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Roberta Writes – d’Verse, Tanka Tuesday, Thursday Doors, CFFC, and The Flower Hour
d’Verse, a quadrille
Punam’s d’Verse challenge is to write a quadrille about digging. You can join in here: https://dversepoets.com/2026/04/20/quadrille-246-lets-get-digging/
Digging for Victory
World War Two
Opportunity for women
To demonstrate their worth
Operating heavy machinery
Working as blacksmiths,
welders, pipefitters, and masons
Driving trucks and ambulances
Serving in the navy and air force
Growing crops and caring for animals
Land Girls, digging their way to victory
Tanka Tuesday
Yvette’s challenge is to write a syllabic poem about sisterly love. You can join in here: https://tankatuesday.com/2026/04/21/tankatuesday-poetry-challenge-no-61-sisterly-love-04-21-26/
I’ve written a rensaku poem.
Poor Dad
poor Dad, five females
all talking and giggling
sharing is caring
usually at the same time
high pitched chatter
***
all eager to please
baking challenges galore
father chief taster
but, he mustn’t put on weight
poor Dad, five females
***
phone always ringing
chittering and chattering
boyfriends and girlfriends
parties and socials
poor Dad, five females
***
clothes on the floor
wet knickers and pantihose
hanging in bathroom
makeup stains on the carpet
poor Dad, five females
***
sick in hospital
poor Dad, five females
visit, plump up his pillows
bring sweets, crisps, and fizzy drinks
drive nurses crazy
Thursday Doors, CFFC – View From a Bridge, The Flower Hour
For Thursday Doors, I am continuing the virtual tour of Chateau de Chenonceau in Loire Valley France. The photographs are from inside the Chateau. You can join in Thursday Doors here: https://nofacilities.com/2026/04/23/the-carnegie-carnegie/
For View From a Bridge, I am sharing some pictures of the River Cher from the bridge that forms part of Chateau de Chenonceau. You can join in CFFC here: https://nofacilities.com/2026/04/20/view-from-a-bridge-or-elevated-walkway-cffc/
I am sharing more flowers from the garden for Terri’s The Flower Hour which you can join here: https://secondwindleisure.com/2026/04/21/the-flower-hour-27-daffodils-celebrate-earth-day/
Interior doors inside Chateau de Chenonceau
Interesting household articles
The slideshow below includes two photographs of the River Cher. The first is from the bridge and the second is from a bedroom inside the chateau.
These are some more amazing flowers from the garden. I loved the shaggy purple tulips.
Roberta Writes – In Touch with Nature: The Magnificent Male Leopard
Roberta Writes – Reblog: Day 1 of the WordCrafter “Poetry Treasures 6: Seasons” Book Blog Tour – Cindy Georgakas and Kevin Morris
Thank you to Michelle Ayon Navajas for hosting Day 1 of the WordCrafter Poetry Treasures 6: Seasons book blog tour.
Roberta Writes – W3, Esther Chilton’s Writing Challenge, Thursday Doors, The Flower Hour
W3 and Esther Chilton’s Writing Challenge
Sally’s W3 challenge is to give a nod to another poet. I have based the rhythm and format of my poem on I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud by William Wordsworth. You can join in W3 here: https://skepticskaddish.com/2026/04/15/w3-prompt-207-weave-written-weekly/
Esther’s word of the week is flower/s. You can join in her challenge here: https://estherchilton.co.uk/2026/04/15/writing-prompts-111/
This poem is another contribution to my Paris Diaries Poems.
Chateau de Chenonceau (Loire Valley, France)
A survivor of the French Revolution
Five-arched bridge its saving grace
Not sacked; it survived dissolution
Ladies chateau of flowers and lace
Due to it’s owner’s quick actions
It’s now a major tourist attraction
***
Famous for its facade of white stone
And spectacular gardens with terraces
Diana de Poitiers lived there alone
The first of its female heiresses
She planted flowerbeds, vegetables
And an orchard before the entrance
***
King Henry II favoured his mistress
Causing resentment by his jealous wife
When he died after a short illness
Catherine de Medici changed her life
Evicting Diana from castle and court
Queen Regent her vengeance wrought
***
The chateau received an Italian facelift
And a grand gallery over the bridge
Catherine was a notorious spendthrift
Living a life of splendour and privilege
Installing beautiful historic tapestries
While France fell deeper into anarchy
***
Madame Louise Dupin saved the castle
Nicknamed ‘goddess of beauty and music’
She advocated the bridge’s use for travel
Utilising her popularity and good ethics
In spring, the gardens still flourish
It’s natural beauty the soul does nourish
Thursday Doors and The Flower Hour
For Dan’s Thursday Doors I am showing you the exterior of the Chateau de Chenonceau and the separate tower as well as an outside cottage. You’ll have to wait until next week to see inside. You can join Dan’s Thursday Doors here: https://nofacilities.com/2026/04/16/the-hungarian-room/
For Terri’s The Flower Hour, I’m giving you a peep at the flower displays inside Chateau de Chenonceau. You can join in The Flower Hour here: https://secondwindleisure.com/2026/04/14/the-flower-hour-26-lucky-flower-shots/
This is Chateau de Chenonceau
Walt Disney used the castle as the inspiration for one of his ‘Princesses’ castles. Can you guess which one?
This is the front door of Chateau de Chenonceau
This is the original tower on the site of Chateau de Chenonceau. Walt Disney used it for one of his movies. Can you guess which movie?
I really liked this cottage covered with flowering whisteria.
Click on the slideshow below to see some of the flower displays inside the chateau.
Roberta Writes – Simple Pleasures: Reading and Eating with Charles F. French on LatinosUSA
Roberta Writes – Read & Cook with Robbie Cheadle – Skeleton Crew by Stephen King and bolognese sauce recipe
Thanks to Kaye Lynne Booth for hosting this post.
Roberta Writes – Book review: Strowg: A Bledbrooke Tale by John F Leonard
What Amazon says
Have you ever got fed up with your job? Changing profession is the obvious answer. Of course, that’s somewhat more difficult when it’s one of those lifestyle jobs.
And infinitely more difficult when your employer is Strowg, an age-old creature of the night.
A long time ago, Charles Hennessy struck a bargain with Strowg. This strange and darkly charming figure had a noble bearing, was clearly wealthy and offered something too tempting to resist.
The keys to immortality.
With hindsight, what a wonderful thing that is, the deal was a rather big mistake. The promise has yet to be fulfilled and being Strowg’s factotum grows more onerous and offensive with each passing year. Worse still, Strowg isn’t the same. The human skin shedding and the creature beneath it is terrifying even for someone acquainted with the diabolical.
They live a nomadic existence in order to satisfy Strowg’s thirst for blood but they need to rest and have come to one of their boltholes. More than that, Hennessy hopes that a spell in Bledbrooke may restore what is lost in Strowg. Because Bledbrooke isn’t like other places. It’s home to an unknowable entity that could swallow Strowg whole and spit out the warped bones.
Hennessy’s life has to change and he’s right insofar as Bledbrooke is where that will happen.
It just may not be how he expects.
My review
I wrote this review as a member of Rosie Amber’s book review team. You can find out more about Rosie’s reviews and review team here: https://rosieamber.wordpress.com/.
Strowg is a vampire tale with a twist that I found intriguing and unique. The author demonstrated a thorough knowledge of vampire fiction with his references to how other authors have skewed the perceptions of the public about vampires due to sharing what he refers to as misconceptions like they have no reflections. According to this author, vampires do have substance even if they are filled with the blood of their victims and must, as a result, have a reflection. The author also references Stephen King and states that he better captured the truth about vampires in his works. I assumed the book he is referring to is Salem’s Lot which I have read twice. This information is shared through the thoughts and reflections of the book’s main character, Charles Hennessy, and I found these references memorable and highly amusing. There is also a female cat called Carmilla which brought to mind the book by that name which I also enjoyed and which is also a different take on the traditional vampire tales.
Stowg is vile and evil personified as a physical creature. He is deceitful and has misled and abused his once loyal servant, Charles. It is not surprising that Charles feels resentful and only continues with his duties to Strowg out of fear of the repercussions. These feelings leave Charles ripe for a romantic entanglement as he seeks mental escapism. This is a novella but the characters of Charles and his friend, Ramona, develop nicely and I became quite attached to them in a short space of time. Strowg was not appealing and was easy to despise. Strowg was certainly the epitome of everything that is unpleasant and evil in this world.
The story is entertaining and tinged with dark humour which is a nice change from the usual heavy vampire lore. Lovers of vampire tales will enjoy this different take.
Purchase Strowg: A Bledbrooke Tale from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0G1TWN3R7
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