I
lived in Bletchley Park for three years. NO, I was not a spy and my
mathematical ability could not break even the most simple of codes. From
September 1971 to July 1974 I attended teacher training college, a satellite
establishment within Oxford University’s Delegacy for Education. The park still
had semi-secret areas housing the Diplomatic Wireless Service into which we
students were not allowed. It’s wartime activities as Churchill’s Ultra Secret
were still classified. I believe that even today there are happenings from
World War Two which remain covered by The Official Secrets Act.
Bletchley
Park creeps into many areas of my writing including THE MURDER TREE and my
present project MY KA IN A BRAVE NEW WORLD.
I
was accepted as an author to join the Amazon Team in 2016 THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF BILLYHARDCASTLE was one of my early works accepted by Amazon. Published on 28th
February 2017 it is available in e-back format at £1.99 and in paperback at
£3,99. Bletchley Park is right at its centre.
Here
is a photograph of the area of Bletchley Park which was at the centre of my
life there in
those early days of the 1970’s. No I wasn’t a spy. Sometimes I
smile and say that my Dad was !He had
some slight connection with the park then ended up as an RAF signaller in Palestine
at the time the state of Israel was being founded.
Billy
Hardcastle who is fiction, at least as I tell his story, is part of Bletchley Park’s
secret that has never been told. To his family he was always known as ENIGMA
GRANDDAD, when he passed on he left a diary which blows wide open his enigma.
Much
to the frustration of Amazon I have never tried to promote my writing. My Dad
was always telling me I needed to make money from my writing but money is not
something I am all that bothered about. The few pennies I do make from my
writing I use to help the SIMILE project which each month send SMILE cards to
families with a child sick in hospital, families, children and staff in eleven
different locations around the world.
Like I say I do not worry about money but
I guess I spend about £250 a month helping people
to SMILE. Amazon’s top one
hundred selling writers earn round about £250,000 a month in bonuses alone.
With royalties they probably bank around half a million. I am not one of Amazon’s
top one hundred authors, I am at number one hundred in its bottom one hundred
writers ! I have decided I am going to TRY to promote my books with a DAILY
READ so, while not making six million a year, earning just a few bob more to help
people SMILE.
What has L S Lowy got to do with Bletchley Park ? He is my favourite
artist and so I just have
to bring him into Bletchley Park and Billy Hardcastle’s
Diary. In the summer house at the bottom of my garden there hangs a print of
one of his works. Although I do not use it very much for the reason I built it
the summer house was intended to be my writing den and as I was working on
Billy Hardcastle’s Diary at the time I just had to have L S Lowry there with me.
It is no secret that I am not a fan of present-day Bletchley Park
which has become a stuffy old museum. It will cost you £24.50 to
visit the museum ! It will only cost you
£1.99 or £3.99 to buy Billy Hardcastle’s Diary and help families around the
world who have a child sick in hospital to SMILE.
Wales
is a beautiful land but that beauty is not merely to be found within its
mountains, valleys and lakes as we saw with His Majesty King Charles III and
Queen Consort visiting Wales is a land of beautiful people.
Watching
the service in Llandaff Cathedral I found myself singing the National Anthem of
Wales along with those in the Cathedral. I was singing in Welsh !
Mae hen wlad fy nhadau yn
annwyl i mi,
Gwlad beirdd a chantorion, enwogion o fri;
Ei gwrol ryfelwyr, gwladgarwyr tra mâd,
Tros ryddid gollasant eu gwaed.
Hen Gymru fynyddig, paradwys
y bardd;
Pob dyffryn, pob clogwyn, i'm golwg sydd hardd,
Trwy deimlad gwladgarol, mor swynol yw si,
Ei nentydd, afonydd, i mi.
Gwlad, Gwlad, pleidiol wyf
i'm gwlad, Tra môr yn fur i'r bur hoff
bau, O bydded i'r heniaith barhau.
Os treisiodd y gelyn fy
ngwlad dan ei droed,
Mae hen iaith y Cymry mor fyw ag erioed,
Ni luddiwyd yr awen gan erchyll law brad,
Na thelyn berseiniol fy ngwlad.
Gwlad, Gwlad, pleidiol wyf i'm gwlad, Tra môr yn fur i'r bur hoff
bau, O bydded i'r heniaith barhau.
When
I was nine years old, attending Junior School, our class was taught the anthem.
I do not
remember why but I remember every word all these years later.The deputy headmaster was so impressed he
took the school’s now ancient but then state of the art wheel to wheel tape
record to preserve our singing.
I
am listening to this wonderful anthem on YouTube as I write these words and
tears are filling my eyes. Tears celebrating my memory and tear honouring the
time His Majesty has spent today in this special place.
I
would have been nine years old when I learned to sing Mae
hen wlad fy nhadau yn annwyl i mi, seven years into the reign of Queen
Elizabeth II. Seven years, one tenth of her glorious reign.
But
the music from Llandaff and the memories it generated for me did not stop
there.
Leaving
junior school I attended Boldmere High School for Boys in The Royal Borough of
Sutton Coldfield. It’s royal charter had been granted by King Henry VIII. I did
not like school, that is an understatement ! However, every morning school
started with assembly which was a bit of fun. Never mind the headmaster’s
announcements and nobody ever listened to the scripture reading but we all
loved singing the two morning hymns. On joining the school every boy was issued
with a hymn book but very soon they were merely a side line as every boy knew
every word of every hymn.
At
the front of the assembly hall was a board upon which the two morning hymns
were displayed. When the number 508 appeared there was always and air of
excitement as we teenagers entered the hall.
Five-O-Eight.
Officially Cwm Rhondda but we loved it as 508.
Guide
me, O though great Jehovah,
Pilgrim
through this barren land;
I
am weak, but though are mighty,
hold
me with your powerful hand.
Bread
of Heaven, bread of Heaven,
Feed
me now and evermore,
feed
me now and evermore.
Open
now the crystal fountain,
Where
the healing stream doth flow.
Let
the fire and cloudy pillar
lead
me all my journey through,
Strong
Deliverer, strong Deliverer,
ever
be my strength and shield,
ever
be my strength and shield.
When
I tread the verge of Jordan,
Bid
my anxious fears subside.
Death
of death, and hell’s destruction,
land
me safe on Canaan’s side,
Songs
pf praises, songs of praises
I
will ever give to thee,
I
will ever give to thee.
It
was joked, a joke is half of the truth is it not, that only the Welsh and
Boldmere High School For Boys in The Royal Borough of Sutton Coldfield could
sing Guide me O though Great Jehovah properly. My old school closed years ago
but as we saw in Llandaff Cathedral now only the Welsh can sing this hymn.
We
are witnessing something the like of which has never before happened anywhere
in the world. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland together
with the Commonwealth having the arms of the world wrapped around it is celebrating
the live of Queen Elizabeth. There is sadness but celebration is its way of
mourning.
The
queue to pass by Her Majesty laying in state it is said can be seen from space,
so long it is. Thousands, tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands are passing
by. All generations, backgrounds and beliefs are lining up for anything approaching
twenty-four hours to pay their respects. It is a queue of happiness, celebration,
friendship and dignity.
That
laying in state saw Her Majesty’s children honour their mother and tomorrow it
will be the turn of her grandchildren to do the same. I
I
have not made the journey to London to be part of this celebration. I am simply
not well enough to undertake the task. I am no friend of the BBC but I have to
praise not only its high standard of coverage but also the twenty-four hour
non-stop coverage of the laying instate.
Our
nation has come together in such strength and unity. Queen Elizabeth II, I hope
she goes down in history as Queen Elizabeth the Great.
Back
to the 1950’s and my time at Junior School. Every week we little kids took
either a one shilling coin (5p) or half a crown (12 ½ p) to school to buy a
Post Office saving stamp. The shilling stamp had the picture of Princess Anne
on it and the half crown had the picture of Prince Charles. We stuck these stamps
into a special savings book which when full were exchanged for saving
certificates. Through these stamps we learned of these royal children and their
roles in our country.
King
Charles and Princess Anne are older than me. The Queen Consort is older than both.
I have said how, as an old man, I simply do not have the strength to queue for
a day in order to pass through Westminster Hall. This task, however, is small
beside the physical side of everything this royal trio are currently undertaking.
Beyond
the physical side of their duties just look at the way they and all members of
our Royal Family are carrying out such. Up close and personal !After seventy years of service the death of
Her Majesty has brought an era to an end. But just look at the special times we
are now witnessing being born in the reign of our New King.
Yes
it is a once popular make of car – spelt C-A-R but the Ford Motor Company
within its marketing strategy failed to explain its meaning. The meaning of KA - K-A.
KA
is a word from Ancient Egypt which means SPIRIT. Each and every one of us has within our
existence such a spirit which is part of our waking life. When the body is
asleep the Ka does not slumber but moves to partake in adventures on the astral
plane. These adventures we know of as dreams. If we are placed into an
artificial deep sleep, as in a medical operation, the Ka again moves to take up
temporary residence on the astral plane. When a person dies their body ends its
life but not so the Ka which moves to take up permanent residence on the astral
plane.
So
now you know what a Ka is.
Dennis
Wheatley, famed for his books The Devil Rides Out and To The Devil a Daughter
also wrote a gripping tale the Ka of Giffard Hillary.
Have
you checked out my Write-In where I am doing my little bit using my books to
support children who are sick in Milton Keynes Hospital, o send love to their
families and thank our NHS staff who are caring for them ?CHECK IT OUT.
My
book THE HANGMN’S GRANDSON, which actually is my 120th book on my
Amazon Bookshelf, began the Write-In. I am now about to begin work on MY KA IN
A BRAVE NEW WORLD.
This
is an idea I have had for a little while. Here’s the introduction:
Where am I ?My mind asked itself the
obvious question but with no clues to help it with the enquiry it added a
second subject on which to ponder: When
am I ?
Time and place were not enabling comprehension so within this
enigmatic apparent dream a third thought suggested itself, perhaps its
resolution would bring the three elements into a single place and shine a light
into their darkness. But there was no darkness, not a physical darkness anyway.
That third area of consideration for my thinking was: Who am I ?
We ? Us ? Plural but the
stranger welcoming me was alone. Who was her ? Another question seeking an
answer.
Where was I ?When was I
?Who was I ?
“We are so pleased you are able to join us.”
I used my mind’s question
around which to respond to the welcome. “I am pleased to be here,” I lied,
“butwhere exactly am I ?”
“It is more of a case of when rather than where.”
We
have recently experienced the highest temperatures ever in England. Across the
world there have been wild fires and flooding. CLIMATE CHANGE. How long has our
planet left to live ?
I
grew up in the Cold War when it was not a case of if there is World War Three
and nuclear
annihilation but when will it happen ? I shed a tear when the Berlin
Wall came down and regarded Mikhail
Gorbachev who recently died as a hero of humanity. I wonder what his Ka
is doing right now. We may have been spared nuclear annihilation in the Cold War
but what Vladimir Putin is doing here and now is far from cold, will he press
the atomic button ?
Actually
we are in World War Three already. It is not a traditional war with traditional
weapons but one where technology is destroying the mentality of the human race.
So
with the extinction of our planet an assured event when will that happen in the
future and how will it come about ?
In
this story MY KA IN A BRAVE NEW WORLD the central character’s spirit, I am
writing in the first person, is invited into the post apolitical world to help
it tiny population understand what happened and decide if there is any way to
undo the folly of history.
It
took me twenty-three days to write THE HANGMN’S GRANDSON. Let’s see how long
this new Write-In project will take.
