Thought for today:
"I love Christmas for it possesses a magic that no other season can ever know. It is that time of year when hope for a better tomorrow can be found in the promise of a new-born star; it is that special time during December when the smallest amount of generosity possesses the power to enter, soften and melt the hardest of hearts.
I recall as a child looking out from my bedroom window, hoping to see the snowfall from the starlit sky over the estate where I lived, knowing that if it snowed all night, in the morning, the harsh and rugged landscape of the Pennines would be transformed into a picture postcard of seasonal delight. I'd watch the soft white snowflakes fall to the ground like small pieces of compassionate sky, bringing a message of goodwill to everyone in the world that the time had come to strengthen fragile relationships and to heal old wounds that still festered.
My dear mother used to say that in December, it only takes one kind word to warm three winter months! Her message remained constant throughout her life, 'Billy, if you don't find the spirit of Christmas in your heart, you'll find the crib empty!' She was so right. Unless you can open your heart, forget opening your presents, as your good intentions will never last a full year. You will merely finish up saying lots of things in summer that you don't mean in winter.
I give thanks for the year which is soon ending. There have been times during 2017 which I have found difficult to cope with. I refer not to my emergency hospital admission on the past Boxing Day, and while I could have done without that experience, it didn't dishearten me. I was frequently disheartened by mankind's cruelty to his fellow man. 2017 proved to have been such a difficult year for so many people across the world. We have seen countries ravaged by civil war and shaken through political instability; millions of people have been killed and an absence of food and access to clean water has affected the ongoing health of a number of third world countries. 2017 has witnessed mass displacement of populations followed by the greatest exodus of people ever counted; people fleeing their homeland in search of a safer place to live. Such dangerous journeys have been made across seas in overcrowded and unsafe crafts in which many have died. Many of the lucky ones who survived the sea crossing then marched hundreds of miles across Europe with their aged and young family members, but many still haven't found welcoming homes for the future.
Back inside Great Briton, millions of people have faced their own levels of austerity and mounting debt, while others, less fortunate, have depended on cardboard boxes as blankets for their cold nights on the streets. Even some in full-time employment have found themselves with insufficient funds to survive on and have had to rely on food banks to feed them and the charity of family and friends as they struggle to stay in their inadequate and overpriced rental accommodation.
During the months ahead they face many uncertainties, but for the next two weeks, they will place their worries to one side and do all that they can to make their children's Christmas as happy as they possibly can. It is this hope that 'something will turn up' that makes the people of the world believe in the Christmas star.
From all the sixty plus books I've written and had published, there is but one book that is set against the background of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and tells of the hope to come. It is called, 'Tales from the Allotment' and it is the book that gave me the greatest pleasure to write. The story is dedicated to my deceased father, an ex-miner.
It is suitable reading for any teenager and adult. Although set in the 19th and early 20th centuries, it is a timeless story that is just as relevant today as it was 150 years ago. 'Tales from the Allotment' tells the story of a mining village where the local pit is the sole employer. The pit is closed down and the miners are made redundant. Many of the villagers move in search of new homes and jobs, but the families of 18 miners who own an allotment refuse to leave their homes and village. After months and years of unemployment, increased poverty and the onset of hopelessness, all 18 ex-miners begin to work their allotment plot which becomes their saviour and provides them with a new purpose in life as well as fresh produce for their family tables.
If there is anyone who is looking for a good heartwarming Christmas story that is filled with hope to give as a present, 'Tales from the Allotment' could be the book for you. It is available from www. smashwords.com in e-book format and Amazon Kindle. It is also available in hard copy from www.lulu.com and www.amazon.com. All profit from book sales goes to charitable causes in perpetuity. Merry Christmas to you all." William Forde: December 11th, 2017.
"I love Christmas for it possesses a magic that no other season can ever know. It is that time of year when hope for a better tomorrow can be found in the promise of a new-born star; it is that special time during December when the smallest amount of generosity possesses the power to enter, soften and melt the hardest of hearts.
I recall as a child looking out from my bedroom window, hoping to see the snowfall from the starlit sky over the estate where I lived, knowing that if it snowed all night, in the morning, the harsh and rugged landscape of the Pennines would be transformed into a picture postcard of seasonal delight. I'd watch the soft white snowflakes fall to the ground like small pieces of compassionate sky, bringing a message of goodwill to everyone in the world that the time had come to strengthen fragile relationships and to heal old wounds that still festered.
My dear mother used to say that in December, it only takes one kind word to warm three winter months! Her message remained constant throughout her life, 'Billy, if you don't find the spirit of Christmas in your heart, you'll find the crib empty!' She was so right. Unless you can open your heart, forget opening your presents, as your good intentions will never last a full year. You will merely finish up saying lots of things in summer that you don't mean in winter.
I give thanks for the year which is soon ending. There have been times during 2017 which I have found difficult to cope with. I refer not to my emergency hospital admission on the past Boxing Day, and while I could have done without that experience, it didn't dishearten me. I was frequently disheartened by mankind's cruelty to his fellow man. 2017 proved to have been such a difficult year for so many people across the world. We have seen countries ravaged by civil war and shaken through political instability; millions of people have been killed and an absence of food and access to clean water has affected the ongoing health of a number of third world countries. 2017 has witnessed mass displacement of populations followed by the greatest exodus of people ever counted; people fleeing their homeland in search of a safer place to live. Such dangerous journeys have been made across seas in overcrowded and unsafe crafts in which many have died. Many of the lucky ones who survived the sea crossing then marched hundreds of miles across Europe with their aged and young family members, but many still haven't found welcoming homes for the future.
Back inside Great Briton, millions of people have faced their own levels of austerity and mounting debt, while others, less fortunate, have depended on cardboard boxes as blankets for their cold nights on the streets. Even some in full-time employment have found themselves with insufficient funds to survive on and have had to rely on food banks to feed them and the charity of family and friends as they struggle to stay in their inadequate and overpriced rental accommodation.
During the months ahead they face many uncertainties, but for the next two weeks, they will place their worries to one side and do all that they can to make their children's Christmas as happy as they possibly can. It is this hope that 'something will turn up' that makes the people of the world believe in the Christmas star.
From all the sixty plus books I've written and had published, there is but one book that is set against the background of Christmas Eve and Christmas Day and tells of the hope to come. It is called, 'Tales from the Allotment' and it is the book that gave me the greatest pleasure to write. The story is dedicated to my deceased father, an ex-miner.
It is suitable reading for any teenager and adult. Although set in the 19th and early 20th centuries, it is a timeless story that is just as relevant today as it was 150 years ago. 'Tales from the Allotment' tells the story of a mining village where the local pit is the sole employer. The pit is closed down and the miners are made redundant. Many of the villagers move in search of new homes and jobs, but the families of 18 miners who own an allotment refuse to leave their homes and village. After months and years of unemployment, increased poverty and the onset of hopelessness, all 18 ex-miners begin to work their allotment plot which becomes their saviour and provides them with a new purpose in life as well as fresh produce for their family tables.
If there is anyone who is looking for a good heartwarming Christmas story that is filled with hope to give as a present, 'Tales from the Allotment' could be the book for you. It is available from www. smashwords.com in e-book format and Amazon Kindle. It is also available in hard copy from www.lulu.com and www.amazon.com. All profit from book sales goes to charitable causes in perpetuity. Merry Christmas to you all." William Forde: December 11th, 2017.
