Thank you so much, everyone! How lovely you all are. I really appreciate your birthday wishes! <img src="/images/emoticons/icon_flower.gif" alt="flower"> <img src="/images/emoticons/love7.gif" alt="love7">

Wonderful news on the safe arrival of baby Lawrence. Congratulations, Bill!

Hooe the dentist'visit how's smoothly, Larry!

And thanks for the blueberry scones, Gill. Yum!

Storm Brendan has passed over, thank goodness, so we just have 'normal' stormy weather for the next couple of days with 40 mph winds. I do envy you and Elizabeth your warm weather, but perhaps not the stink bugs...

Coffee to get me up and moving sounds great! I have a to-do list to work though today...

Staying inside sounds like a sound plan, Cyn.;)

Think I'll try some of that coffee. Did you brew this ambrosia or did the Caffine Fairy stop by in the middle of the night?

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I think Larry is the Java Wizard around here, Bill! I'll grab another coffee with you. :) We're storm-free today but more high winds forecast for later in the week. Brrr!

Storm Brendan is howling about outside here. Winds will be over 60 mph today, so I'm staying in!

I'll grab a coffee to warm me up. Brrr!

Good morning, everyone! Nice to catch up with everyone's news!

Very interesting discussion on the autism spectrum. Totally agree with Dark, that no child wants to be 'different' and over-intervention can be unhelpful.

However, this side of the pond, it can be a huge struggle for parents to get recognition for their child being on the autism spectrum in schools, in order to access the necessary adjustments and help. It can be a hard-fought battle that takes years.

I had a mature student, in his forties, who is so high functioning he only got assessed when at university. During the 3-year course he was firstly diagnosed with Aspergers and then autism. He got some help (not really enough in my opinion) but it was tough-going for him.

Anyhoo, glad Sara got her new DVD player and that's a very sensible decision about the ballet classes, Larry *hugs*

Coffee needed here, please. I'm about to start building a flatpack bookcase. There will no doubt be lots of frustration and swearing involved!

So excited that Jeopardy has a tournament going with the 3 all-time highest scoring contestants of all time. This is night one of three nights. I love seeing people that think they are as smart as I know I am. (no, of course I never exaggerate)


Enjoy, lovely Elizabeth!

Hope the dental work went well, Larry and that you got your DVD player, Sara!

I'm loving those baby Yoda cookies, Gill!

Coffee for me, please. Have a few things due to be delivered today so I'm trying to plan my day so I can get out and manage to catch at least one of the deliveries!

Yay for Gav! Thanks for letting us know, Gill. And your family feast sounds delicious!

Dark, that sounds like an eminently sensible way of dividing up your working year.

I'll grab a coffee and one of Sara's cinnamon rolls before tackling the ironing pile.

Welcome, Dark! Looking forward to your contributions. :)

Ooh! Birthday cake!! Thank you, lovely Sara. I'll have a slice with some coffee. :) Hope you had a lovely day.

Cheers, Rumps!

I'm getting that message too.

A lemon and ginger tea would do nicely, please.

Happy Birthday dear Sara! Here's hoping you have a day as lovely as you are!

<img src="/images/emoticons/occasion13.gif" alt="occasion4"> <img src="/images/emoticons/occasion1.gif" alt="occasion1"> <img src="/images/emoticons/occasion13.gif" alt="occasion4"> <img src="/images/emoticons/occasion15.gif" alt="occasion6">

At our local swimming pool, you can clearly perceive the pattern of the school year, especially during the holidays. It gets markedly busier at half terms and the Easter break and even at Christmas (if parents really don’t know what to do with their children on a bad day weather-wise, having steadily worked through all the seasonal movies in the nearby multiplex)! These are brief flurries...

Added 21 Sep 2019 | Category Musings | Votes 11 | Avg Score 5 | Views 238 | 12 Comments

“You’re planning on doing WHAT ?” Isabella exclaimed, her voice emerging higher and louder than she expected, but her startled outburst had little or no effect on her group of friends. The men of the party, Luke and Marius, who were normally so protective of their female companions, just grinned at Aelia and Zenobia, who looked pleased with themselves and quietly excited. “But one of...

Added 30 Dec 2018 | Category Young Adult | Votes 11 | Avg Score 5 | Views 420 | 9 Comments

John strode across the bustle of Piccadilly, the wide road alive with people even at this late hour. He was glad to turn his steps towards home and to disappear into the huddle of dark streets that was Soho. He felt more at ease here in the shadows than he did in the melee of the West End. There, flaming torches lit the way, gilding the streets with an orange glow leading towards the...

Added 20 Oct 2018 | Category Supernatural | Votes 9 | Avg Score 5 | Views 425 | 9 Comments

London, Spring 1816 He clearly remembered when he first became aware of a hint of unease; a sense of otherworldly darkness. Before then in his life, of course, he had moments of disquiet in terms of worry and fretting, but they were normal daylight concerns. He remembered as if from a great distance his medical training in the cool grey light of Edinburgh, his careful studies on...

Added 27 Sep 2018 | Category Supernatural | Votes 11 | Avg Score 5 | Views 377 | 10 Comments

Kate stumbled down the neatly raked path, her glasses steamed up with the heat of raw emotion and half-blinded by tears. She trusted she would find her way to her favourite spot in the Walled Garden if she were blindfolded, or even in the pitch dark. That was if the entrance hadn’t been barred by solid metal doors at nighttime. It was as though she was led by a homing device to her place...

Added 09 May 2018 | Category Romance | Votes 7 | Avg Score 5 | Views 382 | 9 Comments

Perched on a craggy outcrop, staring out to sea, the priest opened his mind and his heart to God. In such wild and lonely places, he felt closest to his Maker and His divine word. He was not a young man, and knew his role as a travelling preacher, bringing God’s message to those isolated enough to be those starved of it, would not last forever. Previously, he could put in a day’s march in...

Added 21 Feb 2018 | Category Young Adult | Votes 5 | Avg Score 5 | Views 439 | 5 Comments

Dancin’ the blues Is a complicated business; First, you focus on the rhythm, Then you try to feel How your partner moves, Fumbling to sway with his groove: Most of all, you strain to blend with All the glory of That music, In three or four pressurised minutes, When you concentrate intensely On all these elements.   If you can surrender To the beat, your partner, That music, ...

Added 05 Dec 2017 | Category Poetry | Votes 10 | Avg Score 5 | Views 499 | 9 Comments