Lockdown 2

Hello Everyone,

Well, this really is a global mess, isn't it? Most of the world is in lockdown but we have to believe that we will get through this. We need to be positive, stay happy and focused. In my humble attempt at cheering peeps up my little booklet "Life is..." is on free download from tomorrow,  April 4th until 8th at Amazon. Just click onto your local Amazon marketplace and put "Life is..." and Marilyn L Rice in your browser and it should come up with instructions to download to your appliance... tablet, phone, PC, laptop. The blurb...

I, like most people on the planet, have become a great fan of social media and in particular, Facebook. During the last six months I have been posting daily. Firstly, it was 'Words of Wisdom' and then I moved on to 'Life is…' Some of my thoughts were philosophical, others humorous. Sometimes I added photographs and emojis or I dedicated certain sayings to individual people. On a couple of occasions I even added a short story telling the inspiration behind the quotation, for example…'Life is about turning left instead of right and having an adventure!'
I noticed that I was getting a lot of those 'like' clicks and friends seemed to be enjoying my humble daily offering. I had an idea… put all of my posts into a short book and publish them. I have placed one of the 'Words of Wisdom' each page and the' Life is…' quotations follow with some illustrations, either photographs from my albums or downloads from the Net under creative commons licence. All the acknowledgements may be found at the end of the booklet after information on my books.
I hope that those of you who download this will delve into it on the dark days and find that it puts the smile back on your face.
How would I describe it? Humorous, philosophical, satirical, stimulating, inspirational, illuminating, intriguing, thought-provoking, fresh, invigorating and delightful.
Enjoy!

And a comment/review

Quirky and sweet I'll be dipping into this book every morning to get my 'life is' fix. Well done to the author for condensing a chaotic time in the world and giving us hope.

So, feel free to download and hopefully it will put a smile on your face in these dark times.

I'm also  sharing my lockdown ramblings and experiences with you. All of them are on FB but I will just share a couple of them with you, today.

Day 5,

Well hello
Yes, I’m still here although I confess to being a little down yesterday and decided to take a nap in the afternoon. Went back to bed and said goodbye to the cruel world. The sheer numbers are now horrifying, and yesterday it was announced that Boris and other ministers have tested positive. So, a sick man is now running our country. Depressing.

Further, yesterday I heard that Birmingham airport is preparing to be a temporary morgue. Now, I like that airport. I have been through it many times to foreign shores but I am thinking will my next trip be to that morgue? Scary. As a person living alone I’m not in confinement with a family who could be driving me to insanity but if I succumb how will I survive alone? And worst scenario… I could be here for weeks and eventually just my bones found. The rest of me decomposed. So, I’m leaving my Will on the desk, easy to be found. One has to think about these things.

On a brighter note last night I retrieved the Scrabble set and played a solo game. I have decided to have a solo competition by playing many games through this crisis and each time trying to beat my score. Last night it was 500+ and I managed to get 50 points for putting down all seven tiles on one word. Just an idea for both families and singletons. Board games can make a comeback.

Also, last night I ticked three things off my list. So I retired feeling pleased.

Right now, I’m on my second cuppa and it’s 1.28. Yes, really late even for me. However, I have been out this morning. I followed Government guidelines, I was doing my once a week trip for essentials. We all know my essentials are choc, wine, bubble bath and candles and I needed to replace the Easter egg I devoured on Thursday. First, I needed to prepare for the event. That meant gloves, scarf and First Defence. Now, that First Defence is designed to block the nasal cavities from colds and flu. Does it work against Coronavirus? No idea but what have I got to lose?

Anyway, hit the road Jack time. I passed the Aldi store with a overflowing car park. Forget it. Drove on to M & S and Boots at a local retail park. No queue. Fully stocked shelves. Polite, smiling staff. More peeps than usual but still fine. Boots was an interesting experience. A smiling manager greeted me at the door asking why I was visiting. I said for bubble bath, we have to have luxuries in these uncertain times. She directed me to the correct aisle. I observed that half the store was cordoned off in accordance with the law. Cosmetics etc are not essential and could not be purchased. At the checkout there were crosses on the floor, they looked about a metre apart, where you stood waiting your turn. However, there was only one person in front of me. So, no problem. The whole adventure lasted for less than an hour and it was easy. Forget large supermarkets with queues and empty shelves.


I’m back again and it’s 6.21. I’ve made my afternoon phone call to a pleased victim and had a long chat. I’ve spent time watching television and playing on the computer. It is still light and normally I would be celebrating tonight because the clocks go forward on to BST, and I’d  be looking forward to Antonio and ice cream. Dream on! Although, I do feel better than yesterday because I have been out of the house and had a short drive. A change of scenery. Depressing scenery but still a change. Weird for a Saturday. I understand why we are allowed out for daily exercise. I may even do that next week and take a short stroll.


However, with my usual positivity I am thinking of the advantages to this situation. We are under lockdown rules so no one is visiting. There is no need to wash or dress. Stay in bed all day? Or dress but just wear the same scruffy clothes every day. Who cares? No need to clean up or wash up. No need to wear makeup. Hmmm.

Watching the news. We are looking at a deserted Brighton in contrast to crowded beach last week. It seems that peeps have heeded the warning albeit late in the day. I have checked locally and there were no new cases in the last 24 hours but as a nation have passed the first thousand mark for fatalities and we have over 17,000 cases. We are also 8^th globally. The thought that we could make it to the top is frightening. The USA hold that post with over100,000 cases. Italy has had over 10,000 deaths. It seems that there is no correlation between the countries in relation to fatalities. Germany has over 56,000 cases but only 403 deaths. We have more than twice that number but only 17,000 cases. That should confuse analysts. I also find it interesting that when one person tests positive and self isolate with the family. The family do not automatically catch it. It’s not like Chicken pox or Measles. Is it that some peeps or cultures are more immune than others?

Day 6,


Good morning BST. It is 11.15 Sunday 29^th March. I’ve finished my first cuppa while watching the morning service on the goggle box. It was refreshing. It feels like things are going full circle. Years ago Sunday belonged to God in our Christian society. Other religions do have different days, I know that! For the last couple of decades, since shops opened on Sundays, this tradition of worship has paled into insignificance, ignored by many. Now, church buildings, like other public places, are closed but the service is back on television screens. Maybe, when this is over Sunday will be a proper Sunday again. In the new world established as a result of the crisis there will be a new respect, new kindness, more consideration for others. Lessons will have been learned. Well, we can only hope.

What am I going to do today?

Just checked the data. Locally, numbers have almost doubled. 116. Alarming. The USA is way above other countries at the top of the list, 123,000+ with 2,000+ deaths. This is an interesting comparison with Italy at 92,000+ cases yet 10,000+ deaths. My sympathy to all those grieving families. I’m moving well down the list to Cyprus where I have many friends and hope they all stay safe. Thinking about you all. Only 179 cases and 5 deaths so far.

Today, might do a little washing up. Am running out of plates. A few good programmes to watch. Will phone a neighbour.

It’s 3.40 and I’m back on the sofa. I’ve washed a few pots so have some clean plates. Played on the computer. The weather is chillier so the heating is on and I am not venturing out. I have made my daily phone call to my unsuspecting neighbour. We have arranged to meet. Yes, we will defy the law and meet face to face for a short chit chat tomorrow at 6.00 pm. We will not have miserable faces. We will be cheerful, smiling and socialise. We  have agreed to put our bins out at the same time. Her front door and my back gate are about 5 metres apart so we can have a ‘distant’ short chat and wave. Now there’s a thought. Peeps, you can only chat with a neighbour when you put the bins out. What has society come to?

Considering that Birmingham Airport is preparing to become a morgue I have just checked to see if it’s open for it’s primary purpose or closed. Yes, it’s open for business. A plane landed from Dublin at 2.20. Well, I’m assuming it was one plane but the board stated five different arrivals at the same time from Dublin. I cannot imagine five full planes landing  simultaneously from one place. I’m wondering how many people were actually on board and were they sitting apart? The next plane arrives from Aberdeen and expected at 5.15. Imagine arriving and seeing preparation of a mortuary? There are only four departures today. Well, there won’t be a queue will there?

I’m reminded of the time in the sixties when Castle Donnington, near Nottingham became an airport. My grandparents lived in nearby Kegworth, a village surrounded by green fields then. I remember walking round the area when I was about six or seven and being told that what looked like a long road in the middle of a field was a runway and used in the war. I climbed on to the gate and looked at the forsaken runway with blades of grass sprouting up. I imagined planes soaring up into the sky. It had not been used since the war. Yes, the present East Midlands airport was once a massive field and used for flights during the war. Such excitement when it was transformed into an airport. I was eager to go and see a plane land. My father took me up and I waited with anticipation for three hours to see that magnificent bird fly down from the sky. It looks like things have gone full circle. If I were not in lockdown and able to visit Birmingham Airport I’d have to wait three hours to see a plane land.

I’m now watching the latest update. We’re being told that many peeps have tested negative. Now, my mind is working overtime. Does this mean that they are immune? Can they still get symptoms? If so, can they take another test or are you only allowed one?

Just found all details like Will, solicitor, house deeds receipt and placed the brown envelope clearly marked prominently on the library shelf. I was a Brownie and a Girl Guide. Girls could not be Cubs or Scouts in those days. The motto was to be prepared. I am prepared. Shall not play Scrabble today. Beginning notes on next book, EVIL PERSONIFIED IS THE DEVIL’S DISCIPLE. May be published posthumously.

It’s early evening now. Time for vino and food. Will keep an eye on the appalling figures. Latest prediction for those of us who survive this is a possible six months before we see restrictions are over. I guess it’s goodbye to those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer. No Antonio!

Try to stay positive, Love you all, Lady M xxxxx

World War Three

Hello Everyone,

Lady M hopes you enjoyed her holiday post last week. She was rather alarmed, like the rest of the world, when she watched the Pope's Easter message and learned of the horrific suicide bombings in Sri Lanka. Clearly, Easter Sunday was selected for maximum effect. The location? Who knows? Maybe, they just put a pin on the world map. During the last years these attackers have taken over the world. Is Lady M the only person who believes we are in World War Three... a war which the whole world is fighting against terrorism? Two years ago in 2017 she was writing the introduction to her little booklet, "Life is..." while watching the Ariana Grande tribute concert. This week she would like to share that introduction with you.

"It is June 4^th, 2017. I am writing this introduction while listening to the melodic tones of Take That singing ‘Manchester we are strong’. They are performing at the tribute concert, One Love Manchester. Yes, I’m a woman so I can multitask! Thirteen days ago a suicide bomber detonated a homemade bomb at the Manchester Arena as people were leaving the Ariana Grande concert. Twenty-two innocent people, including many children and teenagers, were killed and more than a hundred injured. The attacker was Salman Abedi, born in Manchester, with parents of Libyan origin. Ariana’s reaction was to return to Manchester for this tribute concert.

Terrorism is the scourge of the twenty-first century and with the advent of social media the world was aware of the Manchester attack within minutes. Foreign leaders all made their customary speeches to ‘stand with Manchester’. The world unites on these horrific occasions and this was the worst in the UK since the London bombings on July 7^th , 2005 when four Islamist extremists detonated three bombs on the London Underground and a fourth one on a bus. This attack resulted in fifty-six deaths (including the attackers) and over seven hundred injured people.

This was the second attack in the UK in two months. On March 22^nd, Khalid Masood drove a car into people on Westminster Bridge. He ran out of the vehicle into New Palace Yard and stabbed an unarmed police officer before he was shot by a police officer. The incident resulted in six deaths and forty-nine injured people. Then, the rest of the globe supported London.

This morning, I, on auto-pilot, switched on the television to see a ‘BBC breaking news’ on the screen.  Another terrorist attack at 10.08 yesterday evening on London Bridge. The third attack on British soil within three months. A white van had been driven into crowds crossing the bridge. Three males emerged, carrying knives, and moved toward restaurants stabbing as many people as they could saying, ‘This is for Allah’. At 10.16 pm their reign of terror was over. After eight minutes of freedom the police arrived and shot the three attackers. During those few minutes they succeeded in causing eight deaths and forty-plus injured people, some critical.

Have these ISIS people, who claim to be of the Islamic faith, ever read the Koran? Each Surah begins by stating that Allah is compassionate and merciful. Allah does not condone merciless killings. How often have we heard Muslims claim that these terrorists do not belong to their religion? Islam is a religion of peace.

At the moment I can see Robbie Williams singing ‘Angels’ and a crowd of fifty thousand people smiling and singing along with him. This is defiance. Some of the audience were present on that fateful night but are not prepared to surrender to terrorism. President Trump has called terrorists ‘losers’. I compare them to the classroom bullies who are basically cowards and can never be allowed to win. As Friedrich Nietzsche stated, ‘That which does not kill us makes us stronger’. This audience are strong and united.

At present the UK seems to be the terrorists’ main target. At this sad time I am sure the people of France feel the emotion with us as they remember their attacks through 2015- 2016 in Paris, Nice and Normandy. Who could ever forget the slogan ‘Je suis Charlie’ after the attack on January 7^th, 2015 at the Charlie Hebdo magazine office when twelve people were killed? Germany and Belgium, our other close European neighbours, have suffered from ISIS attacks in Berlin, Wuerzburg, Ansbach and Brussels. Iraq, Turkey, Libya, Egypt, Canada, Australia and America…yes, it is a global problem. Tunisia… a prominent and memorable attack by a lone assassin on western tourists at a hotel in Port El Kantaoui in June, 2015. This shooting was at one of the most unlikely places… a beach where people were relaxing and enjoying a holiday. It resulted in thirty-eight deaths and thirty-nine injured people. The assassin was killed by the police.

I am sure Americans shiver with horror at each new attack as they remember their horrendous attackson The Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre in New York, and The Pentagon on September 11^th, 2001. Three planes were successfully hijacked and hit their targets. A fourth plane did not reach its destination, thought to be Washington, as the passengers attempted to overpower the hijackers and the plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. This was the work of another extremist Islamic group, al-Qaeda. Total fatalities were 2,996 and over six thousand injured people.

When will our leaders actually admit that terrorism is not just a global phenomenon but our third world war? One hundred years ago The Great War, later to be termed World War 1, was coming to an end. It had been fought in various places in battles and by man against man; by soldiers on horseback or on foot using weapons of the era. Twenty years later in 1939 the world was at war again. It was a still a war with battles and fought by soldiers on battlefields, those men were fighting for freedom and a better future but it was a different type of war using new weapons of the time… aeroplanes and bombs. In addition to battlefields, it was a conflict fought from the air. Bombs could be dropped from above destroying buildings and causing maximum damage to both life and infrastructure. World War 2 was declared the war to end all wars but it does not seem to have worked. I believe there has only been a short period of time, (I read somewhere – fifteen minutes) when no country has been at war. There was Vietnam, Chinese Civil War, Arab-Israeli War, Indo-Pakistani War, Korea, The Falklands… to mention a few! All fought for a purpose, whether it be land, religion or freedom.

However, we are now in the twenty-first century and we have freedom, social media, technology and materialism in a way never known before. Maybe the pendulum has swung too far towards liberty and a tolerant society. As the last weeks have proved it is not safe to cross the road or go to a concert. Looking back to 2015, 2016, neither is it safe to go on holiday, travel on public transport, go shopping in the market, go out for a meal, sit on the beach or really do anything. We have become prisoners of war in a world where terrorists are the enemy. It is a different kind of war; a war where ‘attacks’ have replaced battles. Not a war where planes drop bombs from the skies or soldiers fight battles in fields. It is a war using twenty-first century knowledge and weapons. Knowledge of how to make simple bombs capable of great destruction is easily available on the Internet. Guns and knives are equally easy to purchase. Our enemies are Islamist extremists who believe that martyrdom is the will of Allah or maybe their heroes are the kamikaze pilots of World War 2. They are just using different methods to find their divine wind route back to Allah.

In these sad times we may ask what life is about. It is easy to be miserable and afraid. It is easy to change our routine but we need to be strong and continue with our plans. If we do that our enemies will not win. I, like most people on the planet, have become a great fan of social media and in particular, Facebook. During the last six months I have been posting daily. Firstly, it was Words of Wisdom and then I moved on to Life is…  Some of my thoughts were philosophical, others humorous. Sometimes I added photographs and emojis or I dedicated certain sayings to individual people. On a couple of occasions I even added a short story telling the inspiration behind the quotation, for example…Life is about turning left instead of right and having an adventure!

I noticed that I was getting a lot of those like clicks and friends seemed to be enjoying my humble daily offering. I had an idea… put all of my posts into a short book and publish them. I have placed one of the Words of Wisdom after every five or six Life is… quotations; some Life quotes have illustrations, either photographs from my albums or downloads from the Net under creative commons licence. All the acknowledgements may be found at the end of the booklet after information on my books.

I hope that those of you who have downloaded this will delve into it on the dark days and find that it puts the smile back on your face.

How would I describe it? Humorous, philosophical, satirical, stimulating, inspirational, illuminating, intriguing, thought-provoking, fresh, invigorating and delightful.

Enjoy!

Post Script

Since writing this the world has experienced more disasters both of terrorism and nature. More lives have been lost. There have been raging forest fires in Portugal, a fire which was like a ‘towering inferno’ at Grenfell Tower in Kensington, London and an attack on Muslims leaving the Finsbury Park Mosque, London after evening worship. London is certainly getting its share of misfortune this year. The question, ‘Why?’ is usually paramount but it is without an answer.

It is hard to be positive or see anything good when these sad situations occur but light always comes after the darkness and hope from despair. What I see is an outpouring of human kindness and love. Even, at the mosque, the Iman protected the assassin from being attacked before the police could arrest him. After fires those who survive have nothing left. All their possessions have gone in the blink of an eye. However, while the flames were still in charge and the smoke pothered out of Grenfell Tower people were arriving with donations of food, clothing, toys, essentials and luxuries to help the unfortunate ones start again. Things take time and time is supposedly a great healer. Although I am not sure about that.

What is a certainty is that there will be more atrocities and natural disasters. All we can do is stay strong and look after each other.

Marilyn L. Rice, June 20^th, 2017"

Whether  you agree or disagree with Lady M be happy and safe wherever you are and whatever you are doing this week.

Lady M xxx

My Easter gift to you!

Hello Everyone,

Today is Good Friday in the Christian Religion. It is the day when Christians remember how Jesus died on the Cross outside the Jerusalem City Wall. 

On Sunday the church  will celebrate the Resurrection of Christ. That first Sunday morning, when the women went to the tomb where Jesus had been hastily lain only to find the stone removed and the body missing, is celebrated. The women were anxious to anoint the body, in accordance with Jewish tradition, at the earliest opportunity. Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and other women arrived at the tomb, expecting to find it secured by a stone. Imagine their surprise, the stone rolled away and the tomb empty. Inside, a young man, wearing a white robe, spoke to them, "Do not be amazed; you seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen, he is not here; see the place where they laid him. But go tell his disciples and Peter, that he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him as he told you."
(Mark ,Chapter16, vs 6 & 7.)

Christians remember that first Sunday morning and rejoice. It is proof, that there is an eternal, afterlife or new life. Chickens, eggs, rabbits are all symbolic of new life and new hope. However, you spend this Eastertide, have a very HAPPY EASTER!

                                                       ********************

I have a little Easter gift for you. From today until Tuesday both of my eBooks are on free download from Kindle. Just pop along to Amazon Kindle and put either my name or the book title in the browser and hey I will pop up and you will be able to download either or both free of charge. You do not need to have a Kindle tablet. This modern technology enables you to download to tablets or pc's. How it works is a mystery to me!

WRITE IT! PUBLISH IT! MARKET IT!  was published in 2016 as an aide to all those who wanted to bravely hike into the publishing world...

The Blurb

"How do you publish a book? This author first self-published fifteen years ago in a different publishing climate. But, that question is one I have been asked on numerous occasions. Originally, I produced a small booklet, "Write It! Publish It! Market It!" with advice and information for going through the process from writing to marketing: what to write, copyright, editing, proof reading, typesetting/text blocking, jacket, ISBN, blurb, page numbers, pricing, printing, promoting, libraries, shops, networking, marketing. I had discovered that it was a long and complicated process with many pitfalls. Print on demand (P o D) made it easier for authors to become publishers because it was possible to have small print runs. Then the e-book arrived, a new concept in publishing. I have updated my original booklet, including appropriate websites and adding my self-publishing story plus a chapter from one of my six books. This publication may be used as guidance for aspiring authors. Good luck to all of you who enter the publishing arena with your own work."

  

Well, writing a book begins with sitting down and writing that first sentence! Procrastination is not an option!

Life is... was published in June 2017 as a result of postings on Facebook! I think that answers a popular question of where do authors get their inspiration from!

The Blurb

"I like most people on the planet, have become a great fan of social media and in particular, Facebook. During the last six months I have been posting daily. Firstly, it was 'Words of Wisdom' and then I moved on to 'Life is…' Some of my thoughts were philosophical, others humorous. Sometimes I added photographs and emojis or I dedicated certain sayings to individual people. On a couple of occasions I even added a short story telling the inspiration behind the quotation, for example…'Life is about turning left instead of right and having an adventure!'
I noticed that I was getting a lot of those 'like' clicks and friends seemed to be enjoying my humble daily offering. I had an idea… put all of my posts into a short book and publish them. I have placed one of the 'Words of Wisdom' on each page and the' Life is…' quotations follow with some illustrations, either photographs from my albums or downloads from the Net under creative commons licence. All the acknowledgements may be found at the end of the booklet after information on my books. I hope that those of you who download this will delve into it on the dark days and find that it puts the smile back on your face.
How would I describe it? Humorous, philosophical, satirical, stimulating, inspirational, illuminating, intriguing, thought-provoking, fresh, invigorating and delightful. Enjoy!"

Lady M xxxxx

                                             

He wants to read my books!

It is the twenty-first century.

                                              

Hello Everyone,

Yes, it's me... Lady M. I am back after my little break. I hope you have enjoyed Sofia and Donald entertaining you but they are now on their hols until later this year. I'm sure you can guess what activity they will be engaging in!

I would like to begin my set of blogs with the introduction to my latest book published last year, Life is... Am I the only person in the world who does not believe that we are actually in World War Three? This war is unlike any other. It is not against people or countries but a new scourge, namely terrorism. Please read my intro and leave a comment if you agree with me.

 "It is June 4^th, 2017. I am writing this introduction while listening to the melodic tones of Take That singing ‘Manchester we are strong’. They are performing at the tribute concert, One Love Manchester. Yes, I’m a woman so I can multitask! Thirteen days ago a suicide bomber detonated a homemade bomb at the Manchester Arena as people were leaving the Ariana Grande concert. Twenty-two innocent people, including many children and teenagers, were killed and more than a hundred injured. The attacker was Salman Abedi, born in Manchester, with parents of Libyan origin. Ariana’s reaction was to return to Manchester for this tribute concert.

Terrorism is the scourge of the twenty-first century and with the advent of social media the world was aware of the Manchester attack within minutes. Foreign leaders all made their customary speeches to ‘stand with Manchester’. The world unites on these horrific occasions and this was the worst in the UK since the London bombings on July 7^th , 2005 when four Islamist extremists detonated three bombs on the London Underground and a fourth one on a bus. This attack resulted in fifty-six deaths (including the attackers) and over seven hundred injured people.

This was the second attack in the UK in two months. On March 22^nd, Khalid Masood drove a car into people on Westminster Bridge. He ran out of the vehicle into New Palace Yard and stabbed an unarmed police officer before he was shot by a police officer. The incident resulted in six deaths and forty-nine injured people. Then, the rest of the globe supported London.

This morning, I, on auto-pilot, switched on the television to see a ‘BBC breaking news’ on the screen.  Another terrorist attack at 10.08 yesterday evening on London Bridge. The third attack on British soil within three months. A white van had been driven into crowds crossing the bridge. Three males emerged, carrying knives, and moved toward restaurants stabbing as many people as they could saying, ‘This is for Allah’. At 10.16 pm their reign of terror was over. After eight minutes of freedom the police arrived and shot the three attackers. During those few minutes they succeeded in causing eight deaths and forty-plus injured people, some critical.

Have these ISIS people, who claim to be of the Islamic faith, ever read the Koran? Each Surah begins by stating that Allah is compassionate and merciful. Allah does not condone merciless killings. How often have we heard Muslims claim that these terrorists do not belong to their religion? Islam is a religion of peace.

At the moment I can see Robbie Williams singing ‘Angels’ and a crowd of fifty thousand people smiling and singing along with him. This is defiance. Some of the audience were present on that fateful night but are not prepared to surrender to terrorism. President Trump has called terrorists ‘losers’. I compare them to the classroom bullies who are basically cowards and can never be allowed to win. As Friedrich Nietzsche stated, ‘That  which does not kill us makes us stronger’. This audience are strong and united.

At present the UK seems to be the terrorists’ main target. At this sad time I am sure the people of France feel the emotion with us as they remember their attacks through 2015- 2016 in Paris, Nice and Normandy. Who could ever forget the slogan ‘Je suis Charlie’ after the attack on January 7^th, 2015 at the Charlie Hebdo magazine office when twelve people were killed? Germany and Belgium, our other close European neighbours, have suffered from ISIS attacks in Berlin, Wuerzburg, Ansbach and Brussels. Iraq, Turkey, Libya, Egypt, Canada, Australia and America…yes, it is a global problem. Tunisia… a prominent and memorable attack by a lone assassin on western tourists at a hotel in Port El Kantaoui in June, 2015. This shooting was at one of the most unlikely places… a beach where people were relaxing and enjoying a holiday. It resulted in thirty-eight deaths and thirty-nine injured people. The assassin was killed by the police.

I am sure Americans shiver with horror at each new attack as they remember their horrendous attacks on The Twin Towers of the World Trade Centre in New York, and The Pentagon on September 11^th, 2001. Three planes were successfully hijacked and hit their targets. A fourth plane did not reach its destination, thought to be Washington, as the passengers attempted to overpower the hijackers and the plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. This was the work of another extremist Islamic group, al-Qaeda. Total fatalities were 2,996 and over six thousand injured people.

When will our leaders actually admit that terrorism is not just a global phenomenon but our third world war? One hundred years ago The Great War, later to be termed World War 1, was coming to an end. It had been fought in various places in battles and by man against man; by soldiers on horseback or on foot using weapons of the era. Twenty years later in 1939 the world was at war again. It was a still a war with battles and fought by soldiers on battlefields, those men were fighting for freedom and a better future but it was a different type of war using new weapons of the time… aeroplanes and bombs. In addition to battlefields, it was a conflict fought from the air. Bombs could be dropped from above destroying buildings and causing maximum damage to both life and infrastructure. World War 2 was declared the war to end all wars but it does not seem to have worked. I believe there has only been a short period of time, (I read somewhere – fifteen minutes) when no country has been at war. There was Vietnam, Chinese Civil War, Arab-Israeli War, Indo-Pakistani War, Korea, The Falklands… to mention a few! All fought for a purpose, whether it be land, religion or freedom.

However, we are now in the twenty-first century and we have freedom, social media, technology and materialism in a way never known before. Maybe the pendulum has swung too far towards liberty and a tolerant society. As the last weeks have proved it is not safe to cross the road or go to a concert. Looking back to 2015, 2016, neither is it safe to go on holiday, travel on public transport, go shopping in the market, go out for a meal, sit on the beach or really do anything. We have become prisoners of war in a world where terrorists are the enemy. It is a different kind of war; a war where ‘attacks’ have replaced battles. Not a war where planes drop bombs from the skies or soldiers fight battles in fields. It is a war using twenty-first century knowledge and weapons. Knowledge of how to make simple bombs capable of great destruction is easily available on the Internet. Guns and knives are equally easy to purchase. Our enemies are Islamist extremists who believe that martyrdom is the will of Allah or maybe their heroes are the kamikaze pilots of World War 2. They are just using different methods to find their divine wind route back to Allah.

In these sad times we may ask what life is about. It is easy to be miserable and afraid. It is easy to change our routine but we need to be strong and continue with our plans. If we do that our enemies will not win. I, like most people on the planet, have become a great fan of social media and in particular, Facebook. During the last six months I have been posting daily. Firstly, it was Words of Wisdom and then I moved on to Life is…  Some of my thoughts were philosophical, others humorous. Sometimes I added photographs and emojis or I dedicated certain sayings to individual people. On a couple of occasions I even added a short story telling the inspiration behind the quotation, for example…Life is about turning left instead of right and having an adventure!

I noticed that I was getting a lot of those like clicks and friends seemed to be enjoying my humble daily offering. I had an idea… put all of my posts into a short book and publish them. I have placed one of the Words of Wisdom after every five or six Life is… quotations; some Life quotes have illustrations, either photographs from my albums or downloads from the Net under creative commons licence. All the acknowledgements may be found at the end of the booklet after information on my books.

I hope that those of you who have downloaded this will delve into it on the dark days and find that it puts the smile back on your face.

How would I describe it? Humorous, philosophical, satirical, stimulating, inspirational, illuminating, intriguing, thought-provoking, fresh, invigorating and delightful.

Enjoy!

Post Script

Since writing this the world has experienced more disasters both of terrorism and nature. More lives have been lost. There have been raging forest fires in Portugal, a fire which was like a ‘towering inferno’ at Grenfell Tower in Kensington, London and an attack on Muslims leaving the Finsbury Park Mosque, London after evening worship. London is certainly getting its share of misfortune this year. The question, ‘Why?’ is usually paramount but it is without an answer.

It is hard to be positive or see anything good when these sad situations occur but light always comes after the darkness and hope from despair. What I see is an outpouring of human kindness and love. Even, at the mosque, the Iman protected the assassin from being attacked before the police could arrest him. After fires those who survive have nothing left. All their possessions have gone in the blink of an eye. However, while the flames were still in charge and the smoke pothered out of Grenfell Tower people were arriving with donations of food, clothing, toys, essentials and luxuries to help the unfortunate ones start again. Things take time and time is supposedly a great healer. Although I am not sure about that.

What is a certainty is that there will be more atrocities and natural disasters. All we can do is stay strong and look after each other.

Marilyn L. Rice, June 20^th, 2017

I hope this has given you some food for thought. Please leave me comments or feel free to message me on FB. The book is an ebook and can be downloaded  on Kindle.

Love and peace to you all, Lady M xxx

Life is...

Howde Folks, 

It is the 12th January and Christmas 2017 seems like a distant memory. Donald and I are still happy. In fact, we are always happy but then to discover the secret of continual happiness you have to have had the misfortune to be deceased. Now, we know that many of you get a little depressed at this time of the year because the decorations have gone, the parties are over, and things seem a little bleak. We would like to cheer you up... spring is round the corner!

We would like to give you a few quotes from Lady M's little booklet about life.

Life is a carousel... go round and round until you are dizzy!
Life is what you make it... smile and be happy.
Life is full of sunny days if you avoid the rain.
Life is wonderful... make every day count.  
Life is like fish and chips… tasteless without salt and vinegar.
Life is a song… learn the lyrics.
Life is a dance… keep rocking, swinging, and jiving.  
Life is a long holiday… if you have the right attitude toward it.
Life is an experience… live it to the full.   
Life is a party…just be yourself and enjoy it.
Life is like ‘snakes and ladders’... up and down. Accept it.
Life is a kind of zoo...be the lion king.
Life is like a shopping trip...get all you want out of it.
Life is just like afternoon tea ...  if you like cakes, scones and jam.
Life can be like the stars … if you make it twinkle for you.
Life is like a rainbow… colourful!
Life is full of opportunities… take them. 
Life is like a movie…thriller, tragedy, comedy? Your choice.
Life is like a ghost train…a scary and exciting ride.

So, through the dreary January days try to smile, be happy, enjoy the little things like fish and chips, keep dancing, go out for afternoon tea, think of rainbows, do things that make you dizzy... life is an experience.

If you would like to read more of her quotes and words of wisdom just pop the title and her name into Kindle and download this little ebook.

January, like last Christmas, will soon be a distant memory.

Love to you all, Sofia  and Donald xxx

Remember you can read all about us in Lady M's books!