I started because I had always wanted to review books.
I already do this on Amazon and Goodreads but always wanted to have my own site too. I was going to do it around 6 years ago but somebody put me off by saying I wouldn’t be very good at it.
I am sorry someone said that to you Liz. But you are knocking it out of the ballpark with your book reviews, so I am glad you started your site.
WHICH IS THE MOST POPULAR POST ON YOUR SITE?
It’s difficult to say which is my most popular post on my site but I think it is On The Edge by Ilona Andrews – A book review.
The best thing about blogging is reaching other people and having the same interests as people all over the world.
FOOD THAT MAKES YOU SMILE?
Chocolate! I am addicted to chocolate. I actually gave it up, along with everything sugary, in November and raised money for Alzheimers Society.
IF I WAS GOING TO SEND YOU FLOWERS AS A THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME INTERVIEW, WHAT WOULD THEY BE?
If you sent me flowers then I would love Roses, either Red (but then people might get the wrong idea, ha!), Black, or Rainbow.
I am not going to worry about anyone getting the wrong idea – red roses for being a brilliant blogger is the least you deserve.
DO YOU HAVE A SONG? ONE THAT FITS YOU AS A PERSON OR YOUR LIFE?
I wouldn’t say I have a song that fits me as a person or fits my life but I do have a go to song when I need a lift – When You’re Looking Like That by Westlife (I’ll listen to it, scream along and jump around like crazy for the entire duration of the song). I know it’s really cheesy music but I love cheese and it just cheers me up instantly.
DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING IN LIFE?
I used to think I knew where I was going in life but life changes so quickly and is so unpredictable. I’m happy going through life with not so much knowing where I am going, but with the thought process of being able to cope with wherever my life does go.
WHAT MESSAGE DO YOU WANT YOUR BLOG TO TELL THE WORLD?
My blog is just book reviews, so I don’t think it really tells the world anything. I suppose it shows that I am excited about books and I like to share that with people, and it’s ok to be excited about things like books!
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I think books are exciting Liz! I think it’s great that you read and review them and enthuse excitement into others.
I am so pleased to have been able to feature you as this week’s Wednesday Writer.
Have you heard of Wiggle, Taz and Alfred? This week they made the headlines as possible the sweetest group of friends that have bonded with each other:
In another week of news that shows seems to show the global political economic system is a like a ship that has struck an iceberg and is slowly sinking (or a ship stuck on a sandbank in the Suez canal)…it is great to have reminders that soon all creatures on earth will live in harmony.
Life in a pharmacy can be intense. Customers do not always realize how much work we have to do, work that we need to concentrate on so that we do not make mistakes.
Sometimes we have a rush of customers all come in at the same time presenting us with prescriptions. We have to ask them to return in ten minutes (or if we have lots of prescriptions we may increase that waiting time accordingly).
Last week, a customer turned up with five pages of prescriptions with almost twenty items listed on them. Knowing we were already processing the prescriptions of several customers who were soon to return to the pharmacy to collect the medications on prescriptions they had handed in earlier, I explained to the customer that it would take time to gather all the stock, label them and have the pharmacist check them. I asked if they could return to collect the prescription in around half an hour.
I am not going to repeat what the customer said. Wow! Just wow! It’s been a long time since I heard such a vitriol of contempt and scorn.
Of course, you can be sure that Jacob Nyamake was polite as always!
Songs about forever…there must be hundreds surely! I have picked a song for Jim’s Song Lyric Sunday that makes me think of a true love. Is it too idealistic? Or is the truth that sometimes we settle for less?
I am going to leave that for you to decide. The song is “When I Fall In Love”. I wanted to pick the Nat King Cole version, but I thought the duet between Celine Dion and Clive Griffin was great,
Credits: Edward Heyman and Victor Popular Young
When I fall in love
It will be forever
Or I'll never fall in love
In a restless world like this is
Love is ended before it's begun
And too many moonlight kisses
Seem to cool in the warmth of the sun
When I give my heart
It will be completely
Or I'll never give my heart
(oh, let me give my heart)
And the moment I can feel that you feel that way too
(I feel that way too)
Is when I fall in love (I fall in love) with you
When I fall in love
It will be forever
Or I'll never fall in love
(oh, I'll never never fall in love)
In a restless world like this is
Love is ended before it's begun
And too many moonlight kisses
Seem to cool in the warmth of the sun
When I give my heart
It will be completely
Or I'll never give (I'll never give) my heart (oh, I'll never give my heart)
And the moment I can feel that you feel that way too
Is when I fall in love
When I fall in love
When I fall in love with you
There is something about creation that shouts volumes about how much our Creator loves to surprise us, inspire us and give us every good gift.
Trips over to Africa have shaped me and my outlook on the world. But though I have seen with my own eyes the shocking reality of this mad mad mad world with it’s economic extremes, I have seen that God is good. He keeps giving the most beautiful displays even in areas where people live on a meagre income.
I have seen and I know that God will correct all injustices. In the meantime…he keeps giving.
Olives, red peppers, onion, tomatoes, paprika, parsley, orzo and of course chicken – perfect.
The aunties make the most amazing chicken dishes. It’s hard to stop eating. Last night I ate too much. I had almost slipped into a food coma by the time I realized.
Just as the Son of man came, not to be ministered to, but to minister and to give his life as a ransom in exchange for many.
MATTHEW 20:28
This weekend is a special weekend for many millions of people who long for the fulfilment of God’s purposes. After Adam spurned God’s love, he was allowed to have children. It is only because of God’s love that we have a hope for the future.
God sent his firstborn to the earth to provide the legal basis for mankind to be able to enjoy what Adam gave up. All our hopes – all of them – the removal of sin, the healing of mankind, the end of disease, crime, wars and terrorism, the resurrection of the dead, are all guaranteed because Christ was willing to give up his perfect human life in exchange for what Adam lost.
In a world where so many people seek their own glory and fame, one man stands out as the greatest man who ever lived – the one that ministered to humans, gave up his human life for them, and will soon have the joy of extending the benefits of his ransom sacrifice to all mankind.
It’s Wednesday again, which means it is time to get to know another WordPress blogger. This week’s interview is with Hugh Grant – no not the actor, but the blogger.
HUGH, WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO DRINK WHILE WE ARE CONDUCTING THIS INTERVIEW WITH YOU?
Let’s make it a beer mate.
COULD YOU TELL US YOUR BLOGGING NAME AND THE NAME OF YOUR SITE PLEASE.
I have only been blogging for a couple of months. Years ago I tried something like this, well, it was more of an online journal, but I had about two views in a year. WordPress is a lot more lively than I expected it to be.
WHY DID YOU START BLOGGING?
Lockdown Three was about started, with London being put into Tier 4. Christmas was cancelled for London and the South East of England. I had the idea that doing a bit of writing would take my mind off what was a completely dire end to 2020. The only thing I regret is that rather than writing fiction, I have ended up just having a moan about stuff going on too often than I would like. I’ve never thought of myself as a negative person, but I can see in my posts that I have been grumpier than I realized.
I am am surprised at how much the blog has kept my interest up. But then, we are still in a National Lockdown, so not much has changed.
WHICH IS THE MOST POPULAR POST ON YOUR SITE?
It’s bizarre but it was a bit of a rushed post that I typed out about showing my parents the blog I had set up and making the turn of the year a fresh start. I emailed them a link and they started reading through my posts. My Dad said I sounded fed up. He was right. So since then, I try to make the effort not to let every post turn into a grumble.
My parents both have an optimistic nature. It made me realize how much it is affecting me not being with them. It’s been a battle to keep my spirits up sometimes.
WHAT IS THE BEST THING ABOUT BLOGGING?
So far, the best thing about blogging has been the communal events. I’ve been taking part in Jim’s Song Lyric Sunday ever since I came across it. It’s not just about the music. It’s about having a little chat with other people.
The best communal event I found literally saved the end of last year for me. Caramel’s Cocktail Club was all about bloggers cheering each other up during a time when a lot of us were stuck at home on our own during the holidays.
FOOD THAT MAKES YOU SMILE?
A mug of strong tea and a bacon butty would bring a smile to my face any day. I have been trying to make the switch over to vegetarian bacon and I’m getting used to it, but occasionally the real stuff has ended up in my shopping basket.
IF I WAS GOING TO SEND YOU FLOWERS AS A THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME INTERVIEW, WHAT WOULD THEY BE?
No need to send me flowers mate. If you want to know what kind of flowers I like though I will tell you – daisies. They make me think of school. Lunchtimes, laying in the grass which was dotted with tiny daisies, buttercups and dandelions.
There’s something about them that makes me smile.
DO YOU HAVE A SONG? – ONE THAT FITS YOU AS A PERSON OR YOUR LIFE?
Do you know a band called The Charlatans? I’m going to pick their song “One To Another”. Don’t ask me why thought mate. Memories. It brings back memories.
DO YOU KNOW WHERE YOU ARE GOING IN LIFE?
If you are asking me where I want to go in life, where I want my life to end up, I can give you the answer. I just want what most people have wanted for thousands of years. I want to find a girl and settle down. I want to have a family and a home. I want to play football in the park with the little ones and help them with their geography homework. I want to be still married myself when I see my kids old enough to walk down the aisle and get married themselves.
But although that’s what I want, I don’t think I am anywhere near that ideal. Part of that is my own fault. In the past I think work, making time for my mates and just being too fussy were all reasons why I ended up drifting apart from and breaking up from previous girlfriends. This world seems to make it harder than ever to have those basic ideals in your life. But the pandemic has made me appreciate that finding someone to share your life with is not something that should drop to the list of priorities. So next time, I am going to give it my all.
WHAT MESSAGE DO YOU WANT YOUR BLOG TO TELL THE WORLD?
I have a few messages to tell the world. One is – that facemask you are wearing on your chin, it’s supposed to cover your nose and mouth. Also stop worrying about when you are going to be back partying and on the beach in Spain or Greece. Just accept we are still in the middle of a Pandemic.
But I know that people have found this time tough. I suppose my message to the world is – what have you learnt matters most? What have you learnt about being prepared for economic downfalls? What have you learnt about keeping yourself sane when you can’t socialize or spend your free time doing the things you’ve always enjoyed?
I think that if we have not learnt anything then we are going to struggle in the future when challenges come along. If we have learnt from this past year, then we should be stronger and more prepared for future trials…and don’t make any mistake, this world is in a mess – there will be more trouble ahead.
I am sure that all this survival of the fittest crap is going to prove false. It is going to be good and right that triumph. It might not seem that way, but I have seen so many times this year that there is something far more powerful than governments, scientists or big business who is preparing good people for the future. I think it’s obvious that surviving the mess that man is making is going to depend on being a good person, not in our own eyes, but in the eyes of whoever it is that judges us all. I think he is probably watching people more closely than ever at the moment to pick up on their attitudes. I wonder who he wants to take care of this planet?
____________________
Hugh, thanks for answering the interview questions I sent you. It’s very interesting to get to know more about you. I am not sure about vegetarian bacon though – it sounds so wrong!
I think a lot of us can relate to you, sometimes this pandemic has made us feel lower than we would usually feel. I think sometimes we need to have an outlet for those negative feelings. But from your final message to the world, I can tell that deep down you are a positive person who wants goodness to conquer. I think that most of us want the same thing.
Every week I search news websites searching for positive reports, news that will cheer both me and you up. But this week, I did not have to search. Good news found me.
I opened my inbox this weekend and I saw an email from a friend of mine who I have a lot of respect for. He turned his life around after starting to read the Bible. I know he has cleaned up from all sorts of trouble. He sent me message asking how my family were and inviting us to join in a commemoration of one of the most important events in all human history.
We have just seen an entire year of how mankind has no idea how to rescue us from death. But one man has provided the only hope we have of reversing death and suffering. One man paid the price in order for us to have a future.
My friend sent me this video link which sums up the only way mankind can be rescued from death:
This coming weekend is the anniversary of the greatest act of love ever shown. By means of this gift, we can look forward to seeing our loved ones again.
Is there ever going to be a better news report than that?
The latest situation we seem to be facing in the Pharmacy? We have had a number of patients that just seem….well…”lost”. They talk to us about minor ailments and aches. But when we ask them questions, their symptoms are so confusing we have to refer them to the Pharmacist.
When the Pharmacist tries to make sense of what they are reporting to us, it seems most likely that their symptoms are brought on by stress. It has been a stressful year, so that is no surprise.
We were talking about it last week. So many of our patients seem to be neglected. They have not been able to have the occasional ten minute appointment with their GP over the past twelve months. They stumble into the Pharmacy looking clueless. They know they don’t feel right, but they have no idea what could be causing it.
Our role is now involving a lot more reassurance to our customers that the NHS cares about them and wants to help them. But wow, it is so time-consuming. It is really challenging to give half an hour to a customer that needs to talk when you have forty prescriptions to dispense before customers arrive to collect their medications.
We are trying to get that balance right, but it is challenging. We are all huge believers that sometimes, a little kindness can make a huge difference to the welfare of our customers.
WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? 