Home | Useful And Fantastic

February 08, 2012

facing the mirror

Val Yule's poem forces us to face our own nature.

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February 01, 2012

Batten Down The Earth

Val Yule wrote this poem after hearing of a bunker in Scotland in which "important'' people could shelter in the event of a nuclear war.

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January 25, 2012

For Whom The Bells Ring

Val Yule's poem begs for a more thoughtful, peacable world.

Continue reading "For Whom The Bells Ring" »

January 18, 2012

Jerusalem, Australia

Val Yule brings an updated version of William Blake's famous poem.

Continue reading "Jerusalem, Australia" »

January 11, 2012

The Fiery Moon

Val Yule presents a doom-filled poem.

Continue reading "The Fiery Moon" »

December 28, 2011

The Bird Is In The Egg

Val Yule offers an apocalyptic vision - and a hint of hope.

Continue reading "The Bird Is In The Egg" »

December 21, 2011

Batten Down This Earth

Val Yule was prompted to write this poem after reading about a conference which discussed the provision of nuclear bunkers for "essential'' people.

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December 07, 2011

Matriotism

Val Yule's poem emnphasises the dangers of patriotism.

Continue reading "Matriotism" »

November 30, 2011

Star Wars - Star Peace

Val Yule brings us a sombre poem of warning.

Continue reading "Star Wars - Star Peace" »

November 23, 2011

Waste Of Effort

"How did the Victorians of the 19th century manage to get so much done? Because they did. So many of them had the energy to fill every minute of every day with what they believed were 'Good Works' - and often they were,'' writes Val Yule.

Continue reading "Waste Of Effort" »

November 16, 2011

A Highly-Coloured Boy

In this three-verse poem Val Yule says a whole volume about the idiocy of colour prejudice.

Continue reading "A Highly-Coloured Boy" »

November 09, 2011

J Did Not Know

Val Yule tellingly reminds us that we only have ourselves to blame for the ruination of our world.

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J Did Not Know

Val Yule tellingly reminds us that we only have ourselves to blame for the ruination of our world.

Continue reading "J Did Not Know" »

October 26, 2011

The self-Awarded Emoluments Of Directors

Val Yule's reflects on the fate the greediest of the greedy in this mercenary age.

Continue reading "The self-Awarded Emoluments Of Directors" »

October 19, 2011

Museum Of The Future

Val Yule suggests a travelling mueum to feature our possible futures.

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September 28, 2011

Help For The “Have-Nots’’

Val Yule suggests ideas to help the have-nots towards a life thought to be worth living.

Continue reading "Help For The “Have-Nots’’" »

September 21, 2011

Cutting Waste

A Nobel Prize must go to whoever resolves the fatal contradiction between the economic need to increase consumption to save jobs (and profits) and the environmental need to cut consumption to save the environment and resources for our future, writes Val Yule.

Continue reading "Cutting Waste" »

September 14, 2011

Waste Of Growth

...'There's no point saving the planet if it wrecks the economy' said former New South Wales premier Maurice Iemma. But there's no point saving the economy if it wrecks the planet...

Valerie Yule considers the big ussue of the 21st Century.

Continue reading "Waste Of Growth" »

September 07, 2011

Shopping For Furnishings

"When you buy furnishings and furniture, ask questions,''says Val Yule. "Are you wanting something stylish, or to show-off, or are you wanting a home?''

Continue reading "Shopping For Furnishings" »

August 24, 2011

Restful Nights

Val Yule brings excellent advice on how to obtain and enjoy a good night's sleep.

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August 17, 2011

Ageing Populations

Val Yule calls for more thought to be given to making life easier for older people.

Continue reading "Ageing Populations" »

August 10, 2011

Ageing Populations - Not A Problem

"Most old people contribute to the community and the economy in inestimable voluntary work in every area, including as grandparents, who provided 68% of all informal child care in Australia in 1997,'' says Val Yule.

Continue reading "Ageing Populations - Not A Problem" »

July 27, 2011

Fashion Innovations

Val Yule offers some thoughts on sensible planet-saving clothing.

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July 13, 2011

Look Behind You When You Leave

"When I was a child thinking that the bushland and the seascapes were infinite, we used to go with our buckets and bring home what we found in the rock pools, and collect all the wildflowers we could pick from the bush'' recalls Val Yule.

"Now the fish and other creatures and the living shellfish are gone from the pools.''

Continue reading "Look Behind You When You Leave" »

July 06, 2011

Worm Farms

Valerie Yule suggests that householders should establish their own worm farm.

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June 29, 2011

The Waste Of Waste

Humans are no longer part of Nature’s food chain, returning waste to the Earth, declares Val Yule.

Continue reading "The Waste Of Waste" »

June 22, 2011

Applied Imagination – 10

Val Yule concludes her series of articles on how we can make best use of imagination.

Continue reading "Applied Imagination – 10" »

June 15, 2011

Applied Imagination - 9

Val Yule challenges a "widespread distaste for thinking''.

Continue reading "Applied Imagination - 9" »

June 08, 2011

Applied Imagination - 8

"When imagination becomes inured to blockbusters, explicit gore, constant novelties, explosions of information, or the ear becomes used to decibels that verge on damage to the eardrums, then softer music, finer emotions and feelings such as sentiment, gentleness, subtlety, appear blanched and insipid,'' says Val Yule.

Continue reading "Applied Imagination - 8" »

June 01, 2011

Applied Imagination – 7

"The stories that we all tell ourselves influence our own lives, as our imagination weaves interpretations and expectations,'' says Val Yule.

Continue reading "Applied Imagination – 7" »

May 25, 2011

Applied Imagination - 6

Val Yule tells of the educational and cathartic effects of children's stories.

Continue reading "Applied Imagination - 6" »

May 18, 2011

Applied Imagination - 5

Continue reading "Applied Imagination - 5" »

May 11, 2011

Applied Imagination - 4

We can learn from the vicarious experiences provided by stories says Val Yule.

Continue reading "Applied Imagination - 4" »

May 04, 2011

Applied Imagination - 3

Continue reading "Applied Imagination - 3" »

April 20, 2011

Applied Imagination - 1

Imagination is the ability to see what is not in front of your eyes. It is the most exciting faculty you have, declares Val Yule.

Continue reading "Applied Imagination - 1" »

April 13, 2011

Waste No History

Val Yule encourages us to preserve the best of the past.

Continue reading "Waste No History" »

April 06, 2011

Waste No Anger

Val Yule suggests that if we must be angry we should direct our anger towards towards demanding solutions to social problems.

Continue reading "Waste No Anger" »

March 30, 2011

Waste No Pleasures

"Great things in life are mostly free,'' says Val Yule. "Life is meant to be happy, even if life is not easy.''

Continue reading "Waste No Pleasures" »

March 23, 2011

Wasteful Products – And Customer Power

Val Yule urges us to go to war against wasteful and poorly-designed products.

Continue reading "Wasteful Products – And Customer Power" »

March 16, 2011

Waste No Wood

"About half the timber that is grown is wasted,'' declares Val Yule, putting in a passionate plea for a more sensible use of one of our most valuable natural assets.

Continue reading "Waste No Wood" »

March 09, 2011

Korea As It Used To Be – 6

...We left in the early morning, when the country-side was fresh and beautiful with dew. It was Chosen, the Land of the Morning Calm, before the wind rises, - with the delicate poplars and quaint bent pines and patterned terraces and tidy clusters of villages and blue lakes edged with white sand. There were the herons and the fishermen; the back of a bullock harrowing among the green barley by the yellow road; the black goats being driven over a graceful stone bridge...

Val Yule concludes her account of the time she spent in Korea some 60 years ago before the country was riven in two by war.

Continue reading "Korea As It Used To Be – 6" »

March 02, 2011

Korea As It Was - 5

...Their dancing enthralled me. I have seen Australian toddlers bouncing around to music. These children, boys and girls, moved like entranced ballet-dancers; they pretended to be birds with such grace that I held my breath. It was perfectly spontaneous, free movement that they made up to the music...

Val Yule continues her account of life in Korea before a fierce war tore the country apart.

Continue reading "Korea As It Was - 5" »

February 23, 2011

Korea As It Was - 4

...Sometimes school children were excursioning on the hills, vivid dots among banks of azaleas. Or a couple of old gentlemen would be sitting in a little pagoda of a play-house, half-way up with a good view reserved for such old gentlemen to enjoy. Usually on a hill-side somewhere, were round green knolls, the graves of ancestors, set among a few crooked pine-trees...

Val Yule travelled by train from Seoul to Pusan in the days before Korea was torn apart by war.

Continue reading "Korea As It Was - 4" »

February 16, 2011

Korea As It Once Was - 3

...There were also spavined, sway-backed horses looking as if they were slung on stilts, and tiny, miserable furry donkeys, half-buried under their loads of pine-brushwood, the universal fuel. Bicycles dodged in and out, - and what bicycles. They had heavy, crude, solid frames, always going back to the welders, but at night they looked rather beautiful, as each carried a low-slung, flickering carbide lamp, with flames that seemed to lick the rider’s feet every time the pedals came around...

Val Yule describes the Korea of long ago, before the country was torn apart by war.

Continue reading "Korea As It Once Was - 3" »

February 09, 2011

Korea As It Once Was - 2

Val Yule continues her account of life in Korea before the outbreak of war in the early 1950s.

Continue reading "Korea As It Once Was - 2" »

February 02, 2011

Korea As It Once Was -1

Val Yule tells of arriving in Korea before the 1951-52 war as a 21-year-old with her husband who was going to teach at Seoul University. This is the first of a six-part account of life in the Korea of that era.

Continue reading "Korea As It Once Was -1" »

January 26, 2011

Don’t Waste The Murray River

Val Yule calls for a more sensible use of the waters of Australia's great river, the Murray.

Continue reading "Don’t Waste The Murray River" »

January 19, 2011

Regional Currency

...Local economics is possible, while a community is at the same time also participating in national economics, with banks, supermarkets and imports of what cannot reasonably be supplied in the region...

Val Yule suggests a novel way of keeping small communities ticking in hard economic times.

Continue reading "Regional Currency" »

January 12, 2011

Lovely Lawns

Val Yule is no friend of power lawn mowers.

Continue reading "Lovely Lawns" »

January 05, 2011

Peace Museums

Val Yule calls for the establishing of museums to glorify peace.

Continue reading "Peace Museums" »

December 29, 2010

Great-Grandmas

Val Yule says great-grandmas are a bridge to another world and should be treasured.

Continue reading "Great-Grandmas" »

December 22, 2010

No Waste Of Babies

Every baby should be wanted, declares Val Yule.

Continue reading "No Waste Of Babies" »

December 15, 2010

Hoarding

Hoarding may turn out to be our future salvation, says Val Yule.

Continue reading "Hoarding" »

December 08, 2010

The Value Of The Elderly

Val Yule thinks a proper assessment should be made of the value of the elderly to society.

Continue reading "The Value Of The Elderly" »

December 01, 2010

Wasteful Wars

Val Yule believes we should all combine to fight the common foe - the devastation of our planet.

Continue reading "Wasteful Wars" »

November 24, 2010

Spelling Revolution

Val Yule calls for revolutionary changes in English spelling.

Continue reading "Spelling Revolution" »

November 17, 2010

Learn From The Past

Val Yule advises us to explore the past and learn the lessons it has to offer.

Continue reading "Learn From The Past" »

November 10, 2010

Why Not Re-Use Envelopes?

"Millions of envelopes are thrown away daily,'' says Val Yule, going on to outline a number of brilliant tree-saving ideas.

Continue reading "Why Not Re-Use Envelopes?" »

November 03, 2010

Worm Farm

Val Yule suggests a novel way of dealing with kitchen waste.

Continue reading "Worm Farm" »

October 27, 2010

Festivals Of Sport

Val Yule suggests that the time has come for a really modern Olympic Games.

Continue reading "Festivals Of Sport" »

October 20, 2010

Nineteen Re-using Tips

Re-using saves more money than recycling, declares Val Yule.

Continue reading "Nineteen Re-using Tips" »

October 13, 2010

Memoirs Of A Community Psychologist

Val Yule tells of working with children thought to be dyslexic.

Continue reading "Memoirs Of A Community Psychologist" »

October 06, 2010

Literacy Videos

Val Yule prepared these short cartoon literacy videos to assist failing learners who were not helped by conventional methods.

Continue reading "Literacy Videos" »

September 29, 2010

Don't Waste The Past

...we are busy trashing. We are the biggest trashers in history. Buildings survived unvandalised for hundreds of years, and then our vandals or our developers trashed them...

Val Yule puts in a plea to preserve the good and valuable things which human beings have created.

Continue reading "Don't Waste The Past" »

September 22, 2010

Can You Affect The Climate?

Val Yule highlights the biggest challenge facing human beings.

Continue reading "Can You Affect The Climate?" »

September 15, 2010

Waste No Animals

Val Yule says that we humans waste animals. In this regard we are different to all other animals.

Continue reading "Waste No Animals" »

September 08, 2010

The Da Vinci Sock Mystery - 5

Val Yule concludes her surrealistic tale concerning a great man’s missing sock.

Continue reading "The Da Vinci Sock Mystery - 5" »

September 01, 2010

The Da Vinci Sock Mystery - 4

Val Yule continues her surreal tale.

To read earlier episodes and other articles by Val please click on http://www.openwriting.com/archives/useful_and_fantastic/

Continue reading "The Da Vinci Sock Mystery - 4" »

August 25, 2010

The Da Vinci Sock Mystery- 3

Val Yule continues her imaginative a surrealistic tale of the missing sock of a very famous man.

Continue reading "The Da Vinci Sock Mystery- 3" »

August 18, 2010

The Da Vinci Sock Mystery – 2

Val Yule continues her surrealistic mind-bending tale.

Continue reading "The Da Vinci Sock Mystery – 2" »

August 11, 2010

The Da Vinci Sock Mystery - 1

Why was the great Da Vinci wearing only one sock? Val Yule begins a five-part story which touches on the Secret of the Universe.

Continue reading "The Da Vinci Sock Mystery - 1" »

August 04, 2010

A Waste Of Fish

Val Yule demands more thought and responsibility in the ways we harvest the oceans' limited numbers of fish.

Continue reading "A Waste Of Fish" »

July 28, 2010

Waste No Abilities

...Most people do not exercise half the abilities that are latent within them. They may even realize that they are not fully living, not being fully what they could be...

Valerie Yule offers practical advice on fending off senility.

Continue reading "Waste No Abilities" »

July 21, 2010

War As Waste

Val Yule suggests antidotes to war.

Continue reading "War As Waste" »

July 14, 2010

Childcare In A Box

Val Yule's thoughtful tale will make you think hard about how we bring up children.

Continue reading " Childcare In A Box" »

July 07, 2010

Waste No Brains

Val Yule says that our brains are our greatest resource and we should make the very best use of them.

Continue reading "Waste No Brains" »

June 30, 2010

Street Scavenging

Val Yule voices a vigorous plea for the re-using and repairing of household goods rather than treating them as throwaway landfill rubbish.

Continue reading "Street Scavenging" »

June 23, 2010

Immigrant Children

Val Yule suggests the stories made up and told by immigrant children can help us to understand their thought, feelings and attitudes.

Continue reading "Immigrant Children" »

June 16, 2010

The Wonderful Lawns Of The Future

…Lawns reflect a 200-year-old Romantic dream of fusing ourselves with nature. Yet that very dream now poses a major threat to the nature it so lovingly celebrates. Everyone with a pocket-handkerchief of a lawn thinks they need their own several-hundred-dollar noise-making polluting neighbor-annoying petrol-mower. Why? MOST suburban lawns do not need the great enormous waste of power mowers…

Val Yule expresses radical planet-saving views on the care of lawns.

Continue reading "The Wonderful Lawns Of The Future" »

June 09, 2010

Human Rights

Val Yule summarises the rights which make civilised living possible and worthwhile.

Continue reading "Human Rights" »

June 02, 2010

Mark Twain - Social Reformer

...Twain, with his sharp eye for nonsense, was an energetic campaigner for spelling reform. Lacking modern knowledge of linguistics and cognitive psychology, he was a ‘spell-as-you-speak’ Pitman’s shorthand man, and like Shaw, wrote in a new shorthand himself, but he was very aware of the problems of both the old spelling and the new, and of the reactions of the public...

Val Yule, along with Twain and other celebrated figures, is an enthusiastic supporter of a more logical form of spelling.

Continue reading "Mark Twain - Social Reformer" »

May 26, 2010

Goldfield Teacher - 5

…The goldfields teacher represented the Victorian pedagogue at his most enlightened. He was so enthusiastic about his belief that education could produce a civilised society, and that knowledge distinguished civilisation from the savage…

VaL Yule concludes her account of a remarkable man who taught at a school in the New South Wales goldfields in the 19th Century.

Continue reading "Goldfield Teacher - 5" »

May 19, 2010

A Goldfield Schoolmaster - 4

Val Yule continues her account of one of the mosty gifted teachers in Nineteenth Century Australia.

Continue reading "A Goldfield Schoolmaster - 4" »

May 12, 2010

A Goldfield Schoolmaster - 3

...“Thirty years ago there was a strong prejudice extant against educating the poor children, lest their enlightenment should produce discontent but this benighted fallacy has exploded and vanished into thin air. Education does not promote discontent, but on the contrary, lightens labor and conduces to happiness.”...

Val Yule continues her account of a highly gifted school master who taught in a rural part of New South Wales in the early years of the Nineteenth Century.

Continue reading "A Goldfield Schoolmaster - 3" »

May 05, 2010

A Goldfield Schoolmaster - 2

Inspectors who visited the school run by Mr McCombe in Australia in the early years of the 19th Century were astonished by what they discovered there.

Val Yule continues the story of a schoolmaster with very special talents.

Continue reading "A Goldfield Schoolmaster - 2" »

April 28, 2010

A Goldfield Schoolmaster - 1

Val Yule investigates the truth concerning a "paragon pedagog'' who allegedly taught in a school in the New South Wales goldfields in the 1880s.

Continue reading "A Goldfield Schoolmaster - 1" »

April 21, 2010

Arthur Mee's Children's Encyclopedia

Val Yule is eager to hear from anyone who has been influenced by Arthur Mee's Children's Encyclopedia

Continue reading "Arthur Mee's Children's Encyclopedia" »

Music As Noise - Part 5

Val Yule concludes her series on the effects of loud music.

Continue reading "Music As Noise - Part 5" »

April 14, 2010

Music As Noise – Part 4

Val Yule organised a survey which confirmed that the vast majority of youngsters like loud music.

Continue reading "Music As Noise – Part 4" »

April 07, 2010

Music As Noise - Part 3

Val Yule suggests that muh more research work is required on the effects of loud music on the human brain and body.

Continue reading "Music As Noise - Part 3" »

March 31, 2010

Music As Noise - Part 2

...At a time when we need brains that can work at capacity, is there any evidence that long term exposure to very loud music might affect abilities such as thinking of more than one thing at a time, connecting ideas, reasoning, concentration, intellectual curiosity, ability to face the problems of our time or mental stamina itself?...

Val Yule presents the results of a survey which asked young people why they like loud music.

Continue reading "Music As Noise - Part 2" »

March 27, 2010

People They Laughed At – 18

Val Yule concludes her series of articles which emphasise the need to encourage new thinking and give every new idea a chance to prove itself.

Continue reading "People They Laughed At – 18" »

March 24, 2010

Music As Noise - Part 1

"Almost anything we make can be used. Everything we make can be abused,'' says Val Yule, going on to consider whether the flood of loud music which assaults our lives may have a long-term damaging effect on our lives.

Continue reading "Music As Noise - Part 1" »

March 20, 2010

People They Laughed At - 17

Val Yule says that much human progress has relied on the efficiency of co-operation, even more than the spur of competition.

Continue reading "People They Laughed At - 17" »

March 17, 2010

Reading Help

Val Yule offers practical help to those who are having difficulties in learning to read.

Continue reading "Reading Help" »

March 14, 2010

The Child Migrant

...We were alarmed about the farm orphanage he had come to in Australia. Although the boy’s report of it was ‘OK’ and he had fun with the other boys, it was noticeable that when he came down to us for holidays he improved rapidly in reading and behaviour, and the gains were lost by the next holiday. The orphanage also took no interest in the boys once they had left. They were out in the world alone. When it closed, they had no links left...

Val Yule brings a first-hand account of children who were give no reason for hope - an account which is distressing yet at the same time inspirational.

Continue reading "The Child Migrant" »

March 13, 2010

People They Laughed At - 16

Val Yule suggests areas where new thinking and new inventions are needed.

Continue reading "People They Laughed At - 16" »

March 10, 2010

The Decision

Val Yule tells of a sombre and sad ending.

Continue reading "The Decision" »

March 06, 2010

People They Laughed At - 15

Val Yule, a great encourager of new ideas and inventions, suggests a way of developing creative thought.

Continue reading "People They Laughed At - 15" »

March 03, 2010

We've Never Had It So Good

"No previous time, no previous place, has ever had it as good as the average Australian has now,'' declares Val Yule.

Continue reading "We've Never Had It So Good" »

February 27, 2010

People They Laughed At - 14

Val Yule reveals that she comes from a family of inventors.

Continue reading "People They Laughed At - 14" »

February 24, 2010

Fine Words - Butter, But No Parsnips

It's amazing when young eyes see and young ears hear when they go on a shopping trip with mother.

Val Yule tells an enticing tale.

Continue reading "Fine Words - Butter, But No Parsnips" »

February 20, 2010

People They Laughed At - 13

Val Yule recommends that we should try to make a habit of thinking up solutions to problems, rather than having a good whinge.

Continue reading "People They Laughed At - 13" »

February 17, 2010

Bedrock - Part One

Val Yule begins a vividly engaging account of her stay in the Manchester Fever Hospital in 1953.

Continue reading "Bedrock - Part One" »

February 13, 2010

People They Laughed At - 12

People who have ideas are never bored, says Val Yule, continuing her series of articles which call for a fair trial for every new concept.

Continue reading "People They Laughed At - 12" »

February 10, 2010

Rimes With Reason

Come on now! Flex your spelling muscles on these rhymes presented by Val Yule.

Continue reading "Rimes With Reason" »

February 03, 2010

Care Of The Elderly

Of all the nursing homes I have visited, the ones where residents live longest and healthiest and happiest are those where the staff say straight out, ‘We don’t bother with trying to cure, or even forcing them to keep fit. We just want them to have fun.’

Val Yule brings a host of practical suggestions to improve the lives of older folk who need full-time care.

Continue reading " Care Of The Elderly" »

January 30, 2010

People They Laughed At - 10

Val Yule lists invenions which are needed to cut waste.

Continue reading "People They Laughed At - 10" »

January 23, 2010

People They Laughed At - 9

Val Yule, a person who welcomes innovation, emphases that new ideas should be carefully tested before being greedily rushed into production.

Continue reading "People They Laughed At - 9" »

January 20, 2010

The Dream Of H G Wells

Val Yule’s imaginative tale takes us 2,000 years into the future.

Continue reading "The Dream Of H G Wells" »

January 16, 2010

People They Laughed At - 8

Val Yule, who believes that every inventive idea should be given a chance, lists some of the many thousands of concepts patented in Britain in the first five years of the Twentieth Century.

Continue reading "People They Laughed At - 8" »

January 13, 2010

Sir Lancelot Encounters A Woman Driver

Poor Sir Lancelot. Hit by two cars…

Val Yule tells a modern tale.

Continue reading "Sir Lancelot Encounters A Woman Driver" »

January 09, 2010

People They Laughed At - 7

Australians have had a reputation for enterprise, initiative and problem-solving yet as Val Yule reveals more than a quarter of the great achievers were ridiculed for their ideas.

Continue reading "People They Laughed At - 7" »

January 06, 2010

The Wish Olympics

Val Yule tells a magical story for children of all ages about a great wish contest organised by three wish-granters.

Continue reading "The Wish Olympics" »

January 02, 2010

People They Laughed At - 6

Val Yule, firmly committed to the belief that new ideas should be tried out rather than being laughed at, continues her list of inventions and organisations which were at first scorned.

Continue reading "People They Laughed At - 6" »

December 30, 2009

A Card Was Born

Joyncie zipped in among the guests at a Greek Orthodox wedding offering them packets of SunWhite rice from his mother’s shop, so all could join in the general throwing. He transcended the linguistic barrier with a most effective sign-language of gambols and gesticulation, interrupted with giggles, but his round eyes alone would have been sufficient.

Val Yule tells of a most remarkable boy.

Continue reading "A Card Was Born" »

December 26, 2009

People They Laughed At - 5

…For ten years from 1834 on, Charles Goodyear was laughed at for trying to solve the problems of how rubber could be produced as a useful product. He suffered one fiasco after another, and he was often in jail for debt…

Val Yule lists more people and ideas which attracted derision when they came to the attention of the public.

Continue reading "People They Laughed At - 5" »

December 19, 2009

People They Laughed At - 4

Val Yule, who firmly believes that new ideas should be given a chance to prove their worth, tells of some concepts which were at first laughed to scorn.

Continue reading "People They Laughed At - 4" »

December 16, 2009

Animal Circus

Things are not going well on the farm run by animals, as Val Yule reveals in this bedtime story for children of all ages.

Continue reading "Animal Circus" »

December 12, 2009

People They Laughed At - 3

Val Yule, who believes that new ideas should be given a chance, even if at first they seem strange and laughable, tells of some new thoughts and suggestions that were greeted with derision.

Continue reading "People They Laughed At - 3" »

December 09, 2009

Jobs That Are Needed

Val Yule outlnes dozens of ideas that would provide work, improve the environment and add considerably to human happiness.

Continue reading "Jobs That Are Needed" »

December 05, 2009

People They Laughed At -2

...Marathon runners and Everest climbers have it easy compared with the heroes who developed the blessings of tinned food and zip-fasteners...

Here is the second episode of Val Yule's book which encourages us to appreciate people who come up with new ideas, no matter how fantastic those ideas may seem at first glance.

Continue reading "People They Laughed At -2" »

December 02, 2009

The Story Of The Little Green Girl

Val Yule tells a most remarkable and memorable sxtory concerning a silent little girl.

Continue reading "The Story Of The Little Green Girl" »

November 28, 2009

People They Laughed At - 1

Today we begin the serialisation of a book by Val Yule which sets out to discourage the ridiculing of ideas which may turn out to be benificial.

"It would be good for everyone to learn at school to hold back from ridicule, persecution and perverse obstruction of ‘ratbags’ enough to give them a chance.'' says Val.

Writing with wit and style Val defends all those who brought benefits to mankind by dari8ng to come up with new ideas.

Further episodes of the book will run in Open Writing on forthcoming Fridays.

Continue reading "People They Laughed At - 1" »

November 25, 2009

The Qcumber Shop

...One morning, as Jenni was putting change in the till, she saw a little drawer underneath the cash drawer that she had never seen before.

She pulled it open, and in the drawer lay a little posy of spring flowers, all pretty and pink...

Val Yule tells a wonderful, magical life-enhancing story for childen aged fom 2 to 92.

Continue reading "The Qcumber Shop" »

November 18, 2009

Innovative Daydreams

Here's a huge welcome to a new Open Writing columnist Val Yule.

Today Val gives some guidance on how to use your daydreams constructively.

Watch our for Val every Wednesday in Open Writing.

Continue reading "Innovative Daydreams" »

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