By Damaris West
Gemma slipped slim fingers into black leather gloves, passed a pin through her designer hat into her hair and gathered the skirts of her expensive camel coat around her. It was always as well to be prepared for getting off the bus at this time of night: that way, if anyone was planning to follow her she would get a head start on the quarter-mile walk to her flat.
It was the same every time she had to come back from work this late. At the beginning of the …

How many of us live the life we wish we were living?
My oldest sister has worked at the same job for ten years. She claims she enjoys her job and I am happy about that. It is not a job that I would enjoy for ten years. It’s just not my kind of thing, but I admire her for having a job that she doesn’t mind getting up in the morning and going to. A lot of people aren’t in this situation. But she admires me, for going after my …

by Richard Davies
Chocolate is made from beans derived from the cacao tree. These beans are very bitter, so the cocoa solids and the cocoa butter has sugar added to it, along with some other ingredients in order to make the chocolate that is available to the general public.
Chocolate is particularly popular at certain times of the year, such as Easter, Valentines Day and Christmas. As such, chocolate shaped gifts are popular. Hearts for Valentines day and cute bunnies at Easter are two high up on the gift selection list. Here …

Last week, I decided to quit writing. Tired of rejection, tired of being a slave to words and phrases, I decided it was time I straightened out my life. So I quit. Cold turkey!
I cleared off my desk, shut down the computer, shoved all my discs and hard copies into the file cabinet, locked it and handed my husband the key. I threw the mouse into the trash and that was that.
Quitting a habit is relatively easy. I have a friend who has quit smoking 243 times.
Staying quit? Now that …

Egypt was the wonder of the ancients. They advanced, built pyramids, penned hieroglyphics, and performed medical wonders. But they got lazy, their slaves left, and Egypt declined. Rome was glorious. It was built upon the blood of great men. At the height of their civilized glory, Rome got complacent and lazy. They ate themselves from within as great men became selfish instead of industrious.
And now there’s us. America was glorious. Will it crumble as well beneath its own laziness and selfishness?
I love to listen to the older generations. It seems …