The India Connection

 Stories to come

Focus on India

The main group of readers yesterday for my blog were in India.

I shouldn't be surprised as I have been blogging about Bollywood a lot, and mentioning the possibility of a follow-up story to my current book.

The Land of the Rising Sun

The Surrender of Japan in India

My wife's wish

A month before my wife passed away in January, we were watching a World War 2 documentary on Japan.

During the evening, I mentioned my father was in India, and took some photos of the Japanese surrender, she said she would love to have seen them; I found them this afternoon, two months after she passed.

I wonder how many people can say their relatives were present such an auspicious moment in history?

What Concerns me

  I am no Prude

You can be too forward

I have no objection to a show of tenderness from people I know, or have known for a while; but some Americans can be too forward for my ease.

I blocked a man on Twitter a few minutes ago, he'd only made contact a few days ago, and he's calling me "dear," I am not a prude, but that is creepy to me.

He isn't the worse by far, a few months before I got the Facebook ban, I was contacted by a man, who turned out to be a Church Minister. Before I conformed my first impression, I had the feeling he was in the church. He started chatting to me, as if I was a lady, when I explained I was married, he asked for my wife's phone number, and Facebook profile page

The Raven

 Steampunk

Gothic

When I was working in St. Nicholas Church Museum, Bristol, many years ago. I came across a lovely embossed watch case like this with a raven on the cover. At the time, I couldn't afford the price, and when I could, the watch had been sold.

How do I know it was a raven, not a crow, or jackdaw, as they are in the same family? A raven has a distinctive curved beak with ripping apart its prey, and is far larger than the other birds in the group.

When we think of this group of birds, we see dark, foreboding birds, but also in the group is the  colourful jay

What is the Problem?

 My Right Ankle 

A torn tendon

I took this photo in July, 2011, when my left Achilles tendon tore.

The injury was no worse than a paper cut, yet it left me bedridden for a month, and the strength never returned.

Since then, I have had to rely on my right ankle for support, all the time praying it would hold up.

This year, with the passing of my wife, I have been on my feet constantly, sometimes for days without rest. Tonight, I fear the worst, I can feel a constant strain on the tendon; if I don't rest it, it will tear, and leave me unable to walk for a long time

Hollywood Mysteries

 YouTube favourites

                                        The Two Foxes
I bought the pendant in the picture for several reasons, I love old gold, and silver. My late wife and I love foxes, and nature.

This year, the broach took on a new meaning, it reminds me of the last time I saw my late wife excited, two weeks before she passed away in January, the two fox cubs from the nearby litter visited our garden in daylight, I hadn't seen my wife so happy in years.

The tee-shirt I am wearing is one of two I said I was going to buy from one of our favourite YouTube Channels - Hollywood Mysteries - I may buy some other items to help the site, but that will have to wait.

What will I do?

 Mental Health Concerns

My Worrying time is yet to come

For now, I am too busy to have time to think about my wife with getting the house prepared for a series of inspections when I take over the tenancy next week, but what after that?

There are days, when even a short break from work causes me to sit in tears, today was one of the worst days since my darling passed. Instead of celebrating her 69th birthday, we spent an hour where her ashes were laid.

I used to lose myself in my writing to escape, what is the point in writing a story, if you know nobody will read it?

As a finale to my writing, I sent a request to a literary agent in London two weeks ago, don't hold your breath for success, I am expecting another rejection

Why did I stop blogging?

 Few Readers

I could see no reason to continue

Not that anyone cares.

If you wonder why my blog has not been used a lot recently, it has little to do with the passing of my wife in January.

The main reason is with fewer than 100 readers a day, I saw no point in writing with falling reader figures

Where did the money go?

 eBay sales

I had a small amount of DVDs

According to my eBay sales figures, I've been paid over £600 so far this year. By this year, I presume they mean the last 12 months.

Most of the money from my eBay page went for bills, even though my late wife said there was no need to pay my money into the family funding, but I couldn't do that.

I would think about 25% of the money I made, I spent on her, sadly, she didn't get to see a lot of the DVDs I got her. I would think I spent around 15% on myself

Memory Loss

 It is not because of my age

Listing Thoughts

I decided to try to list things I wish to do each day; it isn't because of my age, I've had the issue of forgetting what I planned to do for many years.

The issue is I think of things I want to do, and then get asked to do other things, forgetting what I want to do

I am heading for a nervous breakdown

I rarely take a break

                                                           Take a Break

I would not be surprised if I suffer a nervous breakdown soon.

At the moment, I am keeping busy packing my late wife's clothes, but even when I stop for a tea, I end up crying; Lord knows what will happen when all the packing is over, will I have the strength to go on?

Classic TV series

 Coming to eBay

UKTV Gold

In the coming weeks, I will be adding The Saint - both B&W and Colour - series, as well as the original Van Der Valk series to my eBay page

Which Channels do I watch?

 Netflix

YouTube

My decision this week will not hinder my television viewing, all I watch is either Netflix, or YouTube, which I can watch via the apps on my DVD player.

I watched two series on Amazon Prime this month. One reason is one series isn't out on DVD, and one series I bought because I thought I'd lost a season from the DVD box set  I bought from eBay

A viewing change

 Operation Hindi

                                                       From Fire stick to DVD player

This week, I intend to change how I watch television.

At the moment, I watch via our Amazon Fire stick which is an account set up for my late wife; this week, I shall change to my DVD player. The change has little to do with the stick bringing back memories of my wife's suffering; those will never go.

The main reason for the change is if I connect my DVD player, I can start to watch my Hindi DVD selection, and decide if any could be added to my eBay page.

Ladies of Bollywood

 Actresses I don't like to watch

Saira Banu

If you read my blog, you may get the view there are no actresses in Bollywood I dislike, this is not the case; there have been, and still are, several ladies I dislike.

My opinion of them is not based on whether I find them attractive; some ladies I would consider attractive fall in this section.

Among the list are Saira Banu, Asha Parekh, Amrita Singh, Huma Qureshi, Leena Chandavarkar, and Reema Sen. There are several others, and the list grows. I am not a fan of many of the newer generation of actresses

Shammi Kapoor

 The Elvis Presley of India

Sharmila Tagore

During the late 1950s, and into the 1970s, Bollywood promoted Shammi Kapoor as the Elvis Presley of India. A view I agree with having seen several of his films. 

He was a good singer, and a moderately good actor, but not in the same league as his brothers, Raj Kapoor, and Shashi Kapoor. I am selling some of his films on my eBay page. You may wonder why I am selling these; the reason is apart from one or two, the films are not to my liking, though the feature actresses of the calibre of Lalita Pawar, Sharmila Tagore, and Saira Banu.

The main reason for selling is I am not a fan of musicals, and most of his films feature lots of singing, and a weak story

Did you see anything?

 Jane Austen

Truth or Preconceived thoughts?

I believe in spirits, to me the soul is a form of energy which can be altered in form, but not destroyed.

As nobody has proved ghosts do not exist, I believe in them.

I watch several series on YouTube about people who claim to have seen a ghost, the more I watch, the more I wonder did they see anything, or did knowledge of the area give them preconceived thoughts which lead them to think they saw something?

A case in mind is the case of a man who claimed to see the ghost of Jane Austen at the house she lived in, which is now a museum. 

Who did he expect to see, Anne Bronte?

Bollywood Gold

 The lost story of Satyajit Ray

                                                           Monihara

Last year, while searching for a film on the Internet Archive site, I came across a piece of Bollywood Gold.

Bollywood director Satyajit Ray only directed one ghost story, and this was thought to have been lost since 1965, when it was cut from his entry to the Paris Film Festival. The reason Monihara was cut is explained in this post.

If any vintage film fan wishes to have a copy, I am willing to put it on a DVD for a small fee.

The other film, yes, I did find it. I was looking for a Bollywood mystery film I had seen on Netflix, but it is not on DVD

Islamophobia

 Reign of Terror

Labour Lies

Labour leader Keir Starmer has no idea what he is talking about, does he ever, when he says people suffer from Islamophobia.

A phobia is an irrational fear of something, what is going on in Europe is real, a reign of terror. The crimes I mention in my eBook - Untold Truths - are real enough. I was going to list the crimes, but that would be an endless task as the latest series began in 2012, in Munich, and are going on as I write this post; the list is large enough to be a book in its own right

One Direction

 Spam on Twitter

Spam on Twitter 2

There is only one way of getting me interested in a group chat on Twitter, that is to get to know me first. Sending me a blind link will only get the post tagged as SPAM.

If you take the time to know me, you will find I have numerous interests, some of my views are controversial though, such as my posts about Israel, and I can be interesting to chat to

The Lake District

 Dartmoor Prison

                                                    Build a Mosque

As the Muslims have permission to build a mosque in The Lake District, an area of great natural beauty, I know another area they are welcome to build one - Dartmoor - the area is beautiful, but deadly.

Without local knowledge, you could easily be dragged into the mires in the area, and in seconds be lost. Three years ago, they applied to build on the North Yorkshire Moors, but were rejected; even the trains are not allowed to cross the Yorkshire moors

Housing for illegal Immigrants

 North Somerset

South coast

As Labour are doing nothing to stem the ever-growing immigration issue, I know two areas where they can build houses for them.

The North Somerset coast, south of Weston-Super-Mare, and the south coast of Devon, and Cornwall, why here?

The North Somerset coast from WSM to the tip of Land's End is not only hard to get to, but it has few amenities, other than holiday camps.

The south coast of Devon and Cornwall is mainly chalk which over the last two years has been collapsing into the English Channel.

This should prompt the immigrants to write home telling people there that coming to the UK illegally you get treated like a criminal, which technically you are.

I sometimes think I am more intelligent than I think, or it could be some people are too stupid for words.

Last year, a builder decided to build two hotels near the coast, a good idea you may think, however, he never dis a soil survey, and shortly after the first was finished the weight of the hotel caused a massive cave-in exposing a series of caves in the chalk in the area. If I was building a hotel, one of the first things I'd do is check the ground I planned to build on

True Creepy Experiences

Plamondon

Hammer Horror

I watch several channels on YouTube ranging from Cooking to History.

One of the ones I find interesting  is called True Creepy Experiences.

One of the creepiest experiences I had is visiting Plamondon, Alberta, Canada. The hamlet looks like it has come direct from a Hammer Horror film.

The location shown on my eBook is Lac La Biche, which is a short ride from Plamondon

I am an oddball writer

  I am not too concerned

Am I crazy?

To some writers the next two months would be tense, but not for me, why?

Though I sent the story above to an agency in London two weeks ago, I am not holding my breath for a favourable reply. acceptance is the key for me. Long ago, I decided I would accept rejection, that way, I don't feel too bad when it happens. Many writers I used to know could not understand why I do this; it is hard for a person with a contract to understand the torments of writing knowing there is little, if any possibility of being noticed

It makes me wonder

 A Thriving shop

Postage costs

This year, my eBay store has taken off in a big way.

One of the reasons is I am selling DVDs of series which were seen on UKTV.

I can't afford to send items outside the UK as the postage is more than the value of the items, but it had me thinking what would have happened if I had sold outside the UK?

I have had several offers from Germany, India, and even Australia.

Another factor is a one-man business, I don't have the space to store large amounts of DVDs which may not sell

I am becoming Paranoid

 The IT world

The Internet is not the Issue

For decades people have been saying the Internet is evil, it not. The internet is not the problem it is how we use it which is the problem.

An example is I know there is information here on where to buy guns, and if I was in the mond to get them, I could, but I have no wish to buy a gun.

Another popular myth is violent films breed violence - TOSH - I watched most of the Dirty Harry movies, and enjoted them, but I had no wish to emulate him as I knew the harm guns could do a long time before the films.

People complain about CCTV, an ID cards. The only way you may be spotted is if you do something which draws attention to you. I would imagine the majority of people have some form of ID card, whether it is a bank card, passport, or Driving License.

I'm concefrned about being phoned by unknown numbers as this usually means someone is trying to scam you. It is easy to choose a random phone number

I smell a rat

 A Possible Scam

Out of the Unknown

I could be wrong, but I doubt it, two days ago I was approached by a man from Canada, who claimed he could put me in touch with a friend who could get the money I lost in a scam in July returned.

There were things that put me on edge about him, he was pushing his friend's ability to get the money too much, and would not back down, when I said it wasn't worth the bother for $150.00, as I had managed to not cause any issues with the loss.

I checked his Twitter profile, in over two years, the only posts he'd put up were about his friend, and he had only 100 followers; as he refused to drop the matter, I had no option but to block him

The girl from U.N.C.L.E.

 Strange DVD sales

Quick DVD sales

Some of the DVDs I am selling on eBay go as soon as I put them for sale, which is in some cases surprises me. I am not surprised Space 1999 sold quick, Gerry Anderson's works do well.

What did surprise me is The girl from U.N.C.L.E. has sold. This show ran for two season, and was not well recieved, that could be why it sold, it is a rare selection. 

Part of the reason it didn't do well is it was a cross between The Man from U.N.C.L.E., and Get Smart, both popular series in the late 70's. Another reason, probably the main reason, is the man they chose to partner Stefanie Powers is Noel Harrison, who got the role as he is the son of Rex Harrison.

Recently, they tried to re-vamp the idea with a seris from Australia called Ms Fisher's Modern Mysteries, again the series failed. The original Ms Fisher's Mysteries, set in the 1920's was an international hit.

An eBay issue

 My Thriving page

A Sales Issue

I am running into a sales issue on my page on eBay. 

The issue is now the page is thriving, I have a problem putting items on which will sell; I have plenty of DVDs I could out on, but most are from India, and mainly Bollywood pre-1990.

I realise my movie selection is not to everone's taste.

If you are curious, I have a copy of the film above I could sell as I can download the film from a YouTube channel I watch.

I chose to watch few Bollywood movies from the era from 1980 -2000 for several rerasons.

During this period the trend was for teen romance movies, with lots of music, and little storyline. Most of the ladies were no more than the romatic partner for the the leading man which at the time was one of The Three Khans.

Most of the films were, and still are, controlled by the Kapoor family.

Films at this time rarely didn't feature Anil Kapoor, his brother Shashi Kapoor, or their cousin Shakti Kapoor. Shashi I like watching, Anil I can take in small doses, and Shakti I can't abide.

As the family made the rules the sexism in Bollyood was strengthened over time. When their father, Raj Kapoor, set up RK Films, though the men were the leading force the ladies were respected for their ability.

It is only in the last decade the trend is being reversed, with the rise of actresses such as Rani Mukerji, Vidya Balan, Tabu, Raveena Tandon, and Shefali Shah. There are still actresses I consider who are there only because they are attractive such as Shilpa Shetty, Aishwarya Rai, Kajol, and Lara Dutta to name a few. I am not satyng this without reason, I have seen the ladies, and thier acting is moderate at best.

Dilip Kumar

  Vintage Bollywood movies

The Nargis Dilemma

Last week I was upset as I thought I had thrown the film Babul out, by accident as it was in a set I broke up to sell one of six films. The film features Dilip Kumar, Nargis Dutt, and Munawar Sultana, in a romance full of twists.

According to IMDB this lady is Nargis Dutt. Anyone with the slightest knowledge of Bollywood can tell you is not Nargis; it is Munawar Sultana. I despair at the revies on IMDb, many of them are from India, yet like YouTube uploaders they have little knowledge of Bollywood earlier than 1990.

This lady is Nargis.

As you can see, her facial structure is nowhere close.

As often happens in our house, I found Babul while searching for another film I got from eBay.

The film i was looking for is called Dil Diya Dard Liya, and feeatures DK with another of my Bollywood favourite acttresses, Waheeda Rehman.

As yet, Dil Diya Dard Liya, reamains unfound

Steampunk

 Motorcycle 

Dragon

A month before my wife died, January, I said I was buying this model from Amazon.

We agreed, it is so me, it features three interests of mine; Steampunk, Dragons, and Motorcycles.

Sadly, she passed away two weeks before it arrived; it was not what I was looking for, but close enough. I was trying to get a dragon riding a motorcycle

Lorraine Kelly

My Award winning book

                                                                             Roots

As this is a new blog, few readers will know the story behind my award-winning book (shown above).

I was sitting with a lady friend I used to know, she was watching Lorraine, all the celebrity could do was moan about the heat, and sand in her shoes.

This got me annoyed as to how celebrities, and most people in the world of television, and cinema, never give thanks to the unsung people you don't think about; the camera crew.

As a former cameraman, I sympathise greatly with my character. The character of Mark Johnson typifies me. This is the only book where I put myself as a character, though his exploits in the other books are fiction created in nothing more than my wild imagination

Alan Place - Anthology writer

 A Popular Request

                                                Alan Place - Short Story Writer

Over a decade ago, I was asked to contribute two short stories to this book.

The book became a sore point with the writers, though the book sold out at Comicon 2012, in Phoenix, Arizona; we never saw a dime for our work.

I have work in several charity books, as they are for a charity I never expect a payment

I am no Prude

 Mystique

I write Erotic Romances

Like many men, I get approached on Twitter, by young ladies who think showing what they can offer, nothing gets left to the imagination, is arousing.

To me, at least, I find it off-putting. I am not a prude; I have written erotic romance stories, some involving sex. If I could find the motivation, I have a WIP about erotic romance.

I find it more arousing when a lady is willing to show a little, which promises more

What am I doing?

 eBay sellers

Reduced Prices

Several sellers on eBay offer me reduced prices for their DVDs, but the issue is they have priced the stock over what I am willing to pay.

I usually check titles on their pages to see who is in a Bollywood movie, before seeing if I can download it from one of my YouTube Favourites

The Mallorca Files

 The Odd Couple

Spanish Comedy

I am watching The Mallorca Files on Amazon Prime at the moment.

The series has a large element of comedy in the police series.

I was not certain if I would like it, but I was hooked from the first episode; now I am waiting for the third season to come out on DVD in the UK.

This series is about a female police officer who upsets her superiors, and is sent to Mallorca as a punishment, there she is teamed with an officer from Germany who is trying to escape a dominating father.

The police chief on Mallorca has no time for these interlopers, so, she gives them the weakest cases to occupy their time, these cases turn into major cases, which bring praise to the team to the annoyance of the police chief.

Another series I watch on AP is the Science Fiction series The Expanse. I have bought The Expanse series on DVD, one series of the six, I am selling on eBay, as I have a double

Movies with Subtitles

 YouTube favourites

Indian Beauty

Another YouTube channel I watch a lot is Movies with Subtitles.

The film on the post features two ladies who were considered two of the most attractive ladies in Bollywood during the late 60's, Sharmila Tagore, and Moushumi Chatterjee.

In my opinion, both ladies have aged well, and unlike Hollywood actresses have maintained their beauty, and elegance with age.

Germany could take over from the USA

 Something wicked this way comes

Readers in Germany

I would not be surprised if before long, this blog, has more readers in Germany than the USA. Proving Size is not important, the turnaround is caused by the increase of readers in Germany, and the stagnation of readers in both the USA, and Canada.

The first eBook I sold, shown here, was to a lady in Munich.

Tervetuloa Finland

 Readers in Finland

Scandinavia

The Breaking News this morning is the blog has made an impact in Scandinavia, with over a dozen readers in Finland. I had a friend in Canada who was part Finnish

Why don't I write about a trend?

  I want to be my voice

I made the decision to be an individualist

From the start of my first blog, over 16 years ago, I have been 98% true to my credo of not writing about a trend, why?

I wanted to be known, and read, for my voice, not one of the millions of bloggers who are trending to boost their figures.

I know, my practice limits my readers greatly, que sera.

Being an individual, rather than writing books about what the new trend is has limited my eBook sales, but my stories could sell in many years; whereas stories like the Mayan Calendar, and the end of the world in 2012 have had their day. True, many writers used the trend to get many sales, and often a contract, I missed out on that

Do I miss Facebook?

 A blog without Facebook

I miss Facebook

I won't lie, I do miss the use of Facebook for spreading the blog news, but not as much as I expected.

For a few weeks, the reader figures dropped to almost nil, but now they are rapidly going back to where they were before the ban. According to my stats, I hardly had any readers from Facebook, so, I was reasonably certain this blog would thrive again

A cost cutting policy

 My favourite channel on YouTube

Cutbacks need to be implemented

I decided to make some cutbacks on my eBay spending.

These are not totally the result of having less money as my wife passed away in January, the main reason is I found I can download a lot of the Vintage Bollywood movies I enjoy from my favourite YouTube channel.

Those I cannot download I can usually buy from a lady in Hampshire who has a large stock of files. The other advantage of the lady is she supplies the DVDs without the boxes, so it cuts down on the storage space needed.

Alan Place - The Capitalist

 eBay seller

A new Perspective

Today I decided to be more of a Capitalist, and less of a Socialist.

The main reason for the change is the death of my wife in January, since then it has been hard to pay the bills, I will still spend some of earning from eBay among other sellers, but I aim to keep more of what I earn from my eBay page. 

I found some of the sellers have upped their prices, so what I am willing to pay, is now below their asking prices, and I need to regulate what I spend. Also, I have so many films, it is time I watched some of them.

Also, I found I can download some from my favourite YouTube channel. The good thing about his channel is the videos are not messed up with either bad subtitles, or YouTube promotion hints

Status Quo

 Back to Normal

Acceptance is the key

As I expected, my blog reader figures have dropped back to almost zero ☹☹

I don't know what happened in the last month, twice my reader figures passed 700 for two days; all I can imagine is there was a glitch in the algorithm.

My Facebook ban has killed the blog, Que Sera, I was considering closing it anyway