We have a great idea for a novel. However, is an idea enough? The simple answer is no. A lot of work lies ahead so a good suggestion is to sit down and expand the idea. Even a short five hundred-word blog has a writer thinking beyond an opening sentence. Writing a blog on a sports subject or events is not too difficult, neither is one about family life you have experienced but that is all quite different than writing three hundred pages or more.

I guess writing history is not too difficult. The subject matter requires a tremendous amount of research and time but the objective should be to write in a different manner than those who have proceeded you on the same subject.

Fairly recently a book got into the number one spot in the States with the subject matter being the Kennedys. Now think about it. Not only was Jack Kennedy the President of the United States but he was also a charismatic person and married to a beautiful and charismatic woman. So can any book on this subject fail?  The subject has been repeated many, many times, by numerous authors, and my bet is that other will follow. Therefore, if you want your book to sell then this is food for thought. Perhaps I should consider it for a novel!

Fiction writing is quite different. One has to be extremely creative and expand ideas. Progression from an original idea may prove more difficult than you first thought. The subject matter of an idea needs to be thought through as does the beginning and end of your story. For me research also plays its part. However, do not be put off, have a go and keep trying. I can recall many years ago an English teacher telling us not to freeze when in an exam but to write. Simply start writing and an idea will come. I personally put into practice what I was taught and am thankful for the instruction. You can actually sit for quite a while trying to think what to write. A mental block?  At this point, I can smile in reflection at my young daughters comment when she sits quietly at homework time doing nothing but chewing her pencil. In response to the question ‘Why aren’t you writing?’, she will mumble very quietly –‘I can’t think of what to write.’ Relating the subject to other subjects/objects is a positive way forward. We are working on it!  Keep in mind an association of ideas and good luck when you next sit down to write and tell your story.

May your god go with you.

I’ve missed quite a number of days in writing this blog so apologies to regular readers. The reason is that I have been re-editing my book, Rogues, Riches & Retribution, and it took longer than anticipated. Luckily it has now been dispatched to the publisher and I will advise you all in a blog when it will be ready to purchase.

My thought for this blog was to write a few more words of advice to those of you who are considering writing but today an article from the UK caught my eye and I decided that would be the subject. The article was about a favourite subjectof mine. The motor car. But this one was different, and the reason it caught my eye is that we are contemplating a move to France and when there a car purchase will be a necessity. That in itself poses the question – Which make? Which model? Having been on vacation in France last year I know it will be a diesel fueled vehicle because that type is more economical to run than petrol.

The interest in todays article was because it speaks of vandalism and the most popular cars, in terms of models and brands, that are vandalised in the UK. Had I been asked the question to name a few then my response would have been those in the luxury/executive class. In some respects I would not have been far out but the number one car model that is vandalised the most is the Fiat 500! Why on earth a lovely little Fiat?

The list of MODELS from 1 to 10 – Fiat 500, BMW Z4, Peugeot 207, BMW X5, Range Rover, VW beetle, Audi TT, Fiat Punto, Mini Cooper and finally the BMW 3 series.

The BRAND list was: Porsche, Saab, Land Rover, BMW, Suzuki, Fiat total, Jaguar total, Kia total, Mini total,Mazda total.

It begs the question as to why anyone would want to vandalise a car in the first place but a 500, Beetle and Punto makes no sence at all. A surprise to me was that the Fiat 500 had more than twice the chance of being vandalised than that of a top-of-the-range Audi TT. The mind boggles.

We have been considering what to buy when we eventually make the move and have had a look at some models here over the past months. The field has narrowed down a handful and surprisingly two under consideration are not included in the list. But it would be interesting to see similar stats for France and also for other countries in the world, so if you have any similar information then please email me for inclusion in a future blog.

Cars are now not a male thing. Ladies are very much into choosing their own vehicle so this wee blog should be of interest to all you lady car owners. Its also interesting that today we received mail from a close lady friend of ours, a lady of senior years who lives in bonny Scotland, advising that she has just purchased a nearly new Mazda MX5 in red. Take a look on the web and you will see quite a flashy little model.

So what to do? What to choose?  Well, one of the best buys on the road is a Ford Mondeo. For European roads its considered a largish car, not the case where we presently live and probably not in the States either, but a smaller vehicle that is rated low in terms of vandalism is the Ford Focus. Nice car.

The choice however is yours. So I’ll close by wishing those presently contemplating a purchase good luck and all of you happy and safe driving!

Cheers and by for now.

So what are most people preoccupied with at the moment before summer dawns? Holidays me thinks. I don’t know about you but virtually every day I read of some company somewhere offering holiday deals on the web. Quite a number are interesting but at the end of the day its all about what you want from a holiday.

Today Yahoo Travel posted an article by Nikki Baily entitled ‘Ten places to see before you die.’ If you haven’t read it and to save you the bother these are they: A ride thru the Canadian Rockies, South Island in New Zealand, Zambia and Zimbabwe’s treasure’s, Iceland’s Blue lagoon, The great barrier reef in Aussie land, Sigiriya in Sri Lanka, The great pyramids in Giza, Egypt,  The Empire State building in you know where, Rio and finally Mexico.

Well out of that lot I have visited Egypt on several occasions. Canada more than once and Sri Lanka. I have visited Kenya in Africa and that may come close to Zambia. But I got to wondering if the writer had visited them all or had extracted the info. Anyhow, it matters not. If you are a traveller its a nice piece of information.

But I guess we could all write something about interesting places to visit. It all depends upon whether we wish to travel far afield or stay close to home, wherever that might be. My eldest son Kevin and his wife Sue could certainly write a number of books on the places they’ve visited and support them with hundreds of photographs. I kid you not with the hundreds. I think Sue takes her camera to bed with her. Anyhow the lass has literally thousands of photos. Kev differs from me in that he plans their vacation and makes reservations well ahead of departure time. Everything is planned down to the last detail and all within school holidays. Not like his dad who decides at the last minute. Work though is often the cause of my not being able to plan ahead. This year holiday planning has been delayed as my youngest son is getting married and we still await the date and venue so it may well be a Taylor clan gathering in the UK.

But where to go is the question. Last year we went to France after the tourists had all been and gone and had the roads to ourselves. A lovely time was had by all. Being located in the Middle East means that we can travel to many destinations east and west in a similar time scale. For example the UK is roughly seven hours from here, a similar time is experienced travelling to the Philippines that is just slightly longer. Closer to home we have India to the east and Egypt to the west. As we have sun, sea and sand throughout the year where we live then our travels will probably be to pastures green to enable our young daughter to experience a country different than the one she was born and lives in.

One could have thoughts on a cruise ship but after the recent events of the last few days and the other month I wonder how many people have been put off such a holiday. I heard on the radio today that the latest ship to breakdown was still being towed to the Seychelles with thousands of passengers on board. Worrying perhaps for a number of them.

Hey, we could plan on visiting gigs!! Madonna performs here soon and she is followed by Elton John. Word has it that fans queued up for over 24hrs for tickets for Madonna. Not for me, even for the material girl, as good as she is. So for me I’ll keep looking and talking and eventually we will set off somewhere. As for you all, well one out of ten perhaps?Good planning and good holidays. Don’t forget your camera!

To an extent we were pleased to see the end of 2011 and it was not the best of years and we lost two good people.

2012 came in with  bang with a super firework display. We hadn’t really decided what to do as the big displays are over an hours drive from our home. Our little one had fallen asleep and as the evening wore on I started work on the pc. The clock moved forward and as it approached 11pm my wife suddenly said I think we should go and see the fireworks at Burg Khalifah.  I was a little gobsmacked. One has to drive pretty quick to reach our destination in that time but I thought we would give it a try as the roads should be pretty quiet at that time of the night.

Hey, it just shows how wrong one can be. I carried our slumbering little one out to the car and off we started. For 70 or so kilometers the traffic wasn’t bad but as we approached the city boundary and passed through a neighbouring Emirate the traffic began to build up. Soon all six lanes on the highway were chockablock with vehicles of every shape and size. By now we were some 10 minute short of our destination, a viewing point some distance out from the city centre. To go inside would be suicidal, we tried that last year. With 7 minute to go to midnight vehicles were beginning to park up beside the major highway. Soon we turned off to travel on another busy road into the city and found vehicles already lining the side of the highway. On we went to turn off on the road leading to Nad Al Sheba. This is a super road and probably one of the quietest in the city. But guess what. It was packed. It was now three minutes to countdown and my wife was shouting for me to pull over but there was no space. On we raced past hundreds of car and eventually found a space and drew to a halt just as the clock struck twelve and the firework display began.

What a display. It lasted for 10 minutes and was once again brilliant. I woke my little precious but she raised her head, glanced out of the window then went back to sleep again. The amazing thing about this display is how the fireworks are fixed from the top to the bottom of the worlds tallest building.  But this isn’t the only major display in the city. If you are a visitor for the New Year the choice is the Jumeirah Beach hotel. The Atlantis hotel – set out to sea, Festival city and the Burg Khalifah. There may well be others that I am not aware of.  Another plus for visiting at this time and staying on for a few days in the New Year is the commencement of the month long Shopping Festival that sees thousands visiting the city for that month with big discounts in stores eveywhere.

On Christmas night we stayed at one of the Hilton hotels  and as a matter of interest I enquired of availability on NYeve. The respone was that all their chain of hotels were fully booked from the 28th through to January. Hey, and they say we are in a recession!!

All we need here now is for the mMunicipalities and property developers to start awarding construction contracts and hopefully we will put the past few years behind us.

Fingers crossed.

It seems like ages since we were last in contact. Seems like? Two months if my memory is anything to go by. Well, its all down to me, sorry. I decided to take time out and get away for a while so off we went to one of my favourite places – France. I have good memories of times spent there and not so good ones of Charles de Gaule airport. Unfortunately it hasn’t changed. It’s not so much the airport as the customs and the attitude of its officials when passing through security. I’m surprised they don’t instigate strip search as its getting pretty close. They have no compassion for little children who are frightened to pass through the detection frame. We will be visiting France again next year and I am already searching for routes to avoid CDG.

Our destination was the Dordogne region. A region I must confess I have not previously spent much time in but this trip was a pleasure. It didn’t start out that way but later after we collected our hire car. Things didn’t look too bright as we approached the car hire desk at Bordeaux airport. Just our luck. The queue for the company we had selected was the most popular and there was a considerable wait so one stands around surveying all and sundry to pass the time away until you eventually reach the desk. Bonjour, the greeting and then pass the relevant papers over and then WAIT. Do you ever get the feeling things aren’t going right? Like lots of searching and ferreting behind the desk, then making numerous phone calls without a word being addressed to you. Finally after about fifteen minutes I couldn’t resist and had to ask the question. ‘You were expecting us, weren’t you?’  The smile was weak, the voice apologetic. ‘We are just locating the car sir.’ Fifteen minutes later a repeat question. This time she came clean. ‘You did request an automatic sir?’  The response “Yes.”
‘Sorry sir, we have many cars but are having a problem locating an automatic.’
Now for me I find it difficult to comprehend how companies can operate like this. The booking was made weeks in advance, they had sufficient notice. Well, eventually one was found and we were directed to the parking lot and that’s where it all changed. They had found a C220 diesel Merc that turned out to be a lovely drive.

We headed off first for Perigueux onroads as quiet as mice. Found the delightful hotel ‘Bristol’ that we had previously booked and set about exploring the region. The most delightful place was Brantome, said to be the Little Venice of France, It is a very picturesque place and definitely worth a visit. We decided to take our first lunch in France in Brantome and unfortunately experienced one of the worst glasses of white wine I have had ever had for years. Disappointing where you tell others how wonderful the wine of France is.
From there we travelled north,on the quiet mouse roads, to the Limousin region and stayed at the ‘Hostelry Le Grand Saint Leonard’ located in a quaint old French town called Saint Leonard de Noblat. Mine host is a wonderful Chef and the food truely exquisite. If you are ever in the region then it is a must place to visit for lunch or dinner. My wife had discovered the City of Clermont Ferrand in her book and suggested we visit as it wasn’t far away- its a small book! If I recall correctly the journey took well over two hours but it was worth it for the view of the city that is set in a valley and observation points are located high above. The city is well worth a visit and we shall return.
From Limousin we headed south to finish in the wine fields of Bergerac. There we covered many miles exploring towns and villages. My daughter discovered that France has McDonalds so she was a happy bunny.

I discovered life through the eyes of a child. Nature and the countryside. Something one takes for granted when born in a country where it is all around you. We discovered black and white, brown and nearly white cows. Those with horns were daddy cows. Sheep, pigs, goats, horses, swans, ducks and others. Forest after forest of trees, green green grass. Ponds, lakes, picking walnuts off a tree and grapes off a vine. All wonderful stuff. It was a magic time for my little one and it brought back memories for me that I was able to relay of the things we did in the countryside when I was a boy. It was a quite refreshing experience and one I wouldn’t have missed for the world. So for those of you out there with children may I suggest you take time out to listen and hear what they have to tell of the things they learn and see.

We will be back in France in 2012. Not long off now.
To my friends in America I wish you all a  ’Happy Thanksgiving.’  That to is a lovely occasion.

Time to sign off. Take care and may your god go with you.

Last week my son told his two young children the sad news. They both celebrated their birthdays at the beginning of this month so this will be extremely hard for them to take. I got to thinking as to what one would say to young children, what words of comfort can one offer to those so young who are about to lose a parent. Explaining is a pretty hard job. We all try words of comfort at times, in fact that and moral support is probably all we can offer to family and friends during such times.

There is a saying that ‘things come in three’s’ but for me it’s now four and I hope it stops there.
With my son’s wife we knew of the dreaded C and everyone hoped and prayed for a cure but our prayers went unanswered. But for Brian, my daughters Godfather, Doug – my brother and dear, dear Willie Halcrow the walk was sudden and totally unexpected.

A year last January Brian started with a cough, by March he had gone. My brother Doug and I spoke later saying that in life we must never put off doing what we want and need to do. He was overdue to visit with us. By June he too had departed. Then in January this year my best friend and one of the loveliest persons to walk gods earth, Dr. Willie Halcrow, suffered a stroke while shovelling snow off his drive in Scotland. We all thought recovery was going well, but we were wrong. Willie received the call and we are left with beautiful memories.

But memories can’t suffice for the personal contact, the banter, the telephone calls. the friendship and advice. Life can be cruel at times but we have to go on. If we can, then live our lives to the full and offer help and friendship to all of gods creatures.

I’ll leave you with that thought while I pray for my family in the UK and those in trouble around the world.

Many books and most magazines are food related and healthy living is probably in print every day. Magazines on good health and what to eat and drink are in your face when visiting book stores and surfing the web so this wee blog is an addition.

I’m sure many of you have heard of the Low Carb Plan. But in all probability you know little about it. You may consider it as advice to eat as much steak, bacon, chips etc as you like. Well lets explore.

It is about lowering your carbohydrate intake. Foods that are discouraged in most low fat diets are generally foods with taste. That is what the fat element does. It provides the taste. For example we go to a footie match on a cold day so to get a warm feeling we may well eat a steak and kidney or steak pie. Lovely taste but not really good for our health. Then there is the British fish and chips, Fish is fine but its the batter!! So lets proceed. This plan allows a liberal amount of what we are advised not to eat, like butter, oils, eggs and meat. Definately out are cakes,paste, bread, potatoes and biscuits.You can eat lean meat and chicken and oil foods like olive oil, and oily fish. salmon is by far the best. And of course fruit and vegetable are a must. That’s about the gist of what to eat but the plan is targetting the wee tummy and the chest. not the best plan for ladies but ideal for men with beer tummies. As a matter of interest have you ever notice the bulging bellies of many of the male species? Take note some time, especially on a beach or by a pool..
I have a view over a swimming pool and have noted of late the large number of men carrying bellies. Youngish men at that. It’s all to do with loving the taste of food.
What is of interest is the fact that fat deposits around the midrift are associated with heart disease and diabetes so it makes sence to watch what we eat.

There are many tasty meals without fat content. Its purely a matter of selecting the right foods and the way we prepare them. Oily fish are brilliant and should be eaten four times a week. I’m fortunate in that I like fish so its no problem for me. I find interesting the different ways of preparing food. Presently I am into marinating salmon and that is on my menu for this evening.

Bread is another favourite of mine but I am now selective in what I eat. German rye bread is in favour at the minute. But I love going into a bakery to brows around and see what’s on offer. The smell of freshly baked bread is wonderful on a cold morning. Hopefully, I will be experiencing that later this year on a visit to France. Can’t wait.

But to close I suggest you explore food possibilities, Experiment with different foods, either as main course or starters. You may discover foods you never thought would mix. In the end its all about carbohydrates. Ignore them at your cost. Happy eating.