Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Wet and Aggressive Corella challenges Magpie

Wednesday 6 July 2016

Words for Wednesday

The lovely Delores at Under the Porch Light had been running this meme for a considerable period of time, week after week.   Computer issues led her to bow out for a while and I took over.  When Delores' absence looked like being more permanent I begged and cajoled for other volunteers to share providing the prompts, and Words for Wednesday became a movable feast.  Sadly Delores has (temporarily I hope) discontinued her blog, though we have been told that she will be back in the fullness of time.

Essentially the aim is to encourage us to write.  Each week we are given a choice of prompts: which can be words, phrases, music or an image.   What we do with those prompts is up to us:  a short story, prose, a song, a poem, or treating them with ignore...  We can use some or all of the prompts.

Some of us put our creation in comments on the post, and others post on their own blog.  I would really like it if as many people as possible joined into this fun meme.  If you are posting on your own blog - let me know so that I, and other participants, can come along and applaud.

This month the prompts will be published here.


This weeks prompts are:


First set.

  1. Stop
  2. Can
  3. Boiling
  4. Knotty
  5. Scrape
  6. Competition.   

Second set:

  1. Tasty
  2. X-ray
  3. Bone
  4. Aunt
  5. Gabby
  6. Stay
The phrase for the week?
Our precious hours are trickling away...


110 comments:

  1. This is gonna be interesting!

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  2. I'm not absolutely clear, but I'm getting ready to launch a book, so that's not surprising.

    1. You publish prompts here each week (Mon? Wed? Fri?)
    2. Then people write something using some or all of the prompts and post them here in the comments.
    3. People then link back to your blog with the meme title? Do you have a # or a sign up Linky?
    I'll spread the word if I can do it with all the details clear.

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    1. cleemckenzie: Thank you. For this month the prompts will go up here each Wednesday (my time). Next month they will go up at another blog - which I will tag on the last Words for Wednesday post.
      We are not so organised as to have a sign-up Linky or a # title.
      Some people put their snippets up here - and the first have landed, and others put their creations on their blog. Sometimes with the title Words for Wednesday and a link, sometimes not...
      Clearer?

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    2. Much. Let me spread the word. I'm just not going to be able to take on another hop until after my book releases. Sorry. Wish I could participate, but I'm already out of hours.

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    3. cleemckenzie: Thank you. You must be very, very busy (overwhelmed?). And you need do nothing unless and until you do have the time and the inclination.

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    4. I set up tweets through Monday and I've posted on FB. I'll put something else out on Instagram later. Let's see if we get any takers!

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    5. cleemckenzie: Thank you so much. I really appreciate the effort you put into this - when you are already super busy.

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  3. Stop boiling that can.
    Not only is it knotty.
    I'll have to scrape you off the cooking competition.

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    Replies
    1. Martin Kloess: Scrape me off? A cooking competition is the only one I have any chance in...

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  4. The smart people always come out of the wood work. I love it.

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    1. Sonya Ann: Some day you will play. Hint, hint.

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  5. My tale for this week....

    "ONE piece of advice my beloved AUNT GABBY frequently gave me was – “As much as we tries to stop it OUR PRECIOUS HOURS ARE TRICKLING AWAY. There’s nothing we CAN do to STOP this from happening. And that is why we must make the most of what, in the whole scheme of things, is really a short STAY here on this earth.”

    Our AUNT GABBY lived with us. She loved to cook, which was just as well because the cooking chores were her domain. My brother and I would race home from school on cold winter days to be greeted by a thick, rich stew BOILING on the stove. Our mother, her sister, was no COMPETITION for our aunty because our mother was a hopeless cook.

    The truth was Mum had little time for household chores. She worked long hours at the local hospital in the X-RAY department.

    AUNT GABBY could SCRAPE together a TASTY meal from anything - from a single left-over BONE, a pint of good stock and fresh vegetables from our garden; a garden she attended to daily. She was a godsend.

    Each morning as she brushed out my long KNOTTY hair she would sing her songs to me in her soft melodious voice."

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    Replies
    1. Lee: We all need an Aunt Gabby. And too few of us have one.

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    2. Please excuse my typo in the first paragraph...I meant to type "As much as we try...." not "tries"! The redneck coming out in me!! ;)

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    3. Lee; I had an "almost" Aunt Gabby; our next door neighbour when I was 8-9-10. Little old white haired lady would sometimes send a plate of something she'd baked over the fence and now and again a parcel of things her grand daughter had grown out of.

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    4. Love the story and yes everyone needs an Aunt Gabby

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    5. Wow Lee, you did it again:-) Good job.

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  6. The woodworking competition was in a dead heat. Many of the contestants had knotty wood which was difficult to work with. Several used boiling water to soften the wood to bend it into the shapes they desired. Others used tools to scrape the wood and remove the imperfections. There were a number of woodworkers who had taken up the craft in later years wanting to take advantage of all their could do and learn feeling their years and hours were trickling away; each one of them had a can do attitude. Finally the judges called out stop and the woodworkers were ready for the judging to commence.

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    1. Linda Starr: Yay for can-do attitudes. Very, very powerful things. And I hope all the competitors (win, lose or draw) had fun.

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    2. Echoing EC and Lee, this is good. Now, where can I find one of these can-do attitudes?

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    3. What a great twist of all the words. Love it.

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  7. Our precious hours are trickling away, so why not dance.

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    1. Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe: Dance, and sing. Both sound good to me.

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    2. Why not indeed? Even if it is only around the kitchen :)

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    3. That sounds like a good plan to me, too! :)

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    4. if only I could find a partner I would!

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    5. who needs a partner? dance alone :)

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  8. An almost funny story.
    A sad story
    A true story.

    Edna was a pocket dynamo. In her seventies she headed off to visit China. On her own. She had a wonderful time. A few years later she headed off to Egypt. Again alone.
    The small boy next door called her Mrs Gabby, and soon she was known as Aunt Gabby. She had no children of her own, but was a 'universal aunt'. People of all ages and all backgrounds were drawn to her side and the talkfests were endless.
    Disaster struck at home. She had a fall. Her doctor felt that she might have broken a bone in her arm and sent her off for an x-ray.
    Mid way through the procedure she climbed down from the table and shook her fist at the x-ray technician.
    'I know what you are doing' she said. 'You are nothing but a pervert. You think I am tasty and are using that machine to look through my clothes...'
    There were no broken bones but her wings had been clipped. No more the traveller. How we hadn't noticed that her grasp on reality was so fragile is something none of us knew. She didn't stay with us very long after that, and we miss her still.

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    1. oh this is sad. I do wish that it was easier to notice when people are failing mentally, so we can be there for them.

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    2. This happens too many times, where a person alone, with out family nearby, fails dramatically. This happened to my mother, who had a friend in the town who helped but couldn't help her enough.

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    3. So sad but I love the character expressed here. So much vivid imagery in so few words! Well done!

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    4. It was funny and sad, EC. She must have had a lot of spirit.

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    5. Loved this story although sad in the end.

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    6. Ha, ha, ha... I did not see this coming. Thought they were looking through her clothes. Funny EC and clever.

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  9. an interesting set of words, I'll have to see if I can fit them into my current story.

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    1. It's half written by now and will be up at my blog tomorrow, Friday 8th.

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  10. I can't post anything this week. So much to do, so little time.

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    1. Susan Kane: We will miss you, but there will be other weeks.

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  11. It wasn't pretty, but I wrote SOMETHING and that was my goal this week :o) Thanks for the prompts and encouragement!

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  12. Aunt Gabby fixed a tasty chicken. A scrawny kitten had been hanging around the house and she gave it a piece. Unfortunately, the bone was still in it.When the cat began to choke she rushed it to the vet for an X-Ray. The vet discovered the bone and saved the cat. Relieved, she told the cat, "I guess you are here to stay. But no more chicken."

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    1. Sandra Cox: Love it. And I have had to remove chicken bones from a cat's throat before now. I should add that the cat stole the piece of chicken. I would never give them a cooked bird with bones in it.

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    2. Good story Sandra. Glad the cat survived.

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    3. Almost a true story for my dog this week. Love what you did with the words.

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  13. I've never tried one of those challenges. Maybe I should to get nth even creative juices flowing.

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  14. Every Sunday since Uncle Bill died, my Aunt Vera had come round once a week for a TASTY meal. We never realised until my uncle died just how much she could talk, in fact, behind her back we called her AUNT GABBY We now all dreaded these visits and were greatly relieved when she went home.

    Anyway, on this occasion my Mum has made a fish pie which was always delicious and yes you have guessed it, she got a BONE stuck in her throat. We tried everything to move it however in the end we had to take her to hospital where she had an X-RAY, then given a whiff of anaesthetic and finally they were able to remove it.

    Now I know this an awful thing to say but I wished for a different outcome. I hoped that was that the bone would STAY in her throat forever so she could no longer talk! To me, as a 10 year child, that would have been a much better result for everyone, well perhaps not for Aunt Vera.
    ----------------------------------------------------------
    My Mum was a patient in my own nursing home so it was wonderful to be able to see her every day and know she was being well cared for in the last 6 months of her life. She had always been a relaxed loving Mum and remained that way until she passed away.

    As a nurse, I knew Mum’s time was running out and my 2 brothers and sister all visited her on the day before she died. Although I had worked the day shift that day, I knew OUR PRECIOUS HOURS WERE TRICKING AWAY and decided to stay the whole night with her. I did not want her to pass away without a member of the family being with her. She had written many poems over the years and was a committed Christian and ready to meet her Lord.

    She asked me to read her some of her poems and Psalms from the Bible. It was not long before she was asleep but I continued to read throughout the night. As dawn broke, I heard her give a deep sigh and knew she was gone.
    ---------------------------------------------------------

    “ CAN you two not STOP fighting with one another. I know you both have got yourselves into this SCRAPE but having your tempers BOILING over does not help. You would think at your octogenarian age you would have more sense. For goodness sake, join ranks and try and solve this KNOTTY problem out using your expert experiences rather than still be in COMPETITION with one another. Now be sensible and behave”!


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    1. Margaret Adamson: Love them all. Mind you my brothers will still be fighting in their nineties I believe. Sigh.

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    2. I could relate to the wish of the 10 year old for the bone to remain in the aunt's throat. I would have wished that for a smelly aunt of mine too. LOL Good spin with all three.

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  15. I won't read or comment today so I won't be influenced. Meanwhile probably find mine tomorrow or Friday on my blog. Can't wait to read all the others.

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    1. Granny Annie: I am looking forward to seeing your creation.

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  16. Wahoo! What fun. I love hops. Unfortunately as my writing career gets crazier, I have less and less time for them. Too much editing that needs to be done or reading and reviewing for other authors. BUT, I will leave you some cheese before exiting stage right.

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    1. Crystal Collier: Mmm cheese. One of my weaknesses. Thank you.
      I hope your crazy writing career is succesful - and fun.

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  17. Sounds fun! Looking forward to reading all the posts!

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    1. Nas: It is fun. Perhaps you will join us next week. The more the merrier.

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  18. This is a story written by Maargaret Adamson's friend Sue.

    Gabriel had a beautiful face. I had never seen him angry, an aura of calm seemed to surround him even as a child.
    When we were faced with a KNOTTY problem or childhood SCRAPE he would smile and the problems melted away.
    He was my brother and I loved him more than I CAN say. There was never any COMPETITION between us, and I could never stay upset with him.
    I called him GABBY and he called me Titch, I was the youngest. He sorted me out and I trusted him implicitly.
    When I tipped BOILING water over my hand trying to make tea, he was there. When I broke a BONE in my arm and was scared to have an X-RAY, he insisted on wearing a lead vest and held my good hand and I knew I was safe.
    There was something unworldly about this beautiful human being.
    Our parents had us late in life, a gift from God they said and I always felt that we were cherished. My mother's sister, our only AUNT, began to suffer from dementia and was often agitated but when we were with her Gabriel only had to hold her hand for her to calm down. He would encourage her to eat by offering her TASTY tidbits and she would smile at him. "you're an angel my darling boy" she would say.
    One day Gabby was more quiet than usual and I saw him looking at me intently.
    "I'm so sorry Titch" he said, "I can't STOP any longer, my time is up and I can't STAY. I was here to protect you whilst you grew up and now I have to go, you'll be fine my lovely brother".
    I didn't understand but suddenly he began to glow and beautiful pure white wings appeared at his shoulders.
    He smiled once more and looked at me again with tears in his eyes
    "Life is so short Titch, AND OUR PRECIOUS HOURS ARE SLIPPING AWAY. Be happy. Make a difference" and with that he was gone.
    My parents said that it was probably time that I said goodbye to my imaginary friend, but I know differently.
    My angel Gabriel will always keep me safe and love me until we meet again.

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    1. Margaret and Sue: This made me more than a little misty eyed. Thank you.

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    2. Very touching especially for me. I miss all of my imaginary friends.

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  19. Fun! I love this type of writing exercise.

    "Stop! Don't you know you shouldn't run with a bowl of hot water?"
    I set the bowl on the table. "I have to hurry. I'm already late - I'm afraid I'll miss the beer drinking competition at the fair. I was taking the water to Uncle Knotty. He scraped his knee on the oak tree. Can you take it to him?"

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  20. Dear friend, forgive me for leaving a message here but you've always been with Father Dragon and I happen to need your help but I don't have your mail. Could you please drop me a note at fatherdragon1@gmail.com? I'll be eternally grateful.

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  21. Dear friend, forgive me for leaving a message here but you've always been with Father Dragon and I happen to need your help but I don't have your mail. Could you please drop me a note at fatherdragon1@gmail.com? I'll be eternally grateful.

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    1. Al Diaz: I have been out all day and have only just seen this. Email message sent. And I suspect my email is still in my profile.

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  22. This is my second time try the Wednesday words. First time I say it was over at "Rivers".
    I worked it into my blog post. Maybe fiction one would be a little more happy.
    Coffee is on

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    Replies
    1. peppylady (Dora): I loved your use of the words. Thank you for joining in.

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  23. It has been years since I used a Gym for keeping fit, part of my former occupation was spent in the BOILING sun, this in turn was in direct COMPETITION with an occasional visit to the gym.
    The Brochure I received in the mail box relating to this activity states "The only people you will come in contact with are those of your own weight and size problems."
    When I STOP to think about it I realise the people sending me this stuff in the mail have no idea about persons of my age - OUR PRECIOUS HOURS ARE TICKING AWAY and CAN only guess or hope they find someone in need of their services, although in my case they get it wrong despite the fact I am not likened to a KNOTTY Arny Swartznegger - once described by a prominent Sydney Talk Show host as a 'Condom full of Walnuts' I may only be a smigein over-weight and far from a porky, but I would be happy If I could SCRAPE off about five or more Kilos
    You hear gossip about people being mocked and bullied over their weight at the weight loss centres, that is the reason such people mentioned don't bother to attend again when this happens.
    There are people who frequently use the Gyms as a source to procure lovers or for the admiration of others. most of these are failed lothario's and would be Miss worlds but mostly Miss Dubbo's and D grade Celebs - occasionally flashing their parts hoping someone is perving or visa versa - particularly in the showers after a workout.. Going back a fair bit to the time I last frequented a Gym I always tried to be annonymous and got dressed quickly and not talked to anyone - particularly when in the Buff and always turn away from people when drying ones private parts and don ones undies poste haste. and most importantly during this process 'one should never Bend over.'

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    1. Vest: Chuckling here. I went to college with Miss Dubbo (mind you she was gorgeous) but I hear you about the 'uses' of going to the gym.

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    2. yes'bending over' is not a good view in the gym. This story made me smile, I loved it.

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    3. Way to go Vest. Fun story.

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  24. Everyone has done so well....a great lot of fun. :)

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  25. I am trying a short story this week in the Words For Wednesday

    UNFINISHED MARATHON by Granny Annie

    The COMPETITION was fierce and GABBY barely had enough energy to SCRAPE by. The hot sun had her BOILING. She she had to stop for a fast drink and took the water handed to her in a CAN. That was unusual but cans were recyclable and plastic bottles were bad for the environment. Still the metal scraped her lip and she began to bleed.

    Her hair was damp and KNOTTY. She stumbled and wobbled along the way. Suddenly she fell to the ground and was sure that a BONE was broken. “Oh no, oh no,” she moaned in desperation.

    Her AUNT was on the sidelines and came to her aid. GABBY was rushed to the hospital where they took an X-RAY and confirmed the break.

    As much as Gabby wanted to rejoin the race her family and her doctor insisted that she STAY. She was miserable and the hospital food was not very TASTY. Oh if only she could get back in the race and join her fellow marathoners.

    Gabby could only protest over and over, “The competition will end without me, and I have practiced so long to do this. “ She thought of others she had seen fall by the wayside and knew that they joined her thoughts of “OUR PRECIOUS HOURS ARE TRICKLING AWAY...”

    Everyone knew there would be next year. GABBY was sure to put herself back together and happily go for the win through all the misery again.

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    1. Granny Annie; this is really good; poor Gabby though after all the training. Still, there's next year.

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    2. Granny Annie: Love it. And I hope she can make it next year.

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  26. Yippee I'll be back, these word lists make me giddy!

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    1. Karen S.: Looking forward to your eclectic take on the challenge.

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  27. Changed my mind. Have a post ready for Friday. Just couldn't stay away!

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  28. "Hey, Gabby, stay/if only for another day!" The song stuck to my head like an unwanted leech. even when I went to the hospital that morning for my X-ray I kept humming it. Aaargh! If it had not been for my broken bone, I would have gone out for a run. Listening to my mp3 player would have rid me of the annoying melody. My Aunt always said: "There's no better cure for uncalled for songs than a tasty one you have not heard for a long time".

    Greetings from London.

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    1. A Cuban in London: How nice to read of a cure for earworms. And I love your story. Thanks for joining in again.

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  29. These kinds of exercises are fun. Good for the old noggin' :)

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    1. mail4rosey: They are, and my noggin needs all the help it can get.

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  30. Vests story.

    I have a habit of reading The Sydney Daily Telegraph History column and again a familiar name crops up, which gives me the right to air my TASTY BONE of contention.
    The people who write some of this Gush have no more idea what they are printing than my great AUNT GABBY Whose X RAY of her noddle revealed a complete emptiness.
    Let the truth be known, that the said historic person the Parramatta NSW Judge Advocate Richard Atkins, stated to the Governor of NSW Australia Phillip Gidley King on July 8 1805, that as Aborigines are without morals or religion, they cannot give evidence in a case of law.
    So much for that statement from no other than a completely untrustworthy person whose real given birth name was Richard Bowyer ( a likely relative) It would be a great idea to read his Wiki or google profile to get a better picture of this Despot whose drunken antics and poor judgement of those who fell foul of him would suggest he came top of the class in Judge Jefferies (The hanging Judge) school of law..
    Richard Bowyer Atkins was eventually given his marching orders although his Wife and family despaired of him and left earlier for the UK, little is known of his lifestyle after arriving in the UK..
    Richard Bowyer was the fith son of Sir William Bowyer whose country seat was in Denham Court Buckinghamshire. The elder of the five brothers was George who retired as a rear Admiral
    to Radley Oxfordshire after losing a leg during the battle of Ushant 1793 his house now The'BOWYER ARMS is a large Public house Hotel eight miles from Chalgrove where I lived as a child and visited last time iin the UK 2015.
    Another brother was a general in the British Army who served in Florida in the 1700s I believe a fort was named after him in Florida. However, the two remaining Brothers I have little knowledge of.
    I shall have to STAY a little longer to finish giving you more details regarding yours truly Tricky Dickiie AKA Richard Bowyer..
    Richard Bowyer was sent to serve in the British Army and was known to have served as an adjutant in the Isle OF Man Corps,. During this period he became involved in lots of Miscellaneous skulduggery plus running foul of the law and becoming into debt. His father Sir William who despaired of him had words with Lord Atkins who was without issue and who took him in as family until the bubble burst again and sent him packing with his family and a healthy stipend to Australia.
    The only peculiar thing about this TRUE STORY perhaps is that My Wife and I have five sons too and just recenly we assisted our fith son Our prodigal son to move to Queensland up north about 2000 miles from us.
    Like history coming back to bite us Les BOWYER , AKA VEST
    My spell check is out.

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    1. Vest: I am certain that all of us have relatives who we would prefer not to think about. And do hope that your son comes good

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  31. Another story from my friend Sue.

    Sheepdogs are an essential member of the team on any farm. Usually they are collies of all shapes and sizes, scarily intelligent and hugely loyal when they have chosen their human partner. Mostly they have short, explosive names like Pip! or Bob!, My dog was GABBY, long but it worked well and we were a team.

    Gabby had come from a nearby farm where it turned out he had been badly treated for most f his life. An X-RAY showed several healed BONE fractures, and he had a bald spot where BOILING water had been thrown over him after his previous owner had been drinking, he also had an unhealed SCRAPE that was infected and oozing pus along his flank.

    Gabby just showed up one day at our door. It was raining and he was limping badly. We immediately took him in, dried him off and took him to the vets where the extent of his injuries reduced us to tears and indeed, anger.

    The vet reported Gabby's owner to the RSPCA, the inspector was equally horrified and started legal proceedings against him.

    Gabby, of course came home with us.
    Slowly he began to trust us and even AUNT Elizabeth, who proclaimed loudly and often that she loathed dogs was eventually won round and often gave him TASTY morsels from her plate, whilst we all pretended not to see.

    Gabby chose me as his human companion and we were inseparable. We entered local shows and although we were up against tough COMPETITION, Gabby's attention never wavered. He was obedient to the points of obsession STOP, STAY, come by, down, he knew them all.

    Like many collies Gabby's coat had an underlayer which became KNOTTY through the year, so we sheared him along with the sheep. It seemed to give him a new lease of life and although he was getting on in years he would leap, skip and run circles with the younger dogs.

    He doesn't leap for quite so long now, Gabby is 15, and had been part of our family for 11 years. We know OUR PRECIOUS HOURS ARE TRICKLING AWAY now, but hopefully our boy will be with us for a while yet and when his time comes to leave us, we CAN be happy we gave him a new life and he will have left a legacy of love and several generations of little Gabby's.

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    1. Margaret Adamson and Sue: Oh Sue, you really yanked on my heart with this. I am so glad that Gabby found a real home - and wish it was true for all abused animals. Everywhere.

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  32. The RAT's GONE! What happened?
    Billie Sue

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  33. Replies
    1. The Happy Whisk: We did. It would be great if you join us some time.

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  34. Can I link my latest post, which has one of the above mentioned words?

    www.volatilespirits.com

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    1. Anupama K. Mazumder: Thank you for joining in. Which word did you use?

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  35. Our precious hours are trickling away... ->> i like this

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    1. Rachmad Imam Tarecha: Welcome. Some days if feels as if those precious hours are rushing rather than trickling away.

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  36. Under the Porch Light....what a great name:)
    I love your lists and wordy ways. It inspires me
    to lean into my love for writing; somehow feels like a permission slip to be what I am:)
    That's no small thing.
    Thank you!
    -Jennifer

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    1. Jennifer Richardson: Please, continue to be what you are. Which is a HUGE thing. Hugs.

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  37. It has been so long since I've been able to participate! I'm so excited to be able to do so.
    I used the second set. What a ton of fun!

    One day, Aunt Gabby swept the stair,
    She slipped and downward she did fall,
    No graceful leap into the air,
    Instead a fast, ungainly sprawl.

    Her sweetheart did not let her stay,
    But brought her, limping, up again.
    Assuring her, she’d be okay,
    With naught but bruises, bumps and strain.

    Then at the hospital, she sat,
    With X-ray humming busily.
    Attendant reassuring that,
    Her bones were right as they could be.

    Her love, behind the window screen,
    Asked where the tech’s machine was set,
    On Tasty? Rare? Or in-between?
    He hadn’t eaten luncheon yet.

    Aunt Gabby didn’t like his wit,
    Berated him for lack of sense.
    He learned: Before your sides, you split,
    It’s best to know your audience.

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    1. Dianne Tolley: I really like this - and hope that her love does learn that humour is definitely in the eye of the beholder.

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  38. Ref. Richard Bowyer Atkins . Google that name for several similar stories about that Despot.

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