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DAILY PROMPT ON WORDPRESS ~10TH JANUARY 2016

12/1/2016

Daily prompt on WordPress ~ Sunday 10th January 2015
Modern Families
If one of your late ancestors were to come back from the dead and join you for dinner, what things about your family would this person find the most shocking?

Image © Copyright John and Margaret

THE INDIGESTIBLE RETURN
by John Yeo

I would imagine if my Great-Great-Grandmother was resurrected and came to dinner, she would be shocked at the speed with which the food was prepared. The quality and the quantity of the food that was presented and the cleanliness and the labour-saving gadgets. Granny would be amazed at the way the children were continually buried in their iPhones and electronic gadgets, she would be shocked at the lack of table manners and polite conversation. Most of all, I think the adorable Granny would be devastated, to see a television beaming programmes during the meal and the level of violence portrayed in front of the children. She may even arrive in time to share a TV dinner and be amazed to see the family not sitting around the dinner table.
The venerable old lady would probably die another death for a second time, if she discovered the levels of degeneration society had sunk to, through viewing certain social media sites and pages.

Copyright © Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved.

DAILY PROMPT ON WORDPRESS ~9TH JANUARY 2016

11/1/2016

The Daily Prompt on WordPress ~ 9th January 2016
Worst Case Scenario
Of all the awful possibilities, what’s the worst possible thing that could happen to you today? Now, what about the best?

Sunrise Sunset

WORST/BEST CASE SCENARIO
by John Yeo

The worst possible scenario today, would be the sad loss of someone very close to me. A phone call to say that a member of our widespread family had been taken ill and suddenly died, would be a heartbreaking blow that would be extremely difficult to endure. I don’t know how I could handle a scenario of this tragic nature. After the initial shock of this unthinkable scenario has left my imagination, the second part of this prompt should be very easy, much easier to respond to. “Now, what about the best?”
The best possible scenario I can dream up for today, a Saturday, would be for certain magical numbers to be announced, that would change all of our widespread families lives forever.
A substantial amount of winnings from these magical lottery numbers would settle several mortgages for several members of the family, and buy homes for several others. In other words we would be able to change the future lives of our family dramatically. We would have money left to favour our personal charities and enough left to enable us to be comfortable for the rest of our lives.

Copyright © Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved.

DAILY PROMPT ON WORDPRESS ~8TH JANUARY 2016

10/1/2016

The Daily Prompt on WordPress ~ 8th January 2016
Keeping up with the Jones ~ Tell us about the one luxury item you wish you could afford, in as much detail as you can. Paint a picture for us.

OUR LUXURY DREAM
by John Yeo

Luxury meandering for every winter, money is no problem to lead our dream lifestyle. We expect the best of everything, following the sun aboard our personal yacht. With a competent Captain and a reliable crew, Island hopping in the Caribbean Sea. Yes, this would be a dream lifestyle for us, sailing the world aboard our luxury vessel. Following the sun, seeking the warmth, our personal dreams coming together. No stress, no interruptions, nothing to fear, visiting the Greek Islands, India, the Sunshine Coast. Wherever we drop our anchor is our home eating the finest foods, prepared on board ship. Candlelit dinners for two under the stars, dancing, romancing, travelling the seas. Our luxury yacht is a magical key that opens the door to our dreamworlds.

Copyright. © Written by John Yeo ~all rights reserved.

DAILY PROMPT ON WORDPRESS ~4th JANUARY 2016

6/1/2016

THE DAILY PROMPT on WordPress 4th January 2015

Happy Endings
Tell us about something you’ve tried to quit. Did you go cold turkey, or for gradual change? Did it stick?

Image from the Net

SMOKE-FREE ZONE
by John Yeo

I think this post is a delve into how people have handled their New Year resolutions in the past. For me the most memorable resolution was made some forty years ago when I suddenly decided to give up smoking. I was brought up during an era when almost everyone around you, smoked, even your parents. There was a culture of smoking and smoke-related adverts everywhere you looked. Advertising hoardings, the television and newspapers were full of adverts for different brands of cigarettes and everybody you came into contact with, smoked.
I smoked behind the cycle shed with my friends, in other words I was subjected to peer pressure in my early days to go along with the crowd. I didn’t smoke much in those days, just the occasional drag or a small packet of five cigarettes when I could afford it. Cigarettes were considerably cheaper then and pocket money seemed to stretch further.
I continued to smoke for many years,
I was subjected to even more temptation to smoke, when I took up employment as the manager of a newsagents shop that also sold cigarettes. The cigarette company representatives would aggressively push certain brands of cigarettes, and I would receive many free samples of the current brand that they were marketing. The upshot was that I was smoking about 40 cigarettes a day, and I would agree that I was hooked on smoking. I did not have to go without cigarettes at any time as they were always available, I was able to walk downstairs at any time and purchase a packet of cigarettes. I did not even have to go out in the rain to the local shops to purchase cigarettes at that time, they were always available.
Then one memorable day, I decided to kick the habit. I am sure this decision was the result of a continuing advertising campaign that drew attention to the hidden dangers of smoking. My quitting smoking was certainly not the instant switching off and stopping, it was a gradual process that involved many failures, then stopping once again after finishing that very last, cigarette. First I switched to a low tar brand and I smoked on for a while, until one day I realised that the only way to stop smoking, was to stop smoking.
I then had the bright idea to chew sugar-free gum every time I felt like a cigarette. I was continually chewing gum, as I worked my way through the interminable craving for a cigarette. Sometimes I would accidentally chew the inside of my cheeks, actually drawing blood. Slowly but surely the craving for cigarettes disappeared and I continued chewing the gum for a while. I then stopped this rebound habit and I have never smoked again in the last forty years.
My reaction to the stopping of cigarettes were incredible, I found I could savour the taste of food, as my taste-buds began to come back to life again. My breathing became a lot easier as I was no longer continually choking up cigarette smoke, and I have saved a lot of money that would just have gone up in smoke over the years.
Stopping smoking forty years ago was a very good call for me.
Forty years after, I see the many restrictions on buying cigarettes and tobacco, brought in by the government having some effect on the young. Advertising is banned by law, cigarettes are no longer allowed to be displayed on the retailers shelves. Above all the most impact has been made by increasing the price of cigarettes and tobacco way out of the affordable price range of most young people.

Copyright © Written by John Yeo All rights reserved

DAILY PROMPT ON WORDPRESS ~2nd JANUARY 2016

4/1/2016

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DAILY PROMPT ON WORDPRESS ~ 2nd JANUARY 2016

Write Here, Write Now
Write a post entirely in the present tense.

NOW
by John Yeo

I have been consigned to this field by Farmer Jones since yesterday morning. I have to be very vigilant in my work which is very easy. I just stand here with my arms outstretched, wearing this silly hat dressed in rags. I don’t like the look of that sky above me, those black clouds have suddenly appeared out of nowhere. I don’t like working in the rain, there was a slight shower yesterday afternoon and the rain was trickling down my nose. I will hate to be standing here in the thick of a storm with the wind blowing, lightning and thunder crashing, getting soaked by the pouring rain.
I have to stand here as a deterrent, I try to look fearsome and scary. This is what I do, that is what I have been created to do. Farmer Jones sowed his seed in this field yesterday in the morning, now a whole flock of pigeons are over there, with gulls and rooks gorging themselves on this free food. I am standing here to scare them off, but they are not fooled at all, in fact one bird has just flown off after leaving a horrible white mess on my hat. Under my feet where I stand, there is a whole earthy world of wriggling worms, slimy slugs, spiders, beetles and bugs. I have seen the birds eating masses or these and not touching the seed at all, I hope the farmer doesn’t find out, or I will quickly be out of work.
Oh! No, please go away you lazy old crow, leave the straw in my body alone. I refuse to become part of your nest. There are two of them now pecking away and stealing my stuffing to breed. Help! Leave me alone. you crazy vermin it’s a good job scarecrows don’t bleed.

Copyright © Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved.

DAILY PROMPT ON WORDPRESS ~28th DECEMBER 2015

30/12/2015

Image © Copyright John and Margaret

Daily Prompt on WordPress ~ 28th December 2015 ~ Fearless Fantasies

FEARLESS FANTASIES
by John Yeo

“Tell me about the fearless Peter Strong, the man the victim copied.” asked the investigating officer abruptly.
“Oh Yes! I tell you the man is trouble! Last week he strolled into a den full of hungry lions! Yes really, lions! He walked out unscathed too. The lions took one look and yawned, as if he was one of them.”
“Hmm!” Murmured the police officer, “You say he is a character who is afraid of nothing, and he will do anything for a dare, to make money!”
“That’s right officer, the man is a total nutcase, capable of any trick in the book. Until that lion stunt. we were all sure he used a lot of trickery to fool the audience. No-one would ever suspect that a fool would try to copy the stunt.”
“How did the victim get into the cage?” Asked the policeman curiously.
“We don’t know! He must have got hold of a duplicate key from somewhere. They say he was bragging to his friends that the lions were toothless. He actually invited them to watch as he entered the cage, then the lions tore him to pieces. So much for fearlessness. The two witnesses are in total shock, incapable of answering any questions right now.”
“Where can I find this Strong fellow?”
“Certainly in the White Horse pub at this time, Peter Strong is a man of regular habits, he always drinks there.”

The pub was empty as the policeman arrived,
“Where is everybody?” he asked the barman curiously.
“Down at the mere! Watching that fearless fool Peter Strong, trying to walk on water! That's a broiling tumultuous whirlpool, he has no chance of coming out of this alive!”
Just at that second a crowd of people entered the bar, following a tall enigmatic looking man, who was grinning from ear-to-ear.
“The drinks are on me everyone! I’ll collect your losing bets later!”
There was a stunned silence at first, then everyone crowded around the bar ordering various drinks.
The officer grinned in recognition. “Ah! Harry the hypnotist, as I live and breathe. I know you well! Our paths have crossed before. I guessed mass hypnosis was the only answer. I am sure the man who knows no fear has no fear of going to prison, for fraud and causing death by false pretences.”

Copyright © Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved.

DAILY PROMPT ON WORDPRESS 24TH DECEMBER 2015

26/12/2015

Daily Prompt on WordPress 23rd December 2015
Exhale
Tell us about a time when everything seemed to be going wrong — and then, suddenly, you knew it would be alright.

Image © Copyright John and Margaret

EXHALE
by John Yeo

  It was a tough decision to take, you had been chosen to represent your country in the major hurdles event. You knew you were able to contest this as you have always been a natural athlete and a top class performer in your field. Training always came easy, as you had developed a routine over many years, six hours a day of consistent effort, toning up your body and honing your technique to a perfect fluent finish. You consequently started winning and producing some very consistent results, in fact you hadn’t suffered the ignominy of a defeat for several months.
Yet sadly you were about to decline the honoured invitation, due to the recent cascade of troublesome events that had intruded into your life and wellbeing of late.
    Firstly, your very special friend Maria, had broken off your long term relationship, she hadn’t given you a real concrete reason for this, except to say she thought you were too intense. You had tried to reason with her but she said….
      “Sorry I don’t feel comfortable, I think you are becoming a machine!”
   Then your brother fell ill with a breathing problem, this was a body-blow as you had grown up together. You suspected the writing was on the wall, but when he had sadly passed away a few days before you received your invitation to compete, you began to feel more and more unsure of yourself.
Your Mother was distraught and spent hours on the telephone to you, depriving you of your sleep in the early hours of the morning.
The fateful morning that put the cap on your sea of troubles, happened yesterday, just yesterday morning, while you were training. You had fallen badly after hitting the top of a hurdle and there was a bad graze along the outside of your left leg.
A friend from the athletics club, Sonya, who was also a nurse, bandaged your leg and reassured you, there wasn’t any permanent damage.
  “Don’t worry, there is no serious damage, just superficial grazes, you will be fine,”
Sonya was a sincere, demure, friendly young woman who always had a smile for you, and treated you like a brother. In fact you often trained together.
    Suddenly you were unloading all your recent problems on her shoulders, the troubles poured out in a flood of emotional exasperation.
  Finishing with the words, “I am not sure I will be able to compete.”

Sonya blushed, exhaled loudly and said,
“Go for it! You will win! I will be with you right through to the finish.”

Copyright © Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved

DAILY PROMPT ON WORDPRESS ~21st DECEMBER 2015

23/12/2015

Image © Copyright John and Margaret

Daily Prompt on WordPress ~ 21st December 2015 ~
Safety First
Share the story of a time you felt unsafe.

ROUGH SEAS
by John Yeo

The most memorable time that I felt unsafe and insecure was a time when we were in the middle of the ocean, aboard a relatively small ship. We had experienced some quite strong winds, and there was a rough swell, that was rocking the ship a little. We were quite used to this traversing the Bay of Biscay.
On that memorable day we were eating a leisurely meal in the ship's dining-room, I was sitting opposite Margaret with a view of the open sea through the windows on the side of the ship. The dining-room was quite high up, on the fourth level of eight, or nine if you include the open Verandah deck.
As I looked up, the windows in front of my viewpoint were underwater, literally underwater! Then within a millisecond or less, there was an huge shocking bang, as an enormous freak wave hit the side of the ship. The shock reverberated through the dining room, tables were thrown over and large metal serving stations were upended. There was the sound of crockery smashing everywhere and food and broken glass was scattered. Several passengers were injured as the tables trapped people beneath them and the room was an area of total devastation.
All of the public rooms were affected and the damage to the fixtures and fittings was substantial. The passengers were ordered to return to their cabins as the clear-up began, we returned to find our television set had been ripped from the brackets that secured it to the wall. The maintenance department were obviously attending to the urgent areas of dangerously damaged fixtures and fittings.
We were confined to our cabins until further notice, and informed that our meals would be delivered to our cabins by the room-service staff. The Captain kept everyone well informed, of the ongoing situation over the internal tannoy system. The weather was still pretty rough and the seas were high but nothing to compare with the original freak wave that had caused such devastation. That was totally unexpected by the officers on the bridge and came literally out of nowhere.
We were confined to our cabins for almost two days, and for us that was the safest place to be. I certainly felt unsafe during those two days of high seas, and I was quite relieved when things were back to normal and our ship was sailing on calm waters into the sunshine.

Copyright © Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved.

DAILY PROMPT ON WORDPRESS ~20TH DECEMBER 2015

22/12/2015

Image © Copyright John and Margaret

Daily Prompt on WordPress ~ 20th December 2015 ~

Take Care
When you’re unwell, do you allow others to take care of you, or do you prefer to soldier on alone? What does it take for you to ask for help?

HAVE A CARE
by John Yeo

"Take Care" is a fond farewell greeting nowadays as people take their leave of each other. The obvious meaning is to be careful as you proceed onwards in life, carefully avoiding the pitfalls and dangers that can be apparent as you travel the unknown road ahead. "Look after Yourself."
In the present context to 'Take Care.' refers to the way one takes care of oneself, or alternatively should one allow others to take responsibility for their care, in the event of illness or a sudden indisposition. My first inclination would be to look after myself, and allow others to become involved at the very last possible minute. I think the up-to-date method of taking care, is to fight any illness wth the self medication that is available everywhere over any Pharmacy counter. There is much advice available to begin to understand the onset of a minor illness, and fighting on alone is the only way to proceed. However the time to ask for help is when the symptoms do not clear up and fear for your personal health sets in. This is the time to ask for the professional help and advice from the trained medical personnel.

Have a Care!

Copyright © Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved

DAILY PROMPT ON WORDPRESS ~19TH DECEMBER 2015

21/12/2015

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The Artist’s Eye Is there a painting or sculpture you’re drawn to? What does it say to you? Describe the experience. (Or, if art doesn’t speak to you, tell us why.)

Auguste Rodin's "The Thinker"
by John Yeo

Wherever or whenever, I have ever seen a reproduction of this incredible work of art, I am entranced. I am sure this is a very allegorical piece of work, full of hidden alternatives. My thoughts are with the mind of the sculptor.
What was in the mind of the sculptor as he constructed this work of art? What was he trying to reveal through the deep concentrated reflection of thought revealed in the face of the subject?
When I ponder on the ponderer and think about the mind that is reflected in the depiction of a mind, set deep in thought. It is difficult not to equate the creative process, reflecting the mind of the creator with the creator of this work of art. Was the sculptor in a creative trance that guided his mind and his hands to portray such an intense reality. The figure of the man has his head bowed resting on his right hand in a position that can only be viewed as deep concentrated thought. One wonders what was actually in the mind of a man who could produce such an incredible piece of work.
In the mundane world of most people's reality, survival and the normal processes of day-to-day living, fill the crevices of an average mind to the exclusion of almost everything else. The dedication required to simply create something as intense and perfect as this amazing work of art must be phenomenal.
To me this represents the complete dedication and incredible mind power that is required to start, build, and complete any complex project or creative accomplishment.
Auguste Rodin's depiction of a thinker always sets my thinking processes off on a wild stream of thought. I can only begin to guess how other minds are affected by this incredible work of art, that would be like trying to read the mind of a bronze statue that is obviously deep in thought.
According to historical legend Auguste Rodin originally created this statue as part of a much larger piece of work. Apparently the figure was supposed to represent the Italian poet Dante Alighieri thinking about his incredible epical story of Paradise and Inferno.

Copyright © Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved.