Brilliant!  november 2006

Welcome to the November issue of "Brilliant!"  We want to sincerely thank all the people who sent us congratulations and well wishes on the second anniversary of the newsletter - we appreciate all your kind words and positive comments.  One message that came through time and again in many of the emails we received, and of which we are most proud, was the consistent affirming of our mission "to deliver positive and uplifting entertainment and personal awareness products to the global community".  Through the Bright Light Multimedia publishing and retail website, we continue to grow our catalogue of CDs, books and digital downloads, and The Bright Light Café provides a global platform for new and established talent to present their most positive and uplifting creations and at the same time delivers free online entertainment for people who wish to surround themselves in positive thoughts and experiences.

On the subject of last month's newsletter, we hope everyone who chose one of our complimentary product downloads is enjoying their special anniversary gift and gaining great benefit from it.

October brought around two very special events in our world - our wedding anniversary and my birthday.  This year we celebrated our 28th wedding anniversary, and it reminded me of an experience I would like to share with you.  While we were on our honeymoon in Fiji, I also celebrated my birthday, and Barbara went out and gathered a mass of fragrant Frangipani flowers that had freshly fallen from the trees around our resort and lovingly created a beautiful lei for me to wear on our last night away.  It was a wonderful gift and a memory I will always treasure.

We recently watched a movie about a couple planning their wedding and were stunned by the ever mounting cost of their forthcoming nuptials - upwards of $40,000 - which involved talk of additional mortgages on parental homes and a huge drain on family finances!  Apparently, it is not uncommon for a young couple to begin married life with a huge personal loan taken out to cover the costs associated with their wedding and honeymoon.  When Barbara and I married, we needed to fund the entire wedding ourselves, and took on all the work associated with the event - not a solution I would recommend either, as it diverted our attention and energy away from really enjoying and appreciating the day as much as we should have.

Over the years, we have encountered many myths about what it takes to create and maintain a good marriage, and we've also witnessed the negative way in which marriage is so often presented by the media.  It seems a lot of comedians make a career out of telling us that marriage is a combative, unpleasant and unrewarding association. And yet there are millions of couples who have very happy marriages that we never hear about because happy events and lives aren't considered very "newsworthy" by people focused on the negative. The truth shown by repeated research is that happily married people live healthier, more satisfied and fulfilling lives.  A good marriage takes work, but as we say in our book Married and Loving It!, anything worth having takes work, and the rewards of a happy marriage are worth all the effort it takes.

So, hooray for marriage - and here's to love!

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For your entertainment and enjoyment this month, we have the following new additions to the menu at The Bright Light Café:

• two anecdotes;

• two performances;

• one short story;

• three poems.

Here's the love of my life and my esteemed partner, Barbara Llewellyn, to tell you about these fine pieces and their talented creators.

Anecdotes

Families are often privy to knowledge unbeknownst to the rest of the world.  These little known facts are particularly interesting when they are about people who have been in positions of enormous power that have helped to shape our world.  The following anecdote tells a secret about Charles de Gaulle (President of France from 1958 to 1969).

French Blood

The late Harold Macmillan was Prime Minister of Britain from 1957 to 1953.  His grandson tells this fascinating anecdote of problems behind the public scenes.
“As a young man, I had the privilege of watching some of the great post-war politicians from close quarters when they visited my late Grandfather at his residence in Sussex. One of these was the late General de Gaulle.
Read More ...

If you enjoy a dry sense of English humour then read on.

Is It Mine?

Lord Nuffield was born William Richard Morris in 1877 and is chiefly remembered as the founder of the highly successful British car company Morris Motors, which once manufactured half the cars sold in the UK.  William Morris was therefore an extremely wealthy man.   He was also a very modest and generous man who gave more than thirty million pounds away to charity. 
Read More ...

Poetry

We are pleased to announce that Bright Lighter, Carl Palmer, from the USA, has just become Grandfather to Brady William Palmer.  I’m sure you join with us in congratulating Carl on this wonderful event and, like us, look forward to the fine stories and poems Carl will create with the joy he is now experiencing.  As Carl says “The son of the son is special to the father of the father”.  Until then Carl has given us this humorous piece to keep us all guessing and put a smile on our faces.

No Thank You
I don’t remember who I was talking to
or what I was talking about, 
but it was my voice I heard
and I remember saying it. 
That’s what woke me up.
“No thank you.”
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Rachelle Arlin Credo, from the Philippines, is a true lover of nature.  In her latest poem, she manages to capture the heat and wonder of a summer day, taking us all into her memories of this glorious season.  This is Rachelle’s seventh creative work to appear at The Bright Light Cafe - only one more and Rachelle will be our next Featured Talent!

Summer Memories

Restless winds blow tree leaves 
Strewing them on the ground with wisps 
The sweltering heat crawls all over
Like a plague of locusts in September
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Speaking of Featured Talent - once again, the prolifically poetic romantic of The Bright Light Cafe, our very valued friend from the USA, Stephen Pray, shows us all how to speak of romance without saying much at all.  Not only is Steve a delightful human being, he is also a wonderful spinner of tales - in very few words.  Here's another example of love in a poetic envelope. 

Spring's Winter Love

His hands were rough, but his heart was kind,
His face was worn, but with wrinkles of laughter.
Her heart was cold, haughty her face,
her hands with fingers like needles.
Read more ...

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Performances

We know you love to laugh and have regular "Ah - isn't that nice" moments and we do too, so this month we know you'll enjoy our two latest performances with a poem especially created to make you giggle and a gentle heart warming story that will bring another sort of smile to your day.  Have a listen and then put your hands together (or tap out an email) to applaud - 

A Dog Named Sex  Poem by Carl Palmer  (USA)

My pooch is not named Rover, Fluffy, Spot or Rex.
I wanted something different, so I named my puppy, Sex.
To renew my doggie’s license. I went down to City Hall.
“I’d like a license for Sex”, I said. He said, “Wouldn’t we all?”
Listen Now

Performed by Rod Kirkham

Yesterday Was Wednesday  Story by Christine Tothill  (UK & Spain)

We are walking away from school; his jumper over his shoulder, his shirt hanging out the back of his trousers. 

"Nanny, you look like my friend," he says. He jumps up onto a garden wall and walks along the top of it. A man with a grumpy looking face opens the front door and glares at Harry.
Listen Now

Performed by Barbara Llewellyn

Short Stories

Feel like a very inappropriate and decidedly funny story to brighten up your day?  Meet newcomer, Jack Wodhams, born in England and now a true blue Aussie - and a very fine and fun writer.  He was once the Guest of Honour at Analog's Science Fiction Convention and he is now a most welcomed member of the Bright Light creative family.  We look forward to sharing lots of laughter with his wicked sense of humour.  Read what we mean and prepare for a giggle.

The Entertainer  (691 words) 

“Anything to declare?”
“Nothing in particular,” I told the Customs Man.  “Just the usual couple bottles of spirits I’m allowed.  I don’t bother with the duty-free cigarettes.  I don’t smoke myself, and I don’t like to encourage it in others.”
“What’s in the box you’re holding back there?”
“Box?  Holding back? I’m not holding back.  It’s just an extra small case I have, that’s all.”
“And what’s in it?”
Read More ...

We hope your November is treating you well and, as always, Brilliant friend, we wish you and your family good health and happiness.  "May you always have walls for the winds, a roof for the rain, tea beside the fire, laughter to cheer you, those you love near you, and all your heart might desire."

With our warmest regards,


Barbara Llewellyn & Rod Kirkham 
Publishers

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