Here I am at the edge

  A wider range than I considered I forgot when I was seeking films with the Spanish language that most of Central and South America speak Spanish. Gloria is a romance from Chile . I am finding some good films from Mexico as well.

  The only reason to finish my short story selections The only motivation I have to finish off some of my short story selection is to say I did my best to end the story well as few, if any, will be sold. Last year, I had a clear out and throw out over a decade's worth of short stories I had started but not go to finish for various reasons, mainly because I rarely sell any so I thought why continue, or as the say in Spain  " donde esta la motivacion " - where is the motivation?

  Hippocratic Oath I was watching the extras on a DVD I bought recently, and one thing hit me; the hypocrisy of Chinese doctors. The eight tenet of the Hippocratic Oath states - I will prevent disease whenever I can - as prevention is better than cure - yet, the medical sector of China  has created the greatest killer known to mankind, not only that they developed mutations. The plague and the Spaish flu epidemic of a century ago were caused by living condions and rats.

  Something for the New Year The Ghosts of St. Mary's is my bestselling ghost story , but it is not my most well-known as that honor goes to a short story I wrote a few months later called The Old Church ghosts .

  For your e-readers Fuel your e-reader If you got an e-reader for Christmas, you could do a lot worse thn my Amazon Bestseller about vampires and the American Civil War ; beware the vampires are closer to Nosferatu the Twight.

  A bad habit According to my wife I have a habit of justifying a saving by talking myself out of buying something I wanted. and I feel it is about to happen again. Several months ago, I came across the series Aguila Roja - AKA Red Eagle - a series set in Medieval Spain . I bought the first series on its own for two reason, one was to see if I could get the subtitles to work (they have), and the other was to watch the series to see if I enjoyed it enough to buy the nine series set. The acting is good, and the cast plays the part well, but the plots tend to drag in comparison with the plots of Captain Altariste . However, I have a greater issue with Alatariste, I have yet to find subtitles that do not cut out half way through the episodes.

  Rats in the Channel Tunnel I am in no doubt the main reason the ban on lorries has been lifted by   Emmanuel Macron  because his Minister for Health told him of the risks of having rotting food, and the high probability of a plague of rats if the food was left to rot.

  A good investment. I installed Freemake Video Downloader onto my laptop. I am using the software to download western TV series from the 60's and 70's, as well as many movies from India .  

  I had to laugh I am a bit overweight, but I also have a heavy bone structure so I am not too concerned about the weight to masss relationship of my body.  I was never going to pay for one of the myriad of diets that are so common in the stores, or online. If you eat better you feel better. I did check one out that made me laugh; I had been on the diet for as long as I can recall without knowing it :) The diet says to not eat fatty meats, my reasoning is why pay for something that will end up in the pan, not your stomach? The same goes for T-Bone steak, Okay, meat on the bone is tastier, but the bottom line reads you are paying for a chuck of bone too, Eat fish, I could eat fish twice a week if I could afford it. I come from a fishing family so eating fish is a way of keeping the men in work as much as enjoing natures bounty. Did you know if we did not eat sardines, and sharks did not trawl them they are so populous they would brees themselves to extinction with ten years? As for eat

 Herbal remedies While a lot of people may poo-poo the medicines our forefathers used, I bet the still put Witch-hazel on bruises, or use oil of cloves for tootache and teething for babies. I am a firm believer in herbal medicines, in the days before the big pharma companies our grandparents had to find a way to ease pains without costing millions of pounds in unknown chemicals.  I often use Garlic in my cooking, it is not only good for the heart but a great blood cleanser; last night, II found a new use for garlic it works a wonder on clearing earwax. Honey is good for a sore throat, but also good for small cuts and scrapes,  I stopped talking half of my medicines when I found out they could be the cause of my kidney and liver illness; most of the tablets have a written warning they could damage those organs. Another thing I found out is that either soome company is using a banned colouring on tablets, or they are ditching 20-year-old stock - the criminal is a colouring called Sun

  Contrary to opinion If you read my blog, it is understandable if you think I watch series because they have, in my opinion, attractive ladies in; I  won't deny having attractive ladies in is a draw, but the series has to have more to it than that. The Velvet Collection is a perfect example of what I am saying, it has many attractive ladies, of all ages, in, and they are excellent actresses. I can see how it would be a great series, but a series about the fashion industry in 1960's Spain does not hold my attention.

  30 coins I have ti admit that I am NOT impressed with the Amazon Firestick , it has thousands if of programs and fims listed, but so far I have found the majority are dead ends.  It does have some good points; I can watch NCIS , New Amsterdam and some of the more recent US/UK shows, but for watching my series from France and Spain it is a dead loss. One saving grace - no intended pun - is the series 30 Monedas from Spain. The series is about a priest who is haunted by the ghost of a boy who died during an exorcism, the title refers to the price Judas was paid to betray Christ. You need to watch as the series has so many twists and turns,

  Animal Cruelty PETA is an organization that is supposed to protect animals from unethical practices, this brings me to my point; surely painting a noble elephant pink and gold - even with non-toxic paint - for a movie crosses the line. However, if your nickname is Banksy you are immune from these rules as you are a symbol of "modern art." The same art that in the 1970's paid thousands of pounds for a pile of bricks any builder would have been happy to let you have for about £50, or who paid for horse manure. I can only assume that where money counts, rules CAN and will be broken at will.

  Why I prefer French and Spanish television to UK TV You would imagine that sharing a Mediterranean coastline, and not being far from Morocco , Spain, and France would have a lot of actors/actresses of mixed shows, but it is not the case. The main reason I watch TV from France and Spain is that they are not obsessed with being PC as the TV in the UK is.  You can add that these shows are the only way I can have a vacation, and both acting and writing are superior to what is shown on UK TV; there are a few exceptions such as Craith . My taste in films and TV now includes South Korea , India , China, and Japan .

  A curvy figure is attractive I realize it is a matter of personal taste, but I would much prefer a lady like Spanish actress  Inma   Cuevas (above) to Penelope Cruz . With the trend of superthin models and actresses, I keep thinking of what a wit on Facebook wrote many moons ago - Only dogs like bones - you need to remember romance is about the before and after sex. Also from Spain,  actress Loles Leon shows ladies can have a full figure and wear spectacles and be as attractive as younger ladies. A full figure shows the lady has lived a good life, while a skinny figure proves only that she put her career first, at the risk of her health. People should consider that beauty is ageless, with my interest in the cinema of India, I have come across over a dozen ladies I would consider attractive, and they are in their late 50s, to late 60s. I could add more, but as I said, this is only my opinion.