the bed, which I’ve no doubt you were, and she was showing you a thing or two I be bound. In that I’ll not be wrong in thinking others would agree.’

Deidre was quick to see the situation and was dressed and out to the kitchen in literally seconds.

‘I don’t know how that happened, we were just talking about why a strung bed is not used by everybody, and then we ended up here.’ Erasmus sought to explain, but could see that it was wasted on Paddy.

‘And you need to tell me what it was about, don’t be bothering. Just make sure you don’t do anything foolish, you have a good life here in front of you, be a shame to spoil it.’ For me as well thought Paddy, for I’m sure to get the blame.

Christmas day became Epiphany, and the gorging continued, spiced beef, legs of pork, sausages. A regular supply of different pastries, finally on twelfth night the iced cake, and Epiphany was behind them. Paddy kept an eye on his friends, and made sure when they were keeping warm that they were up before the others. Christmas for 1629 was soon over.

‘In the Path of the Pilgrims’

Episode Four

Parador Villafranca del Bierzo; this was one of those stops we somehow didn’t photograph, it was decorated in the Castilian style. As the village was one of the overnight stops used by the pilgrims we made this one of our stops – but in great comfort. From the village there are wonderful views of the Ancares mountain range but we were enchanted by the storks nesting in the village. And we were delighted that we had a stork nesting right outside our bedroom window. Again the restaurant had a splendid menu including trout and a fantastic veal stew. It has been closed for the summer but is due to reopen fully refurbished by the end of November.

Parador ‘Hostel San Marcos’ Leon.

This was probable the best Parador stop. Not on our itinerary but we sort of wandered into it! was originally a ‘monastery’ of the twelfth century giving lodgings to the pilgrims. It was rebuilt in the sixteenth century and is now a Parador, it was great and is one of the most beautiful Renaissance buildings in Spain. The restaurant was very, very good.

'Matilda’ under police escort was driven by a very obliging doorman to the garages... hilarious.

All the local sights were wonderful. And the stained glass windows in the Cathedral magnificent.

Outside the Casa Botines in Leon is the Guadi Bench with one seated gentleman and pigeon, when we were there it was two gentlemen as can be seen in the photo.

The last stop in Spain was the Parador ‘Santa Domingo de la Calzada.

The best Parador of all for us, and we have repeated our visit to this. We always ask for room number eight. Is it special – no but we like it, so we have the same room each time. The Parador receptionists always seems to be happy that we want this particular room; possibly it was the clock tower by the window where the bell rings on the hour and quarter hour very loudly.

And then back through France to -

Monet’s Gardens at Giverny – but that’s another blog!

In the Path of the Pilgrims

Episode Three

So we continue along our route to Santiago de Compostela.; and our visits to the Paradores. May I digress? I have said the Paradores are a treat to be sampled and I can only recommend that you click onto their website if intending to holiday in Spain http://www.paradores-spain.com you can see the prices and work it out for yourself in each case.On this stage of our journey we stayed first at the

Parador Vilaba; A medieval Galician tower which was the main focal point of the town and the principle remaining part of the building, all the rest has been restored though there are some rooms in the tower. The decor and restoration is all in a medieval style, and the modern extensions had excellent bedrooms and dining rooms. The menu hadsome specialities of the region. I tried the cooked pork with turnip tops – I can’t say I would recommend it! But breakfast in all the Paradores is fantastic.

Lugo; This was a quick visit to see the walls and Cathedral of Lugo but we only stayed for tapas and then back to Vilaba - and then onwards.

‘Hostel dos Reis Catolicos Santiago de Compostela’ The Parador was constructed as a ‘Hospital Real’ to shelter the pilgrims in 1499 and is now considered to be the oldest hotel in the world, always a debateable point.It certainly lived up to its five star rating, though there was some discussion amongst the porters as to who should have the honour of taking our very old car to the garage. Originally the Parador was a Royal Hospital and gave lodgings to the pilgrims.Now it is very luxurious, that’s if you fancy having golden wash basins in your on-suite bathroom.
And it has very beautiful cloisters leading onto wonderful bedrooms. The Galician food served in the restaurants was sheer heaven. All this if you are over fifty-five years of age has a 30% discount.

Santiago de Compostela Cathedral; The main purpose of the ‘Peregrinos’ pilgrims walk is to reach the Cathedral and visit the Silver Urn with the remains of St James the Apostle.
The Cathedral was truly magnificent and down below in the crypt were the remains of St James. I am always a little suspicious of the authenticity of some of the religious relics, still no harm done, and for many it has great significance.For those interested in adventure books, Bernard Cornwell chose this Cathedral as the settings for a battle in one of his ‘Richard Sharpe’ books.

Parador de Tui; This is what you might call a diversion of some importance. The Parador is a typical manor house, the bedrooms are furnished in a rustic style. The menu in the restaurant is varied – Lamprey – eels - fillet steak, and even some gluten free dishes, you are spoilt for choice. But for us it was the call of the shellfish, the coast line is very well known for its shellfish,

and the village of A Guarda is the best of the lot. Somebody got it right, mussel followed by scallops, and then ‘lobster’, a meal to be recalled again and again. Margaret is always happy to carefully dissect a lobster, not missing any of it.

Monte de Santa Tecla is just outside Tui and the path to the top is lined with crosses.
to do with the pilgrims walk but worth a visit.. The remains of a Celtic settlement of approximately 100 dwellings is on the hilltop above A Guarda.

Portugal; a visit to Viana do Castlo, it was a case of in and out just to say we had visited Portugal – yes we will be going back fairly soon. The bridge from Spain to Portugal was built by Gustav Eiffel of Eiffel Tower (Paris) fame; the bridge is just outside Tui.

A wonderful visit was made in ‘Santiago de Compostela’ but there is more to come.

Next Episode ‘Parador ‘Hostel San Marcos’ Leon’