I had the urge to post a bird photo today but haven't shot any lately. So I dug into my archives and found this image of a Green Heron. When shooting this kind of photo one has less options in choosing a background. Where the bird lands more or less decides that. Anyway, I am particularly fond of herons and have lots os image of the awesome Great Blue Heron with its six foot wingspan. The Green Heron is a much smaller heron but still fascinating. I have never posted this shot before.

Baldur's Gate 3

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Every so often I get the urge to try something new, something that I haven't tried before, and most importantly, something that I don't feel is within my "zone of comfort". So off Tom & I went to Palm Beach for some sunset and nighttime shooting.

I wasn't too excited about the sunset image opportunities at this particular site, so we concentrated on what we would do when the nighttime arrived.

I was taking images of the Royal Park Bridge, which connects the towns of West Palm Beach and Palm Beach, as seen from a small park area just south of the bridge. I was fascinated by the reflections of the city lights on the Intracoastal waters below, with the streetlights shining in the background, along with a glimpse of the downtown buildings. I still felt that something was missing, so I found this bench which offers one the opportunity to sit and take in the view of this beautiful area and I decided to incorporate it into the shot.

I really think that, while I didn't feel too comfortable with this type of shooting, that it's important to stretch our "comfort zone" in life, whatever realm of our life that is. Tom & I often do what many people might think are "crazy things" (you know, adventure activities - nothing makes us feel more alive - not to mention the feeling of conquering our fears or limitations that we place upon ourselves). So from a photographic standpoint, this was my way of doing that. Not so scary after all.

Thanks so much for stopping by to view and especially for all of your comments, which are very much appreciated.

Hope that everyone has a wonderful weekend!

for my friend

I don't know a ton about horses. Probably just enough to know that this horse wanted me to ride. The horse kept lowering its back and presenting itself so I could get on. I've never been so tempted in my life ... but out of respect for the Icelandic farmers I resisted my very strong urge to deeply connect with this beautiful beast and jump on - just to see where life would take me. Today, I regret that... I think the farmer might understand that the horse just wanted to share the love of the ride with me. That connection between man and beast that so many horse owners (and probably horses) know. The thrill of two creatures flying through space and time in tandem. Pure joy. Next time dear farmer, I apologize in advance because if he offers again, I cannot say no.

As night fell, Grinelda's weariness urged them to return to Moon City. As they made their way back, Luna couldn't help but feel a sense of unease. Everything on the moon was so different from what she was used to on Earth. The landscape was alien, her breath implant felt strange, and she couldn't shake a feeling of isolation.

When they arrived at Grinelda's home, Luna was surprised by how cozy and welcoming it was. The walls were made of a strange, luminescent material that glowed softly in the dark. The furniture was made of a soft, pliable substance that seemed to conform to her body as she sat down.

As she sat on the bed, her mind drifted to thoughts of her family on Earth, and a wave of sadness washed over her. She longed to be with them once more, but the lure of the moon and all its secrets was strong. She was torn between the two worlds, as the Earth shone through the window, casting a soft glow upon her face.

For more AI inspired micro stories please visit neural-narrative.blogspot.com/

metline runner!!!!

Today I had the urge to shoot a pic for the first time really in ages. I've also been jotting down a few ideas that have been in my head for a wee while now and I was supposed to do one of them today but it's too cold to go outside!

I would highly recommend that if you ever try a shot like this to be prepared beforehand, as trying to figure things out while wearing a bandage round your head doesn't really allow you much visibility if you catch my drift!!! As I walked down the stairs into the kitchen Amara just looked at me, asked what on earth I was doing and carried on drawing her picture as if it was part of normal day life for her lol. I've also discovered that I'm not actually that good at wrapping my head in bandages successfully!

Tomorrow I have my very first underwater shoot with a film camera and I think I'm gonna need all the luck in the world and hope to hell I don't drown.

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Leica R 80mm f/1,4 Dr Mandler

Initialement, je voulais photographier les nombreux "hélicoptères", qui sont en fait les fruits de certaines espèces d'arbres, qui jonchait le sol sous l'érable derrière ma maison. Je n'ai pas vraiment réussi à capturer l'image que je voulais, mais j'ai tout de même remarquer cet appareil qui a dû se poser d'urgence sur les branches d'un sapin pas très loin. J'aime cette photo pour plusieurs raisons. Premièrement les détails sont impressionnants, on dirait presque les aiguilles du sapin agissent comme un piège et saisissent des objets au vol. Les parties floues de l'image, autrement appelées "bokeh", mettent en évidence le sujet et se marient très bien au ton vert de l'ensemble.

Brave dropping characters, everyone else doing their thing, good day out.

I recently mentioned that I get urges to punch Phill in the face, along with those urges come the spontaneous desire to kick him in the gut....I don't know the source of the urges but I do know they make me feel better when I follow through with them. decluttr

Athènes

Brutalism • Reimagined

Brutalist architecture is one of the most controversial styles of architecture to exist. It’s what people imagine when they think about what a prison looks like, with its cold and imposing exterior. Brutalism is also what people typically picture when they think of government buildings or schools built in the 1950s-1960s.

Brutalist style is known for its heavy, imposing appearance. If there’s one word that can sum up the entirety of brutalism, it’s the word “concrete.” The style came as a response to the sleek and polished Moderne style popular during the early 20th century.

(www.immerse.education/university/what-is-brutalist-archit...)

Scanned image. Passing the Sir Peter Scott East Lighthouse, Urgence inbound on the River Nene for Port Sutton Bridge. 9th April 1994

Great day`s paint alongside two old pals in the blistering heat.

Fall on our work-pocked farm was marked by fallen leaves skittering across fading lawns urged along by gusty fall winds. Early darkness ended our days and a season of change was in the air as large fields of soybeans were methodically combined and corn was harvested.

In the early 1960s in our part of Minnesota, corn pickers were still the main method of harvesting corn either by pickers that were pulled by a tractor and run by a power-takeoff or were mounted self-propelled units.

In a few short years, most two-row pickers were superseded by corn harvesters that not only removed the ears off of corn stalks but also shelled the kernels from the ear of corn, thereby saving a whole lot of work for individual farmers who no longer had to employ a corn shelling crew in springtime to get the corn ready to truck into the local co-op elevator to sell.

Today, few people recognize immediately who you are referring if you would say the name Louis Marshall Jones. But, mention a nickname given to him when he was 22, “Grandpa Jones”, and most folks recognize the entertainer who had a career that started when he was just a young fellow in a family of 10 kids on a tobacco farm in Kentucky in the early 1900s.

Older folks remember the television program “Hee Haw” that produced some amazing talented country music singers and songs. Grandpa Jones was a fixture on that program along with Minnie Pearl and others.

In 1964, Jones wrote a song called Falling Leaves that contained these lyrics: “Fallen leaves That lie scattered on the ground The birds and the flowers that were here now can't be found All my friends that I once had are not around They are scattered Like the leaves upon the ground ”

Deserted farm places, abandoned barns and silos along with fields without fences now dot the countryside where many of us were born and raised during our formative years.

Much of what we once experienced and those we experienced it with are now not around and are scattered like the leaves upon the ground.

(Photographed near Mora, MN)

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...in case you got the urge...

I just found this spot amusing; it was around 25 degrees and the wind was fierce, but the sign read "No Swimming"

Much Better Viewed Large on Black

From the Diablo Lake overlook at N. Cascades National Park, here is a view of the starry sky above Diablo Dam (once the world's tallest!).

No meteors, but this shot does give me a good opportunity to play the part of Jack Horkheimer and urge you all to keep looking up! The 2009 Perseids Meteor Shower is currently underway (July 23 - August 22) and will be peaking Aug 12-13. Wishing you all cloud free dark night skies to enjoy the show!

Shot Notes: Single RAW file double-processed (once for foreground and once for sky) and then blended together. The nifty star diffraction spikes were added in post.

Buddhism in Laos is largely of the Theravada school. Nearly 60% of the Lao population is Buddhist of the Theravada school, though Buddhism in this country has become integrated with folk beliefs such as ancestor worship. Buddhism was based on the religious movement founded in the sixth century B.C. by Siddhartha , later known as the Buddha, who urged the world to relinquish the extremes of sensuality and self-mortification and follow the enlightened Middle Way...... The focus of this religion is on man, not gods; the assumption is that life is pain or suffering, which is a consequence of craving, and that suffering can end only if desire ceases. The end of suffering is the achievement of nirvana often defined as the absence of craving and therefore of suffering, sometimes as enlightenment. Like in most other Theravada nations, Buddhism in Laos is represented primarily by the presence of Buddhist monks, who serve as officiants on ceremonial occasions, as well as being responsible for preserving and conveying the teachings of the Buddha.

Every family expect for every young man to live as a monk for awhile (a week till single months) between school time and their working life.

Their lifestyle is shaped so as to support their spiritual practice, to live a simple and meditative life. In Thailand the buddhist are being more strict to the simple life than in Loas where monks even drink fruitshakes ;-)

Een groot deel van de Laostiaase bevolking, zo’n 60% is boeddhist. Men hangt het zogenaamde Teravada-boeddhisme. In het Theravada wordt meditatie benadrukt als een essentieel onderdeel van het pad naar verlichting, samen met moreel gedrag en wijsheid. Het brengen van een einde aan het lijden is het hoofddoel van het Theravada boeddhisme. De Boeddha legde verder een zeer gedetailleerde gedragscode voor de Monniken neer: de Vinaya. Over het algemeen worden monniken door de Boeddha aangemoedigd om wereldse aangelegenheden en passies achter zich te laten, zodat zij gemakkelijker in staat zijn een staat van vrede en wijsheid te bereiken, en sterke ongezonde emoties zoals haat, verlangen en lust te overwinnen. Een Monnik zoals hierboven in z'n oranje gewaad, kaalgeschoren en met sandalen aan de voeten is niet meer weg te denken uit het straatbeeld van Laos.

Er wordt van iedere jongeman verwacht, dat zij een poosje (van een week tot enkele maanden) als monnik leven. Zo tussen hun schooltijd en hun werkende leven in. Het wordt beschouwd als een overgangsrite en zij verwerven op die wijze aanzien voor zichzelf en hun familie.

Yangon - Shwedagon

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Basically, the substantial gather amount is achievable with pure passion n love heart in photography and not necessary be filty rich nor famous to help me accomplish raising my long yearning photography career, a sucking heavy expense that been schedules down my photography making journey had inevitably, some circumstances had badly fall short behind racing with time and inability to fulfill as quickly in near future consolidating good fund .

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Last but not least, a photography journey of life time for a trip to explore South Island of New Zealand and Africa.

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My intended schedule may estimate about 1 month round trip self drive traveling down scenic Southern Island of New Zealand for completing the most captivating landscape photography and wander into the big five, the wilderness of untamed Africa nature for my project 2016 before my physical body stamina eventually drain off.

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Kindly forward all sponsors request terms of condition n collaboration details for discussion soon.

Great Ocean Drive- the 12 Apostle's

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Kumi: It's about time you guys at Flickr got to see a photo of the beautiful us! Smile, Pestis, smiiiiiiiiiiiiiiile!

Pestis: *mumbling* No Travis, no smile

Akyta: What do you mean us? They want to see me!!!

Kumi: Sure they do! No, Akytakitty, you'll drive the people away! They'll be scared because of your hideous face. >:D

Akyta: Hey, shut up. :[ Under all this badass attitude I put on, I have feelings too! Tell her, mummy, I am not hideous!

Pestis: Just shut up and pose. I want cookies.

----

Well, I saw the sun come out today, and so I thought i'd take some quick photos. :D

These were the first three I saw, so I decided i'd take photos of them, together, since it's been a while. ^_^ Oh, and the stupid little story..that was urged on because I remember enjoying writing them a few months ago! So, yeah! xDDDD

Every once in a while, we come across a shot taken by another photographer and have an urge to take the same composition - but this looks like taking it to the extreme :D

(1 in a multiple picture album)

I think there is an urge in everyone to walk along an ocean beach. Some say it is because we were developed in a watery womb before birth. Some say it is because our bodies are mainly water.

I say it is good to do because it brings you back to size. You realize how small you are. You realize how powerful the ocean is. And you know that you are here for just a short time and then you will be forgotten.

The prints I left as I walked along Carlsbad Beach made this clear. No sooner had my feet left the prints than a wave came in and washed them away. It was if I was never there.

Ever had the urge to blurt out that you are a cross-dresser? I have!

In fact, I have succumbed to this urge a few times and I can say though many were positive with their reaction once it went very badly and I had inadvertently given someone knowledge they proceeded to use against me. It was not the most comfortable of outcomes.

So coming out as a cross-dresser, why tell anyone? I do feel some people need to know, in my case my wife and family. I did not want it to remain a secret in our lives. However, I have come out to others who are not family but I have many tears of trust with them. My mistake was at times I was bursting with an urge to just tell people and quite frankly it was truly reckless frame of mind to be in.

So I made a big mistake with one person and could only stop them using my secret cross-dressing activities being used to cause me trouble in my working life buy having to come out to more people than I really wanted to. It did at least wipe out the hold the person who despised me for being a cross-dresser thought they could have over me. It was an unpleasant time and it upset my family.

So during my last cross-dressing in March I thought I would record a short video on coming out and my own take it on which is be cautious! Of course, this is just my own view and each of us will feel differently about coming out. I know some people are very open and uninhibited. My own situation is I need to stay protective of my family and my job as I need to provide a stable income to support those I love dearly.

My moments of reckless desire to tell the world I love dressing up as a woman need to be contained. I am now very careful who I come out to. Others have come out to me about their own lives and sexuality so I know we have mutual respect and trust with each other.

I would definitely urge caution. Coming out has it’s immediate moment of euphoria and liberation that you have told someone but the long term consequence is they now know something about you that could potentially cause you big problems in your life if they don’t respect the secret you just shared or they decide to use that new knowledge against you.

Resist the urge to tell! Think carefully about who you decide to share this part of your life with.

Well, I had the urge to go light painting during the day recently and when that comes about I just head to the drains.

This is my trusty and awesome spot. An eight foot high corrugated steel drain that just loves to put off some great reflections.

I wanted to do one of my over the camera shots and on my second try I ran into a very close call. This little chunk of steel wool hit the outer rim of my Fisheye lens which is about a quarter of an inch thick. I was very lucky here so I went with this shot, packed up my gear, and headed out of the drain.

Straight out of the camera with no adjustments.

Lakeside 11

...you know the feeling right?

(image is manipulated - obviously:)

alongside my old friend Urge today.... pre-Xmas get down

Solheimasandur

Pas de fléchage, pas de publicité pour cette carcasse d'avion posée sur la plage noire. Ce Douglas DC3 de l'US Navy a dû se poser en urgence le 24 Novembre 1973, suite à un incident technique dû à l'intrusion de la glace dans certaines parties mécaniques. Heureusement, les membres de l'équipage ont survécu,mais l'avion a été abandonné là.

Une vision étrange et pathétique ayant surtout un intérêt pour les photographes.

No signage, no advertising for this airplane carcass on the black beach. This US Navy Douglas DC3 had to make an emergency landing on 24 November 1973, following a technical incident due to the intrusion of the ice in certain mechanical parts. Fortunately, the crew survived, but the plane was abandoned there.

A strange and pathetic vision especially interesting for photographers.

L'Islande, terre de feu et de glace

Iceland, land of fire and ice

Un voyage en Islande , terre des extrêmes et des contrastes, à la limite du cercle polaire. des paysages sauvages qui , selon le ciel et l'éclairage, évoquent le début ou la fin du monde. Avec ses sols craquelés, soulevés, fumants, bouleversés, laissant apparaître par endroits les entrailles de la terre, l'Islande était considéré autrefois comme les porte des Enfers.

Une destination unique(et l'on pèse ses mots) où chaque jour offre son lot de merveilles à contempler, à des années-lumières de ce que l'on connait.

A trip to Iceland, land of extremes and contrasts, on the edge of the Arctic Circle. wild landscapes that, depending on the sky and lighting, evoke the beginning or the end of the world. With its cracked, raised, steaming, upset floors, revealing in places the bowels of the earth, Iceland was once considered the gateway to the Underworld.

A unique destination (and we weigh our words) where each day offers its share of wonders to contemplate, light years from what we know.

© Philippe Haumesser. TOUS DROITS RESERVES - ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ©.

Merci beaucoup pour vos visites , commentaires et favoris♥

Thank you very much for your visits, comments and favorites

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By Twopy - Les Grands voisins (Paris, 06/2017)

We appreciate the courtesy of Chatwick University Archives for letting us use the journals in our research, and for permission to use parts for the genesis of “Dare’s Game”.

Dare’s Game

Beth, eagerly looking for Dare, walked straight into Seth’s cunning snare…..

Suffix, circa 1910?. It was during this time a fanciful young lady, whom we will call Beth, started a journal which she would faithfully keep over the course of almost 50 years. She led quite an adventuresome life for a lady of that time, and her journals were filled with many tales and observations of her exploits. The following story is derived from events that she penned down in the early years in her journal.

******************************************************************************

Beth had known Dare since their childhood. Dare was a handsome free spirited youth only two years her senior, who lived for the games his life had to offer. As his cherished nickname inferred, Dare was always trying to find the thrill out of anything he could think up, relishing to go beyond the pale in anything he attempted. Dare always a little different, harboring feelings and ideas way beyond his years, almost as if he had lived a previous life and retained something from it in his being.

Beth would remember times playing dress up with Dare’s sister Diana in some old gowns of their mothers. It was always then that Dare and his friends seemed to appear and talk them into playing hide n seek, tag or cops n robbers. Dare seemed to take pleasure in cajoling the girls into playing with them in this manner. Eyeing them as they played with a far off look that suggested the game they were playing had more meaning to him than he could ever venture to say. It was hard for Beth to explain it, but she did find it pleasurable (almost erotic using a word whose term she would learn much later) to be observed by him in this way.

One warm fall day Diana and Beth headed down to an old shack located near some railroad tracks at the back of a cornfield. Diana was dressed in a long satin play gown with her mother’s jewelry, which Dare had called rhinestones. Beth, herself dressed in a long flowing dress, loved the way Diana’s jewels twinkled and sparkled as she walked. They were going to pretend the shack was a ballroom and they were one their way to a fancy dance, like Beth’s and Diana’s parents had recently attended. Diana wasn’t supposed to be wearing her mother’s jewelry outside the house, but as a result of Dare’s teasing, had done so anyway.

They had reached the shack, an old white brick building with a wooden roof half fallen in, when a man’s voice suddenly said behind them, what are you two ladies up to? Turning they were confronted by a happily sneering drifter. The grubby man looked around, alone is we, and advanced towards them. The two girls stood petrified, he reached out and probed Diana along her side, pretty dress missy, he said, sparsely toothed mouth grinning like a pumpkin. He suddenly reached up and tore the necklace away from Diana’s throat, sending her falling backwards. Beth screamed bloody murder, as the vagrant turned heel, running off towards the tracks. Suddenly Dare appeared, and Beth, meaning to yell for help, exclaimed instead “help honey” to Dare. Dares eyes took on a very different look, almost of a burning yearning. Beth told him what had happened and he took off down towards the tracks in hot pursuit. For Beth, the look he had given her and the way he had dashed off excited her beyond measure. Even for someone that young, Beth now knew what Dare meant to her. From then on, playing games with Dare took on a heightened meaning for Beth.

But, nothing really changed in their relationship until Beth’s sophomore year of high school. Beth was sixteen at the time, a whimsical being, passionate, innocent, not particularly attractive, but radiating with a love of life. A living free spirit, developing into a very sexual being by the time her and Diana decided to attend their schools prom in their sophomore year. Beth dressed in a fuchsia coloured satin dress with dangling rhinestone earrings that had been” borrowed” from Diana’s Mother, the same ones Diana had been wearing when they had run into the drifter at the shack. Diana slipped into the slinky blue spaghetti strap gown and matching cover-all that she had worn as her cousin’s bridesmaid. She was wearing sapphire costume jewels patterned after the hope diamond. Their parents had given them a hard time when they saw their made up girls in their gowns and finery , admonishing them for looking way too mature. They smiled, consoling their parents fears, and went off on their adventure.

Their eyes were dazzled by the display of lights, the cheerfully student filled room, the band. They had stopped and were letting it all sink in, when Beth felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and came face to face with Dare, who once again had the same yearning fire in his eyes as on that fateful day at the old shack. A veil was lifted from between the two, and Beth spent the whole evening encompassed in Dare’s arms. Soon after that the two had begun seeing much more of one another. Their relationship was still going strong eight years later.

*****************************

8 Years Later

*****************************

Come on Dare, let’s go to the Riverside, it will be fun she urged. She had been trying to get her fiancé’ to take her to the exclusive five star resorts for some time. And now she had a free overnight room card she had won at work! Dare looked into Beth’s wide, hope filled eyes, knowing her passion for attending these types of affairs. Ever hopeful she would see someone rich. Dare knew how to use this to his advantage. Finally he buckled, all right, only if we play the game afterwards he bargained. She squirmed inwardly with passion, nodding her agreement. Beth found the game exciting, though she would never let on to Dare. And, you must wear the gold bridesmaid gown and jewels you wore to your friend’s wedding last week , he added, a wistful smile lighting up his thin face.. Okay she agreed, trying to sound reluctant, but truthfully feeling multiple tingles of delight.

Dare was handsome, in a scrawny, thin bearded, sort of way ( From an old photo that survives he resembled a young Johnny Depp… the eds), with a witty writers imagination and a playful disposition. He could always make Beth laugh, feeling his excitement as he drew her into his stories and games. She would never admit to it, but found the game delightfully erogenous. She smiled to herself, so Dare had liked the satin gown after all, he had not shown any interest in her wearing it since the wedding. And the jewelry, the small rhinestone pendent and earrings had been pretty, but Beth soon came up with another idea. She would knock his socks off by wearing the glittering diamonds and emeralds that had been inherited from her grandmother. The set had laid collecting dust in a safety deposit box all these years, unworn. She had never told Dare about them, waiting for the perfect occasion. She could just imagine the look in his eyes when he saw her wearing them. Okay then, game on, Beth thought, wickedly sending shivers up and down her spine.

Dare’s Game was based on role playing:

Dare would give Beth money to purchase a new outfit, something rich and shiny, like silk or satin. With the new outfit, Beth would wear the good gold jewelry she had received from Dare on her birthdays. The idea was to acting like a bored rich girl out for a good time, alone and vulnerable.

Dare would be at the hotel bar, waiting for Beth to make her entrance, then make her acquaintance , playing a debonair, suited gentleman with a mysterious past and a hidden agenda. They would make a date later, usually to dance and have drinks.

Then that evening, she would go down to the bar. Dressed in one of the long gowns Dare favored, fitting in with the usual spillover from a wedding reception that had been held in one of the Ballrooms. Sometimes she would wear the rhinestone jewelry they had purchased together at various antique stores. Then Beth would wait for Dare to make his entrance, signaling the time for Dare’s game. He would assume one of several roles, or possibly a new one that Beth had never seen. In the past Dare had played:

A spy who would dance with Beth, then disappear. Sending a note to Beth via a third person that would have her meet him clandestinely in a remote location…

A highwayman who would come across Beth on the castle grounds , usually the resorts empty gardens at night….

A rich millionaire looking for romance…

A kidnapper hired by an evil uncle, who after tying up Beth and removing her valuables would have a change of heart….

A Jewel thief who would be cunningly after her valuables…

A handsome prince rescuing Beth’s damsel in distress ….

Or Dare’s favorite, centered on their old childhood game of cops and robbers. Dare would play the thief, and steal something from Beth, usually while dancing. He would then leave preset clues around the grounds that she would have to follow to catch him.

All of the games usually led to some playful groping and then escalating into the upper echelons of erotic pleasure. Sometimes they never made out of the woods, or barely out of the ballroom. Beth shivered at these thoughts, wishing she didn’t have to wait….

**********************************************************************

Three weeks later at the Riverside Resort.

**********************************************************************

In the Bar:

At the bar, Dare smiled to himself, pleased. He had dropped Beth off to check in by herself. She would change into her new outfit and wear it down to the bar for lunch. She would come in acting like a complete stranger to the area. Dare would make her acquaintance, invite her to lunch, and make plans to see her that evening at the resorts dance room. There were two wedding receptions going on, and that dance room should be filled with well-dressed patrons. Beth would fit right in; clad that pretty gown she had promised to wear.

Dare had been sitting at the bar, thinking about ways to play out the game that evening, when the answer came to him, in the form of a stranger who had come with his drink and sat next to him. The stranger introduced himself as Seth, and shaking Dare’s hand sat on the stool next to him. After they had had couple of drinks, they had become quite chummy. Seth explaining he had come up for one of the weddings, and assumed Dare was doing the same. Seth did not fail to observe Dare’s secretive smile, but did not question it. Their conversation was distracted only when a newcomer appeared at the entrance. Beth walked in, a long flowing silky skirt swishing down to her leather sandals. A shiny, long sleeved satin top fitting tightly along her perky figure, with bright gold jewelry complementing the ensemble. Real gold, Seth observed silently to himself.

Beth went to a table, both men going silent as they watched her move through the room. Good-looking one, that, Seth commented, looking at Dare who was deep in thought as his eyes were fixed on the sexy newcomer. Seth teasingly offered Dare a penny for his thoughts. Dare smiled mischievously, letting lose his plans. Seth listened to the young man, smiling as a light went on in his steal grey eyes. When Dare finished he offered up a suggestion as to how Dare could make it really interesting for Beth. The two co-conspirators worked it out: Seth told Dare about a stone hut and wall that was located on the back nine of the resorts golf course. He suggested that he, Seth, would meet Beth that evening and pass a note onto her from Dare saying that he was in trouble and needed her help, with directions to the spot. Dare liked the idea, and wrote the note on a cocktail napkin, cementing the plan by handing it to Seth.

Off you go old chap, let Uncle Seth take care of his end, he said grinning, giving Dare a sporting clap on the back. With a wink, Dare left his fellow collaborator, and went over to Beth, who had since been seated by a male waiter, now standing drooling over her shoulder as she looked at the menu.

Later that same evening, inside the crowded club:

Seth had stopped by the bar for a last drink. His business venture had been concluded earlier than he had expected. With the change in his plans, he had checked out early, his kit packed, boot loaded and the car ready. He now sat at the bar Causley watching young lass of about seventeen who had literally ran into him at one of the receptions. He watched her flirting about the club, weaving in and out of the guests. With a long swishing gown flowing provocatively along her lithe figure, abundant, solid white gold chains swinging out in an alluringly eye catching manner as she scurried about. A diminutive gold ring its half caret diamond flickered playfully from the petite pinky it loosely surrounded once again welcomed his contemplation. The lass presented quite an intriguing gold feathered fledgling, just begging to be plucked. He looked around, spying her parents on the dance floor. The father/husband, despite being an excellent dancer, gave him no interest. It was his partner, the wife/ mother, decked out in a iridescent suit and long swishing satin skirt upon which he now was reexamining. He again studied under the bright dance floor lights her fine pearls dangling from her ears, throat, and wrists. But it was the Ladies’ two rings that stole the show for him; an engagement ring with a rock of at least 2 carets surrounded by numerous shimmering half caret stones and a pinky ring similar to her daughters, that proudly displayed a single white solitaire diamond of at least one caret that had garnered his consideration. He also reconsidered the facts that he had been able to garnish about the lady who wore them, and her husband. The wife/mother was a heavy drinker who would not be expected to make any kind of appearance before noon. Hubby was a golfer, who would be out for breakfast at five am before being on the links at 6 am the next morning . At 5 :15 Seth was planning to pay a visit to his suite, and relieve his two ladies of their expensive trinkets. It should be an easy straight forward caper, that had Seth bristling with anticipation at the prospect.

As he was tossing down the last of his drink he remembered about Dare and the note he still had in his pocket. Setting down the empty glass, he pulled the note out and looked at it, kids he smirked, and was preparing to crinkle toss it on the bar and leave, when his eyes caught sight of Beth. He had felt his breath taken away when he saw her. Not at all what he had expected, he would say to Beth much later in the evening. He looked over the note, stirrings of a plan began formulating. All thoughts of the dancing couple and his plans fled his mind, as He rose, throwing a fiver on the bar and went off to intercept Beth.

Seth held Beth in his arms, she was a vivacious little thing he thought, while smiling charmingly into her eyes. She seemed a little apprehensive at first, but had settled right in when he had told her this had been set up by Dare, remember me at the bar with him this afternoon he had consoled her, she had smile brightly into his eyes in answer. He relished in the feel of her warm satin gown, and allowed himself to be mesmerized by the shimmer of her diamonds.

It reminded him of the diamonds that had been worn by one of his dance partners earlier that evening at a reception. He had forgotten her name, but not her diamonds, one of which now resided in a hidden compartment of his roadsters boot, along with the diamond pin he had slipped off the satin cape he had cordially help a well-dressed lady put on. He had also shelved his plans for his 5:15 am “meeting” at the golf playing husbands hotel room, Beth’s jewels were a much more lucrative prospect.

When the dance had ended he took her to the bar and sat her down, ordering her a drink. She seemed a little perplexed, Seth kissed her gloved hand; wait for it he told her mysteriously, winking into her eyes. Beth had winked back, the fire in her heart reflecting deep in her eyes. Seth left, smiling cleverly to himself as he took in his surroundings. He looked around as he walked away, now where had the little imp gotten off too?

He had decided that the seventeen year old in the long flirting gown would play a very different role in his plans. He approached her, with Dares note and a twenty. Thought for a moment about the pair of thick platinum gold chains dangling from her throat down the open neckline of the girl’s glossy gown, then banished the though, he had bigger fish to filet. The twenty caught her attention and she eagerly listened as he explained to her what to do, pointing out Beth sitting, waiting in earnest at the bar. Wait until she finishes her drink, Seth told her as she listened eagerly. She took the twenty into her hand, the half caret diamond on her pinky ring flashing, and her gold chain bracelets jangled as she grasped it. Seth left, figuring he had about twenty minutes to stop at his car, get a few items from the boot, and put his plan in motion.

Beth had curiously received the note from the attractively shy young lady, clad a slinky gown that made her appear years older. Reading it she folded it and was just getting up when a man wearing a suit came up to her and offered to let her dance with him. It took her some time, before she was finally able to ward him off and leave the brilliantly lit clubroom for the dark, forbidding grounds outside.

Now, a thoroughly excited Beth walked up the hill. Her senses becoming more prickling alert with each step. Innocently unaware that she was no longer playing a role in Dare’s game!

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Epilogue:

As Seth walked away admiring the shimmery necklace, his thoughts travelled back to the gold burdened impish youngster in the swirling gown, and her pearl and diamond laden mother. Revisiting his original plans he decided that he liked the odds, especially since they would be against him. With the father leaving early to meet his cronies for breakfast the Mother should be still sleeping off her drink induced stupor, the hyperactive girl should still be out cold, but presented no risk if she awoke, he had more rope. The ladies jewels should be lying about in the apartment, or handedly on their persons( the pairs of diamond pinky rings, as well as the multi-diamond engagement ring flashed once again across his memory with all their brilliant glory),as he caught fire with the vision. There could be a safe he reasoned, but with a tied up daughter and a knife in his hand, the mother should have no issue opening it for him, or disclosing anywhere else her jewels may have been hidden . But if there was no safe, and the rings, pearls and solid white gold chains were somewhere in the room, he knew he would be able to noiselessly break in, find and slip the jewels from wherever they were perched, and be safely on his way without even causing the slightest stir from the sleeping woman and her daughter. It was a road Seth had travelled down many times. He prickled at the thought, as he foresightedly tallied up the potential haul while making his way to the car. The Mother/wife’s diamond rings, would easily fetch him at least three grand, probably close five with her pearls and the whelp’s jewelry added in. About a quarter of what he probably would get for the jewels now in his procession, so he mused inquisitively to himself, so ,was it worth the risk of his 20,000 bird in hand? Yes he answered himself, as all too familiar and welcome tingling sensation overwhelmed Seths muscular body. Like Dare, Seth like to play risky games, especially those which promised to be somewhat profitable. It would be a tantalizingly chancy gamble of his own; to wait a safe distance away while things cooled down and then return to break into the un protected sleeping ladies chamber.. He knew just the place to hide , and it would be a perfect spot to watch events unfold around Beth and Dare, while making his plans! It also afforded a nicely secret hiding nook for the ill-gotten gains collected so far that evening in case something went wrong, which it wouldn’t..

Courtesy of Chatwick University Archives

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