Tag Archives: Dragons Rule OK

fantasy

The Promises of Dragons

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dragon

It suddenly appeared one day and took a cow from the field.

A week later, dark wings blotted out the summer sun. The farmer looked up and saw an enormous shape gliding overhead. A dragon! He watched, cowering behind a large tree.
The dragon swooped down and carried off another cow.

As soon as the creature disappeared towards the distant mountains he ran as fast as he could to his home.

‘What? You say a dragon is stealing our cows?’ His wife was incredulous. ‘They are supposed to be extinct, aren’t they?’

‘It was a dragon. A huge beast with horns on its head, leathery wings and reddish-brown scales. It was a dragon for sure.’

‘Then you must go and tell the village council. They must do something about it. We can’t have dragons taking all our cows,’ exclaimed his wife.

‘I’m not sure they’ll believe me. Anyway, what can they do?’

‘Nevertheless you must go. Leave straight after we’ve eaten. I can see to things here until you get back.’

The farmer strode resolutely into the village that afternoon and made for the home of the leader of the council. When he heard the farmer’s tale, he called an emergency council meeting.

Once all the council members were assembled he turned to the farmer.

‘Now tell the council what you told me,’ he said.

The farmer bowed to the council and told of the theft of a cow by a dragon. He told of the disappearance of other cows in the previous weeks as well, but he had thought that it was rustlers. He had not thought of a predator as there had seen no evidence of blood or bones. The cows had just vanished.

‘You are certain you saw a dragon? Most experts say they’re extinct.’ said the leader of the council.

‘It was a dragon. I can’t be mistaken about that!’

Another councilor asked, ‘It was in the sky, against the sun. Could it have been a cloud?’

‘And clouds swoop down and steal cattle?’

There were more questions but eventually the council was convinced–at least enough of them to agree to send a troop of volunteer guardsmen to investigate, and to kill the beast, if it turned out it were truly a dragon.

Two days later the volunteers set off to track down the mythical beast.

They crossed the plain towards the mountains in the direction the farmer had told the council the dragon had gone. It took a full day to get to the base of the mountains and so they made camp there. The men were in good spirits. Searching for an extinct creature was a bit of a lark. They were mostly young men who had volunteered and not one of them believed the story the farmer had told.

‘An old man, going senile and seeing things,’ said one.

‘Or perhaps his eyes are going. It must have been a cloud. I’ve seen clouds in the shape of all sorts of things,’ said another.

‘What about the cows that vanished?’ asked a third.

‘Rustlers, as the old man suggested himself,’ the first volunteer told him.

They all laughed at the foolishness of old men.

The next few days they spent climbing the mountains. The going was not easy and as they got higher and higher some of them began to wonder why they were here on this futile search. Where were they to look? They had no idea, really, but then one of them, older than the others, suggested they look for a cave or caves. He told them he had heard that dragons like to live in caves. One young man then said that he had lived in these mountains when he was a youngster and could remember some caves where the children used to play. He led the troop in the direction of these caves.

Soon they could see dark openings in a cliff ahead of them. They stopped and had a meeting. None of them really believed in the dragon, but the oldest man said that they ought to be careful, ‘just in case’. Later that afternoon, just as they were about to set off up to the mountainside to the caves they heard a strange noise as though a large flock of bats was flying overhead or a tanner was shaking out a piece of leather. A flapping sound like wings, but not feathery wings like a bird. More like what they thought of as …dragon wings. The sunlight disappeared momentarily and as they looked up, they saw what could only be a dragon, flying towards the largest of the cave openings.

‘By all that’s holy,’ breathed the leader of the group. ‘The old man was right. It is a dragon. Where has it come from? It can’t possibly exist. They were extinct hundreds of years ago, yet here it is.’

‘They were evidently not extinct. Some must have survived in the depths of the mountains where no one goes,’ said the oldest man, standing beside him and shielding his eyes as he watched the beast enter the cave.

They waited a full day until the creature left again. That was their opportunity. They had all heard the tales of vast treasures built up by dragons. If it were true, then they would all be rich men.

The stench of dragon hit them as they neared the cave. It was a sickly, sweet smell with hints of sourness in it. They held their noses. Around the mouth of the cave lay many bones from large animals. Many were obviously deer, but there were sheep and cow bones there too.

As they neared the lair the leader asked for a volunteer to go into the cave to look. These otherwise brave young men looked at each other, none of them wanting this task. What happened if the dragon returned while they were in the cave? Then one man stepped forward to volunteer.

He entered slowly and with some trepidation. He lit his torch, for it was dark inside. The smell was even worse here and at first he thought he might be sick, but he wrapped a rag round his nose and mouth. That made it a bit more bearable. In the cave he stumbled over a smooth, rounded object. He lifted his torch and saw an egg! Not just one egg, but ten. He ran out of the cave and reported what he had seen.

They went in and smashed the eggs.

After smashing the eggs and destroying the threat of ten more dragons rampaging through the land they began the decent to the plain.

When Gulineran returned to her cave and found her smashed eggs her roar of anguish made the mountains themselves tremble. She determined to take her revenge. First she looked for the culprits. She saw them like ants, trekking down the mountainside. She flew over them and burned every last one to a crisp with her flaming breath. Then she swept down and breathed flame onto the hapless village. The cottages burned like tinder. Many lost their lives. Those who survived crowded into the village hall and there they decided to send for help to the nearby wizards, thinking perhaps magic would be able to destroy this dragon.

The message seemed to take a long time to get there but eventually a message came back. The wizards were very sorry, but they could not spare any one at the moment. They were just too busy.

One wizard was angry at that response and so he left the college and set off for the village. He was a young man by the name of Oni. Oni talked to the council, and promised to do something about the dragon. The council accepted his offer and promised him great rewards if he could manage to get rid of the great beast that was terrorising them.

Oni walked out of the village and into the mountains. He stood near the cave and called. Within seconds the dragon rushed out ready for battle. She breathed flame. The flames washed over Oni. Gulineran expected to see a dead wizard when her fire died away, but Oni was left standing and very much alive. She looked into his eyes.

‘Ah,’ Oni breathed, ‘I’ve not seen such beauty in two hundred years.’

‘How can a human talk of hundreds of years?’ asked Gulineran. ‘Your lives aren’t that long.’

‘No, but dragons live centuries,’ replied Oni. ‘You are the first female dragon I’ve seen in more than three.’

His skin began to change then, turning a rich, deep red and he grew and rippled, smooth skin turning into scales and horns sprouting from his head. His shoulder blades burst from his skin and he folded a pair of wings along his back. A handsome male red dragon stood before her. ‘Will you accept me as your mate?’ Oni asked.

When Gulineran accepted Oni’s offer he changed back to human form and returned to the village. There he told the villagers of his encounter with the dragon.

‘I used magic to charm her and I have managed to get her to agree not to attack the village nor take any cattle. She will live on the wild creatures of the mountains.’

The council offered him gold, but he refused saying, ‘I have everything I need now. Indeed, everything I ever wanted.’

He then returned to Gulineran. He told her of his promise to the villagers.

‘Oh, Oni.’ answered Gulineran. ‘Don’t they know not to trust the promises of dragons?’

I hope you like my little story. Please add a comment. I am always interested in what people think of my blogs. I’ll get back to you as quickly as I can.

fantasy, interview, novel

An Interview with Duke Danu from The Wolf Pack

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On a visit to Bluehaven I met with Duke Danu and he answered a few of my questions.

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Me: Good afternoon, Your Grace. Thank you for agreeing to answer  some questions.

Danu: I hope that I can give your readers some insight into my life and how I came to be involved, however slightly in the important events that took place last year.

Me: Firstly, how did you come to know Mabryl?

Danu: Well, I was, in fact, not the eldest child. I had an older brother, and so I was not expected to become the Duke, so I had to find another occupation. Fortunately I had a little
affinity for magic and so my father, being rather enlightened (magic isn’t trusted still after all these years since the Mage Wars) allowed me to go to the Mage Tower to train.

Me: That was where you met Mabryl?

Danu: Yes. He and I were in the same batch of youngsters training to be mages. In fact our teacher was the man who now leds the mages, Magister Robiam, although at the time he was simply Mage Robiam. He hadn’t even progressed to Arch-mage. Still, he was a good teacher and it was obvious that he would go far.

Me: Were you friends from the start?

Danu: Well, I was a bit jealous of Mabryl at the start. He was so much better than I was. He was a natural where I had to work hard to keep up. However, we soon overcame our differences and became firm friends.

Me: How was it that you ended up as Duke?

Danu: It was tragic really. While I was away there was sickness in Bluehaven. My mother contracted it by visiting and ministering to the poor who were sick. she then contracted the disease and my brother caught it from her. She recovered. My brother did not. Mother blamed herself for his death right up to her own. she never really recovered from it. A terrible thing, the death of one’s child.

Me: I am really sorry to hear of this tragedy.

Danu: Thank you. Of course my father sent for me straight away and told me that I must learn to be the Duke and give up my magic practices. I have, however, always kept an interest in magic, and although I never did the Apprentice Tests I have kept up with what is going on. This was why mabryl brought the prophecy to me when Carthinal found it in that old book.

Me: Did you know Carthinal then?

Danu: Not at that time. I knew Mabryl had taken him on as an apprentice. I advised him against it though. To take on a wild thing like him, who knew no discipline. Madness! Many times Mabryl came to see me in despair at one thing or the other he’d done. Then he went and adopted him! I will admit now that I was wrong and he has turned out alright in the end.

Me: About the prophecy. Did you know what it was about?

Danu: Not really. I could make some wild guesses, but they were just based on myths and legends so I didn’t say anything of my suspicions. I don’t want to say any more at the moment, but I have an idea as to who the ‘immortal mortal’ is.

I opened my mouth to ask him when he held up his hand.

Danu: No, I’m not saying any more until I have more facts of the matter.

Me: Tell me about Randa then.

Danu: She was a spoiled brat of a child. Rollo tried to make up for his earlier neglect of the girl by giving her everything she wanted. That made her think she was superior to everyone else, and her attitude to those not of her class was appalling. And to those who were non-human, like the elves and dwarves she was even worse. When she wanted to learn swordmanship I thought he would draw the line. What highly born young lady would ever need to swing a sword? It just isn’t lady-like. But no, he allowed her that too.

Me:  Wasn’t it a good job, though, that she could use a sword when she went on the quest with Carthinal and friends?

Danu: Perhaps if she hadn’t been able to wield a sword she would never have gone on the quest in the first place! And she would have chosen a husband instead of rejecting all those suitors that have asked her father for her hand. If she had been settled down with a few children she wouldn’t have been able to go on the quest, would she?

Me: Some say that it was foreordained that those particular folk went on that quest; that the gods had a hand in it.

Danu snorted: The gods, as you well know, young lady, do not interfere in the doings of humanity.

Me: But it does seem as though there were a few ‘pushes’ propelling them in the right direction.

Danu: Believe as you will, but I cannot think that the gods would have instigated that flood that killed so many people.

Me: Thank you for you time, Your Grace.

If you liked this interview, or even if you didn’t, please add your comment to the comments box. I’ll try to get back to you as soon as I can.

If you want to find out more about The Wolf Pack, click on the link at the side of this blog.

book reviews, history, novel

An Exciting Read

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I am reviewing Dissolution by C.J.Sansom today. I bought this book because I read the third Shardlake book, having bought it in a Charity Shop, and enjoyed it immensely. I decided I like the character and wanted to know more about him, so  bought  the first two. I’ve yet to read the second one. I’ll review it when I do.

Review of Dissolution by C.J.Sansom

Blurb

It is 1537, a time of revolution that sees the greatest changes in England since 1066. Henry VIII has proclaimed himself Supreme Head of the Church. The country is waking up to savage new laws, rigged trials and the greatest network of informers ever seen. And under the orders of Thomas Cromwell, a team of commissioners is sent throughout the country to investigate the monasteries. There can only be one outcome: dissolution.

But on the Sussex coast, at the monastery of Scarnsea, events have spiralled out of control. Cromwell’s Commissioner, Robin Singleton, has been found dead, his head severed from his body. His horrific murder is accompanied by equally sinister acts of sacrilege.

Matthew Shardlake, lawyer and long-time supporter of Reform, has been sent by Cromwell to uncover the truth behind the dark happenings at Scarnsea. But investigation soon forces Shardlake to question everything that he hears, and everything that he intrinsically believes …

Review

This is the first book in CJ Sansom’s Shardlake series and I gave it five stars.

Shardlake is a lawyer at the time of Henry VIII. He is not what one might call a traditional hero. He is a hunchback whose infirmity often troubles him. He is also regarded with suspicion and superstition by those around him, but he is a clever man.

C,J,Sansom has captured the period very well in this work. There is a very real fear amongst the people that the new Protestant religion is threatening them if they are not seen to fully embrace it. The characters he has created are very believable with all the foibles of humanity throughout the ages.

The book is very well written and moves along at a fast pace, carrying the reader along with it. There are clues as to the murderer if the reader can manage to piece things together. I didn’t, and so was surprised at the ending.

I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

If anyone wishes to make a guest appearance on my blog, please message me. I would be only to pleased to welcome you.

fruit, Uncategorized

Whatever happened to the Bilberry?

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moorland

 

I was remembering the bilberries I used to buy from the market in Rochdale, England in the early 70s and got a desire for a bilberry pie. Nowhere can I find anyone who sells them, except for Amazon who sell dried ones.

The little purple berries are about half the size of their cousin, the blueberry, but are packed with so much more flavour. There is nothing quite like it. Imagine a blueberry, then concentrate its flavour into a volume about one quarter its size, then double the flavour for good measure. You might then have a slight idea of the pleasure of eating bilberries.

They were made into pies, jams or stewed and served with ice cream or cream Mmmm, delicious. Their sweet tartness bursts on the tongue like nothing else. I’m sorry, my American friends, but the blueberry is NOT a substitute, but is bland, squishy and watery in comparison.

Now don’t get me wrong. I enjoy the occasional drink of blueberry juice or fresh blueberries in a fruit salad, it’s just when I think to compare them with the bilberry I feel disappointed. I’ve been searching websites for pictures of bilberries, but there is confusion here and all the ones I could find were actually of blueberries. Some even said they’re  the same fruit!

Why has this delicious little fruit fallen out of favour? Who knows. I suspect it’s something to do with the low-growing habit of the plant. Gathering bilberries is back-breaking work, and not one that many people would relish except for gathering a few wild ones for their own consumption.

They grow on heath and moorland. wild country where few go these days, when people don’t move more than 50 yards from their cars and think themselves adventurous for driving up into the hills and walking so far. So people don’t see these little beauties. Anyway, we have grown so far from nature that unless something comes in a neat package from a supermarket, many are afraid to gather the wild bounty of our hedgerows. (I don’t see many people gathering blackberries from the hedges or picking mushrooms from the fields these days.)

I’ve picked wild stuff since I was a child. Going mushrooming was a delight. we quickly learned to recognise a delicious field mushroom, and to eat them fresh for breakfast, with egg and bacon, well, it makes my mouth water just to think of them. They, like the bilberries, burst with lovely mushroomy flavour.

To make a pie with blackberries you’ve gathered yourself is a pleasure. To be out in the countryside, listening to the birds singing and watching the butterflies and bees–there’s nothing like it, quite apart from the health benefits of the walk.

I do see people gathering blackberries, but they are picking them from the roadside with lorries, cars and buses hurtling by and throwing up dust to coat them, Not to mention those lower down that I’ve seen people picking, just at dog pee level.

I’ve picked elderberries and made wine and jam from them, and the fluffy white umberellas of blossom also makes a lovely cordial as well as elderflower wine.

I’ve digressed from my original thought about bilberries. I long to eat another bilberry pie before I die, but they seem to be a forgotten fruit. Even Word is putting a red squiggly line underneath it everytime I write ‘bilerry’, but it doesn’t under ‘blueberry’.

Amazon’s dried bilberries, at nearly £11 for 250g seems rather a lot. and one of their products is called ‘blueberry juice (bilberry), which isn’t the same thing at all. The only review of the dried bilberries says they are horrible.

I’ve looked on the websites of all the major British supermarkets and none of them stock even jars of the fruit, even though I’ve come across websites that say they do.

So if anyone out there knows of somewhere I can get them, please let me know. I’ll be forever grateful.

fantasy, novel, Poetry

Elven Evening Song from The Wolf Pack by V.M.Sang

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During their return from finding the Sword of Sauvern, the companions passed through the Elven homeland of Rindisillaran and stayed in the capital, Quatissillaron/ there they heard the beautiful song the elves sing at dusk.

 

Elven Evening Song

Ah equillin ssishinisi
Qua vinillaquishio quibbrous
Ahoni na shar handollesno
As nas brollenores.

Ah equilin bellamana
Qua ssishinisi llanarones
As wma ronalliores
Shi nos Grillon prones.

Ah equilin dama Grillon
Pro llamella shilonores
As nos rellemorres
Drapo weyishores.

Yam shi Grillon yssilores
Grazlin everr nos pronores
Wama vinsho prolle-emo
Lli sha rallemorres.

Translation

“Oh star of the evening
Shining brightly
You give us hope
In the deepening night.

Oh beauteous star
Who heralds the evening
You tell us all
That Grillon guards us

Oh Grillon’s star
As you sink westwards
Return again
To guard the dawn.

Ensure that Grillon
Through darkness keep us
Safe from all evil
Until the morn.”’

grammar, help, history, spelling

20 commonly mis-spelled words

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Here are some commonly misspelled words in English. 113biggestbookdubai

 Acceptable, not Acceptible
 Accessible, not Accessable
 Achieved, not Acheived
 Acquire, not aquire
 Analysis, not Analasis
 Business, not Busness
 Ceiling, not Cieling
 Consistent, not Consistant
 Definite, not Definate
 Discipline, not Disipline
 Exhilarate, not Exilarate
 Exceed, not Exeed
 Forfeit, not Forfit (or Forfiet)
 February, not Febuary
 Height, not hight (or hieght)
 Heirarchy, not Hierarchy (or Hirarchy)
 Independent, not Independant
 Inoculate, not Innoculate
 Leisure, not Liesure
 Liaise, not Liase

English is a very odd language as far as spelling is concerned. This is because it has words and roots from many other languages. There are still a few Celtic words, although not very many. Then the Romans came bringing Latin.

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Latin was the language of scholars and it is only within living memory that it was a requirement to gain entry to Oxford and Cambridge Universities in England. The Roman Catholic Church used Latin in its services until comparatively recently, and many mottos are still in Latin.

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After the Romans left these isles, we were invaded by Scandinavian. These brought their own languages with them. Today, in Scotland in particular, there are many words similar, if not the same, as those in the Scandinavian languages. Dialect words often very old and date back to those languages.

There were also the Saxons. they brought Germanic languages to this country and we have many words that are very similar to the German equivalent. An example is Mutter, meaning Mother, and Haus, meaning House.

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After the Saxons came the Normans. They were, incidentally the last people to successfully invade these isles. This was in 1066. They brought French. The Normans became the ruling classes and spoke French. The workers spoke Anglo-Saxon. This explains why we have differences in the names of food we eat and the animals it comes from.

The French for a bull is Boeuf from which comes Beef. But in the field it is called a Bull, cow or in the plural, cattle.

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The French for a sheep is Mouton, from which comes Mutton, but in the field it’s still the old word, sheep.

The French for a calf is Veau from whence we get Veal.

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You get the picture.

Then Dutch engineers were brought in to drain what is now the Fens in East Anglia and they brought words with them. The British Empire was a source of words too, especially India.

So our language is something of a hotch-potch, hence the different spellings and pronunciation.

I will add to these words in a future blog. I hope you find this useful.

Uncategorized

Book Title Poll 3

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Please vote if this works. I’m having a lot of trouble getting it to work on WordPress.

Please tell me if it’s working now someone, and also just click one of the little buttons and vote.

Thank you for voting.

Poetry, World War 1

A poem to commemorate WW1

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I make no apologies for re-posting this poem. I wrote it 2 years ago to commemorate the anniversary of the start of  World War One. As July 1st is the 100th anniversary of the terrible battle of the Somme, I thought I’d post it rather than the next episode of The Wolf Pack. That I’ll post next week instead.

My Great Uncle Jim, whom I mention in the poem. came back too, but he died shortly afterwards from the results of gassing. The lady known as Auntie Polly, who was his fiancee at the time, never married, but the family always treated her as though they had been.

‘Our Poor Willie’ was also my great uncle. He was my maternal grandmother’s brother. She always referred to him as ‘our poor Willie,’ but no one ever knew why.

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WE WILL REMEMBER THEM.

I’ll never truly understand
How World War I began.
The death of Archduke Ferdinand
Started the deaths of many more
The young, the old, the rich, the poor.
All died with guns in hand.

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My Grandad went with Uncle Jim
And Our Poor Willie, too.

They sent them off, singing a hymn.
Grandad went to Gallipoli,
Uncle Jim left his love, Polly.
Gas in trenches did kill him.

Britishtrenchww1

I cannot see, in my mind’s eye
Grandad with gun in hand.
A peaceful man, sent out to die.
He fought for us, for you and me
So we can live and so that we
Safely in our beds may lie.

Grandad came home, and Willie too,
But millions more did not.
Their duty they all had to do.
They died in fear, in noise, in blood.
Everything was caked in mud.
Yet in those fields the poppies grew.

The War to end all wars, they said,
So terrible were the deaths.
The youth of Europe all lay dead.
Yet 21 short years to come
Another war. Once more a gun
In young men’s hands brought death.

One hundred years have passed since then.
What have we learned? Not much!
Too many men are killing men.
Wars still abound around the world.
Bombs and missiles still are hurled
At those who disagree with them.

V.M.Sang

July 2014

I make no apologies for this poem not being in the modern idiom of no rhymes and little rhythm. I’m old-fashioned enough to think that poems ought to differ from prose, and many modern ones I’ve read are little different. That doesn’t necessarily mean rhyming though. I’ve written blank verse myself on occasion.

I also think that they ought to be comprehensible!

Please leave a comment in the comments section.

fantasy, novel

An Interview with Davrael. The Wolf Pack.

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newcoverwolfpack

I have managed to get Davrael to agree to do an interview. This was a difficult task as he is a very private person, but eventually my power of persuasion triumphed. I was a bit afraid when Imet him. He is an imposing man, and the hawk tattoo on his face, wings over his eyebrows, head and beak down his nose and talons on his cheeks was very intimidating. Here is what he said:

wild_horse_marsh_pony_assateague_island

Me: Good afternoon, Davrael. Thank you for agreeing to this interview. I know you are not very keen on publicity.

Davrael: No. I not speak your language too good. It is difficult for me.

Me: I will try to make it as easy as I can for you. Please tell me something of the life of the Horselords.

Davrael: We, as you know, live for horses. Our horses are best on whole of Vimar. We respect them not just use them.

Me: What do you mean by that?

Davrael: We never put them to do things unnatural. We do not enslave them with saddles or bits to make it easier for us. We never beat them, but talk to them and are gentle.

Me: But don’t you use them for food?

Davrael: Yes, but we apologise to horse. He allow us to eat him. We thank Grillon for horse too and we grieve for him when he die. If we not eat horse sometimes, we not survive. If we lost in dry places, horse allow us to drink his blood so we do not thirst. Mares allow us to drink milk too even though it is for foals.

Me: How many horses do your tribe own?

Davrael: We not own horses. They are own masters. We follow when they move to different grazing grounds.

Me: But the horses that you ride;  surely you can’t say they are their own masters?

Davrael: Yes. They allow us to ride and use them, but they not belong to us. To answer your first question, there are 300 horses that allow my tribe to be with them.

Me: That is a lot of horses.

Davrael: Yes. Swooping Hawk tribe very rich. Look after horses well so horses breed well.

Me: Tell me about your family then.

Davrael: I my father’s heir. I second son, but it not auto…automatic…is that the word? for eldest to inherit. My father think that I would be better to see after horses than my brother. I have 2 sisters too. They younger than me. Probably married by now. I not hear since I leave The Plains.

Me: Your father is chief of the Swooping Hawks I understand.

Davrael: Yes. He great chief. We always win fights with other tribes. He good at tactics.

Me: Why do you war with other tribes?

Davrael: Over land–territory, over stealing horses, over stealing women; things like that.

Me: Would you have become chief after your father if you had not left?

Davrael: Perhaps, perhaps not. It depend on other men in tribe. Elders. They vote, but usually it is heir of last chief. Only if they think he not fit will they vote for another. Usually no one challenges. Sometimes, if elders not agree, contestants must fight and winner is chief.

Me: Is it not a hard life, wandering The Plains.

Davrael smiled: Before I came to Grosmer. I not think so. I used to it, and love the horses. Now I get soft with easy living. No need to look for place to camp near water for animals and people, soft beds, not hard mats on floor, stone walls that keep out cold and heat, not hide tents that are cold in winter and hot in summer.

Me: But when you were on your quests with Carthinal and the others. That must have been a bit like your life on The Plains.

Davrael: Yes, but that before we settle to soft life. We only just come over the Barrier–The Western Mountains, you call them.

Me: We?

Davrael: Me and Kimi. We run away because our parents not wish us to marry.

Me: Why was  that?

Davrael: I am son of Chief of Swooping Hawks. Kimi is daughter of a nobody. She also is daughter of settlers. Nomads think settlers no good. Settlers think nomads no good. So we run away.

Me: Is that why you ended up in Grosmer?

Davrael: Yes. We first come to big city, Eribore. I not seen anything as big. Walls all round of stone. We think we not stay there. Too near home, so we go to Hambara. It even bigger city. Kimi find inn and there we meet Carthinal, Basalt, Fero and Asphodel. They kind to us and take us on adventure. Other folk kind too. Duke Rollo give us work after we return. We  think of Grosmer as our land now.

Me: You would not go back to The Plains?

Davrael: No. We have no home there now. Our families have disowned us. Our home and country is Grosmer.

Me: Thank you very much for your time.

Remain, Uncategorized

22 reasons to vote Remain

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europeanunionflag

I am concerned at the possibility that the UK will vote to leave the EU on Thursday. While I acknowledge that there are things wrong with it, I really don’t think that in the world today it is sensible to decide to ‘go it alone.’
 I believe this for the following reasons.

 The EU is the biggest free-trade group in the world. We are a very small country that thinks it’s a big one. Should we turn our backs on this huge market? Yes, we will still be able to trade with them, but it will be on their terms. We won’t have any say in things. We will still have to meet their requirements without any input into what those requirements are. Not a sensible thing, really when we can stay in and argue our case.

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 There have been luxury houses built in London. They were mainly being bought by the rich Chinese, I understand, but this market has slowed considerably since the referendum has been mooted. The rich foreigners are hanging back to see what happens. They see the UK as a way into the European market, that I have already said is a huge free trade area. If we pull out of the EU, they’ll pull out of the UK. Big international companies already hear will most probably pull out. I heard of one company, I forget which, that is already looking at the possibility of moving to France.

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 Investment will go down. People and companies won’t want to invest in the UK without the access to the European market, so jobs will be at risk.

 The NHS is a big argument. The ‘leave’ people say we can invest the money we give to the EU into the NHS. Actually, I don’t believe that will happen. Some maybe, but it will be a drop in the ocean.

 We don’t have enough nurses, midwives and doctors now. Many come from overseas. People complain about that, but the NHS would collapse without them. It’s all very well saying ‘Train more’, but if people don’t want to go into those professions, then we can’t make them. I personally believe that part of the reason is the litigation culture that is building up in this country.

 Mark Carney, the Governor of the Bank of England is someone who should know what he’s talking about. He says that leaving is the biggest domestic risk to financial stability. When someone, even someone of his stature says something like this, the ‘Leave’ people just say. ‘Oh no it won’t,’ but have nothing to say to back up their argument.

 The TUC General Secretary says leaving would have ‘massive implications for jobs, rights and the very fabric of the UK. If you take that floor away, workers will be worse off.’ I’m sure she will have done her research before making that statement.
 One of the best brains in the country, Stephen Hawking, says that leaving the EU would be a disaster for Science.

 In the EU we have co-operation between many police forces and so criminals can be tracked over borders. Do we want to lose our criminals if they cross the channel, or do we want them brought to justice?

 If the vote is ‘Leave’, then the Scots will hold another independence referendum. I believe that this time they would vote for independence because the majority of Scots want to remain in the EU. The UK would then be split up. Would this then have a snowball effect and cause Wales and Northern Ireland to break away too? I don’t know, but it’s possible.

 The biggest argument of the ‘Leave’ campaigners is immigration. ‘Take back our borders’ they cry. Now, I think that we do have to limit immigration. The number of people in this country is getting too great, but I don’t think that leaving the EU would make much difference.

 I was born in England. My ancestors as far as I can trace were all born in England or Wales. Yet when I return from a foreign holiday I have to show my passport to re-enter my own country. This summer I crossed eight borders and the only time I had to show my passport was to return to the UK. We are not part of the Schengen agreement about free movement. Leaving the EU won’t stop people from trying to board lorries and get here illegally, nor will it stop people from trying to come legally. Anyway, we only seem to be concerned about those people from Eastern Europe, yet we employ them to do work in our homes because ‘they are cheaper and work harder.’ How’s that for hypocrisy?

 They (the immigrants) only come here for benefits people say. Not true. Most come here to work or study. (Did you know that anyone who stays here for more than a year is counted as an immigrant, even if they are only here for a few years to study?) Most of these people are young and so don’t use much of our NHS provision. A UK national is also more likely to apply for, and get, benefits than those who come in. Immigrants now have to work for 4 years, and pay into the system, tax and National Insurance, before they can claim any benefits, including child benefit. Child benefit for children living abroad has been stopped.

 0.1% of the EU migrants are claiming benefits or tax credits, while 22% of the working-age population is claiming, so they are a very small number. (calculated from Nomis, official labour market statistics)

 Over 3 million UK jobs are linked to trade with the EU. That’s one in every 10 jobs. (The Treasury)

 If we leave the EU, UK households would be £4,300 a year worse off. (The Treasury)

 We save over £350 a year on lower prices in UK shops by being in the EU. (Centre for Economic Performance)

 Workers’ Rights are protected by EU law, including maximum working hours, parental leave and rights for part-time workers.

 This is my personal opinion. I haven’t got any statistics for it. I think, though, that food prices will rise if we leave. This is because the EU gives our farmers a subsidy of £2.4 billion. There is still a commonly held belief that farmers are all wealthy. Now I wouldn’t deny there are wealthy farmers. Of course there are, just as there are wealthy people in other walks of life, but the average farmer is struggling to remain in business even with the subsidy. (Dairy farmers barely get the cost of production, and a few years ago they were making a loss.) If farmers are forced out of business, then more of our food will have to come from abroad, thus putting up prices, and incidentally, due to increased mileage it has to travel, pollution.

 What about tourism? If we come out of the EU, there is a high likelihood that holidays abroad will be dearer. This is because of a forecast fall in the pound of 12%. This will increase flight costs as well as the cost of accommodation.

 We will lose t he EHIC card. This card ensures that travellers with it can access health care abroad. If it goes, people will have to take out their own insurance and if they are ill, pay up front and then claim the money back.

 The British economy stands to lose £4.1billion per year from loss of tourism from the EU. That’s a lot of money.

I advise people to think very carefully before voting. If we vote ‘out’ it will be final. The EU won’t want to have us back. Voting ‘out is a jump in the dark.