Archive for the ‘COMMUNITY’ Category

1st day of a new year…

Posted in 1968 Notebook, COMMUNITY, Love, Poetry, Romance, tagged #POEM:Love, 1968Notebook, @FrancesMForde, FrancesMacaulayForde, FrancesMacForde, Happy2016 on January 1, 2016| 7 Comments »

So I thought I’d start with some favourite flowers (everywhere at the moment) and another poem from my old notebook, this time from 1986 when I found myself having to face the end of my marriage with two young children:

LOVE

Love, when you’re young

is so special ~ a promise

for eternity that has no limits.

Heart, soul and mind

devoted to just one person,

~ so innocent and pure.

The second time around

can be as good but you

must remember youth

~ how you felt so long ago.

And it’s possible to be unlucky

but the third and fourth and fifth

time can be learnt all over again.

You just have to be resilient!

Those two young children turned out to be my saviours ~ they taught me so much, kept me going when I wanted to just lay down and give up. I am so proud of them both; they have given me the ultimate gift ~ beautiful grandchildren.

And for those of you who suffered, like I did, it IS possible to love again although it took me 17 years of being on my own to believe it.

Even though I actually predicted a second time for myself, in this poem, I didn’t believe it at the time ~ I think I was trying to give myself hope… in 1986 I swore off romance and love for good!

After 28 years the man I was in love with (and should probably have married) in 1975 and on another continent (Africa) found me ~ we’ve just celebrated our 12th wedding anniversary.

So with my returned love and a family full of love, I look forward to what 2016 will bring. I know it’s going to be all good!

@FrancesMForde #FrancesMacForde #FrancesMacaulayForde #Happy2016 #Poem:Love #1968Notebook

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Happy 2016!

Posted in Christmas, COMMUNITY, Love, Music, Poetry, Writing on December 31, 2015| 2 Comments »

Thank you for reading my blog ~ whatever the old year meant to you, I hope this new year will bring you what you need and maybe, something you dream about…

@FrancesMForde #FrancesMacForde #FrancesMacaulayForde #Happy2016 #HappyNewYear #DreamsComeTrue #WhatYouNeed #WhatYouWant #SomethingSpecial

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Boxing Day…

Posted in Christmas, COMMUNITY, Favorite Writers, Love, Poetry, Writers, tagged @FrancesMForde, AlexanderMcCallSmith, FavouriteWriters, FrancesMacaulayForde, FrancesMacForde, LovePoem, MerryChristmas, poetry on December 25, 2015| 5 Comments »

20th March 2014 ~ AMcCS entertained us at UWA, in Perth.

Alexander McCall Smith posted a note on Facebook to his fans today and I’d like to quote the last bit:

QUOTE: May I conclude with lines from a poem I wrote some time ago. I have included it in a small pamphlet I published this Christmas, “The Heart of Each of Us”. It talks about love and about Agape, that form of selfless love of others that is so strong and so important. Here are the lines:

“What we lose, we think we lose forever,
But we are wrong about this: think of love –
Love is lost, we think it gone,
But it returns, often when least expected,
Forgives us our lack of attention, our failure of faith,
Our cold indifference; forgives us all this, and more;
Returns and says, “I was always there”.
Love, agape, whispers: “Merely remember me,
Don’t think I’ve gone away forever;
I am still here. With you. My power undimmed,
See, I am here.”

Happy Christmas!

Alexander McCall Smith : UNQUOTE

@FrancesMForde #FrancesMacForde #AlexanderMcCallSmith #LovePoem #MerryChristmas #FavWriters #Poetry

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Introducing Bodhi…

Posted in Christmas, COMMUNITY, Jessica MCallum, tagged @FrancesMForde, ARTISTJessicaMcCallum, ChristmasTime, FrancesMacForde, Happy2016, HappyChristmas, ManInARedSuit, Santa&Bodhi, XmasWishes on December 24, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Bodhi ~ born 23rd November 2015

My daughter’s latest artistic creation and my newest grandchild ~ a very welcome distraction.

Sonja & Bella: Beautiful Christmas Fairies.

May you and yours share a wonderful Christmas Time and may 2016 bring you not only what you need, but also, at least one thing you dream of…

@FrancesMForde #FrancesMacForde #XmasWishes #ChristmasTime #Santa&Bodhi #ManInARedSuit #Happy2016 #HappyChristmas #ARTIST:JessicaMcCallum

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Numero Uno

Posted in COMMUNITY, Ireland, Poetry, Sketching In Ireland, tagged @FrancesMForde, FrancesMacaulayForde, FrancesMacForde, POEM:NumeroUno, poetry, SketchingInIreland on November 15, 2015| 3 Comments »

Numero Uno

Do you think

those who

always insist

on entering first,

ever open doors

for others,

offer help when

it isn’t needed

or look back ~

except to bask

in their own

reflection?

@FrancesMForde #FrancesMacForde #FrancesMacaulayForde #POEM:NumeroUno #Poetry #SketchingInIreland

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My Blog World – 5th Nov 2015

Posted in Children's stories, COMMUNITY, Illustrators, Other blogs, tagged @FrancesMForde, FormsOfRhythm, FrancesMacaulayForde, FrancesMacForde, JurassicBark, MurdochLayOff, MyBlogWorld, PictureTemplates on November 5, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Around my blog world today:

Jurassic bark: ancient Irish trees brought back to life

Free Picture Book Thumbnail Templates for Writers and Illustrators

The cover of National Geographic's August issue with the story on Pope Francis photographed by David Yoder

Rupert Murdoch Takes Over National Geographic, Then Lays Off Award-Winning Staff

FORMS OF RHYTHM

ROBERT C.L. CRAWFORD

@FrancesMForde #FrancesMacForde #FrancesMacaulayForde #JurassicBark #MurdochLayOff #PictureTemplates #MyBlogWorld #FormsOfRhythm

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Posted in Africa, Animals, Books, COMMUNITY, nature, Other blogs, Writers, Writing on November 4, 2015| 2 Comments »

Today’s interesting stuff from around my on-line world:

From his publisher: Alexander McCall Smith on the Books that Shaped My Life:

From the New Yorker: Barbara Pym and the new spinster:

From Emirates Airline: New A380: Emirates shows livery as it takes aim at the fight against poaching.

And finally, a promotion for Game Rangers International and their Facebook Page, who do an amazing job training the rangers who risk their lives everyday, in many ways!

@FrancesMForde #FrancesMacForde #MyBlogWorld #AlexanderMcCallSmith #BarbaraPym #EmiratesNewLivery #SupportWildlife #GameRangersInternational

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Christmas is coming!

Posted in Books, Children's stories, Christmas, COMMUNITY, Crafts, Love, Poetry, Rail Tales, Romance, Soops Softies, Toys, tagged @FrancesMForde, BOOK:Santa'sSwim, BooksForSale, Christmas, ChristmasStory, ETSY:FMF, ETSY:SoopsSofties, FrancesETSY, FrancesMacaulayForde, FrancesMacForde, FrancesMF, HandmadeGifts, SantaBook, SantaStory, SoftToys, SoopsSofties, UniqueGifts on October 21, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Well loyal readers, I’ve taken the plunge and opened up not one, but two ETSY shops; one to sell my BOOKS and one for my much loved SOFT TOYS.

I’m busy working on a little SOFTIE Elf and a SOFTIE Santa to make available in time for the holidays.

So if you’d like something made for someone special, please make sure you order before 15th November to get your purchases in time for Christmas.

I’ve updated my Books for Sale and offer two poetry chapbooks and a children’s story:

& created a new page full of adorable Softies – unique gifts for special people: Soft Toys for Sale.

@FrancesMForde @FrancesMacForde @francesMF @SoopsSofties @FrancesMacaulayForde #FrancesETSY #ETSY:SoopsSofties #ETSY:FMF #SoftToys #Christmas #HandmadeGifts #UniqueGifts #BooksForSale #BOOK:Santa’sSwim #SantaBooks #SantaStory #ChristmasStory

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Surface Tension

Posted in COMMUNITY, Poetry, tagged BriefcaseClock, Death, Individual, ObamaPrize, POEM:SurfaceTension, ShortMemories, Terrorism on September 19, 2015| Leave a Comment »

James Doogue a writer I admire, posted this onto Facebook 12 hrs ago but I’ve only just read it and I QUOTE:

Terrorist attacks are unfortunately a fact of life, particularly when perpetrated by young Muslim men. We all have to be a bit more security aware. So how ridiculous is it when we have a teacher in the US who is ridiculed and shamed for thinking a homemade electronic device with a timer on it looked like a bomb. Meanwhile the US President tweets to the boy who made it that it was a ‘cool’ looking clock and invites him to the Whitehouse! How would Obama’s security staff have reacted if that boy had tried to carry that ‘clock’ into the white house on a tour, or walked up to Obama in a public venue with that device in his bag? This President is getting more stupid every day!

Why the hell would you want to make a clock in a briefcase anyway? I would have panicked when I saw this. I don’t believe a 14 year old Muslim boy could be so naive that he couldn’t see that it might look like a bomb. I’m not saying he was making a bomb, but I don’t think it was an accident it looked the way it did. I wouldn’t be surprised if this was a bit of a gag gone wrong. But the PC media are too busy being up-in-arms about possible racial profiling. I would love to see what happened to this kid if that ‘clock’ had gone through airport security. I reckon it is highly unlikely he wouldn’t have been charged with something.

The boy, Ahmed already knew it was dodgy as he admitted that when he had shown his engineering teacher, the engineering teacher had congratulated him but advised him “not to show any other teachers”.

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Surface Tension

A Muslim science teacher in a US school,

OK’s a student making a clock in a briefcase,

‘But don’t show it to the other teachers…’

A ‘gag’, lesson or unconscious irony; perhaps

deliberate indoctrination of the young – coolness.

I don’t trust it – I remember recent past mistakes

a belief that no-one could be so cruel, so calculated

as to murder indiscriminately young, old and us. Two

planes, three planes, a fourth commandeered, using

our own to kill thousands more. Some would argue

retribution for drones strikes targeting terrorists but

inadvertently innocent civilians encircled in their wake.

Death always starts with an individual; a single thought,

maybe a child trying to make a father proud, receiving

a prize from a President for making a briefcase clock.

Frances Macaulay Forde © 2015

@FrancesMForde #FrancesMacForde #POEM:SurfaceTension #Terrorism #Individual #Death #BriefcaseClock #ObamaPrize #ShortMemories

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Boxes

Posted in Art as the Spark, COMMUNITY, Perth City, Writing, tagged @FrancesMForde, ART:CityScape, Boxed, BoxLikeHouses, CityBoxes, CitysCAPES, CitySkyscrapers, Existance, FrancesMacaulayForde, FrancesMacForde, LImited, LivingInBoxes, Poem, POEM:Boxes, poetry, Trapped on September 19, 2015| Leave a Comment »

Boxes

so much time

spent in boxes

hemming minds

hearts horizons

so many boxes

to spend time in

we choose

others dictate

boxes to play

or earn a living

sky-high mine deep

beach view asleep

boxed we’re born

returned again

bush delivery or

crispy clean

symbolic boxes

that drive insane

chasing a dream

others ideals

boxing all pleasure

imprisoning pain

impossible striving

material gain

in every life

the very last box

delivers a eulogy

all gather to see

illustrating a life

lived in boxes

@FrancesMForde #FrancesMacForde #POEM:Boxes #Poem #ART:CityScape #Trapped #CityBoxes #BoxLikeHouses #Poetry #CitySkyscrapers #Boxes #Limited #Existance #LivingInBoxes