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Ally Aldridge Writing

Day 17 – Anecdote

Playing tricks on our little sister

Take this two pence, it is bigger

Give me the pound, it is smaller

Look it says one as it’s number

Clearly worth less than two

See how generous I am to you

*****

Day 17’s challenge

For Day 17 the challenge was to write a poem “re-telling a family anecdote that has stuck with you over time. It could be the story of the time your Uncle Louis caught a home run ball, the time your Cousin May accidentally brought home a coyote and gave it a bath, thinking it was a stray dog, or something darker (or even sillier).”

There are plenty of tales of growing up. I have a younger brother and sister and we often played tricks on each other.

My sister, being the youngest, often got manipulated. She’s even take the blame for something we’d done if we encouraged her that our parents were undermining her capabilities to do it by being younger and she’d adamantly declare her responsibility and that she is big enough, I.e to reach the switch and turn off the hot water whilst mum was in the shower.

Sadly, our childhood was before social media and digital camera so I don’t have a picture of the three of us together. Tucked up in the attic we each have a photo album but it’s not easily accessible.

Ally Aldridge Writing

Day 16 – Play

Give a child a box

There’s no greater toy

Let a child create

Their imagination brings joy

Never are they alone

With a made up friend

They can bring anything alive

With their bright inquisitive minds

Go and save your money

And let your child play

Let them get messy

Let them explore

There’s no need for plastic

Expensive and noisy

To make their own games

Your child has the resources

Give them a broom

They’ll be happy for hours

*****

Day 16’s challenge

For Day 16 the challenge was to write a poem “that prominently features the idea of play. It could be a poem about a sport or game, a poem about people who play (or are playing a game), or even a poem in the form of the rules for a sport or game that you’ve just made up (sort of like Calvinball).”

When I first approached this task I thought of Peculiar Pets by Victoria Roberts. It’s a picture book about a little girl that wants a pet but her mum says “We’ll see” whenever she asks. The little girl creates pets out of bits and pieces around the home. It is a delightful read about a child’s imagination and creative play.

I thought about how parents spend a lot on toys, only for their child to be more fascinated by the box. For example, my son loves his cars. We’ve tried to engage him in other toys but he always returns to his Hot Wheels. The only toy that’s competed is his Kindle and balance bike. And in the summer I got a cheap broom from pound land to sweep the gravel back and my son found it and spent hours playing with it. It cost me £1!

I’m sure there are other parents that can relate to this poem. I’d love to hear your thoughts.

Ally Aldridge Writing

Day 15 – Grim Reaper

Pintrest - Poem April 15

He dragged his scythe

Across war torn lands

Tired of souls to collect

Blisters covering his hands

His pale flesh clung to bones

Head bowed in his cape

Armies for the thrones

The torn up landscape

Blackened smoke

Destruction

Tears of loss

Anger and frustration

Innocent blood spilt

A life cut too short

He slices through the ties

Freed soul from its body

Reaper sheds a tear

An innocent child’s body

Twisted, void and empty

*****

Day 15’s challenge

For Day 15, the challenge was to write “a poem in which a villain faces an unfortunate situation, and is revealed to be human (but still evil). Perhaps this could mean the witch from Hansel & Gretel has lost her beloved cat, and is going about the neighborhood sticking up heart-wrenching “Lost Cat” signs, but still finds human children delicious. Maybe Blackbeard the Pirate is lost at sea in an open boat, remembering how much he loved his grandmother (although he will still kill the first person dumb enough to scoop him from the waves).”

I’ve made it half way through, learnt more than I expected and feel motivated that I can make it to the end of 30 days.

In character development, I often spend as much time thinking about what motivates my villain (antagonist) as well as my MC. I think a well written Villain is as crucial as a well written MC.

My spin off novel from Drift, is Glide. It follows Kiara’s story and her heart break getting dumped and her struggle to accept she is enough. In Drift, she’s the rival love interest and the MC views her as being beautiful and perfect – I enjoyed exposing how insecure Kiara is despite how others perceive her.

For this, I feel I need to choose a Villain that is identifiable by most people. However, my favourite villains are well developed characters like Cat Woman or Poison Ivy who is a criminal but also has some good morales. I feel I need to think of one that is well known but only for their dark side… Grim Reaper.

Ally Aldridge Writing

Day 14 – Dream Analysis

Pintrest - Poem April 14.pngHere is what it means

If you dream of a tea cup

This symbol represents your soul

First identify the state of the cup

*****

If the cup is clean and looks pristine

You are not taking enough risks

If the cup is dirty and stained

You are living life to its fullest

*****

If the cup is full of tea

Your playing safe being traditional

If the cup has another drink

You are a unique kind of special

****

If the cup is empty

Oh dear, this is not good

You need to throw a party

Be the mad hatter of your neighbourhood

*****

If the cup has an abstract pattern

You need to eat some cake

If the cup has pretty flowers

You will soon be late

*****

If none of these descriptions

Is a good fit for you and your tea cup

Then back to bed you must go

Too early you woke up

*****

Day 14’s challenge

For Day 14, the challenge was “And now for our prompt (optional, as always). Dream dictionaries have been around as long as people have had dreams. Interestingly, if you consult a few of them, they nearly always tend to have totally different things to say about specific objects or symbols. Dreams, unlike words themselves, don’t seem to be nicely definable! At any rate, today’s prompt is to write entries for an imaginary dream dictionary. Pick one (or more) of the following words, and write about what it means to dream of these things:

Teacup

Hammer

Seagull

Ballet slipper

Shark

Wobbly table

Dentist

Rowboat”

How can you write a definition as a poem? This idea seemed ludicrous and then… I was inspired by the tea cup.

I’ve always wanted an Alice in Wonderland tea party and almost had one as the theme for the baby’s ‘Gender Reveal’ party. I wanted that party to be about Noah getting a brother or sister (not about me). A blog post is coming next week on the party.

You may see as the poem gets more and more crazy a few wonderland themes sneak in.

Ally Aldridge Personal

The new bathroom

My husband and I decided that after several years as homeowners, it was time to dare to take on a big improvement project.  We’ve always been a little frightened to do something like this and it costs a lot of money so it was really big deal for us.  We decided to get a new bathroom.

Old Bathroom

Bathroom - Before.png

Our old bathroom has served us well.  It has a massive cupboard that has been a really useful storage space and everything works.  I don’t like the mirror above the toilet as things fall out the cabinet and into the bowel and I can’t see myself brushing my teeth… and I like to see myself brushing my teeth.

Re-fit

Bathroom during.png

When we remortgaged we borrowed a little extra to do up the bathroom.  We then spent months decided who to go with and what to have done.  We chose a local firm (Opal Bathrooms) as we knew people that had used them with good results – one of our fears was a cowboy leaving us with an unusable bathroom.

Jimmy (from Opal Bathrooms) talked us through the pros and cons of different options like tiles or panels, heated floors, towel rails, etc. He drew up diagrams of how the bathroom would look and let us take catalogs so we could change items if we wished.  We spent many Saturdays in the showroom comparing floor and wall tiles together to decide on colours we liked.  Jimmy was never pushy and was always on hand to answer our questions.

The main guy, Andy, who was contracted to carry out the task, always took care to leave our bathroom is a tidy state.  He put dust sheets throughout the house so he wouldn’t make a mess of our carpets.  He worked around the toilet so there was only one day we were without.  Another guy, Chris, came a few times to do the electrics.  The job took just over two weeks to complete and they arrived on time everyday even when there was bad snow.

New bathroom

We’ve been enjoying the new bathroom for just over a month.

New bathroom 1v2

The new bathroom is everything we could wish for.

On one side we have a walk in shower with panels (no grout to clean).  We have a large overhead shower and a little handheld shower on the wall.

In the middle we have a sink with two drawers underneath.  Above the sink, we have a cabinet that lights up (I can see myself brushing my teeth – yay).  The edge of the sink is wide enough that I can place my make up or face products there whilst I am using them – a feature I didn’t know I needed but love.

Then on the other side we have a large bath with mixer taps and a pull out shower hose.  The toilet looks so much better with the pipes hidden.  We have a heated towel rail and underfloor heating!

New bathroom 2

It was stressful having no bathroom for a few days and having to visit friends and family for a shower, etc.  The end result is so worth it.  The drawers and cabinet hold everything we need in the bathroom.  We also bought a new King Size bed with under bed storage to be the new home for bed linen.

I think we will be more confident in future to do another big home improvement project as we are so happy with the end result.

Ally plus text

Ally Aldridge Writing

Day 13 – Idiom

Pintrest - Poem April 13.pngBeat around the bush

Her steps were grace

Her movements like fluid 

She circled the bush

Like a hypnotic druid

*****

He held her gaze

Causing her heart to race

His stick in hand

As he gave chase

*****

Her laugh a song

As she smacked the bush

Her heart’s true desire

Kept a silent hush

*****

He followed her cues

Pride kept him steady

Protecting his heart

Unsure she was ready

*****

Their hearts called

To one another

Dared not admit

Never to be together

*****

Day 13’s challenge

 

For Day 13, the challenge was to write ” a poem in which the words or meaning of a familiar phrase get up-ended. For example, if you chose the phrase “A stitch in time saves nine,” you might reverse that into something like: “a broken thread; I’m late, so many lost.” Or “It’s raining cats and dogs” might prompt the phrase “Snakes and lizards evaporate into the sky.” Those are both rather haunting, strange images, and exploring them could provide you with an equally haunting, strange poem (or a funny one!)”

Today, you get two poems because I wrote “Bear in mind” on Opus a few years ago and I think it is perfect for this prompt.  Opus was an iPhone app but is now a website called Opusia available for all to use.  It is very popular with poets, although they welcome all types of writing.

However, I feel it cheating NaPoWriMo to use an already written poem.  The challenge is to write a poem every day.  So, ‘Beat around the bush’ is the poem for today’s prompt.

These phrases are called idioms.  To discover more idioms, please visit www.smart-word.org.

Bear in mind

Bear in mind
That’s what she said
And in that moment
He climbed into my head

His fur was brown
The colour dull
With not much space
Pressed against my skull

He was not happy
The grizzly chappie 
He could not get comfy
For it was not roomy

How it got in there
I’ll never know
Through my ears
Or up my nose

But once he was in
He could not move
So squashed in
He couldn’t groove

Squished up he was
Against my brain
He began
To complain

He moaned
He groaned
He infected me
Soon I too was grumpy

I had to get him out
Making me scream and shout
As the sound left my mouth
A little bear managed to get out

So bear in mind
When you hear the phrase
A grumpy bear 
Might get inside

But now he’s escaped
And he is free
Looking for more brains
To be displeased

 

 

Ally Aldridge Writing

Day 12 – Haibun

Pintrest - Poem April 12.pngFrom smog filled cities to fresh salty air. A friendly place where everyone knows your name.

Tranquil pockets of landscaped gardens. A harbour of fishing boats bobbing and ringing.

 

Beach huts align the prom

Metal structures tower at the docks

Outskirts of rolling fields

 

Despite its impact on England’s trade, many don’t even know its name. The largest container port to feed the needs of the island.

With forests and wildlife and natural habitats. With a fort and seafront with amusements and bright lights.

 

*****

Day 12’s challenge

 

For Day 12, the challenge was to write “a haibun that takes in the natural landscape of the place you live. It may be the high sierra, dusty plains, lush rainforest, or a suburbia of tiny, identical houses – but wherever you live, here’s your chance to bring it to life through the charming mix-and-match methodology of haibun.”

Well, today’s challenge feels very advance to me. I’ve never attempted a Haiku, let alone a Haibun. After reading the challenge, I realised I needed to do research whilst eating my breakfast – thank you for smartphones!

Haibun

A Haibun is a style of poetry that combines prose with a Haiku poem. It often has a pattern, i.e. Prose, Haiku, Prose…

This then led me to ask the following two questions:

  1. What is prose? Prose often uses the colourful language poetry is famous for. It’s beautiful, descriptive, deep and it will create visions and emotions in the reader. It doesn’t usually rhyme.
  2. What is Haiku? Haiku is a style of poetry that is structured by syllables (number of sounds in a word). The structure has three lines. The first line will have five syllables, the second line will have seven syllables and the third line will have five syllables. It doesn’t usually rhyme.

Well, this style of poetry is outside my comfort zone completely! Firstly, I’ve never written this style and secondly, I like my poems to rhyme – he he.

But, I set myself this goal to do the NaPoWriMo challenge and I am not a quitter (without a fight), so here is my poem about my hometown.

I reached out to the local community for a photo I could use on my blog and Katherine Bozier kindly offered me a selection of pictures she has taken. A testimony to the culture, kindness and support of our town.

Here are some pics from my Instagram:

https://instagram.com/p/BfWhDJ8h1Np/

https://instagram.com/p/Bess-ujh1lp/

https://instagram.com/p/BSrAqVHBpja/

https://instagram.com/p/BIw6a14h96Y/

Growing up here, I thought the town was dull without much to do but I heard an advert for one of the caravan parks and was shocked at the end when I realised where it had described. As a mother, I now see the vastness of what this town has to offer – it’s a hidden gem.

Ally Aldridge Beauty, Body Care

Review: Tropic Skincare

About Tropic Skincare

Tropic is a natural, vegan and cruelty free skincare brand.  Like Avon, the brand enables people to become reps and sell the products from the comfort of their home enabling them to earn whilst juggling other commitments like raising a young family.

I’ve been a fan of Tropic for a while and this isn’t my first or second purchase.  I’ve befriended one of the product representatives on Facebook called Sabrina Ward and follow her on Instagram (@Tropic_Luna).  This enables me to keep up with the latest offers.

What did I get?

https://instagram.com/p/BgwfDwZBFmy/

My husband has stolen my Skin Revive moisturizer and had the cheek to ask me to buy him some more!  I decided this was a good excuse to spoil myself with the body oil I’ve had my eye on for a while now.  I saw a free gift offer was running.

Body oil – Soothe Your Senses RRP £28

Although, Tropic do parties (like Ann Summers), I just don’t have the social circle to have one so buying this oil was a gamble as I had never sampled it.   What captured my attention was the ingredient ‘frangipani’ which was my wedding flower.

The oil has not disappointed.  It is really beautiful with a flower floating inside the bottle.  The oil smells amazing with a tropical floral scent that is very relaxing.  It rubs in quickly.

Moisturising Cream – Skin Revive Nourishing Cream Concentrate RRP £22

I originally bought this as part of a skincare set (Travel Essentials) and found it to be really good.  I then re-bought but recently I have been trying out some other moisturisers from my subscription boxes and I guess it gave my husband the change to try it.

It is a light day cream and works well under make-up.  My husband likes it because it isn’t tacky feeling.  You can read my original review of the product and the others in the travel essential kit by clicking here.

Body wash (free gift) – Wild mint, lime and pineapple RRP £10

The deal was that if you spent £50 you would get a free gift – so I had to get my oil ;)

My free gift was this wild, mint and pineapple body wash which has a lovely zesty smell that is great to use to wake you up in the morning.  My husband and I have been arguing over who the free gift belongs too (me).  It also came free with a pouf puff.

Ally plus text

Ally Aldridge Writing

Day 11 – Flipped

Your future is only as big as you dare to dream

Spending my day

In fictional worlds

Creating fictional challenges

For fictional charters

To raise my children

Full of confidence

To be brave

To succeed all challenges

Growing old

With my first love

To pass away

In our embrace

To be content

Without any needs

To be accomplished

In all my deeds

*****

Empty words

Unread, Unloved

Never published

This I dread

On the wrong path

My children go

Full of disappointment

And lives of woe

Old and frail

My love has gone

Dying in pain

I’m all alone

Always without

Fear and doubt

Failed at my goals

No legacy to talk about

Your fears are only as great at the power you grant them

Day 11’s challenge

For Day 11, the challenge was to write “a poem that addresses the future, answering the questions “What does y(our) future provide? What is your future state of mind? If you are a citizen of the “union” that is your body, what is your future “state of the union” address?”

I have interpreted today’s prompt as a poem on how you envision your future.

I’m good at setting myself goals and I’m ready for changes, I never expect anything. I find this challenge a little strange as none of us know our future and as a realist, I am accepting of what will be will be. Perhaps, I could write something exploring my optimistic dream or pessimistic nightmare. I hope you enjoy what I have created.