Retired escape

So I have been retired for a month  and yet no pension, thank you NHS Pensions... pension payments are delayed because I had not been given the correct information before retiring and asked to contact NHS pensions on the date of retirement. So in fairness, not all their fault but it is still no picnic...

Everyone says, make the best of being retired, 'you have done enough for everyone' etc
Well I wasn't ready for this people, I cannot get used to it.
Retirement is an escape from the trials and tribulations of work.
The continuing stressor and noxious stimuli are lessened and now one can focus on improving quality of life and in my case, getting better. However the hidden stress remains.
I am now focused on bettering myself where possible and devoting some quality of life to me.
This includes improving diet and exercise.
We have joined the local sports centre and are going swimming a couple of times a week. By swimming I mean very little energetic swimming and light floating and paddle. My spinal fractures do not allow too much of the old racing style I had always adopted. No more 'bombing it' down the pool and it's more chilled...

I have to move more, after all  I was very active in my work and now, with the added residual effects of Encephalitis and the fractures in my spine, pain and poor mobility, I have put on a fair amount of weight.
Since Encephalitis struck, I have put on a frightening amount of weight on, four stone in 2 days short of a year.
You could say its because of my overactive.... Knife and fork. LOL
The blame could also go on the ready access to the cornucopia of food in our kitchen cupboards and my love for chocolate.
Being at home is too easy to access 'goodies' and although we have a large house, let's face it, it's not a million miles to and from the kitchen.

The ability to fill my day with physical challenges in order to rehabilitate me are limited due to the catalogue of ailments I have acquired over the last year. I need to strengthen myself up and undertake quite a bit of exercise per day, probably more than when I was working but work also meant quite a physical amount of effort and I maintained my weight.
The exercise regime is less strenuous on my calorific burning and therefore the balance is in the red. I had lost a lot of muscle mass during my ITU admission so had to eat more but now, I have topped the scales and got to the heaviest I have ever been.
As if I didn't have enough to contend with, I now have type 2 diabetes.

However, it's not all doom and gloom, having been told this, I have lost half a stone in a week... That is good going and its heading in the right direction
Maybe I can get to the weight I was at in the shoot for this cover?
 I hope so

Interview with C. P. Ridgeworth

This is a rare interview with Gibraltarian author Clara P Ridgeworth. She consented because we both originate from the rock, however I don't know her true identity... We will hopefully find out a little more about why.

Q: Thanks Clara, tell us a little bit about you.
CP : well, I am from Gibraltar, I have written 6 books and Clara P Ridgeworth is obviously not my name, this is a pen name solely due to the contentious nature of Battle of the three miles.

Q: Why have you taken these steps?
CP: I am am based in the North East of England but all my family remain back home in Gibraltar.
I do not want any reprisals against them from our neighbours, Spain, because the book may cause a little tension in an otherwise volatile environment, exacerbated by BREXIT.

Q: can you give us a synopsis of the book, Battle for the three miles?
CP: It is simply every Gibraltarians nightmare, spanish splinter groups, an invasion by Spanish forces and the ensuing battle for that peninsula we call home. It is a work of fiction but a little too close to the truth, especially now...
It takes place on Gibraltar National Day, to make it more poignant and centred on heroism, unity, brotherhood and conviction.

Q:is it anti - Spanish?
CP: No, not at all, quite the converse..
It is a political action thriller that may be a little off type for a woman to write but it's there and I needed to write it.
In reality, the he people of the Campo de Gibraltar all live quite well and freely, they are not to blame or involved in the violence, they unite against the oppressors, show solidarity, brotherhood and friendship.
The cause stems from Madrid and fascist feelings erupting into this. Like I said before, it is not far from the truth as to what is happening at the moment back home.
I would hate to add cause to this but again if I can inspire brotherhood and friendship that can extinguish any thoughts of this, then my job is done.

Q:I've read it and it's a great story but it must be difficult to promote it if you don't want to be recognised?
CP: this is a nightmare, I rely on others to push the book out to others.
I am on twitter with the pseudonym but other social media marketing is more difficult.

Q: Are you writing anything else now?
CP: I am, however under my normal author name. It is a comedy so different to Battle for the three miles.

Thank you and food luck with the book.
For those interested in getting a copy of Battle for the three miles... Click here

READ AND ENJOY.

Invasion & Liberation... Gibraltar

A really brave novel written by a fellow author, Battle For The Three Miles.
A Gibraltar based story at a discount from fellow author... Who remains an enigma.
The book written by unknown author CP Ridgeworth.

I am not sure who she is but have read the book and it is a cataclysmic story of what could happen.

I read it on kindle and enjoyed the experience.

The author builds up the characters and the story behind them. Then in chapter 6... It really becomes interesting,  a crescendo of action.

"All was going well when suddenly there was what seemed to be a large explosion that echoed across the city. The crowd were stunned into silence…as if in a state of mass suspended animation, as if a greater being had just simultaneously pressed the pause and mute buttons on an equally powerful remote control bank. The silence was broken by a hum and chatter as people questioned each other in an attempt to establish the cause. ‘It’s not another explosion in the refinery in neighbouring Algeciras is it?’‘Is it an oil tanker exploding in the straits?’…Questions and more enquiries but no answers were forthcoming. There were theories and conjecture but no real facts to go by. No one seemed to make out what the reason for this bang was. The bustle in the crowd was now different as the now confused horde stood about in the hope of information and direction. Within less than a minute, there followed another explosion that resonated in the now silent crowd. It certainly was not scripted in the celebratory agenda, the booms sounded very unlike fireworks and the bewilderment intensified…The confusion and wonder were not solely exclusive to the crowd, police officers from the Royal Gibraltar Police (RGP), soldiers from the regiment and various officials also looked puzzled and urgently sought advice, direction and support which at this point in time were not forthcoming. A flurry of mobile phones seemed to be simultaneously sprang into action as people’s faces were illuminated by their synchronized manoeuvre in their endeavour to establish what the facts and the source of these detonations were. The chatter was intense now, however only broken by the lesser cracks of what seemed to be rifle fire emanating from the east of the tiny peninsula. Women and children were now screaming and crying as their ashen faced husbands and fathers tried to remain protective. At this moment the radio announcer called the massed crowds attention. ‘Ladies and Gentlemen, we at the GBC have just been informed there has been a coup d’état in Spain and one of the army Generals, a General Sanchez Zamorano had overthrown the government and taken power, backed by the majority of the Spanish armed forces’. The announcer continued by exclaiming that international sources had feared that this may precipitate the Gibraltar situation and that a possible hostile invasion may ensue…What better way to make a statement of this sort than to make these moves on Gibraltar as it celebrated patriotically? The announcer continued, ‘it has not been confirmed but due to the possible and imminent danger, please make your way home safely, quickly but in an orderly fashion’. It is with this that message that mass hysteria and panic set in as the crowd tried to disperse in a far from orderly fashion. This is a scenario that all Gibraltarians had always feared and never thought would ever become a possibility however; this was the more likely explanation and cause for the disturbing clamour that had arisen to the east of the rock. The Casemate square area was full of people and the exits from it were limited. The square itself was enclosed by the old fortification walls that dated back hundreds of years and the most expansive exit was to head down through the Main Street. There were less wide exits that went to the harbour area and also east, towards the airport and the border with Spain and the citizens scattered all ways. Screaming children were gathered up and people were running.... "

I'm posting this as I just had a tweet saying that it's got a discount code for the paperback edition.
I may be tempted to get a copy

Battle For The Three Miles
CreateSpace

At checkout- enter W9MHE9F2

#Save $2.00 #ingenious #Simple

Demonic Battle... A sample from the Ultimate Phantasms in the Infirmary

Demonic Battle 

It was a cold and dark night on the wards of St Augustine. The wards were silent as the inpatient population slept with the trustworthy watchful eyes of the nurses looking after them to rely on. The silence was broken by the odd cough and windy escape from the patients as they relaxed into a slumber. All was uneventful and calm. Gail, who was on one of the night shift, sat at the nurses’station with her knitting on her lap as she created another matinée gown for her next grandchild, labouring away on hot clicking knitting needles as she industrially, conjured up another masterpiece. The clicking of the needles was rhythmic as she twisted the wool around the sharp long spines as she “knitted and pearled”the garment into shape. Louise, her colleague, sat in the dim light, reading her novel and automatically answering the occasional yes and no to Gail’s intermittent conversation, trying hard to concentrate on her book. As the couple sat aimlessly waiting for a call buzzer or a patient groan to attend to, there was an almighty crash from the end of the ward. Gail hurled her knitting paraphernalia clumsily on the desk, in total disregard of dropping a stitch and braced herself for a dash down the corridor, Louise did the same. ‘What in heaven’s name was that?’remarked Louise, surprised by the sudden clamour. They both simultaneously lifted up of their comfy seats, nearly crashing heads at the sudden start and headed towards the source of the disturbance. Not a further word was said as the flashlights were switched on and they purposefully propelled themselves down the long, dark corridor, like two sentinels looking for a break-in, shinning the beam of light from one direction to another, trying to source the ruckus. It was at that point that they both noticed a dim bluish light emanating from the patient in bed eleven. It was not the patient but something indistinguishable, something hovering over the head of the bed. ‘What the fu..?’exclaimed Louise, chocked into not finishing her uncouth exclamation. ‘Oh my god, what is it?’replied Gail but there was no answer from her colleague. Both nurses were experienced night shift workers and had seen a lot over the years but they had never encountered anything like this before. The Bluish tinge was ill defined and was emanating from the wall, it was impossible to determine what it was but it stood out of the ordinary and seemed like a human form but only partially human, it seemed to be a floating torso that was focusing on the patient who lay helpless and seemingly asleep beneath the apparition. Mr Warren, the patient on bed eleven, had been an inpatient for the last three days, was an elderly man who had been transferred to the surgical ward with acute bowel obstruction, undergone surgery and was now recovering. So why was this “thing”picking on him? They wondered about this as they tried to make sense of the unbelievable spectacle that they now faced. It was unusual in every way and unearthly to the extreme, frightening and ghoulish. As they hurried toward the figure, it must have sensed the oncoming rush of the two staff members coming to the patient’s rescue and it deliberately turned to face them. Both ladies were now frozen to the spot, petrified at encountering this unearthly spectre. It was soul and ugly to say the least. Sunken eyes within a now well defined angry face, mouth snarling and the eyes focused on the two innocent nurses. The eyes were evil and piercing. Its arms were outwardly reaching for the patient’s face, as if wanting to extinguish the poor man’s life, suffocation was possibly it’s intention? Gail shone the strong beam of light straight at it and the result was to make the demonic appearance angrier as it swooped further into the ward from the wall that had previously housed it and it turned more definitively towards them, as if ready for battle. ‘Shit, what do we do now?’exclaimed Louise as Gail went into automatic pilot…She was wildly flaying her arms about, shooing it away and nervously talking to it. ‘In the name of god almighty, leave the poor man alone’‘Go away, shoo you ugly bastard’as she lashed her arms at it in quick succession, as if in an attempt to push it away from her patient. This did not seem to have much impact as it now stood in front of them, no longer floating horizontally but standing up to them, vertically and slowly making its way towards them, threatening the custodians of the ward. Both nurses were now very afraid but they were there to protect their patients although no book in their respective training courses had ever prepared for dealing with demons or ghosts. This was new ground and it was a sharp learning curve they faced. To make matters worse, Mr Warren was now awake, shaking in his bed as he could see the battle between good and evil was being fought over him. ‘Please don’t let it take me away, I don’t want to go with it, please’he cried. Soon the whole bay of patients was awake from the commotion and although they were mostly elderly patients, they got up off their beds and rallied round their nurses. They threw pillows at it, kicked and hit out at this being. The makeshift teamwork was having an effect as it now seemed to be confused and lacked the previous malevolent focus it had demonstrated. This dark force was now looking around at all the participants, trying to hit back when suddenly it turned back and jumped through the solid wall where it had originally appeared and now thankfully disappeared. It was all very quick, from the furore and commotion to sudden silence. Louise and Gail shook as much as Mr Warren was shaking and quaking, firmly cocooned in his bed with the bed covers around him like a protective shield. The three battling patients, Mr Jackson, Mr Williams and Mr McIver, although slightly dishevelled and confused, had helped the staff in battle and had won. The dark matter that had battled with them had vanished. ‘I don’t know what that was dear but can we do something about not having them back again, my leg is killing me’Mr McIver said. ‘So is my back’replied Mr Williams. Mr Jackson was now sitting on the side of his bed and just said ‘that was the most exercise I have had in years, reminded me of the old days when I boxed in the army’. Louise and Gail smiled and thanked them all, helped them back into bed and made them all a warm drink to help them rest. Mr Warren was a nervous wreck, unable to settle and wondering why he had been the target of this evil apparition. Of course there were no answers available at this point but they would of course report this and protect them all. Gail and Louise checked the patient’s observations and once satisfied there was nothing unduly wrong with them physically; they left the battling geriatrics and made their way to the nurses’station to write their reports. As both baffled nurses worked their way to the office, they could not help but ponder on the events that had just taken part in. There were no explanations; there were no solutions or plans just questions. The main questions being what were that and what was it doing with Mr Warren? They sat and sipped on a coffee that Louise had made them both and wrote down the reports. They read them and agreed that it did not make any sense but they had written facts, however hard to believe, they were facts. ‘Ghosts and ghouls should not feature on patient notes but this is an exception’said Gail. ‘In all my years I have never felt so frightened, helpless and vulnerable’she continued. ‘Thanks god the other patients came to our assistance, otherwise who knows what would have been the resulting outcome, brrrr, frightening’Louise shuddered. ‘I’d better check on the old fellow, Mr Warren, poor old soul’Gail said. Louise continued to pen her account and Gail made her way down the corridor of the ward. All was well, or so it seemed. Everyone was asleep and as she gently approached Mr Warren, she noticed he was still. He was more still than he should have been as she waited for his chest to rise and take a breath. This was never to happen again. Gail became very upset as she now felt for a pulse or any sign of life... He was dead. She shone her torch t the cold and lifeless corpse and noted his pallor and strangely distorted face, eyes fixed towards the wall where the spectre had originated from. Whatever the result of the last few minutes were, either it was too much for this frail elderly person to take or…. The demon had been back to reclaim the soul he had targeted.

Bravery in writing

Having read Battle for the three mile, I salute the bravery of authors and their conviction to tell la story that matters.

C. P. Ridgeworth does precisely this in her fictional story but it is directly based on truth and experience that occur to Gibraltarians on a near daily basis.

Obviously, I am familiar with the roots of this as I too orignate from the rock.

Are there any authors you can think of that could  be added  to the list of authors with a fictional true message to tell?

Please let me know as I'd be interested in your thoughts and recommendations to further read the genre.

In the mean time.. Well done Clara

Battling bad reviews

I've just been on a LinkedIn forum and felt I needed to share this with you to ensure you are not disheartened by a poor review.  As aspiring authors we cannot expect glowing reviews all the time.

Keep up your spirits... Keep Writing.

Books, TV, Movies, Music.............. so many to choose from, because there are so many opinions, likes, dislikes, etc...........  not everyone is going to enjoy your writing content or style. A potential reader may still be interested enough in the content to purchase and read your book regardless of poor reviews. Everyone is entitled to their opinion.  You can also take heed to what your negative reviews are telling you. Perhaps your writing style and mannerism is being confused with poor editing. You might ask for some examples from the reviewers and discuss them with your editor. You can also use those negative comments in a positive manner and learn from them to improve your writing skills for your next great book...............

Take a look at the reviews posted for your favorite "big name" authors and you'll realize it's best to just ignore negative reviews you receive. No one receives all five star reviews and even the NYT best-seller list authors receive some horrible reviews mixed in with the accolades. 

Space roaches

@uberfacts tweeted....
Cockroaches raised in space become quicker, stronger, faster, and tougher than cockroaches on Earth.

Training to prevent another Atlantis?

Read Phobic Wars... On Amazon

Timely