New novel – Sorting the Future – Chapter 16 – The United Nations

Posted on by Opher

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Chapter 16 – The United Nations

Somehow I had enjoyed myself. Who would have believed that I would have stood up before a huge assembly of all the heads of all the nations on the planet, on prime-time TV to boot, talked off the cuff for ages, and actually enjoyed doing it?

I don’t know how they had done it but the aliens had beamed me in. First I had addressed the small assembly of the inner Security Council. It was effectively the G16 – the sixteen most powerful nations on earth who met to discuss the future security of the planet. Not that they ever did anything other than castigate each other and push their own narrow interests to the fore. It was about time they did something.

All my apprehensions were ungrounded. I was neither arrested nor shot, and I shone – even if I say it myself. I strode the stage like a master and delivered my speech with passion in faultless English and perfect diction. I do not believe anyone had ever displayed such panache. And I was daring and forthright. I did not mince my words. I told it like it was. I talked of dismantling the financial institutions, doing away with the current political systems, and dealing with corruption, leaving fifty percent of the planet for us and fifty as conserved wilderness and reducing the population. I didn’t leave much out.

Throughout it all the security guards seemed completely powerless. The aliens had them held in some kind of stasis. They did not as much as move a muscle.

Likewise the members of the Security Council – they listened. They did not shout or walk out. They gave me their undivided attention and hung on my every word. Or so it seemed.

I spoke so well. I was eloquent, concise and full of conviction as I laid out my plan, explained who I was and told them what needed doing.

They never took their eyes off me.

I knew that this wasn’t merely my new-found skills that were dazzling them. This was the aliens at work. They had organised my entrance and audience. They were ensuring my audience paid attention.

The general assembly was a repeat on a far bigger scale. This time I knew the TV channels were recording it. That didn’t put me off in the slightest. If anything I played up to it. I was in my element. My new highly powered brain was as clear as could be; the words dropped into place. I spoke with authority and passion. I gave all the right emphasis. It was a masterly performance and I knew it. The aliens had surpassed themselves. I surpassed myself.

I gave them a concise picture of what needed doing. I started with the need to end all war and conflict, the doing away of outmoded institutions such as nations and religions; the desperate need to stop the environmental destruction, the deforestation, slaughter of wild-life and pollution. I talked about running the world globally, reducing the population, putting aside fifty percent of the planet for humans and conserving fifty percent as pristine wilderness. I talked about setting up a single monetary system and creating greater equality, education, welfare and ending all forms of discrimination. I talked about demilitarisation, freedom, streamlining government, human rights and every idealistic notion that had ever been kicked around the Sunday Blue Post club. Everything Pete, Jill, Clive, Mandy, John, Chris and all the rest of us had ruefully talked about. We had all the answers and now I had the platform to do something about it. I wasn’t about to compromise on any of it. I let them have it straight between the eyes.

In fact I pulled together all the things that we had been talking about in that pub over the years and collected it all together into one coherent vision. It was a vision that shone.

I knew it made sense. I had an IQ that was greater than the combined IQ of all the members of that assembly. All the things we’d discussed slotted into place. We hadn’t been talking bollocks after all.

I ended by giving them a clear vision of what the future world would look like. It was a paradise compared to the nightmare they were busily constructing.

They did not interrupt or argue. I had their undivided attention. I knew that wasn’t just my brilliance and that I had the aliens to thank for that but I liked to think that I was so good they would have listened anyway.

But then I was a realist. Unfortunately I knew that I did not have the hearts and minds of that assembly. I could see it in their blank expressions. They were not bowled over by the lucidity of my argument or view of a gleaming future and never would be. They listened because they were being forced to. They were selfish and greedy with their own vested interests, views, and ingrained attitudes. It was going to take more than one magnificent speech to bring them on board. I knew they would fight me tooth and nail. You can drag a stallion to the trough but he’ll die of thirst before he’ll submit to your will if he’s got a mind to. These men and women were seasoned politicians. They had risen to power through the usual methods of bribery, lies and back stabbing and they weren’t about to give up their power just because some unknown idiot popped up with something that made sense. They saw nothing in it for themselves and that was the only criterion of importance in their universe.

I might proclaim myself President of the planet but actually being recognised as such was a different matter altogether. I knew the aliens and I had our work cut out. This was just a shot across the bows.

Right now I had bigger things to think about. I had kept my side of the bargain. It was time to sort out things with Liz and the kids.

Science Fiction books:

Ebola in the Garden of Eden – paperback £6.95 Kindle £2.56 (or free on unlimited)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ebola-Garden-Eden-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1514878216/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461831172&sr=1-11&keywords=opher+goodwin

Green – paperback £9.98 Kindle £2.56 (or free on unlimited)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Green-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1514122294/ref=sr_1_17?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461831333&sr=1-17&keywords=opher+goodwin

Rock Music books

In Search of Captain Beefheart – paperback £6.91 Kindle £1.99 (or free on unlimited)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Search-Captain-Beefheart-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1502820455/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=146183144

3&sr=1-1&keywords=opher+Goodwin

Other selected books and novels:

Anecdotes-Weird-Science-Writing-Ramblings – a book of anecdotes mainly from the sixties and other writing.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anecdotes-Weird-Science-Writing-Ramblings/dp/1519675631/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461832001&sr=1-9&keywords=opher+goodwin

More Anecdotes – following the immense popularity of the first volume I produced a second

https://www.amazon.co.uk/More-Anecdotes-Essays-Beliefs-flotsam/dp/1530770262/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461832001&sr=1-5&keywords=opher+goodwin

Goofin’ with the cosmic freaks – a kind of On the Road for the sixties

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Goofin-Cosmic-Freaks-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1500860247/ref=sr_1_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461832001&sr=1-13&keywords=opher+goodwin

The book of Ginny – a novel

In Britain :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Opher-Goodwin/e/B00MSHUX6Y/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1461306850&sr=1-2-ent

In America:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=opher+goodwin

In all other countries around the world check out your regional Amazon site and Opher Goodwin books.

New novel – Danny’s Story – Chapter 14 – the start

Posted on by Opher

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Chapter 14 – The start

It was late in the evening on a Friday night. There were no gigs and Danny was in sitting in his room listening to music. The bell rang four times. It was either someone on the phone or at the door. Danny raced down the stairs, jumping down the flights and arrived to find Sally at the door.

Alan had passed out. He was too big for Sally to move. She was wondering if Danny could help her getting him to bed?

Danny went round to find Big Alan sprawled on the floor. He’d slumped out of his chair. All around him was the debris of the evening. There were two empty eight pint Pipkins of beer, an empty bottle of whisky mac, crisp packets and three empty wine bottles.

‘It’s Friday night,’ Sally explained.

Danny must have looked uncertain as to the significance of that.

‘Pay day,’ Sally said. ‘Alan always makes a night of it on payday.’

‘Does he always get as bad as this?’ Danny asked.

Sally looked sheepish. ‘Not always,’ she replied. ‘But quite often.’ She looked sad. ‘Usually I catch him before he passes out. I can help him through to the bed if he’s conscious. But when he’s out like this he’s a dead weight.’

Danny could understand that. Alan was a big man and Sally was a sparrow of a woman. She had no chance. He did not even like to think of her trying to help a drunken Alan through to the bed. He was heavy. She could injure herself.

Together they dragged him through to the bedroom and got him out of his clothes and into the bed. It wasn’t easy. Alan was a big guy and even though Danny was robust and strong it took the two of them. Danny turned Alan on his side so that if he puked he wouldn’t inhale his own vomit. He didn’t want a Jimi Hendrix on his conscience. He left him snoring like a baby.

That was the first of many. Nine times out of ten if Danny was in on a Friday there would be the late ring on the bell and they’d go through the same ritual.

These are my six books of poetry. They are available as paperback or on Kindle from Amazon – all for under £5 for a paperback. You could buy the whole lot for just £27.62!!

They are not conventional poetry books. They are like you find on my blog with a page of explanatory prose followed by the poem. The prose is as important as the poem to me.

Codas, Cadence and Clues – £4.97

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Codas-Cadence-Clues-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1530754453/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460847766&sr=1-4&keywords=opher+goodwin

Stanzas and Stances – £5.59

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stanzas-Stances-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1518708080/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460882298&sr=1-9&keywords=opher+goodwin

Poems and Peons – £4.33

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Poems-Peons-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1519640110/ref=sr_1_25?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460882335&sr=1-25&keywords=opher+goodwin

Rhymes and Reasons – £3.98

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rhymes-Reason-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1516991184/ref=sr_1_28?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460882443&sr=1-28&keywords=opher+goodwin

Prose, Cons and Poetry – £4.60

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Prose-Cons-Poetry-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1512376566/ref=sr_1_35?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460882506&sr=1-35&keywords=opher+goodwin

Vice and Verse – £4.15

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vice-Verse-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1514792079/ref=sr_1_36?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460882560&sr=1-36&keywords=opher+goodwin

Science Fiction books:

Ebola in the Garden of Eden – paperback £6.95 Kindle £2.56 (or free on unlimited)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ebola-Garden-Eden-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1514878216/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461831172&sr=1-11&keywords=opher+goodwin

Green – paperback £9.98 Kindle £2.56 (or free on unlimited)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Green-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1514122294/ref=sr_1_17?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461831333&sr=1-17&keywords=opher+goodwin

Rock Music books

In Search of Captain Beefheart – paperback £6.91 Kindle £1.99 (or free on unlimited)

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Search-Captain-Beefheart-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1502820455/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=146183144

3&sr=1-1&keywords=opher+Goodwin

Other selected books and novels:

Anecdotes-Weird-Science-Writing-Ramblings – a book of anecdotes mainly from the sixties and other writing.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anecdotes-Weird-Science-Writing-Ramblings/dp/1519675631/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461832001&sr=1-9&keywords=opher+goodwin

More Anecdotes – following the immense popularity of the first volume I produced a second

https://www.amazon.co.uk/More-Anecdotes-Essays-Beliefs-flotsam/dp/1530770262/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461832001&sr=1-5&keywords=opher+goodwin

Goofin’ with the cosmic freaks – a kind of On the Road for the sixties

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Goofin-Cosmic-Freaks-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1500860247/ref=sr_1_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461832001&sr=1-13&keywords=opher+goodwin

The book of Ginny – a novel

In Britain :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Opher-Goodwin/e/B00MSHUX6Y/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1461306850&sr=1-2-ent

In America:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=opher+goodwin

In all other countries around the world check out your regional Amazon site and Opher Goodwin books.

New novel – Danny’s Story – Chapter 13 – Pete’s Story

Posted on by Opher

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Chapter 13 – Pete’s story

Danny discovered Pete was a student. If Danny had to guess he would have plumped for engineering, electronics, physics, woodwork or music. That was what Pete’s room seemed to shriek of with its woodwork tools, soldering iron, assorted bits of wood, wiring and home-made instruments and machines. But Pete was studying biology, though you wouldn’t know it.

When Pete wasn’t making or inventing something, which he did quite often, he and Danny would hang out together. They’d end up in one another’s rooms either playing music, Pete invariably picking at a guitar or one of his own inventions along to the music, or reading Sci-fi books. They had that easy-going relationship where there was no need to talk. You just slipped into each other’s company. Not that they didn’t talk. Many were the nights when they’d sit up through the night talking passionately about life, love, infinity, reality, the environment and music. The world was in a mess. They knew how to put it right. If only………..

Pete had come from Suffolk. He’d been brought up on a farm. He lived in an ancient farmhouse with a moat, secret rooms and enough freedom to last a life-time. He regaled Danny with his tales of building rafts to race along the moat, climbing trees, scrumping and collecting wild animals. He’d always learnt to solve problems. Out in the sticks there were no shops. If something needing fixing you fixed it. He’d always built things. That came in good use when he got his first motorbike – an old BSA Bantam – and rampaged around the farm.

Pete had gone to the little village school where he’d not excelled. His head was always out there in the fields and wide open spaces. But he’d done enough. He’d taken his A Levels. Then he’d dropped out. He’d taken what is now known as a gap year and headed out to Africa on VSO. He’d soon got fed-up with that and jumped ship, ending up out in the bush as an eighteen year old teaching and running a clinic, the only white man around. He reminisced about his experiences, dealing with malaria, syphilis and tropical ulcers with nothing more than a jar of aspirin and some sulphur powder. In a matter of fact way he told the story of how he had discovered a young boy unconscious under a bush and taken his back to the clinic. He had malarial fever and a temperature well over a hundred. Pete nursed him back from the brink.

When he was better the boy disappeared. Weeks went past and then the boy reappeared with his father. His father was a weaver. He had listened to his son telling him about the white man who had saved his life. His father had weaved a length of kente cloth, the traditional weave, and trekked the tens of miles through the wilderness to present it to Pete. Pete showed it to Danny.

Straight from the outback in Ghana, with its witch-doctors, mud huts, lack of facilities and wilderness with real wild animals, Pete had gone into London and a course in Biology. He was suffering from culture shock. None of it seemed to equate.

Danny seemed to intuitively understand this. That’s probably why they got on so well. None of the way society worked made much sense to him either. They were both outsiders looking in.

These are my six books of poetry. They are available as paperback or on Kindle from Amazon – all for under £5 for a paperback. You could buy the whole lot for just £27.62!!

They are not conventional poetry books. They are like you find on my blog with a page of explanatory prose followed by the poem. The prose is as important as the poem to me.

 

Codas, Cadence and Clues – £4.97

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Codas-Cadence-Clues-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1530754453/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460847766&sr=1-4&keywords=opher+goodwin

Stanzas and Stances – £5.59

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stanzas-Stances-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1518708080/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460882298&sr=1-9&keywords=opher+goodwin

Poems and Peons – £4.33

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Poems-Peons-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1519640110/ref=sr_1_25?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460882335&sr=1-25&keywords=opher+goodwin

Rhymes and Reasons – £3.98

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rhymes-Reason-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1516991184/ref=sr_1_28?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460882443&sr=1-28&keywords=opher+goodwin

Prose, Cons and Poetry – £4.60

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Prose-Cons-Poetry-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1512376566/ref=sr_1_35?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460882506&sr=1-35&keywords=opher+goodwin

Vice and Verse – £4.15

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vice-Verse-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1514792079/ref=sr_1_36?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460882560&sr=1-36&keywords=opher+goodwin

 

 

Science Fiction books:

 

Ebola in the Garden of Eden – paperback £6.95 Kindle £2.56 (or free on unlimited)

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ebola-Garden-Eden-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1514878216/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461831172&sr=1-11&keywords=opher+goodwin

 

Green – paperback £9.98 Kindle £2.56 (or free on unlimited)

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Green-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1514122294/ref=sr_1_17?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461831333&sr=1-17&keywords=opher+goodwin

 

Rock Music books

 

In Search of Captain Beefheart – paperback £6.91 Kindle £1.99 (or free on unlimited)

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Search-Captain-Beefheart-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1502820455/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=146183144

3&sr=1-1&keywords=opher+Goodwin

 

Other selected books and novels:

 

Anecdotes-Weird-Science-Writing-Ramblings – a book of anecdotes mainly from the sixties and other writing.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anecdotes-Weird-Science-Writing-Ramblings/dp/1519675631/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461832001&sr=1-9&keywords=opher+goodwin

 

More Anecdotes – following the immense popularity of the first volume I produced a second

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/More-Anecdotes-Essays-Beliefs-flotsam/dp/1530770262/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461832001&sr=1-5&keywords=opher+goodwin

 

Goofin’ with the cosmic freaks – a kind of On the Road for the sixties

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Goofin-Cosmic-Freaks-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1500860247/ref=sr_1_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461832001&sr=1-13&keywords=opher+goodwin

The book of Ginny – a novel

 

 

In Britain :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Opher-Goodwin/e/B00MSHUX6Y/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1461306850&sr=1-2-ent

 

In America:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=opher+goodwin

In all other countries around the world check out your regional Amazon site and Opher Goodwin books.

 

 

New novel – Danny’s Story – Chapter 12 – The garden and Alan and Sally

Posted on by Opher

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Chapter 12 – The Garden and Alan and Sally

The garden was the place to meet most people. Number 303 was a mirror image of 301. They were like a terraced block. Mr Rose owned both of them. The garden was shared.

In the early even Danny would often go out into the garden to relax and play. He might have a swing on the swingboat or sit on the rocking seat and take in the magic.

One of his favourite things was the hoop-la. He’d spend hours throwing the hand-made hoops at the four sticks that Mr Rose had set up. He’d got quite good at it.

That was how he met Alan and Sally.

Danny was the undisputed king of the hoop-la. It was his meditation. He found it restful to stand there getting his mind into the zone and throwing the hoops to fall over the poles. There was an art to it. Mr Rose had constructed the hoops from lengths of plastic tubing. He’d simply cut the tube into similar lengths and used a wooden plug as the link. It was effective. But the wooden plug created an uneven weight distribution. The art was to throw the hoop with a spin so that the weight was evenly distributed and you avoided any wobble. It was nigh on impossible to drop a hoop directly over a pole as Danny had soon discover. So Danny had perfected a technique to throw the hoop so that it was at an angle. The rear of the hoop hit the pole first and the hoop dropped. It meant you could throw it hard and it depended on accuracy.

‘You’re pretty good at that.’

Danny looked round to discover he had an audience. A large youth, big boned and carrying a number of excess pounds, with long dark hair greasy looking hair and beard to match, was standing in the shadows watching. He reminded Danny of Bob Hite from Canned Heat.

‘I’ve been practicing,’ Danny said.

‘I’ll give you a game,’ the youth said, stepping forward. ‘My name’s Alan.’

‘Danny,’ Danny Champion replied. They shook hands. Danny went over and collected the hoops. ‘OK Alan, let’s see what you’re made of.’

Alan took the ten hoops, stared intently at the poles and began to throw. Not one came close.

They both had a chuckle. Danny took aim and managed to hook six.

‘What say we have a drink instead,’ Big Alan suggested.

Danny agreed. Throwing hoops was thirsty work.

Alan shared the front basement flat at 303 with Sally. The front room was cosy with a big comfy leather armchair that was Alan’s and a sofa. It was dominated by a large television. Danny noticed that there wasn’t a single book in sight. There were a stack of albums next to a hi-fi though.

Sally was older than Alan, very thin with shoulder length wavy black hair. She seemed nervous and bubbly, like a little bird jumping from twig to twig, and eager to wait on Alan. She went off to retrieve some beers.

Alan sat in his chair and I went over to have a rummage through his albums. That was a standard thing to do. It was polite to comment on the musical taste of a new friend. You could tell a lot about a man from the music he listened to. Alan’s seemed to be towards the heavy end. Along with Beatles, Stones, Hendrix and Cream he had a lot of Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and Quo. Danny could handle that.

One beer turned into an evening of beer. Alan drank remorselessly. Danny didn’t bother trying to keep up. The spliffs followed and Alan became freer and easier with a deep guffaw of a laugh while Sally hovered anxiously on the periphery but joined in and added her little laugh.

That was the start of Danny’s friendship with Alan and Sally.

 

 

These are my six books of poetry. They are available as paperback or on Kindle from Amazon – all for under £5 for a paperback. You could buy the whole lot for just £27.62!!

They are not conventional poetry books. They are like you find on my blog with a page of explanatory prose followed by the poem. The prose is as important as the poem to me.

 

Codas, Cadence and Clues – £4.97

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Codas-Cadence-Clues-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1530754453/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460847766&sr=1-4&keywords=opher+goodwin

Stanzas and Stances – £5.59

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stanzas-Stances-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1518708080/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460882298&sr=1-9&keywords=opher+goodwin

Poems and Peons – £4.33

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Poems-Peons-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1519640110/ref=sr_1_25?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460882335&sr=1-25&keywords=opher+goodwin

Rhymes and Reasons – £3.98

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rhymes-Reason-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1516991184/ref=sr_1_28?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460882443&sr=1-28&keywords=opher+goodwin

Prose, Cons and Poetry – £4.60

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Prose-Cons-Poetry-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1512376566/ref=sr_1_35?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460882506&sr=1-35&keywords=opher+goodwin

Vice and Verse – £4.15

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vice-Verse-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1514792079/ref=sr_1_36?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460882560&sr=1-36&keywords=opher+goodwin

 

 

Science Fiction books:

 

Ebola in the Garden of Eden – paperback £6.95 Kindle £2.56 (or free on unlimited)

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ebola-Garden-Eden-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1514878216/ref=sr_1_11?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461831172&sr=1-11&keywords=opher+goodwin

 

Green – paperback £9.98 Kindle £2.56 (or free on unlimited)

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Green-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1514122294/ref=sr_1_17?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461831333&sr=1-17&keywords=opher+goodwin

 

Rock Music books

 

In Search of Captain Beefheart – paperback £6.91 Kindle £1.99 (or free on unlimited)

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Search-Captain-Beefheart-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1502820455/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=146183144

3&sr=1-1&keywords=opher+Goodwin

 

Other selected books and novels:

 

Anecdotes-Weird-Science-Writing-Ramblings – a book of anecdotes mainly from the sixties and other writing.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anecdotes-Weird-Science-Writing-Ramblings/dp/1519675631/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461832001&sr=1-9&keywords=opher+goodwin

 

More Anecdotes – following the immense popularity of the first volume I produced a second

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/More-Anecdotes-Essays-Beliefs-flotsam/dp/1530770262/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461832001&sr=1-5&keywords=opher+goodwin

 

Goofin’ with the cosmic freaks – a kind of On the Road for the sixties

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Goofin-Cosmic-Freaks-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1500860247/ref=sr_1_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461832001&sr=1-13&keywords=opher+goodwin

The book of Ginny – a novel

 

 

In Britain :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Opher-Goodwin/e/B00MSHUX6Y/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1461306850&sr=1-2-ent

 

In America:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=opher+goodwin

In all other countries around the world check out your regional Amazon site and Opher Goodwin books.

 

New novel – Danny’s story – Chapter 11 – the realm of Pete

Posted on by Opher

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This book is finished in first draft. It is presently weighing in at 46,000 words. Which is light for a novel. After the rewrite it may creep up a bit. Any suggestions on how to develop it further?

Chapter 11 – The realm of Pete

Danny rolled up with a bottle of red plonk and three carefully constructed jays. It was a thank you. On the way down the stairs he got a whiff of the pungent smell seeping under John’s door and bumped into Mr McDoud, in his shoe-length overcoat, heading back in from his day out propping up a park bench.

‘Allriet,’ Mr McDoud muttered, glowering at him blearily.

‘Yeah,’ Danny replied. ‘Doing grand. And you and the Mrs?’

Mr McDoud grunted and muttered something in rich indecipherable dialect while fiddling with his key in the lock.

At the bottom of the steps Jeanie and Sandy were setting off to work in their wigs, high-heels and skimpy tight dresses. Danny watched them totter off, Sandy holding on to Jeanie’s arm and giggling something into her ear. Whatever it was seemed to be hilarious and they both fell about. They seemed happy.

Danny hadn’t been in Pete’s abode. It was the basement flat that opened on to the wondrous garden.

He rapped on the door.

‘Come in, my old dearie,’ Pete said with a big beaming smile. He motioned Danny to sit down on the settee. It felt cold in the room, kind of damp, and he noted Pete still had his old air force greatcoat on. No free leccy in Pete’s place. Pete lit the paraffin stove which immediately filled the room with pungent fumes but at least started emitting some heat. He filled a kettle and placed it on top of the stove. ‘Cuppa crobes for later,’ he said grinning.

Danny was too busy looking round the place. It was like a cross between a workshop, museum, music shop and laboratory. There was stuff all over the place and a set of weird contraptions. He wasn’t sure what crobes was but he was up for it.

‘Sounds good,’ Danny said, grinning back at Pete. Pete’s dark tussled hair looked untidier than usual and there was a good few days growth between his droopy tash and siddies. ‘What you been up to?’ Danny reached down and lit the first of the jays through a hole in the paraffin stove.

‘I’ve been putting together this light show,’ Pete enthused. ‘You sit back and I’ll show you.’ He dug around in the back and put an album on. It was Frank Zappa and the Mothers – a good choice on any day. ‘For ambience,’ Pete explained, still dabbling about with a mass of wires. Danny handed him the joint. He took a puff and handed it straight back and continued to fiddle around with a spaghetti of wiring.

Danny saw the five harmoniums piled up in the corner. Two of them had been taken apart. Probably Pete scavenging them for parts. On the wall, hanging from nails, were a variety of weird musical instruments.

‘What are those?’ Danny asked.

Pete looked up from tracing the mass of wiring, clicked in a plug. ‘That’s it,’ he exclaimed, looking pleased with himself. ‘Those are my manoyukes and guitallelles.’

Danny saw a bunch of cut-outs of wood in similar shapes. ‘You make these?’

Pete looked up from a projector that he was fitting a slide drum in. ‘Yeah. I make them.’

Danny handed him the jay and sat back. The room was getting warm enough not to freeze the knackers off a mosquito. In an hour or so he was sure he’d be able to take his coat off.

Pete took down a couple of his weirdly shaped creations and handed one to Danny along with the Jay. ‘You play that one and I’ll pitch in with this.’

‘I can’t play,’ Danny protested.

‘Doesn’t matter,’ Pete assured him. ‘Strum along to Zappa. You’ll pick it up.’ With that he flicked out the lights and turned on the projector. The whole wall lit up with a mass of crinkly psychedelic colour.

‘That’s cool,’ Danny said. ‘You got any glasses?’ He was opening the bottle of plonk.

‘No,’ Pete said. ‘But I’ve got a couple of mugs.’

‘That’ll do.’ Danny said. ‘That is one weird light-show.’

‘You’ve not seen anything yet,’ Pete assured him. He’d been rummaging around some more and come up with a baked bean tin with the top and bottom cut out so it was a tube. He set up a little motor in front of the projector and put the tin on it so that it slowly rotated and the beam from the projector shone through it. As it went round the colours changed.

‘’Wow!’ Danny said, sitting back into the sofa and taking it in. ‘I’ve not seen anything like that.’

‘No,’ Pete agreed. ‘I’ve been playing around with polarised light. That drum has a polarised sheet in it. As the light shines through it it’s changed.’

They settled back to finish the joints and wine as Floyd and Zappa provided the backdrop with Oldfield thrown in, the wall pulsated with colour, lighthouses flashed on and off, streets lit up and hills were illuminated. While Pete and Danny strummed along to the music.

The room filled with magic. Even Danny’s strumming fitted in.

Crobes turned out to be coffee. The kettle took an hour to boil but it the crobes was excellent.

Other selected books and novels:

 

Anecdotes-Weird-Science-Writing-Ramblings – a book of anecdotes mainly from the sixties and other writing.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anecdotes-Weird-Science-Writing-Ramblings/dp/1519675631/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461832001&sr=1-9&keywords=opher+goodwin

 

More Anecdotes – following the immense popularity of the first volume I produced a second

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/More-Anecdotes-Essays-Beliefs-flotsam/dp/1530770262/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461832001&sr=1-5&keywords=opher+goodwin

 

Goofin’ with the cosmic freaks – a kind of On the Road for the sixties

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Goofin-Cosmic-Freaks-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1500860247/ref=sr_1_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461832001&sr=1-13&keywords=opher+goodwin

The book of Ginny – a novel

 

 

In Britain :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Opher-Goodwin/e/B00MSHUX6Y/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1461306850&sr=1-2-ent

 

In America:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=opher+goodwin

In all other countries around the world check out your regional Amazon site and Opher Goodwin books.

 

 

New novel – Danny’s Story – Chapter 10 – Retrieving from Cheryl

Posted on by Opher

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Chapter 10 – Retrieving from Cheryl

The rug set off the room and brought it all together. The walls shone and the empty shelves beckoned.

It was time to retrieve his things. Pete, Diane and Danny had become a hilarious threesome. Cheryl stood grim-faced while the three of them gathered Danny’s things and put them in boxes. It took seven trips walking through the streets and lugging the heavy boxes of books and albums up the flights of stairs. It was only the banter that stopped their arms being wrenched out of their sockets. It gave them all extra energy.

But they were eventually finished and Danny was in.

That evening he carefully, lovingly, arranged his precious four hundred albums on the shelf he had ear-marked and organised his books alphabetically. He placed his hi-fi on the floor. He blue-tacked his posters on the walls and then stood back to admire his work. Put his favourite Harper album on the turntable and felt a smug satisfaction creep over him.

There was nothing left of the shabby, dreary place he’d come into. This was his home. He knew that he could live here for a while.

There was just one more trip needed to collect the last of his essentials. Danny had been a little worried about it. But Lip her, Cherokee and Bill and Ben were essentials for any home of his.

He had no concerns for Bill and Ben nor Lip her. He knew they could adapt anywhere. But Cherokee was another matter altogether. He felt the place wasn’t suitable. It might be a prison for her. He needn’t have worried.

The next morning he collected all four of them and brought them home. In truth Cheryl was probably glad to be rid of them and all his clutter. She could move on.

Danny put Bill and ben on top of the chest of drawers. He arranged their rocks and gravel and changed the water. They poked their heads out of the water and he fed them some bits of chopped liver. They seemed content. They did not even look round at the decoration. But then Turtles aren’t known for their homeliness.

Lip her was eager to get out of her cage. Danny simply undid the door of the birdcage she was in and she set off to explore, running along the walls, under the furniture and out into the kitchen sniffing and snuffling. When she’d had a good look everywhere she came back to Danny. She was pleased to be reunited with him and let him pet her to death. Rats can take any amount of affection. All Danny was concerned about, in terms of Lip her, was whether Diane would get on with her. He needn’t have worried; following an initial reticence Lip her won her over and Diane delighted in the little black and white rodent, scratching the top of her head which sent her into catatonic euphoria. They were inseparable.

Cherokee was the worry. Danny let her out of the box that she’d been frantically mewing in. She jumped out and arched her back, glaring accusingly at him. There is nothing quite so melodramatic as an annoyed cat who thoroughly objects to being unceremoniously shoved into a cardboard box. It is an indignity. As far as Cherokee was concerned she was a majestic feline who was there to be worshipped and waited on – not shoved in a box. Her raised tail and fur fully communicated her extreme annoyance. Danny gave her time to recover. Cherokee gradually got over it and allowed her fur to subside. Then she began to take note of her surroundings. She sniffed round the flat, working her way through all the three small rooms. Lip her sat in her usual position on top of her cage and watched her with what Danny thought of as a detached look of superiority. Though that is hard to discern in a rat.

When she was through with the flat, much to Danny’s surprise, Cherokee took a leap up on to the window ledge and proceeded to slip straight out of the window on to the roof. She had found her domain.

That evening Danny reacquainted himself with his music as Cherokee sat in his lap and Lipher resumed her customary position on his shoulder, peeping out from his hair. Bill and Ben were stationary, unblinking, with their heads shoved in the air. They were turtles; they didn’t need attention, warmth or friendship. But they were immaculate in their serenity.

Danny was truly home. All was right with the world again.

Other selected books and novels:

 

Anecdotes-Weird-Science-Writing-Ramblings – a book of anecdotes mainly from the sixties and other writing.

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anecdotes-Weird-Science-Writing-Ramblings/dp/1519675631/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461832001&sr=1-9&keywords=opher+goodwin

 

More Anecdotes – following the immense popularity of the first volume I produced a second

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/More-Anecdotes-Essays-Beliefs-flotsam/dp/1530770262/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461832001&sr=1-5&keywords=opher+goodwin

 

Goofin’ with the cosmic freaks – a kind of On the Road for the sixties

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Goofin-Cosmic-Freaks-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1500860247/ref=sr_1_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461832001&sr=1-13&keywords=opher+goodwin

The book of Ginny – a novel

 

 

In Britain :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Opher-Goodwin/e/B00MSHUX6Y/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1461306850&sr=1-2-ent

 

In America:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=opher+goodwin

In all other countries around the world check out your regional Amazon site and Opher Goodwin books.

 

 

Quote 14 – John Lennon – Insane people

Posted on by Opher

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‘Our society is run by insane people for insane objectives. I think we’re being run by maniacs for maniacal ends and I think I’m liable to be put away as insane for expressing that. That’s what’s insane about it.’

I’ve always believed that. Most people do not want to even contemplate or discuss it.

They like to label people as ‘left wing’ or ‘insane’ or ‘nutty’. But they are part of a mad machine, run by greedy, self-centred madmen, that is destroying the world.

So who’s mad?

These are my six books of poetry. They are available as paperback or on Kindle from Amazon – all for under £5 for a paperback. You could buy the whole lot for just £27.62!!

They are not conventional poetry books. They are like you find on my blog with a page of explanatory prose followed by the poem. The prose is as important as the poem to me.

 

Codas, Cadence and Clues – £4.97

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Codas-Cadence-Clues-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1530754453/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460847766&sr=1-4&keywords=opher+goodwin

Stanzas and Stances – £5.59

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Stanzas-Stances-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1518708080/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460882298&sr=1-9&keywords=opher+goodwin

Poems and Peons – £4.33

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Poems-Peons-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1519640110/ref=sr_1_25?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460882335&sr=1-25&keywords=opher+goodwin

Rhymes and Reasons – £3.98

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Rhymes-Reason-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1516991184/ref=sr_1_28?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460882443&sr=1-28&keywords=opher+goodwin

Prose, Cons and Poetry – £4.60

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Prose-Cons-Poetry-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1512376566/ref=sr_1_35?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460882506&sr=1-35&keywords=opher+goodwin

Vice and Verse – £4.15

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vice-Verse-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1514792079/ref=sr_1_36?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1460882560&sr=1-36&keywords=opher+goodwin

Danny’s Story – Chapter 9

Posted on by Opher

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Chapter 9 – Jeanie and Sandy

‘That’s a big one,’ the acid-blonde Jeanie remarked as Danny approached the steps leading up to the front door.

Jeanie and Sandy were sitting out in the warm spring sunshine having a smoke. They lived in the basement and had come up from their subterranean cave to take some fresh air before the evening’s work.

Danny smiled.

‘She’s not referring to the rug,’ the black-haired Sandy chuckled. ‘She likes a big one.’

Danny came to a stop and propped the heavy rug up on the wall. He grinned at them.

‘You’re new here,’ Jeanie said, licking her lips lasciviously with a wicked smile.

‘Yeah,’ Danny replied. ‘I’ve just moved in. Right at the top.’ He pointed up to the distant top windows.

‘Why don’t you come in and let’s get acquainted,’ Sandy suggested, tilting her head to one side.

‘Ummm, that would be good,’ Jeanie added, indicating the steps down to their flat.

Danny could see that they were playing with him but he didn’t mind. He picked up the rolled up rug and followed them down the steps.

Jeanie opened a bottle of wine and poured three generous helpings into glasses.

‘Here’s to life,’ Jeanie toasted, raising her glass.

Danny and Sandy clinked glasses with each other and Jeanie, and took a sip.

The girls, as one, put their glasses down and closed in on him, playing with him, running their hands up and down his body. Danny took a gulp of the wine and put his glass down too, giving himself over to the attentions of the two girls. With well-tutored moves they manoeuvred Danny backwards through into the bedroom and began unbuttoning, unzipping and running their hands down his clothes and other his bare skin. They knew just what to touch and how. He allowed himself to be manhandled as they pushed him back on the bed. He lay there as they worked on him, covering him with kisses, caresses, fingers, body parts and lips like the experts they were. Every moan, groan and murmur was choreographed for effect. It was a masterclass and Danny was the soft clay on their wheel. He allowed them to mould him to their desire and work him over they did with the full repertoire.

By the conclusion he was drained dry. The girls giggled as they got dressed as if they had done something really naughty. Danny retrieved his clothes and bashfully dressed.

When they were all ship-shape again they gathered in the front room and sipped their drinks. Danny retrieved his rug and made his goodbyes.

‘Don’t be a stranger,’ Sandy said as the girls tittered.

‘We do freebies for family,’ Jeanie grinned in a parting gesture as Danny lugged the rug up the front steps. ‘Be sure to call.’

Danny thought that was good to know. ‘I will.’


 

Other selected books and novels:

 

Anecdotes-Weird-Science-Writing-Ramblings – a book of anecdotes mainly from the sixties and other writing.

 

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Anecdotes-Weird-Science-Writing-Ramblings/dp/1519675631/ref=sr_1_9?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461832001&sr=1-9&keywords=opher+goodwin

 

More Anecdotes – following the immense popularity of the first volume I produced a second

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/More-Anecdotes-Essays-Beliefs-flotsam/dp/1530770262/ref=sr_1_5?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461832001&sr=1-5&keywords=opher+goodwin

 

Goofin’ with the cosmic freaks – a kind of On the Road for the sixties

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Goofin-Cosmic-Freaks-Opher-Goodwin/dp/1500860247/ref=sr_1_13?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1461832001&sr=1-13&keywords=opher+goodwin

The book of Ginny – a novel

 

 

In Britain :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Opher-Goodwin/e/B00MSHUX6Y/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1461306850&sr=1-2-ent

 

In America:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=opher+goodwin

In all other countries around the world check out your regional Amazon site and Opher Goodwin books.

Quote Number 2 – Roy Harper – I Hate the Whiteman

Posted on by Opher

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My second quote is from Roy Harper – from the poem/song I hate the whiteman.

It is not a song about racism or against white people per se. It is not about colour at all. It is about the mentality of European culture that has swept over the world and is presently swamping nature and all other cultures.

It is a poem rejecting the greed and power seeking and violence of western culture. Its alcohol, nuclear bombs and environmental destruction in the name of progress.

It is a poem that rejects those values in favour of a life-style that is in harmony with the planet.

It is focussed on the life-style of the North American Indians who suffered genocide from the European invaders.

‘Far across the ocean
In the land of look and see
There once was a time
For you and me

Where the winds blow sweetly
And the easy seas flow still
And where the barefoot dream of life
Can laugh and cry it’s fill

Where slot machine confusion
And the plastic universe
Are objects of amusement
In the fiction of their curse

And where the crazy whiteman
And his teargas happiness
Lies dead and long since buried
By his own fantastic mess

For I hate the whiteman
And his plastic excuse
For I hate the whiteman
And the man who turned him loose…’

It’s a long quote but one of my favourites. Roy was, and is, one angry mother. He thought there was a better way to live – so do I.

If you would like to try one of my books they are all available on Amazon.

In Britain :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Opher-Goodwin/e/B00MSHUX6Y/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1461306850&sr=1-2-ent

In America:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=opher+goodwin

In all other countries around the world check out your regional Amazon site and Opher Goodwin books.

So where have all the Hippies gone?

Posted on by Opher

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What happened to all those radical, long-haired Hippies from the sixties?

The young women and men who were so extreme that they rejected the lifestyle, the establishment, the wealth, the status, the conventions and formed their own liberal rules; who brought colour and flair, do-it-yourself philosophy; who sought meaning and integrity where there was superficiality and hypocrisy?

Where are those bold young people who saw the establishment as corrupt and obsessed with appearance?

Where are the ones who were determined to find a more honest way of living; who saw models for harmonious living among the simpler cultures of the North American Indians and South American Indians?

Where are the people who wanted peace, harmony and environmental integrity?

Was it all a fashion statement? An empty promise? A strategy to get laid?

Were they all weekend Hippies out for fun?

What happened to the Underground with its promise of real spirituality?

Did they get married?

Get careers?

Give up their ideals?

Are they now wearing suits? Running firms? Living in luxury? Buying yachts and penthouse suites?

Was it all worthless froth?

Or do they still write poems, sing songs, subvert from within, live true to their philosophy and fight for that better vision?

Where are the Beats, Hippies and Punks? Are they dead inside?

If you would like to try one of my books they are all available on Amazon.

In Britain :

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Opher-Goodwin/e/B00MSHUX6Y/ref=sr_tc_2_0?qid=1461306850&sr=1-2-ent

In America:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=opher+goodwin

In all other countries around the world check out your regional Amazon site and Opher Goodwin books.