Achievements (15)
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The Paradox of Intelligence
I think that there are many benefits to modern day living, not least, the advances in technology to make your life easier. We recently viewed a house that had a robotic lawn mower with its own little house and I have to say that this sounded like a fab idea, although I would miss the smell of our old petrol mower but not the grass cuttings so much. Perhaps the smell of cut grass would not be as powerful too, which is one of the heady scents of summer. But it's like the lawn mows itself which has to have benefits.
By Rachel Deeming4 years ago in Motivation
Bringing the Light. Runner-Up in Campfire Ghost Story Challenge. Top Story - August 2023.
Advisory: swearing The cabin in the woods had been abandoned for years, but one night, a candle burned in the window. It flickered with the movement of the presence inside, as it moved past it. The silence around the cabin was absolute. If you listened hard, you would be able to hear the wax spitting and crackling in the flame. The creatures of the forest had frozen, permitting no noise to break the calm. No calls, no crack of twigs, no squeal of prey consumed. Their instinct told them to draw no attention to themselves in that moment, to keep to the shadows where the flame did not reach.
By Rachel Deeming4 years ago in Horror
Music and Memories
I was sat in my car, waiting for my son to emerge from school at the end of the day. I was reading with the radio set to a popular station that plays an eclectic mix of tunes, past and present - just what I like in my music. One of the features of the afternoon show is that someone picks their oldies, songs from their youth or ones that are not current chart-toppers, or Spotify favourites, or whatever is used to gauge music popularity these days.
By Rachel Deeming4 years ago in Motivation
99
I have many associations with food and summer, not all of them good. Where would Britain be without the hope of a barbecue? Summers in Britain are notoriously short-lived, if they appear at all so the chance of eating outdoors or having a picnic somewhere was a real treat, especially if grey cloud cover and a torrent of rain didn't spoil it completely. Although the elements would always be looking to thwart any plans for al fresco dining, sometimes there was the chance of burgers in buns, a hot dog made out of the finest butchers' sausages as opposed to wiener dogs and coleslaw and potato salad, possibly under a sunny sky but more than likely not.
By Rachel Deeming4 years ago in Feast
Tale of the Tache
I love my dad, also known as Tache and Grandad Tache. You won't be surprised to learn that this is because of his long-adorned moustache, a facial feature which has become so much part of his identity that it has also become the name by which all of my family - me, my husband and my two boys - call him. Despite being encouraged to shave it off, by my mother mainly, he has stubbornly held onto this facial hair statement, in spite of its bristly-ness and the idea that he would look better without it.
By Rachel Deeming4 years ago in Families
Why I love the Queen
Here, in Britain, there has been an awful lot of celebrating going on this weekend, June 2022 as Queen Elizabeth II reaches the monumental milestone of having served 70 years on the throne. 70 years! Bunting has been raised aloft and glasses raised. Beacons have been lit on historical monuments (safely, of course) and concerts, displays and parades organised. Street parties have been held and a lot of good cheer has been shared the length and breadth of the British Isles. It has brought people together and it is timely with the years that have been spent virally apart to gather and revel with re-found freedom.
By Rachel Deeming4 years ago in Motivation
The Unknown Dark
"There weren't always dragons in the Valley. But they've always been in the mountains." The voice was quietly spoken but there was no doubting its authority, as a subdued hush descended on the Elders' meeting. How it had been heard over the hubbub of the dragon discussion was a mystery but heard by everyone it was. Bart, who was leading the meeting, was irritated that he had been interrupted, just as he was about to argue with Sampson about the ridiculous claim that he had seen a dragon.
By Rachel Deeming4 years ago in Fiction
More Bad Book Reviews
I have previously shared through Vocal my experiences as a book reviewer and most recently, being challenged about what I have written in response to my reading of ARCs: book reviews written by me. I read a lot and share on many book oriented websites so my views are widespread. That doesn't mean that they are widely read but they are widely distributed.
By Rachel Deeming4 years ago in Geeks
Bad Book Reviews. Top Story - May 2022.
When I am not writing on here, I am reading. When I have finished reading, I write a review of what I've read and publish it. I do this for all books I read and I do it for ARCs through Reedsy Discovery and Book Sirens. I then share my reviews through Amazon, BookBub, Barnes and Noble, Goodreads and my own blog at scuffedgranny.com. From my blog, links to these reviews then subsequently get shared to Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Tumblr.
By Rachel Deeming4 years ago in Geeks
The Muse, The Last Stop and The Slow Road to Deadhorse - books worth reading
As a book reviewer and avid reader, I am fortunate enough to be given access to books for free as long as I write a frank and honest assessment of the book in return. This is no hardship as I have written book reviews for a long time, after having discovered that I was losing track of what I was reading and was, occasionally, picking up the same book to read again without realising that I had discovered and enjoyed it already until some pages in. This log has morphed into something that means my words are published far and wide with the added bonus of reading material to which I would not be exposed as well as indulging in a passion whilst spending no money to do it.
By Rachel Deeming4 years ago in Humans
A letter before I leave
Dear Mother, It seems strange writing to you when I know that you are downstairs but I wanted to talk to you just one last time before I leave and we all know how that goes. I try to say something, to try, as I always have done to get through to you and you just don't care: you're dismissive or more likely cruel and mocking. Whatever. I'm not sure what you're thinking and as you never share, I can't see it being any different. Who am I kidding? I know it's not going to be any different.
By Rachel Deeming4 years ago in Confessions
Easily distracted leaders
On my way to school in the mornings to drop off my little darlings, I regularly tune in to the headlines on the radio bulletin, just to keep abreast of what is happening in the wider world. Currently, it is dominated by the troubles in Ukraine as it should be, along with the rising cost of living and the continued presence of Covid-19. In Britain, it is also dominated by politics although don't be deceived into thinking that this means staunch, involved debate on tougher issues. No, discussion of politics can be in the form of dirt digging on party leaders as well as the latest cat to be welcomed at Downing Street to non-payment of speeding fines by those in politics who like to move fast.
By Rachel Deeming4 years ago in Motivation
