Shakespeare and all that

Shakespeare and all that (c)

By Michael Casey

I just read in the Daily Telegraph that Shakespeare was coming back, no not from the dead just back to the syllabus. Yes Shakespeare can be hard, very hard even. Nowaday you can get good notes. For example Cliffs notes on Internet for Macbeth or whatever. Then on Amazon by Longman's guide to Macbeth. Then back to Utube/Internet and you'll get 4 versions of the play. So that's a head start already, assuming your teacher is good they he/she will bring it to life for you. I'd say read the play, look at the Cliffs notes on your own before the teacher starts on the course. If you are doing it on your own for fun or for the OU then just read he play look at the notes, watch all 4 versions of the play on Utube. You can even find sites that'll have essays on the subject. You may have to pay a few quid for access, OR you just read the 1st page of over 40 essays. The internet is your library so use it. Get drunk and read it, or have 4 litres of Dr Pepper, 10 bars of chocolate or whatever makes you happy then read the play. I did a bit of Shakespeare at the OU and I taught a bit too, so I know its doable. Don't be afraid, its just words on paper. BUT you can bring them to life, put silly voices on, do silly walks, sit in MacDonalds and do it. Go to the park and do it. Chop it to size, and do it. 14 years ago I relearnt my Spanish in a couple of months, all I did was 15mins a day, every day for a couple of months. I chopped the Spanish to size. Shakespeare is simpler than doing Spanish after a 25year break. Once in Barcelona I spent a week in a tapas bar, but that's another story. Please Please Please give Shakespeare a try. There are tavelling theatre companies after all, get your school to get one to come and put on a show. Did you know there are even theatre companies that work in prisons? We had a film called Shakespeare in Love go and watch that. Then with fear banished, lose your virginity with Shakespeare.

p.s. 6848 views of my sample chapter on funny or die   

       google "michaelgcasey" to find it, then buy my books on

 http://www.amazon.co.uk/Michael-Casey/e/B00571G0YC/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

As I look out my window 2013

As I look out my window 2013©

By Michael Casey

As I look out my window what can I see? I can see my neighbours but they cannot see me, I can observe the goings on, the this way and that way of traffic and of people. Writing is all about observation, what I see with my eyes comes out on the paper as a story or a blog, or even a chapter in my next book, my 6^th book Tears for a Butcher. I have finished the 1^st chapter, I even put it on funny or die http://www.funnyordie.com/michaelgcasey  and to my delight it is about to go through the 6000 views barrier, if only people now go and buy my first 5 books  on Amazon Kindle http://www.amazon.co.uk/Michael-Casey/e/B00571G0YC/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

Enough of the advertising, just how do you write? Well start with something simple, don’t try and be all poetic. Talking of poetry go and buy a copy of The Book Thief, it’s a wonderful book and it’s very very poetic. You have to read if you want to write, having read you’ll learn  about punctuation and style just by reading. You’ll also learn who cannot write, throwing a cat amongst the pigeons Dan Brown cannot write. The Daily Telegraph had a piece of his writing in it, I read it and I thought I was reading concrete. Yes he has sold 40million books, but I still maintain he cannot write. There is also a theory that writers just always bitch. I’m not bitching I’m giving you my honest opinion. Writers sometime belittle other writers, Jeffrey Archer gets some stick, but having read some of his stuff I know he can write, he’s a story teller, I wish someday I can emulate him. He as a Monet on his wall, worth £12,000,000, the most I can hope for is if he sends me a framed photocopy of it, that’s if his local copy shop has a big enough scanner.

Writing involves thinking, taking what you see and changing it, so if a man walks down the street, what are you going to do to make him more interesting. Does the man have two different coloured shoes on, and if he does why, how can you explain it? Though I can reveal that one lawyer I know did come to work with two different shoes on, because it was dark winter’s day when he got up, without putting his bedroom light on, and the shoes were so similar, thankfully he was not due in court that day otherwise he would have had to go out and buy a new pair of shoes.

You are smiling now because of the shoe story, if you can make your readers smile as they read then they will look up to see the name of the writer at the top of the page. You have to ask yourself what am I trying to do with this sentence, can I build more information, can I lead the readers further down the path or do I have to go to another place with this story.

Now if I was lecturing or talking to you over the radio I’d give you several examples of this or that. Gill from my old computer room days said that I put pictures in people’s head, and then let them enjoy the story, I hope I do and Gill’s observation is one of the kindest things ever said to me. So all writers need to supply information, make stories alive so that the readers can have fun.

I’ve noticed in the corner of the screen that I’ve just gone through 600 words, just as I’ve gone through 6000views for a sample chapter on funny or die. My point being I’d really love the chance to talk to all of my readers, on radio or webcast, then I can tell you all just how I use words, and then you can use them for yourselves. I really believe if I can write  then anybody can write, if I were in a position to  encourage writing then I’d be so happy. 

The Butcher The Baker and The Undertaker

The Butcher The Baker and The Undertaker

You can now buy my books on Amazon Kindle


The Butcher The Baker and The Undertaker (c)                       a comedy drama

Essays and Plays (c)

MichaelCasey'sBlogs2011 (c)

Shoplife (c)                                                                                                      a hit comedy play

300 and Not OUT (c)                                   is my new collection of stories/blogs now on Amazon Kindle

http://michaelgcasey.wordpress.com/ is the new place to look for my blogs just click on it and it will show you my work.  I put stuff on FB to as well as my.telegraph.co.uk/michaelgcasey/


Tears For A Butcher my next book which I'm working on carries on the next day after Butcher Baker Undertaker finishes. I'm having lots of fun dreaming up this book. Now all I need is a few quid to support myself while I have a year off to write it.


There is a very funny play called Shoplife which was called "sparkling,very real, great fun, hilarious, we could not stop reading it. We hope to produce it. Not this season but next."
It could have changed my life, 20years ago, now I'm older,wiser and fatter, and there is also the little matter of being married with children. A great big adventure in itself.


The novel takes place in Old Forge and Singing Anvil a mythical place near the home of the Industrial Revolution. Over 12 chapters the Tale grows, a poet who happens to be an Undertaker. A butcher who sings to the chops he is chopping. A publican who has a secret that dates back to WWII, but makes his pub the best in the region. A priest who gives a unique penance to one of his parishioners. The girl from the dog pound who finds true love when she picks up a stray. An Irish mother who Blackmails the Saints, IF they don't help her she'll never speak to them again. A back street cafe that would get 3 Michelin stars If only Michelin knew where they were, but lucky lorry drivers do know. And then there is a vital friendship between a corner shop owner and the street itself, Love binds them together.


I finish with a poem from Percy the Undertaker

The Dead and The Living (c)
by
Michael Casey
I first saw a deceased when I was nine years old ,my father said not
to worry as the dead are the same as the living , only the laughter
has left them , the sparkle has gone from their eyes , the worry has
been lifted from their shoulders , and their voice has vanished to
eternity .
In paradise the sparkle will return for it is the twinkle of the
stars , the laughter will return too for it is the morning breeze and
the turning tides are their sides shaking with laughter .
I treat the deceased with the same courtesy as I give to the living ,
though I find the deceased are always more polite . My father also
had a few words to say about the living .
He said that the living are only the caretakers of the soul , yet
they think their existence is everything , that they know everything
because they experience many things with their senses .
What the living don't acknowledge is that their time is short and
when I lay their bodies to rest then their souls continue without
them , without their strong , without their weak , without their
beautiful or even ugly temporary form , to where I cannot say , only
that it is a better place .
Percy the undertaker placed the lid on the coffin ,the soul was free

THE BEGINNING



Thats all , now make me an offer

Publishers/Producers required so get in touch.

CONTACT ME

Email michaelgcasey@hotmail.com with a good subject line


Let There Be Light ©

By Michael Casey


Let my tears be my words

Let the candle light be my eyes

Let the flowers in bloom be my lips

Let their scent be my blood

Let the wind be my breath

Let clouds be my mood

Let children’s laughter be my hope

Let widows’ sighs be my conscience

Let a stranger’s prayers be my delight

Let the bees be my wisdom

Let the trees be my strength

Let my patience reach to the stars

Let me be always remembered in your prayers

16 Aug 2012 10:23:31

Self Help

Self Help©

By Michael Casey

Saw an ad about an article in the Daily Mail. Shakespeare is better for you than self help books. I agree, Americans seem to want a quick fix and this toothy bleached white smile on some book cover says he has all the answers. He gets rich and makes millions, as "sad" people reach for the answers in a self help book. Don't bother go for a walk in the sunshine, kiss a pretty girl, your own one, otherwise you'll bve chased down the street. Have a laugh, light a candle in church, got an talk to an old woman, they are the wisest people on thsi earth. Sing a song along with your radio or hifi. Watch people out your window, guess which door they are going to knock on. Wait for the pizza leaflet man to push a flyer though your door and push it back at him, scream I don't eat pizza at him through the letter box. See how scared he is. Now that is sport, it'll make you laugh. You could even have a water pistol, to soak all the junk mail delivery people with. Life can be such fun, so don't bother with a self help book, hug a granny instead and take something wonderful to bed. A husband a lover, or just just the cat if you don't have anybody human in your life, failing that a good book is great. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Michael-Casey/e/B00571G0YC/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1 

Taxes

Taxes ©

By Michael Casey

My dad used to say that money should circulate, that’s why its round. The government, any government wants money to roll into the taxman’s coffers. So we have all these new bright ideas from the politicians, we’ll have a toilet tax to drive millionaires around the Ubend. The more toilets you have the more tax  you’ll pay, you’ll be flush with success, so you’ll pay tax on it, or something rhyming with it. The bigger your garage the more tax you’ll pay, then there’ll be the tv tax, the home office know who has a tv, and we all pay tv licences, so your 42inch will mean even more tax, and as for your 3D forget it you’ll pay pay pay.

What more can we be taxed on?  How about a margarine tax, if you buy Clover  you’ll pay more tax than if you buy supermarket cheap brands. Then there is butter, don’t make me laugh, you like Kerry Gold, then prepare to lose your Gold. We had a window tax hundreds of years ago, now we’ll have a double glazing tax, if you can afford to have double glazing you must be super rich, so you will pay more tax, and if you have hardwood frames then you will hear TIMBER as your money is axed from you.  We already pay council tax, so nice big houses pay more, but how about being taxed more if you live in a crescent, or an avenue as that sounds posh, but   if you live in a cul de sac you get a discount. As for living in a caravan, those horrible things that slow us down on motorways, they get taxed double, just out of spite, and on that point all the population would support the  Chancellor.

All these taxes would be like a revolution, and voters would vote for anybody who says they will abolish them. Then once in power the bastards would be even worse, welcome to taxes, 50 shades of taxes without any pleasure.

  

The Voice

The Voice ©

By Michael Casey

A vocation is called a calling, a voice talks to us and then we listen, sometimes finally listen, then we embark upon a journey, it can be a spiritual journey, a physical journey, or a literal journey. How many people have a vocation nowadays? How do you know you have a vocation in the first place? You can be pushed or pulled into something, your family may encourage you, or put a gun against your head to force you to have a certain vocation.

The Irish in America became cops, my own cousin is a cop in Boston, being a cop is a good job, a steady job, and the police force is one big family after all, so it IS a good vocation.  What do cops’ kids become, they become cops too, or if they are girls their dads’ may encourage them to be lawyers, its safer and warmer too.

Why do we need this voice to call us? If we are to sacrifice or donate our lives to something we should have a pull towards it, it’s not just a job, it’s not just any job, a calling , a vocation IS our life.  We may all work in a call centre at some stage of our lives but it is not our life, yes I agree for some girls and in the main it is girls call centre work is their life, it suits them. What makes the vocation call out to us? In the Bible there is the passage where God calls out to the boy, 3 times God calls out and finally the boy after talking to his master waits and listens and replies to God, “here I am” or words to that effect, you can Google the Bible for yourself. So a vocation is like a magnet it pulls us towards it, and once we are attached, we are glued to it.

A vocation is like a lover or a wife, it’s our passion and it bears fruit, it is everything to us, me I write as you all know. Others may teach music to the choir in church, Betty teaches choir at my daughters’ church, she is 84 and still going strong, her passion for music keeps her alive, she pours music into all whom she teaches, it’s this kind of sharing that answers the call.

Learning to listen for the vocation, for the call,   is important too, life can be so busy they we cannot hear the call. We need to step back, to step away and let the force touch us, whatever we want or should I say whatever we could be will be revealed. Yes I know most of us do a job to feed and clothe us, only the lucky few do what they enjoy. As you know I write because it’s in me and I’ve not made a penny from it,  but I’ll always write because it’s my vocation. So after you’ve read this make some quiet time, have a pint of Stella or a mug or Horlicks and just get all mellow, listen to Barry Manilow or whatever gets you in the mood, and let rainbows fill your mind and fill your heart, and listen just listen to the whispers that’ll grow into a roar, for your vocation is calling  you.

Relax and Drink

Relax and Drink ©

By

Michael Casey

I need to relax, we all need to relax, we may have a pint of Stella and as it’s a couple of months since I did have a pint of Stella I’ll just make a mental point to have a pint or two of Stella, then I’ll go dry for 4 months . I’m not much of a drinker at all, 12 to 24 pints in a year. Please don’t laugh at me, I’m on the Pioneer side of drinking as opposed to the alcoholic side. It used to be the case in Ireland that ½ the population did not drink at all then the other half made up for it.

Our lodgers down the years were of the drinking side, Barney could barely stand as he stood by the back door, his rent money in hand, never missed. He enjoyed a drink or three, one Christmas he fell against his cooker and burnt all his back. My dad took him to hospital in Mr Morgan’s old Humber, Mr Morgan was drunk too, it was Christmas Eve after all. Mr Morgan was huge, on the scale of Humpty Dumpty, his belly brushed against the steering wheel, he was a taxi driver, lived a few doors up the road from our house. How they got there alive we’ll never know, I must have been 6 at the time. Dad was offered a lift back but he decided to walk. Decades later Barney lost a finger in an industrial accident, he got 5000 in compensation.  He pissed it up the wall but at least Piccaso would have been impressed by his artwork. Barney love a fag too, lots of them. All this explains how the average working man lived between the 60s and 90s, the bedsit land life. Barney lived till he was 83, my dad and my sister went to visit him and gave him a Birthday card, the next day he died. Such is life, his body went back home to Ireland, his bones could relax in the turf of home.

We all have ways of relaxing, sex, drugs, and rock and roll, or reading the Daily Telegraph. Whatever takes the pain/stress away then do it, but don’t frighten ladies and horses in the street, you could even vote Liberal, but maybe I’m stretching things a bit too far. We may paint, we may watch Glee or SUITS on tv, it takes us away from our daily lives , we are transported somewhere else. Sir Edward Heath used to sail, when its blowing up a gale you don’t think about petty ignorant disputes in Parlaiment, you are too busy trying to stay alive. Staying Alive makes me think of disco, do they have a disco in Parliament? Where all sorts can get up to all sorts, and end up in handcuffs, but that sounds too much like private lives.  So I’ll just finish with what Frankie said “ Relax, don’t do it…..”

feed the birds(c) by Michael Casey

just tried apple struddle, or rather fruit struddle, manage to cook it without burning it, secret low gas. my daughter suggested we have custard, so we had some too, the microwave variety as I did not want to add to the washing up. the struddle was ok, it was only 1pound in iceland, thats the only reason I bought it really. As for the microwave custard, that was a bit lumpy but it did taste of custard. Our left overs including the lumpy custard, we gave to the birds, birds custards to the birds. The factory for Birds custard is actually in Birmingham, its called the Custard Factory now and is a trendy place, or so they tell us. But can they make nice struddle?