tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47789957803330506132024-03-13T21:17:20.176+00:00Reincarnated as a WriterMadelineAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01950064713645507386noreply@blogger.comBlogger83125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778995780333050613.post-78853904233270860392014-08-27T16:32:00.000+01:002014-08-27T16:32:08.707+01:00"Revisited Sins" is a step closer...I have just put the finishing touches to the manuscript before I send it off to an editor. So the sister-novel of <i>Despite the Angels </i>is a step closer. I'm calling it a sister because it is in the same genre, as yet un-named, but is not a sequel. <i>Revisited Sins </i>takes place over six weeks in Dublin, and starts with an appeal to you, the reader, to help the 'angels' to sort out the mess their human characters have got into...<br />
Watch this space......MadelineAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01950064713645507386noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778995780333050613.post-83538579679622108182014-02-23T23:56:00.000+00:002014-02-23T23:56:00.908+00:00Am I in my novel?No. I have heard that if you get famous enough to be interviewed in the media, you may be asked if any of your characters is yourself. My answer is a very clear 'no', that is, none of the protagonists or villains is me (or anyone else I know, I have a vivid imagination, which is the only reason to write a book!). But I do have a strong fellow-feeling for a very minor character who appears in the Cretan section: the short-sighted scribe. I have been appallingly myopic all my life, such that were there no corrective lenses available, I could be registered blind. So I wrote that scribe as a flight of fancy, wondering how someone like me might have survived in the pre-spectacles world. I actually wrote more about her than I could let into the novel, or it would have been far too long. But if I ever hear that readers would like to read the fuller piece, (and find out her name, which had to be taken from her in the book), I will post it here. So, let me know!<br />
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I'm not as short-sighted now, having grown 'very early' cataracts, had them removed a year or two ago, and replaced with correcting lenses. So now I wear my glasses on the inside! I was left just a little myopic, so I can read 'bare-eyed', or at least will be able to once a cloudy capsule is removed. I can't wait, it will be great to read again without cloudy blurs floating across the print.MadelineAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01950064713645507386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778995780333050613.post-88008712865937653352014-01-03T20:09:00.000+00:002014-01-03T20:09:16.309+00:00sorry, the sale is over!<i>Despite the Angels</i> is now $2.99, which is cheaper than its original price, so it's still good value. I am having very good reaction from people who have bought the book from me -in other words, my personal contacts.... Well, you could say 'but they would, wouldn't they?', but that's not entirely true, I have long experience in amateur drama and all the ways of saying "I didn't like it much" without actually saying it. So I am taking it as encouraging when people who didn't have to say anything, said a lot. Thank you all!! This year I will publish its sister book, not a sequel but in the same genre.So it would be really great if all my blog followers would tell me what the best genre for <i>Despite the Angels </i>is. Thanks.<br />
And a HAPPY NEW YEAR everyone!MadelineAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01950064713645507386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778995780333050613.post-10073217411382536202013-12-28T17:07:00.001+00:002013-12-28T17:07:46.035+00:0099 cents for two more days!I am participating in a $0.99 sale for kindle, so "Despite the Angels" and other books written by some of my 'indie' colleagues will be on offer till the 30th. Check us out NOW because the prices will go back up.....<a href="http://www.99kindle.blogspot.com/">99kindle.blogspot.com</a>MadelineAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01950064713645507386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778995780333050613.post-54274587164605355092013-09-28T16:27:00.000+01:002013-09-29T22:31:55.407+01:00Art, Craft, and GraftWhew! The book is launched and I am wrecked.... Partly from standing all evening in much higher heels than I'm used to, in the effort to look nice, and partly through major cooking and preparation for the event. I overestimated the numbers, so I've lots of crisps over(not a problem, I've a birthday coming up) and a good deal of the wine. Most of the other food, some brought by my daughter <a href="http://gastronomicgirls.com/">Rachel</a> and my friend Jane, was gobbled up by a wonderful crowd of friends and acquaintances.<br />
The book was launched by <a href="http://victoriamaryclarke.com/">Victoria Mary Clarke</a> and <a href="http://www.spindriftpress.com/">John Joyce</a>, both introduced by my husband (no problem to him, a life in amateur drama and toastmasters helped out!) The talks were about as different as two talks could be - Victoria, who has written about contacting her own angels, 'channelled' them for us and we were given warm messages of encouragement; then John gave a very clear run-down of what is required to get a book out there - art,craft and graft. Goodness, is he right!<br />
Then I gave a short speech of thanks to everyone who ever helped, read a piece from my book and then a description of the meaning of the plaster angels in the <a href="http://dublinunitarianchurch.org/">Unitarian Church</a>, and then we played the <a href="http://tinyurl.com/qyyd66r">'book trailer' video</a>. That was when the roving microphone's batteries died, so as I hadn't thought to bring speakers, we were holding the laptop as near to the fixed mic as we could! There were a few laughs, so someone must have been able to hear!<br />
Sales were brisk, my great son Andrew (watch this space for his forthcoming zombie novel...) was salesman, and each book was given to its new owner in a bag printed "<a href="http://authl.it/h8">authl.it/h8</a>", so friends can easily find it online; and most exciting, one guest works in <a href="http://sweny.ie/">Sweny's Chemist</a>, of James Joyce fame, and he will be stocking the book. So Dubliners: hurry down to Lincoln Place to secure your signed copy!<br />
Pictures were taken by my 'official photographer' best friend Jane.<br />
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With fellow authors Grace Wynne-Jones and John Joyce<br />
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My son Andrew Gordon acting as book salesman<br />
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John Joyce and Victoria Mary Clarke, who both spoke to launch the book<br />
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Me, reading from <i>Despite the Angels, </i>and below, with fellow members of the Dalkey Writers' Workshop<br />
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MadelineAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01950064713645507386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778995780333050613.post-81789497066458374622013-08-21T17:47:00.000+01:002013-08-21T17:47:05.806+01:00Change of Date!!!Sorry, I was told a few days ago that Saturday is double-booked in the Unitarian Church, so I have had to re-arrange my book launch party to FRIDAY 27th SEPTEMBER.<br />
It will start from 7pm, in the Unitarian Church, 112 St Stephen's Green, Dublin 2, and will go on till all the wine is drunk and the finger foods are eaten....<br />
<br />
Nothing is easy about self-publishing, as about life itself. Fate seems to walk backwards in front of me, scattering drawing-pins on the path. But here I am, with sprained ankles from trying to avoid them, and soles with more metal in them than a football boot....<br />
Grilling sausages and pouring wine will be easy in comparison!! (shhh....the Fates are still listening...)<br />
See you there?MadelineAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01950064713645507386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778995780333050613.post-87282611798841326172013-08-06T21:01:00.000+01:002013-08-06T21:01:06.030+01:00The Book Launch PartyThe date is fixed, we all get together to celebrate the launch of "<a href="http://authl.it/h8">Despite the Angels</a>" on Saturday 28th September in the Unitarian Church, St.Stephen's Green, Dublin, at 7pm. Lots of drinks and nibbles, some short speeches, I hope a showing of "<a href="http://tinyurl.com/qyyd66r">A Frustrated Angel</a>", lots of chat and fun, maybe even some music. And of course, paperbacks on sale for €10, with some discounts for bulk purchases. If you are in Dublin, come along and introduce yourself!<br />
I know there are loads of people out there who would love to read this book, and I am doing all I can to let them hear of it. If you know of anyone who would like to be 'in the loop', please spread the word!!<br />
<br />MadelineAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01950064713645507386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778995780333050613.post-77352814307041860092013-07-24T18:18:00.002+01:002013-07-24T18:18:26.205+01:00Back from Holidays and Am A Bookshop!!I haven't managed to post anything for a month as I was on holiday, and first it was too cold so we went camping further south, then it was too hot...<br />
I had planned to finish the first draft of my third book during my 4 weeks off, but I only managed a few chapters. Turns out I'm not one of those compulsive writers who has to be dragged from their keyboard kicking and screaming...<br />
And I so want to be able to write in my bio "she divides her time between Dublin and the Dordogne" but that only fair if she actually writes in the Dordogne - do you think?<br />
Of course another reason my third book is slow is that I am still dealing with selling the first one. 300 printed copies arrived at my house today, with a book launch planned for sometime in September. They are taking up a lot of my living room!<br />
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My Mum, who has just finished reading a proof copy, could find nothing in Despite the Angels to criticise except the things that I had already fixed - which is some sort of record, as she has a fault seeking missile installed in her brain- so I am feeling encouraged! It is almost equivalent to a five-star review!MadelineAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01950064713645507386noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778995780333050613.post-39187457409539660372013-06-26T18:32:00.000+01:002013-06-26T18:33:45.306+01:00Hollywood Here I Come!!!!My 'book trailer' is finished! My huge thanks go to Derek and Maire for acting, to Fergal for filming, and to Nigel for editing. (I just wrote it...) I think it's great: have a look, and pass the word to others who might find it entertaining! <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2E7IzbclZrs"> "A Frustrated Angel"</a>MadelineAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01950064713645507386noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778995780333050613.post-6375918414933939652013-06-12T12:47:00.002+01:002013-06-12T12:51:06.638+01:00Life's rich tapestry...I have sometimes confused people by saying "Life is not just too short, it is too narrow as well" -meaning I want to do lots of things Now, not simply live a long time. But I never knew how many of life's experiences would come my way as result of self-publishing.<br />
Publishing your own book, though fraught with difficulties and puzzles, is actually the easy part. (Well actually writing it is the easy part, but that's another story!) Getting the book out there to people who would enjoy it seems to me to be like the torment of Sisyphus!!<br />
I did a course on epublishing a while ago with Catherine Ryan Howard, who suggested making a book trailer. She showed some examples that she felt would work, and they were all little stories in their own right, not descriptions of the book. So I wrote a script. It is about a man who can't find a cheque, and his guardian angel's attempts to help him. I'm lucky to be in two drama groups, and from one I assembled a team - two actors, a great cameraman, and a film editor. We had two rehearsals, then last Sunday was filming day. I watched with huge pleasure as two friends acted their hearts out (and missed a lot of sunshine, it was the best day of the year, maybe the decade!) and the others wielded camera and clipboard with great skill. We had 74 separate takes by 4pm, when we all went home to enjoy the sun and cool and calming drinks!!<br />
It will be a week or more before this is all cut together to make a less than 5 minute 'play' which I hope will entertain people enough that they will share it with their friends.<br />
It felt a huge honour to have these four great friends (five actually, as the editor's wife came along to take notes; not to mention another partner who provided great sandwiches!) spend this time on my work. When else, in the normal world, would I get the chance to be a film author or film director? And set-designer to boot! It is great to be able to have such experiences.<br />
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Top photo: Cameraman and editor/director. Middle photo: an angel trying to move a table mat. Bottom photo: Human and angel waiting for cameraman to say 'rolling', and director to say 'and Action'!<br />
You will be the first to know when "Listen to your Angel" goes live!MadelineAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01950064713645507386noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778995780333050613.post-15413339716906724882013-05-28T16:56:00.000+01:002013-05-28T16:56:44.066+01:00So what effect does a free promotion have?Over my three-day promotion, which ended at midnight California time, a total of 1248 books were downloaded. All but 13 from amazon<b>.</b>com, <b>.</b>co<b>.</b>uk, and <b>.</b>de . During the promo, Despite the Angels rose and fell, its highest ranking of free books was #455, which was at 2.15pm Irish time on Sunday. It hit a high point of first place in 'Romance-paranormal-ghosts' for a few hours, and then settled to #3. This was a little mystifying, as there are no ghosts at all in the book!<br />
I decided eventually that someone in Amazon must have seen the phrase 'spirit guides' and latched on to 'spirit'. But of course spirit guides are definitely not ghosts!<br />
The book also got up to 8th position in 'romance-paranormal-angels'.<br />
All that is of no importance really, it is what happens now that is of significance. And sadly, that is not likely to amount to much. The book is at 315,003rd overall in amazon. This is probably about half way up, but it is still totally invisible. It would be similar to your book being stocked by a big bookshop, but left in the storeroom!<br />
People who specifically look for either ghost or angel books may stumble across it, at #204 out of 1399 for ghost, and #128 out of 633 for angels; but looking at the others in those lists (only the covers, admittedly) made me feel they were not attracting the readers who would want and enjoy my kind of angels!<br />
So I have more research to do, to work out where to market it next. if any of you have read "Despite the Angels" and are familiar with Amazon's genre selections, maybe you would be kind and give me your opinion?MadelineAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01950064713645507386noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778995780333050613.post-60126182967197087272013-05-25T17:51:00.000+01:002013-05-25T17:51:01.104+01:00It is FREE now !!The big push is on, and nearly 10 hours into the free offer, "Despite the Angels" is ranking 2,890th in the free list, but #10 in 'paranormal-ghosts' which is mystifying as there are no ghosts in the book!!<br />
Please both download the book and pass the word around. This is my book's chance to become 'heard of', and visible to the casual browser.<br />
And it's a cheerful read, anyway, so it's one of those rare win-win situations.<br />
Thanks<br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C438T0E">www.amazon.com/dp/B00C438T0E</a> and <a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00C438T0E">www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00C438T0E</a><br />
if you don't have a Kindle you can download a free 'kindle app' onto your pc/ ipad etc, and then download the book<br />
<br />
And by the way - those who prefer paperbacks can now get one from <a href="http://www.createspace.com/4232303">www.createspace.com/4232303</a>MadelineAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01950064713645507386noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778995780333050613.post-5114347591027537992013-05-22T17:52:00.003+01:002013-05-22T17:52:52.972+01:00'Despite the Angels' FREE this weekend!This weekend, 25th -27th May inclusive, the exact starting time to be chosen by Amazon in USA, my book "Despite the Angels" is free to download to Kindle. If you don't have a Kindle, download the free 'Kindle App' from Amazon onto your pc/ipad etc, and then you can download the book.<br />
If you like the book, please go onto amazon.com and amazon.co.uk and leave a glowing review!! Ebooks depend on good reviews to become visible to the casual browser, and strangely, Amazon only consider 4 or 5 stars out of 5 to be good. A three-star review can help a book to sink further into obscurity, even if the accompanying words are fulsome in their praise! Weird, but that's how it is, so please give 4 or 5 stars unless you think it deserves a bad mark.<br />
For those of who who prefer to read off paper, a little more patience only, it is nearly available in print!<br />
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I'm really looking forward to hearing what everyone thinks of my story....MadelineAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01950064713645507386noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778995780333050613.post-10816665177120781512013-05-15T11:07:00.000+01:002013-05-15T11:07:06.747+01:00Back from a holiday<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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So I survived the A to Z challenge - congratulations to all who did! It was a hectic month, as I also published "Despite the Angels", and formatted it for a paperback version. My first proof copy arrived, and I found I had the 'gutters' too wide, numbers on the blank and 'front matter' pages, and had forgotten to right-justify! So back to the drawing board, and as I write this I am expecting the new proof to arrive. The photo is of me ordering it from Createspace. We have no Wifi where we stay in France, so I 'have to' go either to a friend's, or as here, to the local bar/restaurant. They do a very good rosé wine which pays for my use of their facilities without causing me any distress at all! (They also do very good food, and best of all, they know us and greet us with kisses.) The weather was cold, I think all of Europe is having an extra autumn this year.<br />
I'm back now, and getting back to my third book, as yet un-named.MadelineAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01950064713645507386noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778995780333050613.post-33989931440549814422013-04-30T08:30:00.001+01:002013-04-30T08:30:55.360+01:00Z is for...<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">1)Zeitgeist: I looked this up as it is such a lovely word, and find it
means ‘the cultural trends of a particular period’. I’m hoping that the present zeitgeist may expand to include writings about spirit guides and past lives, so
my novel will be in fashion. But my son is writing his first novel, about
Zombies, he really IS in the Zeitgeist! Watch this space....<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">2) This is the last day of the A to Z challenge and I am off on a short
break with my Mum and my daughter. We aren’t going anywhere beginning with Z,
(actually we will be visiting the Alhambra, so full circle round to A!) but I
hope to fit in a few zzzzs. We all need them after this busy blogging month!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">3) Zingiber is the botanical name for ginger, which makes a wonderfully
relaxing bath. Fill your bath with hot water and add at least a cupful of
powdered ginger. Soak as long as you want - you’ll find the ginger warms you
even as the water cools. Afterwards, wrap up in a towelling dressing-gown, and
feel the heat seep into your bones. (put your hair up or it will fill with
gingery grit!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">Have a good night’s sleep!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">Goodbye for now, and thank you for visiting. Please come back, I’m not
going off-air , though there will be a short break!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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MadelineAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01950064713645507386noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778995780333050613.post-20889468941747933652013-04-29T08:48:00.000+01:002013-04-29T08:48:53.495+01:00Y is for....<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">1) You, the Reader. Thank you for coming by, I hope you have liked what
you have found here. I also hope that you will try my novel “Despite the
Angels”, and pass on the word about it to your friends! You, as the reader, are
the most important person in this equation - would I write if I thought no-one
would ever read it? Probably not....The novelist Joseph O’Connor, writing in
the forward to “Circle Time”, the 2011 anthology of work by the <a href="http://dalkeywritersworkshop.wordpress.com/">Dalkey Writers’Workshop</a>, put it eloquently: “A story,
like a song, takes its chances alone. What the reader does is the truly
creative part of the relationship, for in the unique and intimate courtship
opened out by the book, the little black ink-stains called ‘words’ and
‘sentences’ are blazed into life by imagination.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">2) Yummy! All my life I have been interested in good food, a trait I
have passed on to my daughter, who with her friend, has a lovely blog all about
food. (check out<a href="http://gastronomicgirls.com/"> Gastronomic Girls) </a>A few foods start with Y - yoghurt, yam,
yakitori, and this last one brings me to one of my favourite restaurants in
Dublin, Yamamori. I’m particularly a fan of sashimi.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">3) Yellow Dock is the common name for the remedy Rumex, which is good
for those coughs which are caused by a
tickle at the base of the throat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
MadelineAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01950064713645507386noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778995780333050613.post-87806293169140184492013-04-27T12:13:00.001+01:002013-04-27T12:13:37.097+01:00X is for...<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">1) X is a terrible letter when you’ve restricted yourself to writing on
certain topics! I can’t just make up a character called Xenon, or go for an
Xray.... And I do wonder if I have the Xfactor-for-writing.... <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">X is a multiplication sign, so I am hoping that my sales of “Despite the
Angels” will multiply, my good reviews will multiply, and my energy to get on
with publishing “Revisited Sins” will multiply even more! And may the
multiplication angels visit me with myriads of creative ideas, and the time to
trap them on the page...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">2) Here is another poem, about love -where we all use lots of xxx!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS"; font-size: 12.0pt;"><b>19 and 15</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">Nearly six foot of gangle<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">gets into bed beside me,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">and a beautiful woman<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">brings her duvet and sits on my feet,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">and once again a Christmas morning<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">resounds with laughter<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">and “look at this!” and “what is it?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">and I sink below another sea of tissue
paper.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">An unbroken line of chocolate coins<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">and a-mandarin-in-the-toe<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">seems to stretch back through the years<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">to when they were soft bundles<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">drowsing milkily against my neck.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">But before the past can become more<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">than a prickle in my eyes,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">comes “look at my bubbles!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">and “would you like a marshmallow?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">and the solid happy presence of them<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">breaks the spell,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">and I think, -despite all troubles,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">mistakes and failures,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">to have raised such kids as these<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: "Comic Sans MS";">I have done well.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">3) XXX No common homoeopathic remedy
starts with X. Kiss it better!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
MadelineAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01950064713645507386noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778995780333050613.post-61707558951318227422013-04-26T09:31:00.000+01:002013-04-26T09:31:46.777+01:00W is for....<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">1) Writing and writer: I am running my first two sections together
today, because it’s the same stuff! I have been writing all my life, and was
greatly helped by the school I attended in getting my writing accurate - we had
to write an essay every weekend. But this did not help creativity, so it was
quite a while before I started to write fiction. I started my creative writing
with poetry as that was encouraged in school, but we were never asked to write
an actual story. However, I have overcome that and now have published my first
novel, and have the second to work on for publishing. My third is half written,
and is suffering from my distraction by the AtoZchallenge!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">Here is a poem that has been published in ‘Circle Time’, the third
anthology by the Dalkey Writers’ Workshop. A Marché Nocturne is like a food
court in a village square. They are held during the summer in many towns and
villages in the Périgord region, and we love attending them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 14.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Marché
Nocturne<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Serried poplars, pinkening sky<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">garlic and mussel scented air<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">guitar and accordion set up their cry-<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">it is time to dance at the night fair.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Plump and bald answer the call,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">wives in hand, remembering when<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">these were sylph-girls at a Hunters’ Ball:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">thought they would always be young men.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Ancient lessons guide them round<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">on easy moving feet<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">that music such a familiar sound,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">a happy lilting beat.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">They look down with loving eyes,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">smile through all the years<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">connectedness that never dies<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">enhanced by local wine, or beers<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">which ooze out of million pores<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">and stain two dozen shirts,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">wives fatter now than years before<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">and wearing longer skirts<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">but in his eyes the very girl<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">he held so close back then,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">this gentle move the self-same whirl:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span lang="EN-US" style="font-size: 12.0pt;">Old bodies still contain young men.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">3) Wyethia is a remedy which can be useful for the type of hayfever with
an itching palate<o:p></o:p></span></div>
MadelineAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01950064713645507386noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778995780333050613.post-25055274253269840742013-04-25T15:04:00.000+01:002013-04-25T15:04:13.301+01:00<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">1) Volunteering. Mostly this means to do a job without pay, usually for
a charitable cause of some sort. But it can be seen from the work and
discoveries of Michael Newton, that many people’s whole lives may have been a
decision to volunteer for a tough job. I find this idea makes sense of some of
the ‘tragedies’ of life. If you can see the little Down’s child as an old soul
who volunteered to be here to help her parents learn about disappointment, patience, or
simply love, you can see her life as truly meaningful. This may be the case for
the souls in many difficult situations - they may have agreed to be there to
help those around them in some way, and they are usually very experienced
souls. This does not make it easier for them when they are here, nor should we
forget to treat them with total compassion. For more about this, see ‘Journey
of Souls’, ‘Destiny of Souls’, and ‘Memories of the Afterlife’. (I contributed
a chapter to this last one.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">2) Very. I can’t think of anything that describes me that begins with V,
so will have to put in my Very fine hair, and the fact that my boss once
described me as Very deep! Very is probably a good word for me, as I don’t do
things by halves! Oh, and the heroine of my third, half-written, book is 'Violette' !<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">3) Very high dilution. Sceptics dismiss homoeopathy because of the high
dilution of the remedies, but this is a misunderstanding of the principle of
homoeopathy. Hahnemann, the founder of homoeopathy discovered almost by mistake that diluting a remedy actually made it more effective, not
less.( I</span><span style="font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">sn’t it interesting how many wonderful discoveries have been accidents? Think of penicillin!)</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> Sceptics also say ‘Oh well, there’s no molecule of the active ingredient
in there, so it can’t possibly work,’ and stick with the assumption that it
doesn’t work. A more scientific viewpoint would say ‘It is astonishing that
these remedies work, I wonder how?’ As I said under Q, it is quantum physics
that will eventually work out the answer to that question.</span></div>
MadelineAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01950064713645507386noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778995780333050613.post-37805370876073330202013-04-24T10:41:00.000+01:002013-04-24T10:41:32.048+01:00U is for....<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">1) Unconscious mind. This is also known as the sub-conscious, and is the
part of the mind that is really in charge. Children of seven and under have
only an ‘unconscious’ mind, which is why they will believe anything they are
told - they have not developed the ‘conscious’ questioning part. As adults, we
think we are running our lives with our conscious minds, and to a great extent
we are - it is with this that you book tickets, or look left and right crossing
the road. But it is your unconscious that is most deeply in control, it decides
you are afraid of heights, or don’t like spinach, and it holds those beliefs really
tightly. Until a hypnotherapist comes along, and helps you to access your
unconscious, and tell it that spinach is delicious, that heights are not
inherently dangerous, or more commonly, that cigarettes taste foul! It is also
in your unconscious that all your memories are stored, and it is there that we
go to pull out the deepest truths about you. It is there that your ‘past life’
memories are sitting, whether you believe these to be genuine memories, or only
your mind or spirit’s way of making up a story to explain you to yourself.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">2) Unitarian: I signed up to become a Unitarian about two and a half years ago, 18
months after I started attending the beautiful Unitarian church on Stephen’s
Green in Dublin. I have found a lovely supportive community there, which as
someone from a tiny family, I truly treasure. If you would like to learn more
about this liberal non-creedal religion, look at <a href="http://www.unitarian.org.uk/intro/believe1.shtml">“Are you a Unitarian and don’t know it?”</a> which is where I did my initial research about four years ago.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">3) Urtica. This remedy is made from the nettle, and is good for any skin
conditions that resemble nettle-rash.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
MadelineAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01950064713645507386noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778995780333050613.post-71475749816485595842013-04-23T08:58:00.000+01:002013-04-23T08:58:49.415+01:00T is for...<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">1) Time fills itself up! I have many things I could do with every
second, but writing is Top Dog at the moment! So all my other activities,
except those that make money, are on a back burner, until ‘Despite the Angels’
and ‘Revisited Sins’ are up and running. ‘Angels’ is available for kindle
download, but so far is not moving, please help change that! The paperback will
be out soon, just as soon as I find that elusive Time to go on Createspace
(Amazon) and click “go” !<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">2)Teacher. My mother was a secondary school teacher, so I decided that I
certainly did not want to be a teacher ‘when I grew up’. Unfortunately this was
probably a bad decision, as there is a lot of the teacher in me (I think you
can probably see that by reading these posts, I have an instinct to inform!)
and although I would have hated to be a class teacher, especially for small
children, I think I could have been some type of teacher on a one-to-one basis.
I enjoy medical consultations most if there is an education aspect to them, as
my inner teacher gets some time in public.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">3) Thuja This will help the body to clear itself of warts. It works for
about 50% of people, and the other 50% need a different remedy, perhaps ‘Ant
Crud’. To try Thuja, suck one tablet of either 30C or 6C potency 3 times a day
for 3 consecutive days weekly, for 4 weeks. If the warts have not gone 3 weeks
after you stop, repeat the process. If they still don’t clear, you are in the
unlucky 50%!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
MadelineAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01950064713645507386noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778995780333050613.post-13710671445389089392013-04-22T15:55:00.000+01:002013-04-22T15:55:24.264+01:00S is for...<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">1) Soul Groups. Everyone has heard of soul mates, but not everyone knows
they actually have a whole bunch of special soul friends. ‘Life between lives’
regression sessions will usually include a visit to the soul group which is
mostly of about a dozen souls. These can be the souls of people who are present
on earth, and the subject may recognise them as their brother, or friend, or
colleague. We all leave some of our energy behind in the spirit world so we can
literally be in two places at once. Our group may be the one we were put into
as a baby soul, or if we are more advanced it can be a special interest group,
who are all studying the same aspect of existence, or learning to carry out
some particular task. Those who have incarnated without many members of their
soul group can feel very lonely in their life, and this can be a deliberate
choice, maybe to learn self sufficiency.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">2) It is said that life is too Short, but I also think it is too narrow!
I have many interests, and not enough time to do them properly. So maybe I am a
bit of a Jack of all trades. As a child I learnt to Sail dinghies, but this
fell away after my brother and sister joined the family when they were 20
months old and I was 15. They were a handful, and sailing is not an ideal
occupation with two tiny children to watch!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">Later in life I discovered Scrapbooking, and still do it, although at
the moment I have been so busy getting my book ready to publish I haven’t had
much time to play with glue paper and scissors. I find sitting in my little
craft room making a foot-square page with one to four photos on it, and
embellishing it with many different types of decorations is like a meditation,
and I come away from my table not only with a beautiful page to add to my
album, but with an enormous feeling of peace.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;"> 3) Symphytum. This is ‘knitbone’
which is helpful after fractures as it helps bones to heal. It can also be used
in cases of ‘non-union’ when a bone has failed to heal.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
MadelineAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01950064713645507386noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778995780333050613.post-80661921019948477252013-04-20T15:52:00.000+01:002013-04-20T15:52:17.453+01:00R is for...<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">1) Reincarnation. This features in “Despite the Angels” and my next book
“Revisited Sins”, but both are works of fiction and it is not necessary to
believe that reincarnation happens to enjoy the story. All the same, it is a fun way to look
at the world and for me at the moment, it explains some of the crazy things
that happen. In the ancient world it was a much more accepted idea than it is
now, and there are examples in the Bible, as well as in Jewish and Islamic
writings that show that the writers thought that reincarnation was the case. In
the early Christian church, it was accepted as fact until the Ecumenical
Council meeting in 533AD. This meeting of the church was gerrymandered by the
Roman Emperor Justinian of Constantinople who did not believe in reincarnation
(or at least did not want Christians to, possibly because if your followers
think they have more than one life in which to get it right, they are harder to
control) and who packed the meeting with 159 of his followers from the Eastern
Church, when only 6 of the Western branch of the church were in attendance. Pope
Vigilius was so incensed by this that he refused to attend the meeting (and was
subsequently persecuted by Justinian - imagine if this happened now..) so according
to the Catholic Encyclopaedia this meeting was not genuine and its decisions
are actually null and void - so it is only a fluke that all of us who were
brought up Christian were not taught routinely that we would have future lives!!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">2) Reader. I am an avid one, and used to be a very fast one. Going on a
holiday was always a bit nerve-racking, would I bring enough books? I had to
pick carefully, nice thick books, not too frothy, to slow myself down a bit,
books I wouldn’t mind discarding when I had read them, which was very
difficult, books in my family have almost household-god status! Then I got a
Reader and life changed. My first one was a Sony EReader, which was okay, but I
had constant problems getting books off the Waterstone’s site to actually go
onto the device; I haunted the local Sony shop, and a lovely guy Greg there had
almost as much difficulty as me. Then I got a Kindle, and its
one-stop-you-don’t-need-your-pc function is a dream! But my eyes aren’t as good
as they were, (since cataract ops they are full of huge floaters, so just
making the print bigger doesn’t always work) and my reading speed has dropped,
so my kindle is full of books I haven’t read yet. So is my house, of the paper
variety!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">3) Rhus Tox This is a good medicine for muscle or joint pain which is
worst after being immobile, but which improves on being worked out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
MadelineAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01950064713645507386noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778995780333050613.post-16193322133543866242013-04-19T12:18:00.000+01:002013-04-19T12:18:29.842+01:00Q is for...<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">1) Quantum. Physics or mechanics, the quantum version, will explain many
things in the coming decades. It is said that when you ‘go very big or very
small, there is nothing there but patterns’. Patterns of what? This is the
awe-inspiring part, as at a sub-molecular level there are no atoms, no protons,
no anything. So the patterns are not patterns ‘of’ anything, they are just patterns.
I think this is where the explanation of how very ‘dilute’ homoeopathic
remedies work will be found. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">In journeys into the spirit realm, it is found that there is no time,
which is a construct that goes with the material world. Quantum mechanics shows
that particles can become energy, and also can disappear ‘here’ and reappear
‘there’ instantly, so time has not had a part in it. As I am not a quantum
physicist I will stop now, and just say ‘there are more things in heaven and
earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy’. Thanks to the Bard!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">2) Quiet. I am a quiet person by nature and, like my mother and
daughter, speak softly. This works against me in my hobby of amateur drama, as
no director at auditions believes I will be able to raise my voice and be heard
at the back! This is quite untrue, as anyone who knows me well can tell you -
if I am cross I can shriek like a fish-wife...<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">3) Quinine. This is the substance which led Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843) to
discover homoeopathy. He was a doctor in Leipzig, and apparently was a grumpy
character, which may have been the reason he needed to supplement his medical
income by translating medical books. In one of these he read that the reason
quinine cured malaria was that it sedated the stomach. He doubted this, and decided
to test it by taking quinine even though he was well. He was amazed to find
that he developed symptoms that were exactly the same as those of malaria.
Instead of throwing the quinine away in disgust and going for lunch, he made a
leap of imagination and wondered “If that drug can cause what it can cure, I
wonder if that is true of other substances?” He carried out many experiments
and found that this is in fact the case, which led to the statement of the
homoeopathic principle ‘like cures like’ or ‘similia similibus curentur’. The dilution of the remedies is NOT the main
principle of homoeopathy, and was only discovered later by Hahnemann. For more
about homoeopathy, see the entry on my site, <a href="http://madelineannstringer.ie/">madelineannstringer.ie</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
MadelineAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01950064713645507386noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4778995780333050613.post-2095285551769995942013-04-18T11:33:00.000+01:002013-04-18T11:40:21.356+01:00P is for....<br />
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">1) Paperback Proof copy. This came yesterday, and is SO exciting! It looks
okay, except for having page numbers on the ‘front matter’. But I already
worked my hardest to get rid of these, with no success. So the book will be up
for purchase very soon.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZT7Jb2KaFVY/UW_LUMHnOwI/AAAAAAAAADc/YnRBJWXMMhw/s1600/Proof+copy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ZT7Jb2KaFVY/UW_LUMHnOwI/AAAAAAAAADc/YnRBJWXMMhw/s320/Proof+copy.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">2) Puffin Club. I was a founder-member of the Puffin Club which was set
up in 1967 (at least the magazine started then, I could have sworn I was younger when the club began...!)by Kaye Webb who was the Editor of Puffin books(Penguin’s
children’s label). I received the magazine, Puffin Post, I think it was quarterly, and a
badge which I wore proudly -and so I should, I had read every Puffin book, my
mother had a standing order with Hodges-Figgis (Dublin’s biggest and wonderful
bookshop) to keep her the new releases. When they arrived she would bring them
home, there were usually two at a time, and hand me one. Then we would sit at
either end of the couch and read, swapping when we were finished, although I
suspect she finished first and read something else until I was ready! Mum got
her “M.Ed.” degree based on a thesis on children’s literature, and I am very
grateful to her for exposing me to good writing. (When I first read an Enid
Blyton, brought to me as a gift by a birthday party guest, I recognised it as
inferior and never bothered with another!)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">Back to the Puffin Club. My claim to fame was that I came second in one
of the competitions. We had to finish a story, they had provided one page, and
I think I wrote another one or two. I have no idea if I got a prize, but the
warm feeling has stayed with me ever since.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-IE;">3) Phytolacca. This is another sore throat remedy. When alternated with
Hepar (see H) they will fix most sore-to-swallow throats.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
MadelineAnnhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01950064713645507386noreply@blogger.com6