2015-03-18T09:24:19+00:00

Episode 228: Word For Wednesday

March 18, 2015/Judy E Martin/23 Comments

As I may have mentioned, I love words. Well today’s Blogging 101 challenge is to ‘find an event from the listings and participate in the next round.’ I had a good look through all those events I can tell you, and as soon as I came across the Word For Wednesday event I knew that this was the one for me!

My word of the day has got to be ‘gobbledegook’! It’s great isn’t it? All those gs and os. A very round, voluptuous word in my opinion, a bit like me actually!

The definition of gobbledegook is ‘pretentious or unintelligible jargon, such as used by officials.’ Hmmmm not very exciting but it sounds great when enunciated.

This word is now becoming obsolete as it is deemed to be ‘old-fashioned’. However, I too am old-fashioned and I think this word deserves to get a bit more usage!

What say you?

Episode 226: Choppy Seas And A Chilly Breeze!

March 17, 2015/Judy E Martin/8 Comments

I like the concept of today’s Blogging 101 task. Yesterday we used a prompt which we had to interpret to fit into our blog’ today we have to read six other blogs that used the same prompt and comment on at least two of them. I have actually commented on more than that as there were some great takes on it.

If we felt like posting today (which I always do, then we could use one of the comments we left, expand on that and use the inspiration for the post. I love the beach in all weathers and I enjoyed the pictures that donegallizdoyle used in her post entitled ‘Wild Winter Beach’. I love the drama of the sea throughout the year and here are my thoughts on Portland and Chesil Beach, which unsurprisingly are only about five miles from Weymouth in Dorset, which I wrote about yesterday.

As well as spending a lot of time on the beach at Weymouth, Dad used to take us to Portland. I loved it there as well. The weather always seemed to be rather brisk, and very windy, and the sea is extremely hazardous. Not only are there many lost vessels lurking under the turbulent sea, but Portland Bill itself boasts not one, but three lighthouses!

Pulpit Rock – Portland. Photo by Kris Dutson

As kids we all used to love clambering over the giant rocks in Portland that came out of the sea. My brothers however would always climb to the top of Pulpit Rock (much to my terror as I hate heights and was terrified they would fall into the crashing waves below) Dad was not averse to clambering up the rock himself, but mostly he would be holding mine and my little sister’s hands, guiding us onto the safest rocks.

Occasionally, we would go further along to Chesil beach which was too pebbly and wavy for my liking! My family are all very strong swimmers, and although I can swim, I am more of a chicken than them, and when they played ‘chicken’ in the waves, I was only about knee-deep because even there the waves could be quite high.

Portland is on the Jurassic coastline in the UK, so there were interesting fossils to discover, and in time a museum was opened in one of the lighthouses showcasing some wonderful findings from around the area.

Again, the last time I went to Portland was when my dad had just died. We had gone down to Dorset for the funeral, and I wanted to go to Portland one last time as a special tribute to my dad. The last time he was well, was the summer before (he died in the April) and we took him and my stepmum to Portland. Dad was in a wheelchair by then and we sat outside eating ice creams and looking out to see on a glorious day.

We then went to the museum where Dad was explaining to my daughter all about the history of Portland making it interesting for her. He was a very educated and knowledgeable man, and loved to make people laugh as well.

Anyway, myself, Mr Grump, my younger sister and her husband took a trip to Portland on this very wet and cold April day. It didn’t deter us as we had some nice warm jackets; We visited the places Dad loved so much.

He would have so loved to have been there with us!

Episode 224: Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside!

March 16, 2015/Judy E Martin/22 Comments

For today’s Blogging 101 task, I have to publish a post on my own, personalized take on a prompt. The prompt of the day was places. We can interpret this prompt however we like to make it fit in with our blogs, so this is my take on places…..

My favourite place is Weymouth in Dorset which is depicted in my picture. I have many reasons to love this place. My Mum and Dad were both born here for a start. In fact they lived next door to each other right up until when they married in 1954. A few of my siblings were also born here, and my eldest brother still lives in the area.

I have very fond memories of this lovely little town, mostly made when I was a child. We always spent a lot of time at the beach as children, and I remember the fun we used to have building sand castles, collecting shells and catching crab. There was always something to do.

On the beach itself there was (and still is) a Punch and Judy show that all the kids used to watch huddled in a semi-circle and interacting with the puppets! There are lots of pretty, brightly coloured beach huts there too. At one end of the sands there are permanent trampolines there as well as some swing boats and a couple of small rides. This used to keep us amused when we had a bit of extra cash.

Another feature was the ‘Sandman’. He (and now his sons) have a little area cordoned off where he would cleverly sculpt all sorts of scenes out of just sand and water. It was amazing to see them develop and try to guess what they would become. In the middle he had a large container where you could throw coins and if it went in, then a bell would ring.

One feature I always spent a lot of time at was the ‘lost children’s hut.’ I don’t know how I did it, but I always got separated from my siblings and spent half an hour playing with the toys there until someone realised I was missing and came to claim me!

Unfortunately Mum and Dad divorced when I was 6 years old, but Dad stayed in Weymouth and it was still a large part of my life. My younger sister and I would very often get the coach down and spend a week with Dad and, in time, my step-mum. The beach was still a main feature as my dad swam everyday in the sea whatever the weather!

Years later when we all have our own families, and still we went to stay in Weymouth. Sometimes Mum came and we all stayed in a caravan park just outside of the town. When my eldest brother married in the church there we all came down to stay for a while and had a great time.

Myself and my two sisters and niece went off for a holiday before my daughter was born, and had a wonderful time. The weather was vile but of course, but we were not deterred and swam anyway. Us Brits are pretty hardy you know!

Sadly, the last time I went to Weymouth was for my beloved Dad’s funeral. He was very religious man and the church was packed. After living 82 years there, he was quite well-known. I always wanted to move to Weymouth myself, but that day after we drove past the harbour where my dad used to take us on Sunday mornings for a very early walk, I decided that it would never be the same.

Maybe one day I will be able to go back…..

Free-For-All Friday!! #1

March 13, 2015/Judy E Martin/44 Comments

Welcome to my first Free-for-all Friday. Today is all about sharing each other’s work. I was partly inspired by Josh over at My Friday Blog who decided that he would rather not accept any more awards due to all the work involved. However, on the last award he did accept, he did a little added extra which is what I would like to incorporate into my free-for-all.

I will be sharing links of posts that I have enjoyed throughout the week, and would encourage you all to go and have a look yourselves. It may not be the type of blog that you would normally read, but it is so enriching to broaden the horizons, learn something new, or see something from a different perspective.

Below are some of the brilliant posts I have enjoyed this week, and I would love it if you could post a link in the comments to a post that has touched you in some way, be it funny, sad, enlightening, whatever, it doesn’t matter (this is where I nicked Josh’s idea). It’s just lovely to be able to share with each other something we enjoy.

Wendy Of The Rock. Now this post really made me laugh. It is something that most of us can identify with, Having kids that think we are a ‘fail’ when it comes to being a cool Mum! There is a bit of swearing in this, but it is well worth a read.

Fill Your Own Glass. This is a great post for looking on the positive side of life. You know how some of us tend to get bogged down with always being negative, well Karen has given us a great tip on how to start the day on a cheery note.

Emmanuel Muema. This post is a very erotic poem and Emmanuel is a very talented young man; I have read several of his poems, and enjoyed them all. However they are a bit ‘racy’ !

Inventing Real Life This post was Marti’s account of a terrible road accident that she had been involved in, which she recounts on the anniversary of the event. This really touched me in many ways.

My Friday Blog. This post by Josh is a post cancer bucket list. I have only recently started following Josh’s blog, but I love it. He is very direct and speaks his mind, He is also very funny (sometimes I don’t even think he realises it)!

My Spanglish Familia This post really made me roar my head off! I love La Sabrosona’s mad sense of humour! She is definitely a woman after my own heart. She likes a double entendre as much as I do, and a bit of smutty humour. This is great!

Beyond The Picket Fence This post was another inspirational one. It is about finally succeeding even though nobody thought that you would be able to do it. It just goes to show what self-belief and a positive attitude can achieve.

But I Smile Anyway… Ritu is a prolific blogger and is absolutely brilliant! She writes poems, anecdotes and everything else in between! This post is part of a ‘Flash Fiction Foray’ I thought it was a really great story and a very clever ending!

My OBT Donna always has such wonderful and different posts. I have not only screamed with laughter at some of the stuff she has on here, but have been educated as well. This particular post is so funny, it amazes me the things people will buy. Check this stuff out!

Joeyfully Stated. This post is really sweet, about the interaction of a dog and cat! Joey has a great blog. She says what she thinks, and I love her style of writing. She makes me laugh a lot too! Oh, she does use a bit of swearing at times as well, but do check her blog out!

So there you have some of my favourite posts this week. I know you are going to enjoy them, and please don’t forget to leave links in the comments to your own favourite post this week.

Episode 209: Het Up With Headers!

March 10, 2015/Judy E Martin/27 Comments

I am pretty dreadful at taking photos and even worse at trying to crop them or Photoshop them (that would be a wonderful skill to have, what fun it would be to erase wrinkles, shave off wobbly bits and generally ‘tart up’ my photo! Anyway, back to reality and todays Blogging 101 task…..

We should keep on personalizing our blog, and add a header or a widget. Now I have kind of worked out the widget thing, and have already got plenty of those. As for the header, I do know I need something there as it is a bit blank, but when I tried to put my pic in there it cropped my head off! Now I know, it is probably a damn sight better to look at, but I wanted my new text to show(Edwina’s Episodes, I know, you can’t knock my originality) and that was above my head!

Anyway, I have gone back to my original photo, with text as the logo as it was before. I would like to just put a pattern in as a header or something like that, but don’t understand how to!

Does anyone else know how to do that please?

Episode 207: It’s All About Me!!!

March 9, 2015/Judy E Martin/11 Comments

Well today is all about me! As if you haven’t had enough of me already, my task for Blogging 101 today is to have an ‘irresistible About Me page.’ Hmmm, i have already messed about with my ‘About Me’ page, having updated it several times. I think for now I might just leave it alone. However, if I get a load of feedback telling me that it is rubbish then I will try to tweak it a bit. I know it is all about selling ourselves but I am very aware that ‘you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear!’

I think my ‘About Me’ page pretty much sums me up. I am someone who feels that we all need a bi of laughter in our lives. It can get pretty tough sometimes, pressures put upon us, high expectations that might be difficult to live up to, plus the normal ups and downs of everyday life. We just need to take a step back, sometimes and try to see the funny side of things.

That doesn’t mean bursting out laughing at inopportune moments (not recommended, I have been on the end of may a dirty look for this crime), no, it just means reflecting back on a situation, and instead of cringing at some stupid thing you said or did, just laugh about it. After all, there is nothing you can do about it, so instead of stewing on it, make fun of it, or yourself!

I am not one to want to draw attention to myself, but being the way I am it happens. I have been at work walking back to my ward after coming out of the loos only to be told,

“You’ve got your dress tucked into your knickers!” Nice! Cringe, red face, look around to see who saw, frantically try to remember what knickers I have on and have been showing to all and sundry, are they decent ones? (chances are they will be ”work’ ones)! Why do people have to shout these kind of things out after you thereby alerting everyone to your plight? Honestly!

So, I have decided that laughing about things really is the best way to deal with it, None of us are perfect, some of us are less so,especially me, BUT I do have one saving grace. I love words and telling little anecdotes and stories. what a perfect combination. I can and do write about all my little ‘episodes’ in my blog. Sometimes I even drag my family into it. (Mostly with their permission)!

Episode 199: My Dream Theme!

March 6, 2015/Judy E Martin/20 Comments

Today’s Blogging 101 task is to try out a couple of new themes, even one that you have no intention of keeping. I am not actually going to participate in this one because I played around with my theme recently and I kind of like how it looks at the moment!

I like things that are either really simple, or extremely loud and snazzy! Two completely opposite extremes. I am not a very arty or creative person (except maybe with words), so have to make do with the bog standard version of the theme,

My blog is pretty uncomplicated anyway, It usually follows the same kind of format, of writing an essay style piece about something, and posting a (hopefully) relevant picture to illustrate my point.

I tend to stick to what I know how to do, which isn’t a lot! I have worked out how to add videos which is great as I wanted to read some of my poems out and I have found this easier than I expected once I got the hang of it.

I love widgets, and have found the theme I use (Sela) is pretty generous with them so that enables me to put in my favourite blogs and blogging community. I can also put badges on there such as the one for Blogging 101!

I am on the lookout still for a lovely, loud and colourful theme, that is good for mostly text and the odd picture or video. If anyone knows of one that I have missed then I would love to hear about it!

Episode 197: Someone Like Me…

March 5, 2015/Judy E Martin/24 Comments

Todays’ Blogging 101 assignment is to publish a post you’d like your ideal audience member to read, and include a new-to-you element in it.

Hmmm, this is a bit tricky as I don’t have a specific audience member in mind. I am just bloody grateful I have an audience at all really! So for the purpose of today’s task, I am going to base my ideal audience member on someone like me. An ordinary person who blunders their way through life leaving a trial of havoc in their wake! Yes, someone who can bang into, trip over or knock down anything and everything! A klutz of the highest order.

This person actually loves interacting with other people, and actually once they get to know you, will appear to be quite outgoing and confident. On first meeting them though they will appear shy and awkward. They will smile nervously but not contribute much to the conversation unless asked directly to do so. Then they will stumble over their words and blush a lot!

This person loves to see the funny side of things. They have a wicked sense of humour, and a very dirty laugh. They can make something out of nothing and the double entendre is their best friend. Bursting into inappropriate laughter at times such as when they were asked to go and find a ‘scrotal sling’ for an unfortunate patient is second nature to them. When something tickles them, they are no longer shy, and usually succumb to the odd snort of laughter, hurriedly disguised as a cough!

This person would love the sillier things in life. The more ridiculous the better, and they will suddenly chuckle to themselves when it comes to their mind. They also love to tell others about it so they can share the laughter.

Well there you have it. This was by no means intended to be an egotistical post. I just thought that the type of person who would enjoy my blog would have some similarities to me!

I have included a clip of one of my favourite characters, Sir Lancelot Spratt, played by the superb James Robertson Justice. I know it is dated a bit now, but I just love his accent, the way he shouts at everyone terrifying them. Plus it is set in a hospital, which is right up my street anyway!

Enjoy!

Episode 194: Being Neighbourly

March 4, 2015/Judy E Martin/40 Comments

Today’s Blogging 101 task was to meet the neighbours. We had to find some new blogs to follow via the Reader, plus look up specific genres that we might find enjoyable.

Now funnily enough, despite my social awkwardness and shyness, I do not find it a problem finding new blogs to follow and commenting on them, (I might worry later that a comment I have made might be taken the wrong way though)! I really enjoy interacting with people from all sorts of backgrounds and blogging is a fantastic way to do this.

We all have so much to offer each other, and there are so many wonderful and interesting people out there for me to meet and interact with, In the six months that I have been blogging, I have been extremely lucky in that I have already met a number of people who I have really ‘clicked’ with and that i would consider my blogging friends.

Blogging is not just a one way street, and if you want to have people comment on your blog then you must also comment on theirs! It did take me a while to pluck up the courage to do it at first, but it is so rewarding to build up a rapport with someone. I love it when people comment on my blog. I appreciate that they might have enjoyed something (or not as the case may be), that I have written and want to add their own thoughts to the mix, or maybe tell me of their own experiences.

I feel really lucky that this blogosphere is so vast and that there are hordes of neighbours for me to get to know. Even better is the fact that they all have something different to offer.

Episode 192: If It Ain’t Broke….

March 3, 2015/Judy E Martin/19 Comments

Today’s Blogging 101 task is to edit my tagline or the name of my blog. Now I am quite happy with the name of my blog. I chose ‘Edwina’s Episodes’ for a number of reasons. The first being that I decided to use my middle name of Edwina, originally as I wanted to remain anonymous.

I then needed something that would go with it that was catchy and said a little about my blog. As I was just mainly writing about situations that had happened in my life or little thoughts about things, I decided that ‘Episodes’ would convey the feeling of my life being like a soap opera, and each little event being a mini episode. I suppose I wanted continuity and consistency, which I hope to have achieved!

Now my tagline – A humourous look at the life of an everyday woman

I wanted that to say what my blog is actually about, I have had a few thought about this actually, and might consider changing it. However, as the saying goes ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ and it has served me well so far.

I have thought of changing it to laughing at life or laughing my way through life.

I really can’t decide….

What do you think? I have put a little poll in so you can vote if you feel like it!

Rhyme and No Reason!

Blogger, author and rhymester who likes to find the humour in life.

Tag: blog

Episode 228: Word For Wednesday

Episode 226: Choppy Seas And A Chilly Breeze!

Episode 224: Oh I Do Like To Be Beside The Seaside!

Episode 209: Het Up With Headers!

Episode 207: It’s All About Me!!!

Episode 199: My Dream Theme!

Episode 197: Someone Like Me…

Episode 194: Being Neighbourly

Episode 192: If It Ain’t Broke….

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Blogger, author and rhymester who likes to find the humour in life.

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