Tag: #RobbieCheadle
Roberta Writes – Esther Chilton’s Writing Challenge, TDWC26, The Flower Hour, and Thursday Doors
Last Sunday, TC and I went for a 5 kilometre walk at the Johannesburg Country Club in Woodmead. The trees were all dressed in their autumn best and there were plenty of birds out and about enjoying the warm day. We came across a strange scene where a cat and a peahen were living together in a little domed shelter. There were water and food dishes so they are obviously fed by the residence of the surrounding houses.
I was immediately reminded of the nonsense poem by Edward Lear, ‘The Owl and the Pussy-Cat’. It was first published in 1870 in the American magazine Our Young Folks and again the following year in Lear’s own book Nonsense Songs, Stories, Botany and Alphabets.
This poem is for Esther Chilton’s writing challenge which provides the word dish as the prompt. You can join in here: https://estherchilton.co.uk/2026/05/06/writing-prompts-114/
It is also for Dan’s Doors Writing Challenge which you can join in here: https://nofacilities.com/thursday-doors-writing-challenge-2026/
I’ve used Resa’s photograph for inspiration. You can find Resa’s art gowns blog here: https://artgowns.com/2026/03/22/growing-excitement/
The Peahen and the Grey Cat
The Peahen and the Grey Cat lived together
safe within the bird sanctuary’s fence.
They had a lovely home, in the shape of a dome,
there was no need for any defence.
The Peahen looked over her shoulder and said
“I’m so glad you’re my best friend
We have shelter and a comfortable bed
Here the rest of our lives we’ll spend
We’ll spend, we’ll spend
Here the rest of our lives we’ll spend
***
Grey Cat said to the Peahen, “I’m not a peacock
My modest looks verge on being quite dowdy
My tail doesn’t splay, and make a colourful display
And I’m certainly not at all exciting or rowdy
But if I commit to you, I promise I’ll be true,
We’ll can have an agreeable life together”
“Oh Grey Cat,” Peahen cried, “I can’t think of anything better
Than you and I being together forever
Forever
Forever
Than you and I being together forever
***
Just then, a man with a tray appeared
Filling the dishes with delicious treats
There was cream and berries, sardines and cherries
And even a variety of different meats
The two creatures tucked in, with a great big grins,
Dividing the spoils between them evenly
So easy as their tastes greatly varied
They knew they’d share their haven peacefully
Peacefully
Peacefully
They knew they’d share their haven peacefully
Click on the slideshow below to see the pictures of the grey cat and the peahen. Regrettably, I didn’t take a picture of their shared home.
The Flower Hour
I am posting some photographs from our walk for Terri’s The Flower Hour. These are local wildflowers that bloom in autumn.
Click on the slideshow to see the flowers.
Thursday Doors
Here a few doors from my recent trip to Paris for Dan’s Thursday Doors which you can join in here: https://nofacilities.com/2026/05/07/carnegie-museum-doors/
This is an apartment building I spotted. I just liked it’s shape and design.
The next two photographs are of the Saint-Etienne-du-Mont Church in Paris.
Roberta Writes – TDWC26, Nothin’ but a hound dog
This is my second poem for Dan’s Thursday Doors Writing Challenge. Today, I’ve used a photograph contributed by Maureen from https://oddments70.wordpress.com/2026/04/30/april-30-26-coping-but-barely/
You can join in TDWC26 here: https://nofacilities.com/thursday-doors-writing-challenge-2026/
Nothin’ but a hound dog
young people
hypothetical cannon fodder
lead the charge
with artificial intelligence
rushing in
where angels fear to tread
experimenting
summarising
capturing ‘its’ version
of salient details
embellishing the written word
with the soul of the soulless
creating gutless art
purpose of essential organs
missed entirely
by the mindless digital mind
photographs enhanced
excluding the unnecessary
floating heads and hands
by accident not design
mistakes will be made
some doors will open
only to be firmly closed
In the end
progress will continue
some will grasp it firmly
using it to hoist themselves
further up the ladder
others will fall
lying broken and bleeding
at the feet of the demigod
On reflection
isn’t the digital revolution
just a rewrite
of Hound Dog?*
*Hound Dog by Elvis Presley is considered to be his most controversial song. It stands out from all his music, marking a pivotal, rebellious moment in rock ‘n roll history that changed music forever. Elvis Presley’s music was criticized by establishment figures, media commentators, and religious groups as being dangerous, vulgar, and lacking artistic merit. Many condemned his music as immoral and a catalyst for juvenile delinquency. Now, Elvis Presley is considered to have fundamentally changed music for the better by breaking racial barriers in radio and merging country, gospel, and blues into popular rock ‘n roll. He is said to have revolutionised the music industry by linking image and sexuality to sound, creating a youth-orientated culture, ad setting the stage for global rock stardom.
AI is controversial and many people are resistant to its implementation in its current form. I have some reservations about how AI will impact young people and the growth of their mental abilities. You have to exercise the brain if you want it to grow. The fate of the Eloi from HG Wells clever story The Time Machine always comes to mind for me when I think about how AI is currently being utilised. If you are interested in my thoughts on this book and the Eloi, you can read my review here: https://latinosenglishedition.blog/2026/04/30/the-time-machine-by-h-g-wells-by-robbie-cheadle/
AI is a topic of many blog posts. All of the posts I’ve read about AI have interested me deeply. Here are a few links to interesting posts about AI I’ve read recently:
Thomas Wikman from Super Facts – https://superfactful.com/2026/03/21/large-language-models-is-just-one-branch-of-artificial-intelligence/
Grant from Grant at Tame Your Book – https://tameyourbook.com/dont-confuse-ai-with-a-benign-tool/
Rebecca Budd from Rebecca’s Reading Room – https://rebeccasreadingroom.ca/2026/04/28/ai-and-humanity-reflections-from-a-modern-reading-room/
Laura Lyndhurst of Books That Make You Think – https://booksthatmakeyouthink2.co.uk/2023/12/13/prophet-of-old/
Audrey Driscoll of Audrey Driscoll’s blog – https://audreydriscoll.com/2026/04/26/is-this-the-end-of-the-golden-age-of-indie-publishing/
Meeks from acflory blog – https://acflory.wordpress.com/2026/05/01/i-hate-what-ai-is-i-love-what-it-could-be/
Progress shot – Mona Vervet acrylic painting
Meeks asked for a progress shot on my latest painting so here it is … Mona Vervet!
Roberta Writes – W3, Dan Antion’s Writing Challenge, Thursday Doors and The Flower Hour
W3 and Dan Antion’s Writing Challenge
Dan Antion’s Doors writing challenge starts today and continues throughout May. I used one of my own doors pictures because the colours inspired a poem that also fitted Yvette’s W3 challenge to write about a fantasy world (mine’s 22 lines and not 20 – sorry Yvette!)
You can join in W3 here: https://skepticskaddish.com/2026/04/29/w3-prompt-209-weave-written-weekly/
You can join in Dan’s Doors Challenge here: https://nofacilities.com/thursday-doors-writing-challenge-2026/
Dinah in Wonderland (freestyle poem)
Beyond the door
Dinah sees the colours
Dancing and swirling
Enticing … calling
“Come and play, Dinah
Come and play”
Squeezing through the cat door
She pitches forward
Falling … down and down
Landing softly on
Pink, blue, green, and yellow
Sweet! Her nose quivers
What? It’s candy floss
Between the bright puffs
Pale shapes swarm
Marshmallow fish
They wriggle their tails
“Chase us, Dinah, chase us”
Off she goes
Bouncing from one sugary cloud
to the next sweet indulgence
Extraordinary!
Thursday Doors
For Dan’s Thursday Doors, I’m sharing the rest of my Hilton Hotel, Munich photographs. I was only in Munich for ten hours so this is what I saw of it in the hotel from about 8pm until 4am the following morning.
You can join in Thursday Doors here: https://nofacilities.com/thursday-doors-writing-challenge-2026/
The Flower Hour
These are orange and yellow arum lilies I discovered in my summer garden (it is now autumn).
You can join in Terri’s The Flower Hour here: https://secondwindleisure.com/2026/04/28/the-flower-hour-28-flowers-in-water/
Roberta Writes – Tanka Tuesday and Bird of the Week
Tanka Tuesday and Bird of the Week
Melissa has provided a choice of a painting by Romare Bearden as inspiration for this week’s Tanka Tuesday poem. You can join in here: https://tankatuesday.com/2026/04/28/tankatuesday-poetry-challenge-no-62-romare-bearden-4-28-26/
This is the painting I chose:
This is also my entry for Don’t Hold Your Breath blog’s Bird of the Week Challenge. You can join in here: https://anotherglobaleater.wordpress.com/2026/04/28/common-myna-birds-of-the-week-invitation-clxvi/
Southern Masked Weaver (Tanka)
reeds adorned with nests
stretching for miles and miles
Southern Masked Weaver
energetic males building
twenty five woven nests each
Roberta Writes – d’Verse: Haibun Monday & Esther Chilton’s Writing Challenge
d’Verse: Monday Haibun
Frank’s haibun challenge is to write about silence. You can join in here: https://dversepoets.com/2026/04/27/haibun-monday-4-27-26-silence/
I’ll Take It – haibun
I cherish the near silence of the early mornings, suffering the rasping cough of the kettle just long enough to make a welcome cup of tea. Outside the window, a garden bird twitters and the hadedas screech their ode to the dawn. In a world that worships noise, my love of silence is just another characteristic that differentiates me from my family and colleagues. I’ll take it.
office hum
enhanced by white noise
my ears ring
Esther Chilton’s Writing Challenge
Esther’s challenge word for this week is Mobile. You can join in here: https://estherchilton.co.uk/2026/04/22/writing-prompts-112/
What a Feeling – haibun
When I was a girl, children had a lot more freedom than they do now. My little sister, Cath, and I used to go out and about on our own. We both had bicycles so we had the option of riding or we walked, depending on where we were going. When I was in Grade 3 at primary school, roller skates came into fashion. The roller skates then took the form of a boot with four wheels on the bottom. The wheels were spaced out more like the wheels on a vehicle and were attached to a chassis-styled frame on the bottom of the boot, unlike the modern roller skates which are more like ice skates with wheels.
Cath and I both received a pair of roller skates for Christmas that year and I spent the rest of the December / January school holiday learning how to skate. I soon go the hang of swinging my legs correctly to enable forward motion and quickly learned to add arm movement to go faster. I learned to do spins and turns and how to skate backwards. It was an obsession for me and I spent hours practicing. As time passed, I started creating dances on skates to music. I’d set my small cassette recorder up on my bedroom windowsill and practice skating to my favourite soundtracks. The theme song to Flashdance was the track I liked the best and remember practicing my skating dance over and over to that song on repeat. Thankfully, Dad was out working during the day when I practiced so he didn’t complain about the endless refrain of ‘What a feeling’.
Skate dancing to Flashdance is one of my best memories and it was this process of mastering motion on roller skates that taught me I could learn to do anything if I set my mind to it.
freedom in movement
flowing like a waterfall
my spirit flying
CFFC – Something that took you higher
You can join in Dan’s CFFC challenge here: https://nofacilities.com/2026/04/27/view-from-something-that-took-you-higher-cffc/
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 – The Great Divorce by C.S. Lewis book review on LatinosUSA
Roberta Writes – Blog Book Tour: Fringes, Heartstrings and Lyrics by Jan Sikes
Thank you, Robbie, for allowing me to take over your blog and talk about my new book, Fringes, Heartstrings, and Lyrics.
Once I had the title for this collection, I knew the Lyrics section would need to be poems. As I thought about that, I wanted to include more than my own work. So, I spent hours combing through a folder of my late husband’s writings from the 1960s looking for things to share. I found much more than I had room for. Then, my fourteen-year-old-granddaughter began reading some of her poems to me as I drove her to dance classes, and I was compelled to include some of those as well.
Here is a teaser from each of us. I hope you enjoy!
I Am You – You Are Me by Jan Sikes
I don’t know how it came to be
That we, in spirit love were joined
Somewhere out in eternity
Then split apart like a germinating seed
And placed on earth, each other to seek
Angels Are Perfect by Rick Sikes
The snow falls, and I am plagued with loneliness
As much as any man can possess
But my mind strays to bright summer days
When I knew your fond caress
Society by Sidney Klein
Welcome to society
We hope you enjoy your stay
You can do anything you want
As long as you do it our way
Book Blurb
At the edge of the world, and the center of the heart, you’ll find stories that linger.
Fringes explores dystopian futures where survival is uncertain and hope is fragile. In A Foreign World, The Forgotten, and Yearning for Paradise, humanity is pushed to its limits.
Heartstrings turns toward the warmth of love, resilience, and second chances. Stories such as A Promise Broken – A Promise Kept, She Dances with a Memory, and When Love Isn’t Enough remind us that the human spirit endures.
Lyrics captures life in poetry—moments of longing, faith, and reflection in pieces like Comes the Dawn, Society, and The Blind Man in the Night.
From chilling possibilities to comforting truths, Fringes, Heartstrings & Lyrics is a genre-blending collection of short fiction and poetry that will make you think, feel, and return again and again.
PURCHASE LINK: https://www.amazon.com/Fringes-Heartstrings-Lyrics-Jan-Sikes-ebook/dp/B0GRWQC3SH/
About Jan Sikes
Jan Sikes is a multi-award-winning author, who writes compelling and creative stories from the heart.
She openly admits that she never set out in life to be an author, although she’s been an avid reader all her life. But she had a story to tell—Not just any story, but a true story to rival any fiction creation. She brought the powerful true story to life through fictitious characters in an intricately woven tale that encompasses four books, accompanying music CDs, and a book of poetry and art.
And now, this author can’t put down the pen. She continues to write fiction in a variety of genres and has published many award-winning short stories and novels. She is an active blogger, a member of the Story Empire group, loves to support indie artists (both literary and musical) and is the grandmother of five beautiful souls. Find out more at http://www.jansikes.com
Find Jan Sikes
http://www.facebook.com/AuthorJanSikesBooks
https://bsky.app/profile/jksikes-author.bsky.social
https://www.bookbub.com/profile/jan-sikes
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B00CS9K8DK (Author Page)
Roberta Writes – Esther Chilton’s Writing Challenge and Tanka Tuesday
Esther Chilton’s Writing Challenge
Esther’s challenge word this week is Vision. I am continuing my Paris series of poems and posts. You can join in Esther’s challenge here: https://estherchilton.co.uk/2026/04/08/writing-prompts-110/
Medici Fountain in Jardin du Luxembourg
It looms above me
a vision in sandstone,
bronze, and marble
the Medici Fountain
heard before it’s seen
water gushing down wide stairs
into a long tree-shaded basin
in white marble
the sea nymph, Galatea,
and the mortal, Acis
make love
while from behind
the jealous cyclops, Polyphemus
represented in bronze
sneaks upon them
a dead bull across his back
Is Acis’ death a tragedy?
Or is his transformation
into a river spirit
perfect immortalisation?
I wonder
my thoughts flowing
alongside the representations of
the River Rhone and River Seine
observed by Faunus and Diana
My photographs of Medici Fountain and closeups of the sculptures are in the slideshow below.
My Youtube video of the Medici Fountain.
Fountaine de Leda (at the back)
Fontaine de Leda
hidden fountain
depicting in stone
the seduction of Aetolian princess, Leda
by sky and thunder god, Zeus
in the form of a swan
Leda holds the bird
on her knees while
water flows from its bronze beak
the pair, encircled by roses
are shot by an arrow
from Cupid, lurking in the corner
The Fountaine de Leda is at the back of the Medici Fountain and a lot of people miss it. I saw it because I walked around the back of the Medici Fountain to get photographs on the other side.
Tanka Tuesday
My prompt for this week was to use onomatopoeia in a poem. I’ve written a tautogram poem using onomatopoeia using the American cinquain form.
spouting
sound symphony
splishing, splashing, spraying
splattering smooth, shining surface
splendid
You can join in Tanka Tuesday here: https://tankatuesday.com/2026/04/07/tankatuesday-poetry-challenge-no-59-onomatopoeia-in-poetry-04-07-2026/
roberta-writes.com 