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This above all; to thine own self be true. 
William Shakespeare

DAILY PROMPT ~ 29th AUGUST 2015 ~ 

31/8/2015

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DAILY PROMPT on Word Press
Missing Sequels
If you could create a sequel to one favourite (standalone) movie, which would it be? How would it build on the original?


THE RETURN OF THE BIRDS 
by John Yeo

 I am not much of a movie buff, but my favourite candidate   For a sequel would be an Alfred Hitchcock, movie from 1963 entitled "The  Birds", this is a horrific take of a buildup of bird power, beginning to frighten and attack humanity. We are left with a feeling that the  birds are massing and gathering to launch a full scale attack on humanity and take control of the world. The build up and massing of thousands of different species of birds at the end of the film, leaving an open- ended horrifying ending, is a wonderful candidate for a sequel. Many would say however that to attempt to interfere with a work of such outstanding brilliance and try to write a sequel is pure sacrilege.

 My sequel would continue with the random and increasing attacks on the population, leading to the involvement of the military. Much slaughter of our avian attackers would then begin by all means possible, including flame throwers and gas.  The response from the birds would be to mass together and enter buildings and attack the occupants from within. There would be terror and fear reigning throughout the land as the casualties mounted and the authorities were powerless  to defeat these random attacks.
 Mitch and Lydia would survive and there would enter a new character, a hermit from the wilderness of the Rocky Mountains.
Gabriel would arrive with two huge Eagles circling above his head and offer to rid the leading aggressive birds of their leaders, leaving the hordes of feathered attackers in disarray. 
 There would be a huge price to pay for this solution however, Gabriel requested a huge area of land with a palatial property and an income to be paid for the rest of his life. Some would hesitate to pay any price at all, leave alone the unrealistic demand made by Gabriel. Members of the government would finally agree to his demands as the attacks by the birds inside the buildings became almost impossible to stop. 

The action then would go something like this ......

 "Gabriel then blew on a very high pitched whistle, the response from the Eagles was instant and soon there were a large number of these huge birds in the skies attacking and destroying the leaders of the fearsome flock of attackers.
 Within hours it was all over and some semblance of normality had returned to the lives of the beleaguered populations. A peace settled on the community for a settled period of months. 
 Gabriel approached the leaders and requested his agreed price for the miracle of the return to peace and normality. There was much discussion and the upshot was a much smaller offer than he had requested. A few thousand pounds and a medal of honour, with the freedom of the land forever.
 Gabriel was very irate and demanded his reward without success. The leaders just laughed in his face. The result was devastating as Gabriel drew a trumpet and blew hard and long, one note, silent to the powers of human understanding.
 There was a guttural squawking from a flock of  Crows and a screeching of large Seagulls as a huge flock of birds massed to attack. The birds were back and menacingly massing to begin to attack the citizens again."

 The sequel would finish with a concerted attack on a large public arena during a well-attended sports final, the birds would attack suddenly from all directions. The casualties would be huge from this totally unexpected surprise attack. The army and extermination teams would race to the area but they would arrive to find not a single bird in the area. Then fighter planes would appear to discover the flocks had separated and we're now scattered over a very huge area.

 Copyright (c) written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved.
 

I really let my imagination run riot with this prompt. I think this is the sequel that would be impossible to make.  
There is a very large Rookery near to our allotments and the noise they make is sometimes quite deafening, particularly when they mass to repel a perceived threat.

 (801 WORDS)


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AN INTERRUPTED REVERIE  ~ 28th AUGUST 2015

30/8/2015

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DAILY PROMPT on WORD PRESS
Middle Seat
"It turns out that your neighbour on the plane/bus/train (or the person sitting at the next table at the coffee shop) is a very, very chatty tourist. Do you try to switch seats, go for a non-committal brief small talk, or make this person your new best friend?”


AN INTERRUPTED REVERIE
by John Yeo

 Yes this looks a good place. A restaurant by the lakeside, in the middle of this beautiful park in the city centre. I will sit here and buy a pot of tea and watch the world go by in the peace and tranquility of a Sunday afternoon. 
 "Your tea Sir!" 
 The waitress arrived with a bone china teapot and a single cup and saucer, with a familiar willow pattern blue and white design.
 I am entranced with the swans gliding across the water  and the beautiful surroundings of the lakeside banks.

 "Hi! Do you mind if I join you? There are no other tables available."
This unwarranted intrusion into my solitary reverie was made by a voice with a distinctive loud foreign accent. Without waiting for a reply from me, a rather portly gentleman sat directly opposite and signalled to the waitress.
 "Pleased to meet you! My name is Nathan, I am a visitor to your wonderful land, I am here on a business trip. I am from Quebec in Canada, what a beautiful city this is. You live here all the time? "
 I was so overcome with this shattering bombardment of intrusive voluble stream. I just scowled, nodded and mumbled, "Yes!"
 "You Sir, are a very lucky man." Nathan continued, "There is so much going on here , theatre, the arts, concerts and the historical palaces. Everywhere you look history is overwhelming your senses. Who do I have the pleasure of addressing?"
 This last question came out of the blue, I was so battered by bonhomie, I simply answered one word again. "John!"
 " Well John," Nathan continued, "I really am glad to meet you, I have very little time to spend here and I am looking for a reliable guide to recommend some places to visit and sights to see. My wife Mary is an invalid and she has to have treatment in a clinic here. I am travelling with her and our daughter, I need someone to show us around while Mary is indisposed. I am prepared to pay for the privilege."

 I shook my head in sheer disbelief that a total stranger could shatter my peace and suddenly without a formal introduction or any knowledge of me whatsoever, suddenly offer me a job. I was suspicious of his incredibly easy approach and his whole lax demeanour.
  "Wait! What?" I stammered, my curiosity  aroused. "Why me? You don't even know who I am."
  "John! I have an unerring instinct for an honest, reliable person, I have been coming here to this country for years and I bet you any money you like you are just the person I am looking for. Would you take me on trust and consider my offer. I would like you to meet my family here tomorrow at the same time. Would you consider that?"
 I had no idea what the outcome of this meeting would be as I nodded my head and agreed to his proposal.
 Nathan then went on to describe his business and his home state in Canada, and I began to warm to his friendly attitude as he drew me out of my shell. I described myself and my studies at the University and he listened with a friendly interest.

 The next morning I was very early in the restaurant by the lakeside in the park, sipping my tea and watching the swans floating on the water.
  "Hi John!" A now familiar voice came from behind, I turned to see Nathan my new friend pushing a lady in a wheelchair, "This is my wife Mary."
"Pleased to meet you." I gasped, as I recognised the young lady who was strolling behind them, smiling and laughing.
 Nathan grinned and said. "No more introductions are necessary, I know you and my daughter Marie are great friends at the University. I wanted to meet you and get to know you personally."
 I was so stunned and overcome with happiness, I just mumbled one word.
"Thanks!"

Copyright © Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved
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A WORD WE CAN DO WITHOUT ~ 26th AUGUST 2015

28/8/2015

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DAILY PROMPT on Word Press
No, Thank You
If you could permanently ban a word from general usage, which one would it be? Why?

CAN'T
by John Yeo

 If I could ban a word from general usage and my very own thought processes it would surely be the word can't. In my opinion there is no situation or scenario I can think of that can warrant this cop-out. 
Can't, a shortened version of the two words, can and not, abbreviated by the insertion of an apostrophe, known in grammar as a contraction. 
Can't  is used in most people's vocabulary as an alternative to won't or a way to get across a polite cop out. 
 When I am faced with an impossible situation or something that is out of my physical possibilities, I would make the reason quite plain without the use of this irritating word.
For example when asked if I could cross a raging, roaring, rapidly-flowing, rock-filled river. Instead of saying, "I'm sorry I can't!" I would far prefer to say, "No! That is impossible, I am unable to swim." 
 To say that one can't cross this river would be to infer that getting from one side of the river is impossible. This rules out the use of flight or walking along and crossing the river, using the nearest bridge.
When the Jones's ask us go go to one of their interminably boring tea parties. The response should be. "Not this time, I'm sorry we have another engagement."
 To say that we can't attend is again to give the impression that our attendance is impossible. We should make it quite clear that attending the tea party is within the bounds of our possible courses of action, but for various reasons we shall be unable to, on this occasion.
 The internal use of the word can't can be a severe drawback in many ways.
The sentence, "I can't do this," is to convince yourself that the task is impossible, constant internal references to can't, is to rule out the attempt altogether and continually convince yourself you are not up to the task in question.
 Psychological pressure is brought to bear on your possible courses of action as you are insisting to yourself that the task in hand is impossible because you have internally ruled out any prospect of even attempting it.
"I can't do this," goes on to suggest that there is no way you will ever be able to tackle the task in hand. 
 If one were able to insert the word "won't," in any situation where the use of "can't," has been applied in the past, an incredible clarity would descend on the thought processes as the real reason why many tasks are not getting attempted becomes clear.
 This infernal word is responsible for weakening many persons self-resolve, and allowing a huge self-built wall to hide behind. Positively reinforcing a feeling of inadequacy and a lack of self-confidence in very many day-to-day situations. 
 The self-esteem can be severely weakened by contrasting your present situation with the finished product in any form of creativity. 
To admire a painting by Van Goff or any number of the Great Masters of art, then to step back and say, "I wish I could paint like that but I can't," is to possibly rule yourself out of even attempting to apply paint to a canvas.
 To read a great novel or a series of the most beautiful sonnets by one of the greatest writers of all time, then to convince yourself internally that you can't write poetry or prose like that is to give up the attempt by an impossible contrast.
The greatest hurdle to get over in the race that is run to gain a full, well-rounded self assurance, and a positive attitude to life, is to be aware of the damage that a hidden meaning in an everyday word can inflict on the internal structures that go to make up the thinking processes.
 Can't to me is a four-letter word in every sense of the meaning of a four-letter word. A curse that should banned from the thought processes totally and forgotten.

Copyright (c) Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved.

This was written on a very wet rainy afternoon in response to a prompt on Word Press. I suspect the inclement weather influenced my thinking processes.

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STUNG TWICE OVER ~ 23rd AUGUST 2015

25/8/2015

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DAILY PROMPT
That Stings!
Franz Kafka said, “we ought to read only books that bite and sting us.” What’s the last thing you read that bit and stung you?

STUNG TWICE OVER
by John Yeo

 I was helping out at a church book sale in our church hall in an effort to raise money for the church. Hundreds of books were arranged on the tables on a massive variety of interesting subjects. I couldn't help browsing through the wide variety of books for sale and two volumes almost leapt off the table into my minds eye. 
 The first and probably the most likely candidate for the bite and sting would be a volume of copies of a series of fifteenth century letters written to and from the Norfolk members of the Paston family. I have heard of this family before and we have come into contact with many references to members of the Paston family in our travels around Norfolk. I began leafing through this book and I could see almost at once that I had encountered another very interesting historical family, that will hold my interest for a long time to come. I have always been fascinated by this historical period of English history and I will follow this up on-line at home.
 Most of these letters appear to be from Margaret Paston to her husband John, a lawyer who spent a lot of time in London, leaving  Margaret his wife to run their estates.
 The other book that fascinated me was a large paperback comprising over 1200 pages of very small print entitled "Dickens", by an author I had vaguely heard of before Peter Ackroyd. This book really jumped at me to administer the aforementioned bite or sting, as I have read and enjoyed almost all of Charles Dickens published work. I began to leaf through this huge volume and the more I read, the more interested I became. I have always had a very sketchy knowledge of Dickens background and I suddenly realised I was holding an almost definitive comprehensive description of his life. 
 In an odd sort of a way this was fate at work again as I was thinking the other day that it would be a very good idea to read the life stories of some of the more celebrated authors to get an idea of the dedication and the sheer hard work that is involved in producing great literature. 
 My thoughts then were to instantly buy both books and take them home to study and devour at my leisure. I sat and continued to think, the more I pondered on my next action the more entangled the process of whether to buy or not became. I realised the Paston letters would almost certainly be available on-line and I would have access to delve into them at my leisure. The biography of Charles Dickens by Peter Ackroyd however would almost certainly not be free so if I were to buy one of them the choice was obvious. Then I began to wonder when I would get the time to read either of them, with my spare time taken up at the moment with so many other projects.
 Margaret came to the rescue with the answer to this and suggested I would find time to read this immense book when we next go away on holiday.
 I purchased the biography of Charles Dickens and brought that home for a future very long interesting read. 
 I logged in after a while  when we got back home and I discovered there is an enormous amount of information relating to the Paston family of Norfolk, online and many examples of the interesting letters are available.            
  As I predicted to myself earlier, time will always be a valuable  factor and my time-management will always be a very important aspect of any decision I take in the future. 
  The two books I casually leafed through have led to a very great deal of thought and I am now the owner of a book that is a very intriguing prospective read, comprising 1200 pages of very small type. I have read a very interesting review of this book in "The London Review of Books" today, on-line and that has wetted my appetite to read it. I was unable to read the complete article without signing up to subscribe to the magazine, and what I was able to read convinced me I have made a very good choice.

Copyright © Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved
 


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DAILY PROMPT ~22nd August 2015  ~ GINNY

24/8/2015

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DAILY PROMPT on Word Press ~ 
"Green-Eyed Monster

Tell us about the last time you were really, truly jealous of someone. Did you act on it? Did it hurt your relationship?" 

 I don't ever remember entertaining the feelings of jealousy, certainly not to the point where I would act on it in any way. I was always aware that an old friend from my schooldays would get eaten up with jealousy and he would betray this feeling by his reactions to certain achievements that I and indeed many of our friends made. These reactions would take the form of an aggressive sulking and caustic negative comments. I would then hesitate to inform anyone, particularly this person of any successes and gains I made, for fear of inviting this sort of unpleasant reaction. 

FICTION ~ "GINNY"

by John Yeo

 I can imagine a story of jealousy and intrigue between siblings and the resulting bad blood raised by the introduction of a person of the opposite sex.

 Let us imagine a large farm in the middle of the rural district of Norfield. Farmer Wilson and his wife Alice had farmed their forty hectare farm very successfully for many years. Wilson, (No one ever found out if that was his family name or an unusual first name.), and Alice had six children. Four girls and two boys. After the eldest daughter, Susan arrived, they immediately carried on, trying for a son and heir. Then Sally, Sarah, and Samantha, followed on, one after the other, into a wonderful home full of caring and sharing the family chores. After Samantha arrived, Wilson and Alice began to despair of ever producing the much desired son.
 After several months of a harsh winter in the early spring, Alice gave birth to two bonny bouncing twin boys. There was elation and much happiness in the family. Wilson and the rest of the family were delightedly trying to find suitable names for the twins. Alice suddenly announced that their names would be William and Walter, and they would both share the middle name of Wilson. 
William Wilson Wilson and Walter Wilson Wilson took their places in the family and both enjoyed a happy contented childhood, brought up together happily with their four older sisters. The six children all did well in the local school, impressing and pleasing the village schoolteachers immensely. The twins both got excellent grades in their exams and went on to agricultural college where they met and both fell in love with a very attractive pretty girl, a fellow student by the name of Ginny. 
 Everyone noticed the difference between the brothers from that day forward as they tried to outdo each other in their attempts to impress and win the heart of Ginny. 
  Ginny  was a sensitive level-headed girl who liked both of these two impetuous brothers equally and although she was flattered by the attention in the conquest for her love, she never led either to believe he was anything more special to her than his brother.
  Enter a spoiled wealthy farmers son by the name of Cedric, a villainous two-faced idiot who also had a fleeting desire for the affections of Ginny.  This jealous troublemaker began to feed false rumours to turn one brother against the other brother. Jealous of the friendly firm friendship that had built up between the three friends, Cedric did his best to sow the seeds of discord and stir up trouble by spreading false gossip between the twins. 
 One day Cedric told William that Ginny favoured Walter and she was walking out with him, and he tried to turn her against both of the brothers by  spreading false information and wild malicious gossip, sowing the seeds of doubt and jealousy in the minds of both brothers, one against the other.
 Ginny was a very quick intelligent young lady and she began to suspect this wily fraud and she set a trap for him. Ginny arranged for both brothers to meet her in a coffee house in the nearby town at a certain time, and she made sure she let them both know what she was doing. Cedric meanwhile was busy stirring things up to her about both brothers courting some of the other students and indeed that very night they would both be attending a wild party in town with some red hot women. Ginny feigned surprise and sadly asked Cedric to take her somewhere for a coffee to talk about this very sad shocking situation. Delighted with this turn of events Cedric agreed and escorted Ginny into the darkened coffee house.   
 Cedric was absent from college for the rest of that term and fell drastically behind with his studies. The twins and Ginny remained friends throughout college and kept in touch for years afterwards.
  The jealousy of Cedric cemented the bonds of friendship between these three people for the rest of their very fruitful fulfilled lives.



Copyright ©  Written by John Yeo ~ All rights reserved.

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