Tea. Toast. and Trivia.

S4 E36:  Shehanne Moore on Dundee’s Famous Poet, William McGonagall

“I may say Dame Fortune has been very kind to me by endowing me with the genius of poetry.” William McGonagall, The Autobiography of Sir William Topaz McGonagall

Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia.

Thank you for listening in.  

I am your host; Rebecca Budd and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you.

Join me as I travel virtually to Broughty Ferry, Scotland, Dundee’s Historic Seaside Village, to meet up with my friend, writer, and publisher, Shehanne Moore. Shehanne has given us exciting historical romances – O’Roarke’s Destiny, His Judas Bride, Loving Lady Lazuli, The Unraveling of Lady Fury, and the list goes on.

As many of you know, Shehanne, has extensive knowledge of classical literature.  A few months ago, she introduced me to William McGonagall, one of Scotland’s best-known poets. I confess that I had never heard this name before.

William McGonagall was the son of the working-class Irish handloom weavers. He was born in 1825 in Edinburgh and raised in Dundee.  Some say that William McGonagall was the worst poet ever to commit pen to paper and yet, his poetry has never been out of print since his death in 1902. His influence is seen in the works of Spike Milligan, The Muppet Show, Terry Pratchett, and Monty Python’s Flying Circus.

Who was William McGonagall?  Why was his poetry deemed “the worst?”  Was he a fool or a genius?  These are the questions that will be discussed today.

I invite you to put the kettle on and add to this exciting discussion on Tea Toast & Trivia.

Thank you, Shehanne for introducing me to an unforgettable poet who persevered despite ridicule by those who looked down on his lowly station and humble verse.  The more I read about William McGonagall, the more I see his brilliance.

The poem “Attempted Assassination of the Queen” by Knight of the White Elephant of Burmah, William McGonagall can be accessed on the following link:

Attempted Assassination Of The Queen

Thank you for joining Shehanne and me on Tea Toast & Trivia.

I invite you to meet up with Shehanne on WordPress, Pinterest, and Twitter. You are only an internet click away from being swept away on a daring adventure.

Until next time we meet, dear friends, safe travels wherever your adventures take you.

Music by: #EpidemicSound

Howard Harper Barnes "Behind Every Powerful Man"

https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/yKWtfxzmse/

Claude Signet "Together is Better"

https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/gPLIAeQ0Cj/

S4 E35:  Joseph Macdonald on Engaging within a Global Community

Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia.

Thank you for listening in.

I am your host, Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you.

I am travelling virtually across the Canadian Rockies to Calgary, Alberta, where I am meeting up with Joseph Macdonald, an innovative thinker who connects with businesses to facilitate overcoming challenges.  Joseph is a brilliant communicator who fosters a sense of purpose and commitment within organizations, both private and public, enhancing opportunities for growth and influence. He believes that collaborative problem-solving encourages personal growth and increased job satisfaction.

Joseph is involved in many projects and initiatives.  Today, he has joined me to talk about working with partners from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology and three Calgary immigrant serving organizations to deliver workshops on transcultural communication skills.

What is the definition of transcultural communication?  How do we acquire this skillset?  What are the benefits to us personally and to our communities? These are the questions that will be discussed today.

I invite you to put the kettle on and add to this exciting dialogue on Tea Toast & Trivia.

Thank you, Joseph, for sharing your knowledge, experience, and insights.  Although we have never met in person, you have been a source of encouragement to me over the years.  You remind me that we are living the story of our generation.  Our stories will link to the past, influence the future, and become interwoven within the greater narrative of humanity.

Listeners, I invite you to connect with Joseph on LinkedIn and the website, Transcultural Communications Workshop. 

Until next time we meet dear friends, safe travels wherever your adventures lead you.

Music by Experia "Never Give Up" #EpidemicSound

https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/Lv2ddiD84X/

S4 E34: Looking Back with Frances on Sod Houses

Welcome to Tea Toast and Trivia.

Thank you for listening in.

I am your host, Rebecca Budd, and I look forward to sharing this moment with you.

May 22, 2022, The City of Vancouver held a symposium to feature best practices in green roof design, maintenance and policy making on the West Coast.  This was in response to Vancouver’s ambitious targets of having all new buildings “carbon neutral” by 2030.  One of the strategies is to promote green roofs as a way of managing rainwater.  It is called the RainCity Strategy.

The United States Environment Protection Agency supports this strategy: “Green roofs have been proven to help reduce heat islands.”  The European Commission recognizes the multiple benefits of green roofs in a new EU Strategy on Adaptation to Climate Change.

Green Roofs are emerging as a global strategy.   And yet, green roofs have been with us throughout history.  We continue to build on knowledge that has come before. As Isaac Newton remarked a few centuries ago: “if I have seen further [than others], it is by standing on the shoulders of giants.”

Today, I am joined by my mother, Frances, to discuss sod houses. I invite you to put the kettle on and add to this exciting discussion.

"Carl A. Oman was a tall, very handsome man.  He was born and spent his early childhood in Oman, Sweden.  His surname came from his birthplace, a choice was made to change the family name when they came to the United States.  He came as a young unmarried man, possibly to prepare for the arrival of the rest of his family.  Many of his relatives settled in Minden, Nebraska, but he chose to homestead approximately fifteen miles between the towns of Callaway and Arnold, Nebraska.  Gothenburg lay 24 miles to the south. There is not much information about his family, but he did have brothers who “made it well”.  One settled further to the west and one chose to go to Alaska to mine for gold." Frances, My Mother’s Memoirs

Thank you for joining Frances and me on Tea Toast and Trivia as we looked back at how sod houses created family homes.

Until next time we meet, safe travels wherever your adventures lead you.

Special note: When I entered the world of podcasting in 2019, my first goal was to preserve my mother, Frances’s story.   Frances was raised on a farm in Nebraska during the eventful decades of 1930’s and 1940’s.   We read about the Great Depression that spanned the years from 1929 – 1939 and acknowledge that it was the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world.  And yet, it is when we hear the stories of those who lived in those years that we come to appreciate how history continues to influence our present reality.

Music by Emily Rubye “In Another Life” #EpidemicSound

https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/zBn6lcut8W/

S4 E33: Traveling to Halifax with Michelle Hunter

Welcome to Tea Toast and Trivia.

Thank you for listening in.

Living in the reality of Covid-19, travel has been curtailed, internationally as well as domestically.   While travel is coming back, I have found that virtual travel is possible through the alchemy of technology.

Welcome to Tea Toast & Trivia – “The Virtual Journey” which will explore new horizons through the eyes of a friend.  As Marcel Proust reminds me, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”

Today, I am traveling back to Halifax to meet up with my friend and colleague, Michelle Hunter. Halifax is located in the Maritime Province of Nova Scotia on the Eastern Coast of Canada. Halifax is also the home of my Alma Mater, Dalhousie University, where Michelle and I first met twenty years ago.

Michelle Hunter is the Acting Director of the Centre for Executive and Graduate Education, Dalhousie University.  She has been a support for hundreds of graduate students over the years offering a compassionate voice, helping students achieve a home-work-study balance.

Welcome to Halifax!

Time to put the kettle on and join the conversation on Tea Toast & Trivia. I am your host Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this adventure with you.

Thank you, Michelle, for an amazing travel adventure. I felt I was in Halifax with you, walking in Halifax Public Gardens.

Dear listeners, thank you for joining Michelle and me on Tea Toast & Trivia. You can connect with Michelle on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Until next time we meet, safe travels wherever your adventures lead you.

Music by: Trabant 33 "Dreams of the Brave"  Epidemic Sound

https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/zhMobBG9tX/

S4 E32: Dan Antion Reading “Knuckleheads: Book 1 in the Dreamer’s Alliance Series”

Welcome to Tea. Toast. and Trivia. Thank you for listening in.

Bookstores, libraries, and coffee shops are great places for book readings. There is something extraordinary about hearing the voice of an author reading their stories. Their voice and intonation are nuanced by the many hours of effort putting pen to paper.  They created the characters, structured the plot, and lived every twist and turn that creates bumps in the storyline.

Public libraries and bookstores have expanded their reach into a global community. Book readings have gone virtual.  We are learning to embrace technology in new ways.  Welcome the podcast series, “Authors Reading their Books”, which brings authors and their books from across the world to your home.

I invite you to put the kettle on and join the conversation on Tea Toast & Trivia. I am your host, Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you.

I am delighted that Dan Antion has joined me from Hartford Connecticut as our guest author reading from his freshly published book, “Knuckleheads, the first book in the Dreamer’s Alliance Series. This story introduces the main characters in this series, in which the next two books will follow in late summer and early winter 2022.

Dan Antion was born outside of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He grew up and attended college in the area around western Pennsylvania.   As many of you know, Dan has written and published the popular No Facilities blog since 2011. A lifelong interest in writing became a reality after he retired from a successful 42-year-long career in information management.

This promises to be an exciting event so put the kettle and add to the conversation.

Thank you for joining Dan Antion and me on Tea Toast & Trivia. Authors reading their Books.

And a special thank you, Dan, for taking us on an adventure through your book Knuckleheads.  I have enjoyed reading Knuckleheads – Book 1 and look forward to the next two books that will soon to be available.

Listeners, I invite you to meet up with Dan on his blog, No Facilities, Amazon and Goodreads.

Until next time, dear friends, safe travels wherever your adventures lead you.

Music by Bireli Snow "Lightweight" Epidemic Sound

https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/D6AkAa8fwM/

Music by Cody Francis "I remember Well" Epidemic Sound

https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/LhfEcq46IM/

S4 E31: Lily Style on the Love Story of Emma, Lady Hamilton & Lord Nelson

Welcome to Tea, Toast and Trivia.

Thank you for listening in.

I am your host, Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you.

Lily Style, writer, historian, and genealogist, and I are once again connecting the village of South Brent in Devon, Britain and Vancouver, Canada to discuss the remarkable life and legacy of Emma, Lady Hamilton, the great love of Admiral Lord Nelson.

Lily is the direct descendant of Admiral Lord Nelson and Emma, Lady Hamilton.  She explores the past to piece together the real human stories lying behind dry facts. She writes regularly for Nelson-related publications. Horatia’s Secret is her first historical novel. And I understand that she is currently writing her next novel, The Tailor Prince.

I invite you to put the kettle on and add to this exciting dialogue on Tea Toast & Trivia.

A special thank you, Lily for sharing your insights, your dedication to discovering the stories that have been hidden in the folds of history.

Listeners, thank you for joining Lily and me on Tea Toast & Trivia.

I invite you to connect with Lily on her website, Lily Style,  on Amazon,  Goodreads, and Emma Hamilton Society.

Until next time we meet, dear friends, keep safe wherever your adventures take you.

Music by Trevor Kowalski "Uphill Aspiration" #EpidemicSound

https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/E8U9IUJtfs/

S4 E30:  Valerie Peachey on Time and What is Next is Now

Welcome to Tea Toast & Trivia!

Thank you for listening in.

I am your host, Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you.

Oxford Languages defines the word “time” as the indefinite continued progress of existence and events in the past, present, and future regarded as a whole.  The idea of travel through space and time.   It can also be described as a point of time as measured in hours and minutes past midnight or noon.

And that is only the beginning, for there are many meanings embedded in this 4-letter word.

I am delighted that Dr. Valerie Peachey has joined me on Tea Toast and Trivia to share her insights on our relationship with time throughout our lives.  Valerie has lived many adventures and continues to add new adventures to her life story.  So put the kettle on and add to this exciting discussion on Tea Toast & Trivia.

A special thank you, Valerie, for sharing your insights on living in the “now,” embracing our personal adventures, welcoming new challenges, pursuing new sources of meaning and ways in which to give back to our communities both local and global.

Listeners, thank you for joining Valerie and me on Tea Toast & Trivia.  We would enjoy reading your thoughts and ideas on time and “what is next is now.”

Until next time, dear friends, safe travels wherever your adventures lead you.

Music by Francis Well "The Garden Repertoire"  #EpidemicSound 

https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/On6HBsHBxm/

S4 29: Pete Springer Reading “They Call Me Mom” 

Welcome to Tea Toast and Trivia. Thank you for listening in.  I am your host, Rebecca Budd, and I am looking forward to sharing this moment with you.

Bookstores, libraries, and coffee shops are great places for book readings. There is something extraordinary about hearing the voice of an author reading their stories. Their voice and intonation are nuanced by the many hours of effort putting pen to paper.  They created the characters, structured the plot, and lived every twist and turn that creates bumps in the storyline.

Public libraries and bookstores have expanded their reach into a global community. Book readings have gone virtual.  We are learning to embrace technology in new ways.  Welcome the podcast series, “Authors Reading their Books”, which brings authors and their books from across the world to your home.  I invite you to put the kettle on and join the conversation on Tea Toast & Trivia.

I am thrilled to introduce Pete Springer who has graciously agreed to be our guest author reading from his book, They Call Me Mom. Pete is a former elementary school teacher (grades 2-6) in Eureka, California.  He said that he retired in 2016, but from what I have read, he is far from retired.  His passion will always lie with supporting education, kids, and teachers, which is demonstrated by his dedication to lifelong learning.

Thank you for joining Pete Springer and me on Tea Toast & Trivia. Authors reading their Books.

And a special thank you, Pete , for giving us insight into They Call Me Mom. You have inspired me, and I know that you have inspired readers and listeners to embrace a creative journey.

I invite you to meet up with Pete on his blog, Pete Springer, Amazon and Goodreads. It is a place that celebrates the joy of learning.

Until next time, dear friends, stay safe, be well.

Music by Trailer Worx "History Among Us" #EpidemicSound

https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/xXxitkxwMU/

S4 28: Colleen Chesebro on the Art of Crafting Syllabic Poetry

silver Luna’s soft glow highlights night

Colleen M. Chesebro

I am delighted that writer and poet, Colleen Chesebro, and I are connecting Michigan and British Columbia to discuss the art of current and traditional forms of syllabic poetry.

Colleen believes that the art of crafting poetry strengthens our writing skills.  In her book, Word Craft: Prose & Poetry: The Art of Crafting Syllabic Poetry, she writes: “When we create poetry, we gain command of language; cultivate a healthy vocabulary, master literary devices such as metaphor, simile, alliteration, hyperbole, and allegory.  We learn to work in imagery.”

Is writing poetry open to all of us?  How do we begin a poet’s journey? Where can we find support and encouragement from other poets?  These are the questions that will be discussed today.

Thank you, Colleen for sharing your insights on how poetry allows us to describe the world around us in unexpected ways.   I am inspired by your final words in your book “Word Craft: Prose & Poetry: The art of Crafting Syllabic Poetry: Be bold. Be creative. Write some syllabic poetry.

Listeners you can meet up with Colleen on Word Craft Poetry,  Amazon and Goodreads. You are only an internet click away from the first step on your journey of learning the art of syllabic poetry.

Music by #EpidemicSound

Sight of Wonders "Hiro"

https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/EByWyMm3WH/

Sight of Wonders "Japanese Garden"

https://www.epidemicsound.com/track/4EexXHllhO/