I have posted something on my other blog today that may be of interest to some readers in the UK. Here is a link to it.
It is political in nature, so not really suited to beetleypete.
Blogging
Blog Posts: No More Twitter Sharing
Thanks to Mr E. Musk, sharing of your blog posts to Twitter using the automatic process that exists currently will no longer be possible.
I received this email today.
Hi Pete,
From April 30, 2023 you will no longer be able to share your WordPress.com posts automatically to Twitter using Jetpack Social.
Twitter decided, on short notice, to dramatically change the terms and pricing of the Twitter API. We have attempted to work with Twitter in good faith to negotiate new terms, but we have not been able to reach an agreement. As a result, we will need to remove the functionality.
You can still auto-share your posts to Tumblr, Facebook, and LinkedIn. And you are able to share your posts to Twitter manually by pasting the post link into the body of your tweet. In the near future, we are adding the ability to auto-share to Instagram and Mastodon and we are continuing to release new features in Jetpack Social.
Thank you for your understanding with this situation. Please feel free to connect with support if you need any help.
Thanks,
The WordPress.com team
Guest Post: John Liming
John is a blogger from America who mainly concentrates on the political situation in his country. However, he also posts some fascinating recollections of his youth, and has sent me a short story with a Gothic theme that I am happy to present here as a guest post.
To see more of John’s writing, opinions, and thoughts, please use this link.
https://limingslynkz8.blog/
Yon Cathedral Structure.
Yon cathedral structure,
Bathed in light of amber,
Notwithstanding, cold.
What dread, unholy scene,
Is yet here to unfold?
The moon shone full and bright upon the ruined old cathedral, casting eerie shadows that danced upon the gravestones. A chill wind blew, rustling the dry leaves and causing the gnarled trees to creak and moan. The ancient building was a ghostly sight, its spires and arches rising up against the sky like the bones of the dead in the graves that surrounded it.
It was an ethereal, dream-like vision — enough to make the blood run cold and to paralyze the observer into immobility.
The cathedral was abandoned long ago, left to crumble and decay. But it was not truly empty. Many souls lay buried in crypts and tombs in the surrounding graveyard, their rotting bodies resting in eternal slumber. Yet, their spirits restless, their presence felt in the cold night air.
One could almost hear the soft moans and cries and sometimes the hollow laughter of these poor souls — with every creaking of the trees in the wind.
No one knew who lay beneath the gravestones, for their tombstones were too weathered and worn. But their ghosts wandered the cemetery, their mournful cries echoing through the silent ruins. The wind carried their voices, whispering tales of woe and despair.
They always seemed to be searching for something or someone but never finding what they were looking for,
How had they been abandoned and confined to this existence between heaven and earth in this silent special place or were they simply in transition to somewhere or something else?
As the night wore on, the moon began to wane, and the darkness deepened. Shadows grew longer, and the graveyard seemed to come alive. A faint light glimmered in the distance, flickering and dancing like a will-o’-the-wisp. It seemed to call out to the restless souls, drawing them closer to the old cathedral.
The earth quaked as those restless souls clawed their way to the surface of their resting places where “Rest” was just a cruel joke — There was a muted rumble as the earth was disturbed.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in the darkness. It was a figure like unto a man, dressed in black, with a cloak that billowed behind it in the wind. He walked among the graves, his footsteps echoing hollowly. He seemed to be searching for something, his eyes darting back and forth in the flickering light.
He wandered and searched silently, his feet walking but never touching the ground. A spectre of some sort was he.
The other ghosts watched him warily, uncertain of his purpose. But the spirit paid them no heed, his attention fixed on the cathedral. He approached the door, which creaked open at his touch.
Inside, the wraith moved silently, his footsteps not touching but nonetheless stirring the thick layer of dust that covered the floor. He made his way through the shadows, his eyes scanning the darkness for any signs of other life. But there was none.
It is not hard to imagine that death has a life of its own.
At last, he came to a door, which he pushed open with a soft creak. Inside, a single candle burned, casting flickering shadows upon the walls. A figure sat hunched over a table, its face hidden in the shadows.
The blurry searching figure approached cautiously, and hovered and stared — But as he drew nearer, he realized that the figure hunched over the table was neither human nor spirit. It was a statue, carved from stone and painted to look like flesh.
With a shudder and a scream that pierced the night, the wraith slowly turned and left the cathedral, his visage dissipating slowly into the darkness. The other ghosts watched him go, their eyes following him until he disappeared from view. And then they returned to their restless wandering, their mournful cries echoing through the graveyard once more.
And as the night lifted it’s velvet dark mantle and the first rays of morn had come, there sounded a subtle chorus of distant, muted angelic voices, greeting the day.
All Babies Back in the Fold

Stevie has her rights back! And a great offer on one of her popular books too.
Back in 2020 my thriller ‘Scam!‘ won first prize in the Electric Eclectic Writing Competition, and the prize was for the book to be published free by Crimson Cloak Publishing.
Three years later Crimson Cloak Publishing have kindly returned to me the rights to ‘Scam!‘, and so I have now put the new edition of this novella on KDP for pre-order. It will be published on May 7th, and until then the pre-order price is just $0.99/£0.99. I now own the rights to all my books, which is good!
There are some great reviews of the book on my website, which you can find on this link: Scam! Reviews (stevie-turner-author.co.uk)
Friday Showcase – 21st April

It is always very nice to be featured on another blog, and today I am flattered that Stevie Turner has included me in her new feature, Friday Showcase.
Today on Friday Showcase I’m going to feature two blogger friends of mine. The first blogger is Pete Johnson, alias BeetleyPete. You can find his blog page here: https://beetleypete.com/

Pete grew up in London and then retired to East Anglia. He doesn’t have any published books, but he writes very entertaining short story serials on his blog. He also has a nostalgia section where you can find old songs and many interesting photos from Victorian times right up to the Swinging Sixties. He is also a dog lover, and often writes about his dog Ollie.
The second blogger is Clive Pilcher, alias Take it Easy. You can find his blog page here: https://cliveblogs.wordpress.com/

Clive lives in London, features mostly music on his blog, and publishes Tuesday Tunes and Song Lyric Sunday, but also writes about mental health issues after suffering his own mental health problems some years…
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Welcome To The Future: A Guest Post From Gavin Marriott
When we click ‘accept cookies’, or open up our lives online for any reason, we can already see some of the implications. Your smartphone is listening to you, and that Alexa in the corner is also recording any product or service you might mention. The webcam on your laptop is watching you, (put some tape over it, really) and the amount of data stored about your life is far greater than you might imagine.
Gavin has sent me this guest post, which highlights where we might all be heading in the not-too distant future.
Gavin of Canterbury
Welcome To The Future
CALLER: Is this Pizza Hut?
GOOGLE: No sir, it’s Google Pizza.
CALLER: I must have dialled a wrong number, sorry.
GOOGLE: No sir, Google bought Pizza Hut last month.
CALLER: OK. I would like to order a pizza.
GOOGLE: Do you want your usual, sir?
CALLER: My usual? You know me?
GOOGLE: According to our caller ID data sheet, the last 12 times you called you ordered an extra-large pizza with three cheeses, sausage, pepperoni, mushrooms and meatballs on a thick crust.
CALLER: Super! That’s what I’ll have
GOOGLE: May I suggest that this time you order a pizza with ricotta, arugula, sun-dried tomatoes and olives on a whole wheat gluten-free thin crust?
CALLER: What? I don’t want a vegetarian pizza!
GOOGLE: Your cholesterol is not good, sir.
CALLER: How the hell do you know that?
GOOGLE: Well, we cross-referenced your home phone number with your medical records. We have the result of your blood tests for the last 7 years.
CALLER: Okay, but I do not want your rotten vegetarian pizza! I already take medication for my cholesterol.
GOOGLE: Excuse me sir, but you have not taken your medication regularly. According to our database, you purchased only a box of 30 cholesterol tablets once at Chemist warehouse, 4 months ago.
CALLER: I bought more from another Pharmacy.
GOOGLE: That doesn’t show on your credit card statement.
CALLER: I paid in cash.
GOOGLE: But you did not withdraw enough cash according to your bank statement.
CALLER: I have other sources of cash.
GOOGLE: That doesn’t show on your latest tax returns, unless you bought them using an undeclared income source, which is against the law!
CALLER: WHAT THE HELL!
GOOGLE: I’m sorry sir, we use such information only with the sole intention of helping you.
CALLER: Enough already! I’m sick to death of Google, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp and all the others. I’m going to an island without the internet, TV, where there is no phone service and no one to watch me or spy on me.
GOOGLE: I understand sir, but you need to renew your passport first. It expired 6 weeks ago…
Guest Post: Kevin Morris
I am very pleased to present a guest post from writer, poet, and fellow blogger, Kevin Morris.
https://kmorrispoet.com/
It is one of his poems from his collection, ‘More Poetic Meanderings’.
How Sweet and Sad Was the Bird
How sweet and sad was the bird
I heard
As I stood at my open window.
When I go
To the pub to meet my friends,
We will pretend
That there is no end;
Or at least hide for a while
In the smile
Produced by drink,
Which makes men think
That all
This will last.
But I shall recollect the bird’s call
As I stood at my open window
And know
That all
That sings must pass.
Taken from “More Poetic Meanderings” by K Morris. Available from
Amazon in Kindle and paperback here. https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0BZT9G139/.)
Links:
Blog: https://kmorrispoet.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/drewdog2060_
TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@kevinmorrispoet
Please use the links to discover more about Kevin, and to buy the book if you wish to do so.
No Serial Episode Today
Apologies. There will be no episode of ‘Life With Mabel’ today.
Life got in the way of writing and blogging.
Hopefully back to normal on Saturday.
Another Spring
Pippa is an actress, voice artist, and blogger. She doesn’t allow comments on her blog, so I just wanted everyone to see how remarkably elegant she is. The photo was taken by her partner, Martin.
Guest Post: Medical Advice From Gavin
Gavin has good advice about the prevention of choking on food, using his many years of experience in the Ambulance Service in London, and New Zealand.
Hi folks, 2 things I feared most when I was in the ambulance service. One was asthma & the other similar was choking. I was the first in NZ to teach the Heimlich manoeuvre & got into trouble for it. I’m pleased to see in the video in the news story courtesy of Wellington Free, they have brought it back.
(This is not the video clip mentioned, just an illustration of the technique-Pete.)
Some advice
Never sneak up on someone while they are eating or give them a fright, such as saying HI by slapping them on the back. Eat small bites of steak and not chewy bits – no need to be polite, spit them out. And don’t forget Oranges. The meat on that is a regular choker as the acid can make you gulp. For children, eating oranges like we did at half time is safest, not peeled or Mandarins are better.
Only advanced paramedics have the equipment & can do cricothyroid punctures, certainly not in rural areas. An off duty doctor would struggle without the right gear but a midwife did it successfully in the Hawkes Bay a few years ago.