willowdot21

Song Lyric Sunday. Captured on film.

This week our host par excellence Jim Adams of Newepicauthor has as always set us an interesting and fun prompt for Song 🎵Lyric Sunday. This week Jim asks us to find a song about a picture,photo or view. Thank you Jim you are a hero.

In 1962 I was nine and my brothers and sisters where all into skiffle and all jive mad. … I was even then into music . I liked this Joe Brown and his group who were called the Bruvvers . He played on his lisp and cockney accent. Well I grew up with Joe Brown around and he still is bless him.

“A Picture of You” is a song by English entertainer Joe Brown. Written by two members of his backing band, guitarist John Beveridge and bassist Peter Oakman, it was a number 1 UK hit single for Brown in the summer of 1962. Brown recorded his version at Pye Records, and the single was released as Piccadilly 7N 35047. More info here

Lyrics.

In the night there are sights to be seen. 
Stars like jewels on the crown of a queen
But the only sight I wanna viewIs that wonderful picture of you
On a streetcar or in a café
All of the evening and most of the day
My mind is in a maze, what can I do?
I still see that picture of you
It was last summer I fell in love
My heart told me what to do
I saw you there on the crest of a hill
And I took a little picture of you
Then you were gone like a dream in the night
With you went my heart, my love, and my life
I didn't know your name, what could I do?
I only had a picture of you
Then you were gone like a dream in the night
With you went my heart, my love, and my life
I didn't know your name, what could I do?
I only had a picture of you
Oh, yeah, that wonderful picture of you
I'm left with a picture of you
Oh, yeah, that wonderful picture of you.

MusixmatchSongwriters: Peter Oakman / John James BeveridgeA Picture of You lyrics © Peermusic (uk) Ltd.

I was going to write a lot more but yet again WordPress keeps sabotaging me…I give up.. I am posting now before the hungry happiness engineers eat my post again!

Lest we forget. Remembrance Sunday.2026.

Today is the nearest Sunday to Remembrance Day here in the UK . As well as the dead of WW1 AND WW2 WE will not be forgetting all those men and women injured and killed in more recent conflicts.

I thought I would remember the women for WW1 and WW2 who took over all the jobs that the men who had been sent off to war left empty here in what was known then as Great Britain. Not only did the women do these, sometimes very dangerous jobs but they looked after the families and homes. Now I do not wish in any way to detract from the huge sacrifice of all the men who fought for our countries during the two wars .

Above a mixture of first and second Word War Photos from Google.

These women made the ammunition for Tommy.

Dangerous work,they died too it was not funny.

Women became officers of the law. Something never heard of before.

Nurses, drivers even pilots for planes.

Remember them we will never know their names.

Someone had to give the farmers a hand.

Remember the men were at war in a foreign land.

The members of the ” fairer sex ”

Drove the buses, trains and lorries.

Kept all essential job going , however complex.

They also fed the family and kept the Home Fires Burning.

©willowdot21

During WW1 and WW2 ordinary women filled in the gaps that the men who had been sent off to war left. It is not always remembered that they worked in the factorys drove buses trains and flew planes and probably sailed ships. They became members of the forces, nurses at home and on the war front too. They were also seconded into the police these jobs were almost unheard of for women before the first world war. They also had to do hard farm labour on the farms to help keep the food supplies going. They were also in the forces and the SOE. Read here.

And the Men.

We sent them off to war
These bright young men
We had no knowledge of what they saw,
They came home, bright young men no more .
Yes though brave they were no longer whole
Those that survived had no soul.
Many died,the lucky ones, death to them was kind.
Those who returned were faded in body and in mind.
Their loved ones at first relieved
Soon found they had much cause to grieve.
Though there, in body broken,
Their fears left unspoken
Their minds were left behind.
They went out whole, these bright young things.
They returned lost, holding on by gossimar strings
They went full of pride for God and King
They ran head long into hell
On return they could not relinquish it’s spell.
So we had a nation of half men, half ghosts
Fearful, their heads still had them at their posts.
The trenches and the blasts of bombs, the smell of death
Clung to them and bled them dry, the whole in body, the blind of eye
The amputee, it was as if they had never left.
We sent them off to war,
These bright young men
We had no knowledge of what they saw,
They returned, bright young men no more.
©willowdot21

WE MUST NEVER FORGET.

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS November 7, 2026 Notebook.

Ping went my phone well actually its more a biddy, biddy bing bong since I’ve had this new phone!…it was Linda with our Friday Reminder for Stream of Consciousness Saturday! She said “Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “notebook.’” Use it way you’d like. Enjoy!”

I used to use a notebook for lots of different things, when I was a child I used notebooks for writing stories, drawing pictures and to do lists. As I grew, I used notebooks for school, work,addresses, diaries,shopping lists and writing books. Then the phone evolved into a smart phone, and I stopped using a notebook…it had become obsolete.

Infact a notebook is also a name for a table these days.

Squiggles on the page
Moments of pleasure  years of rage
Empty notebooks ripe to fill
Along came the smartphone
The notebook to kill.

Haiku Fridays with J-Dub #28

Jilly says: ” Welcome to Haiku Fridays with J-Dub. Each week, I’ll post a haiku and a photo to spark reflection, emotion, or imagination. Your challenge is simple: write your own haiku inspired by it—or on any theme that moves you—and share it in the comments.”

This week Jilly’s haiku challenge caught me with a sting in its tale. …so here I’d like to lighten the mood…

Read Jilly’s Haiku on her page.

See mine below.

Dawn breaking 
Smashing light around 
So clumsy 
©willowdot21

#TankaTuesday Poetry Challenge No. 89, senryu, 11/3/26

This week our fabulous and busy mentor Colleen is our host for this week’s Tanka Tuesday. Here is what she had to say about her prompt for this week.

I really didn’t want to write anything political, or about the mid term elections in America. So instead I have chosen to write about a happy event in our family. Our youngest son, wife and our two grandsons have bought home a lovely bundle of love …Jessie a Golden, Labrador Retriever. …Jessie is already deeply inbedded in everyone’s hearts.

She arrived
Nine weeks full of bounce
Retriever

Brown eyed
Soft to touch
Love me

I  will worship you
Please  just love me in return
Loyal now to you

©willowdot21. Jessie at 9 weeks.

Song Lyric Sunday: November, November.

This week Jim , our Epic Leader at Song Lyric Sunday wants to pick a singer, songwriter, composer, producer or musician or all of the aforementioned born in November for this week’s prompt.

James Richard Steinman (November 1, 1947 – April 19, 2021) was an American composer, lyricist and record producer. He also worked as an arranger, pianist, and singer. His work included songs in the adult contemporary, rock, dance, pop, musical theater, and film score genres. He wrote albums for Bonnie Tyler and Meat Loaf, including Bat Out of Hell (one of the best-selling albums in history), and also wrote and produced Bat Out of Hell II: Back into Hell and Tyler’s Faster Than the Speed of Night.

His most successful chart singles include Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart”, Air Supply’s “Making Love Out of Nothing at All”, Meat Loaf’s “I’d Do Anything for Love (But I Won’t Do That)”, the Sisters of Mercy’s “This Corrosion” and “More”, Barry Manilow’s “Read ‘Em and Weep”, Take That’s “Never Forget”, Celine Dion’s cover of “It’s All Coming Back to Me Now” (originally released by Steinman’s project Pandora’s Box) and Boyzone’s “No Matter What”. Steinman’s only solo album, Bad for Good, was released in 1981.Steinman’s work also extended to musical theater, where he began his career. He was credited with the book, music, and lyrics for Bat Out of Hell: The Musical, lyrics for Whistle Down the Wind, and music for Tanz der Vampire.

LYRICS HERE AT GENIUS

Jim Steinman is an absolute hero of mine…if my WordPress account wasn’t playing me up so much I would say much more… but the app is acting like a spoilt child so this is my 5th attempt to publish something so it now or never.

You can read more about him here!

HAIKU Fridays with J-Dubb

Here is my interpretation of Jilly’s photo.

JILLY SAYS.

This is about voice, reflection, and the quiet power of small poems.

With spit and polish
Clear as a mirror image
March into new life

See Jilly’s original post here.

Sanctuary…A story for Halloween.

SanctuaryRachel ran, ran as she had not run for months. The moonlight urging her on she gave her blood lust free range for once . She looked magnificent. By midnight she had killed and disposed of a huge bear and was having her normal internal fight. The werewolf in her craved a human, yet the tiny but strong human part of her was fighting the craving. Stopping in a clearing Rachel got the scent of something she craved almost as much as human, Vampire! It was close and it was female and the way she felt right now she could easily take her on. Standing stock still and sniffing the air she located the Vampire. Slowly and silently she crept up to a line of trees, fully aware that she was in the open and at a disadvantage she went carefully and stealthily . As she entered the wood she saw ahead of her a female Vampire bathing in a shallow looking pond. Rachel felt a shudder of sheer want pass through her . Closing in, she moved silently. The Vampire, at first unaware that she was not alone, suddenly felt Rachel’s hot breath on her neck. In a flash she rounded on Rachel. They stood fang to fang Rachel on the shore the Vampire in the water.In a flash the Vampire lept out of the water and landed in the snow behind Rachel, who turned on her hind legs and lunged at her victim. Biting the Vampire in the stomach she was spurred on by the taste of flesh. The Vampire let out a scream of anger and dug her nails deep into Rachel’s back. Rachel flicked the Vampire off of her back and pounced on her. The Vampire was trying to bite into Rachel’s neck but Rachel was high from lack of real prey for so long. Biting deep into the Vampire’s chest, Rachel was soon covered by the blood oozing out covering her face and fur. Quickly she ripped out the Vampire’s heart and ate it then just to make sure she ripped off the Vampire’s head , then she quickly lapped up as much blood as she could before the Vampire and her scarlet blood turned to ashes in the snow.Rachel felt elated she arched her back and throwing back her head she howled at the moon loud and long. As she turned to leave the wood she froze, on the wind she could sense and yes, smell, more Vampires, at least three of them. As she fought madly to clear her mind of moonlight and blood she saw a strange domed building on the far side of the clearing . She ran for the door she had no idea why she was heading to the building… she just felt drawn towards it. Halfway across the clearing to her grateful amazement it started to snow heavily covering her paw prints. As she reached the door her luck was still holding and it was open. As she slunk inside the door closed silently behind her.

Outside she heard the Vampires arrive. They spent what seemed like hours trying to open the door but failing. Walking into the gloom she saw light and felt warmth coming from a fire at the far end of the circular room in which she stood. The fire drew her in and she approached , all the time looking at the writing on the wall above the fireplace.“This is Sanctuary to all but Vampires”. Feeling exhausted Rachel curled up in front of the fire and slept.

Outside the Vampires tried to enter the Sanctuary without any luck. They then searched for their sister…in vain. Just before dawn they left to seek shelter.

You can read the whole story so far here at The Vampire , the Witch and the Werewolf.

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS October 31, 2026

Ping went my phone. It was Linda with our SoCS prompt. Here is what she said.

“Friday has arrived and I’m here with your Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt. So on Monday I think it was, I went to the store to grab a pumpkin and pulled a muscle in my back lifting it out of the giant cardboard box outside the store. I’m having a hard time doing anything, including sitting. Getting older sucks, I tell you. Anyway, happy Halloween! Here’s your prompt for this week:

Your Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “costume.’” Use it way you’d like. Have fun!“

Hey Linda I hope your back is on the mend.

True Story.

Damsel in distress

Her two piece costume strap broke

I managed to fix it

My old skills well remembered.

A hairgrip, patience, sorted.

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

Some years back, on holiday in St. Lucia I went into the ladies, at the swimming pool one afternoon. There were two young women struggling to fix one of their costumes.

I offered to help as I have small fingers and I used to be a window dresser so used to fixing garments of all types. I did,and fixed the costume and quickly. They insisted I have a tequila… I had to pretend to drink it as I had already had three Italian Mojitos! I was their new best friend and somewhere there are photos of me at a pool bar with two glamorous American strangers 😁💕💕💕

I wonder where they are now!

HI MY LOVELY Friends.

My dear friends on WordPress…I have been here trying to keep up and read as many of your wonderful works as I can but life has been so busy and full of things I really have had to deal with.

So today I have had to delete a lot of your posts… I hope you will forgive me! I have every confidence that I shall receive lots more of your lovely posts.

Tomorrow I have to go out and will be out all day… hopefully I will be back to normal, whatever normal is by Thursday.

Please be patient with me I love you all .