Football Managers

It is disgraceful seeing Sir Alex Ferguson berating the referee like he did last weekend.
How are we as a society supposed to teach our children to respect other people when high profile people like Sir Alex act without manners or thought for the example they are setting?
Will Sir Alex write to the referee the next time some player or watcher of a Sunday League match attacks the referee? Will he not feel a trifle contrite when he thinks that his behaviours has helped to set the standards for those who look up to him? Will he send an apology to the next referee of a lower league match who ends up in hospital after being attacked?
He should be banned for a large number of games. But that will not happen. The FA is too much in awe of him so they will be weak as far as he is concerned. If it had been say a Championship manager who has not the profile of Sir Alex, the FA would have acted.
On top[ of this there is the way in which managers blame the referee for any defeat. They are blind to the missed goal chances from their over paid strikers. The  were not looking when their players commit fouls.
All football team managers must try to set an example to today's youth.

Fantasy Trilogy by Eddie Gubbins

My fantasy Trilogy The Rombuli Saga can be downloaded via www.smashwords.com onto
epub is the format Smashwords distributes to the Apple iBookstore, Sony, Kobo, B&N, Stanza, Aldiko and others.Sony Reader (LRF), Kindle (.mobi. Mobipocket is an eBook format supported on the Kindle, as well as Windows PCs and many handheld devices.  Palm Doc (PDB), PDF, RTF, Plain Text.


The Teacher of The Rombuli

Edward Eastland lives in an obscure country of the Parison Empire son of the most powerful man in Alskar Province, Idris Eastland. For over a century, the small nation of the Rombuli has been bowed down under the yoke of the Parison Empire and the Imperial Army,. The Emperor and the Imperial High families are maintained in power by the mysterious group of magicians called the Covenent. 

Soon after Edward meets Kitty the daughter of the Imperial Army Commander, the Emperor plans a visit to this distant Province of his Empire. In Alskar Town Square he confronts a Covenenter using his power but has to back down.

Edward is taken to Nimmar the capital of Rombuli and is forced to confront the dichotomy of his hate for the Empire but his love and friendship for some of the Imperial servants? 

Follow Edward as he learns more of the secrets of the Rombuli, attempts to confront the Covenent as he learns more of his power and searches for the ancient Teacher of the Rombuli, Nelvask, who has not been seen for over one hundred years. 

The Return Of The Exiles

Book 2 of The Rombuli Saga

The Empire was disintegrating. There had been no communication with the Parison for years. People reported that strange creatures had been seen. Sending troops to investigate proved futile. As soon as they crossed the border, nothing was heard of them again. The plan was to hold onto Rombuli while somebody found out what was happening.

Edward was given the task of finding the Walloonian army at a place called Bryants Ridge. He has to leave his new wife Kitty with her brother Boric and his friend Tag. In the event, they becomes cut off from Rombuli. With his friends Boric Borovic and Tag he sets out to find his way back home by a circuitous route.

Edward wonders whether his powers, magic as Tag calls it, help him and keep them safe. Will he learn more about the extent of his powers? Are there forces with greater powers than him waiting to prevent him reaching his goal? During the journey, will his friends keep following his lead no matter the dangers they encounter? 

As they set out they have to face the possibility that the Empire will no longer exist when the get back home.

This follows Book 1 of The Rombuli Saga - The Teacher of the Rombuli.

Book 3: The Prisoner of Parison
Edward and his friends had gone. Now all that was left was for the Rombuli army to retreat back to the Alskar River. Silker the leader of the army had said “ We do not have enough trained soldiers to do anything about a direct attack on the enemy. With odds of twelve to one, we can do nothing to ultimately to stop their advance. I took the liberty of looking at the way the Imperial Army conquered Rombuli and I can see no difference in the situation we face now. The invasion was on three fronts. The Imperial Army came in three waves, one across the lake, one across the ford and one across the bridge in the north in a pincer movement towards the Rock. The Sardonians and the Rombuli armies fell back and only committed themselves to a pitch battle on the plain before the Rock assisted by Nelvask and his magicians. As I see things we can only follow similar tactics, though with so few soldiers, any pitched battle is doomed. If we have to make a stand, it will either have to be outside Nimmar in Derek's Gap or at the Alskar River by Alskar Town. All we can do is hope that Nelvask and Latask can hold them up with their power at these places. The other thing we can do is to leave some men behind to harass their backs and hit their supply lines in the same way as the Rombuli did under Derek Gorland's leadership. It almost worked for them even though the Imperial Army vastly out numbered their troops and were highly trained. I must admit, it is not much of a strategy but it is the only one I can come up with at short notice. Desperate times call for desperate methods. I know it is really a delaying tactic, hoping that something will come up. I can see little hope of it succeeding."

Deep down they all know it is suicide but all that can be done until somebody leads a party to Parison to rescue the prisoner Tulka. He is the leader of the magician faction called the Covenent but imprisoned by the Black Elves. With his magic and the rest of the Covenent there might be a chance of confronting the Black Elves. The elves of the Golden City stir in their forest after being confronted by Edward and agree to help the humans.
Who will lead the assault on Parison or will it be a clandestine mission? Where is Edward Eastland and will he be able to use his power in rescuing Tulka?
The situation is desperate. The enemy appears to have much stronger magic and more soldiers. Will Nelvask find Edward in time and will the elves of the Golden City help in freeing Tulka?

Also available on Kindle through Amazon.

The Teacher of the Rombuli and The Return of the Exiles are available as paperbacks at www.createspace.com or www.amazon.com.

gun control in USA

What a nation. Guns to kill people! Give the people more guns so that They can kill more people. This is a nation that sees itself as the most civilised on earth. It prides itself on being Christian but kills people. Many people like me who admire the good things that are part of the USA do not understand their right wing bias in many things.

Resurrected thriller novel

After writing my thriller Brotherly Love, I sat down and wrote the sequel A Legacy From Mary. This was never quite finished or edited at the time. It has lain on my computer desk top for a number of years almost forgotten while I pursued other topics.
Last week I came across the file and down loaded onto my Kindle. It needs editing but to me it reads well. The story once more involves Ken Flood in the affairs of his brother Norman and the mysterious Commander Sturgess. His friend and fellow academic Mary Hubbert is killed in a road accident. In questioning the police conclusion about the cause, Ken is drawn into a web of deceit both in the UK and West Africa. Ken learns that he is tougher than he imagined. He travels with the lovely half Chinese girl called Sui Ling Powell. It is about the abuse of power, life threatening encounters, political intrigue and fear.
When I have finished editing this and writing the last chapter I will publish on Kindle and/ or Smashwords.
Brotherly Love is published on Kindle at the kindle store on www.amazon.com or www.amazon.co.uk for down loading It is also on www.smashwords.com and as a paperback with www.createspace.com

Fantasy Trilogy

                                             

Buy my Fantasy Trilogy " The Rombuli Saga" through Kindle at www.amazon.co.uk or www.amazon.com, or www.smashwords.com for downloading to all electronic platforms. 

Book 1 The Teacher of the Rombuli and Book 2 The Return of the Exiles can be bought from www.createspace.com or amazon.com as paperbacks. Book 3 The Prisoner of Parison is being prepared for publication as a paperback.

Another rejection slip!

Another rejection slip to add to the file full on my desk for my romance novel Running After Maria

Looking at it starts to make me wonder whether it is worth going on with my writing. I start to ask the question of what is the purpose. The problem is that the stories and ideas keep cropping up in my head. Sometimes I wake in the night and and idea is born. I know, as my creative writing tutor keeps telling me, I should keep a note book with me at all times. When these ideas occur i should note them down before I forget. That is not the problem though.
I ask myself whether it is because I cannot write or not in the way publishers want me to write. But the stories are always pushing to get out.
Or is it that I do not mix in the right circles? I did not go to Oxbridge or whatever. I have no contacts in th literary area. It does strike me that many published authors have been published because they have friends or aquaintances in influential positions.
Or am I sending my stuff to the wrong people. It is a rather hit and miss process of finding where to send novels and short stories.
Then low and behold I get an email to say that some people have downloaded my fantasy novels from Smashwords. (The Teacher of The Rombuli, The Return of the Exiles and The Prisoner of Parison. All published on smashwords.com, kindle and the first two as paperbacks at createspace,com) There is somebody out there who wants to read my work.
It makes me determined to carry on.
Now to get my Tales from the Sea, the semi autobiographical novel of the time I spent at sea during the 1960's, ready to send away to a publisher or to publish on smashwords. This is a semi-autobiographical novel based on the period served in the British Merchant Navy from 1957 to 1969. During that time, I sailed on oil tankers, cargo ships and passenger ferries to most parts of the world. The reader will meet the characters good and bad, some larger than life, who crew the ships. There are times of calm and days of danger both of the ships and the men. Between the voyages there are the times spent ashore in bars, brothels and in compound clubs. Some of the time there are episodes of humour and at other tragedy, the dramas and dangers of being at sea. Under pinning the whole tale is the sea in all its moods.

This is best illustrated by an unpublished poem of mine.

The Sailor’s Mistress

When the cargo is loaded and all falls quiet

The sea itself is calling, 

Beckoning the sailor out there beyond the dock. 

His mistress is waiting 

Where the river meets the sea. 

He has no real knowledge of what her reaction will be

When he sails out to meet her. 

She may greet him in a calm, balmy mood,

Like a gentle lover entwining him in her arms, 

Leaving him refreshed and happy when they part. 

It might be that she is angry 

And will meet him with unmatched violence 

A violence which beats upon the senses 

And leaves the lovers drained and exhausted, 

Ready to rush apart , 

Ready to find a place of peace and quiet 

Not the feeling of complete satisfaction. 

Like all lovers, the sea and the sailor

Will never quite know what moods will greet them when they meet

Or how the mood can change very quickly.  

This is the excitement of the sea.  

Every time a ship leaves port,

The sailor approaches that love 

With a mixture of exhilaration and apprehension. 

Will they together make beautiful love under a clear blue sky 

Or will they fight? 

It is not for the sailor to subdue the sea 

But to live with her moods 

In the hope that he can survive.

The sea is calling, always calling 

As a lover calls.

The writing will continue! There again I have no choice in the matter. The stories need to be written down.!

Waiting for a bus

I stood on St Margaret's bus station in Leicester the other day waiting for an Arriva bus. The indicator said the bus was due at 1605. A queue formed. Nothing happened. Then the indicator changed. 1615. We waited. Nothing happened. The bus rank remained empty. Then the indicator changed. 1625. People in the queue were asking each other why the delay.
A question occurred to me. Have I wasted the last thirty five years? When I was lecturing I used to tell my students about this situation.
Transport is all about enabling people or goods to arrive at a place they would rather be or can be of greater utility. It is the arrival that people want from transport. But the promise of all transport companies must be hat the arrival is accomplished safely. The people or the goods have to arrive uninjured or in one piece. This all must be to a laid down timetable.
That is the promise that a transport company makes. To deliver a person of some goods to the destination at the time advertised and safely.
The biggest frustration for most people is for the transport company not to carry out their side of the bargain in not sticking to the timetable or not looking after the goods. Most people accept that transport cannot work like clockwork. There are elements which cannot be taken into consideration. What these people want is to be informed of why the delay or the holdup. To leave people stranded in a bus station without taking the trouble to give them some information about the causes of the delay and how the company is trying to solve the problem goes against all the principles of good transport.
I was saying this thirty five years ago but still the lessons have not been learnt.
A black mark for Arriva Buses!
For a fuller explanation see:
Chapter One of my book Managing Transport Operations published byKogan Page.