Welcome to the April edition of "Brilliant!"  We hope this newsletter finds you and your loved ones in good health, good spirits and good humour.  Wow, can you believe the first quarter of the year has gone already?  Time just seems to speed by! It certainly serves to remind me to recognise, and appreciate, all the important, golden moments that can sometimes be lost in the hectic pace of everyday life.

Talking of golden moments, in late March, Barbara and I celebrated our 30th anniversary of becoming a couple.  This is one of our special days of the year (birthdays and anniversaries) and we always spend it celebrating our love and recognising how blessed we are.  This year, we decided to treat ourselves to relaxation and rejuvenation at a local health retreat which means we enjoyed a massage and private spa/sauna facilities - served with champagne and chocolates.  Very pleasant indeed!  

It was also, on another note, very pleasant to open email recently and discover two of our Bright Light Café creative contributors had written to acknowledge the fabulous work Barbara does as the designer and editor of the Café website and it's content.  I think Michael Lee Johnson was particularly on the mark when he said:

"I wanted to thank you so much for inclusion into your lovely website.  Also the addition of the eagle picture to my poem is just wonderful!  Great job.  Editors need to hear this once in a while - we know it is a labor of love."

Barbara certainly does give a lot of love to The Bright Light Café, as well as Bright Light Multimedia.  This often translates into many hours spent looking for just the right image to complement a poem, short story, or article and then many more hours recording, editing and publishing the streaming audio tracks that enhance so many of the showcased pieces.  So on behalf of all the contributors, I would like to sincerely thank my beautiful wife for her hard work and dedication to helping every showcased piece look, and sound, as good as they do. 

We have another wonderful selection of new showcase items at The Bright Light Café this month.

• A heart warming article.

• A quirky new short story.

• Four uplifting and humorous new poems.

• Two more streaming audio performances of some recently showcased items.

As always, it gives me pleasure to hand the newsletter over to the love of my life, Barbara Llewellyn, who will tell you more about these great new items and their talented creators.

Articles

Norma Jean Kawak, from Australia, presents a fascinating glimpse into the life of a man who lived a full, robust life before cancer stole his vitality.  Norma knew David years before sickness became his constant companion and she was part of his support group in the final months.  It is always an honour to witness courage and humour shining through the human spirit and Norma manages to share her experience with this brave soul with us all.

I Am Very Well, Thank You  (3,118 words) 

I came to know David through my association with my local scout group. David, in his capacity of group leader, had placed a notice in the local paper inviting boys to become scouts. Having a seven year old son just itching to join something, and two younger sons eager to follow, I was immediately on the phone.
Read more ...

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Poetry

Please, join us in welcoming Michael Lee Johnson, from the United States, into the Bright Light Creative Family.  We feel sure you will delight in his work.  Michael is a poet, painting his words with a tender and gentle touch, allowing them to create a broad landscape with just a few deceptively simple strokes.  Take a short flight into freedom and read:

Flight Of The Eagle

From the dawn, dusty skies 
comes the time when 
the eagle flies- 
without thought, 
without aid of wind, 
Read More ...

Speaking of very talented poets, Stephen Pray, from the United States, continues to touch our hearts with his beautiful poetic gems.  Steve has had more than his fair share of health concerns over the last few years yet he still manages to give glimpses into the joy and miracle of life that make the everyday seem all shiny and new.

Not This October

Last October was mean, 
spits of snow and ice 
came out of nowhere to bite like 
swarms of mosquitoes in the spring.
Read More ...

Geoff Weilert, from the United States, has a wonderful sense of humour as well as a wonderful talent.  He manages to take his audience on a delightful journey into simple absurdities and past-times, driving us all away from the worries of the world into a happier state.  Try not to smile while you read these fun memories and mental mazes.

Cheaper Than Therapy 

When a package arrives and I open it wide
And quickly take out all the stuff found inside.
I discard all except in what the item was wrapped
That piece with the bubbles with the air that was trapped.
Read more ...

Today, Tomorrow, and Forget It

I really like to look at maps
And find places I’d like to go’ta
Like Morrow, Ohio; Knight, Indiana
And the small town Day, Minnesota.
Read more ...

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Performances

Nature is busy being constantly miraculous - we only need to stop for a short time to recognise this wonder and become healthier for it, as demonstrated in this enchanting short poem by Agatha Lai, from Malaysia.

The Bridge 

Seeing the bridge
we became curious
and walked across the strand
when the tides ebbed.
Read More ...

Old age can rob us of our beauty, at least to the eyes of strangers, leaving us appearing to be a shell of our former selves, but love brings back the beauty and maintains the joy of our intimate connections as demonstrated beautifully by Margaret Dakin, from Australia.

The Room 

The sunlight strikes the ruby glass and jug,
It stains the lacy folds with crimson light,
And settles there upon the woven rug.
The room is shaded, musty, cool as night.
Read more ...

If you didn't get around to visiting India's Ravi Bedi's latest painting, Kites 1, last month, do yourself a favour and go have a look and listen now.  Surrounding Ravi's cacophony of colour are the following performances. 

I Wish That I Could Catch Your Laugh  Poem by Narissa Doumani

Children of the Sun  Story by Dan Akinlolu  (497 words)

Moonbeam Love  Poem by Stephen Pray

Drifting Memories (Music) Written & performed by Taylor Dean 

Pretty Thing (Music)  Written & performed by Sky

Filling the World with Love (Meditation) by B.A.Llewellyn

Short Stories

Talk about wacky and weird and wonderfully entertaining - then we must be talking about the "completely left of centre and loving it" short story from our newest personality into the Bright Light Creative Family.  Please join us in welcoming Fiona Murray, from Australia.  Fiona is a social-work student who delights in rock climbing and taking long walks and writing very original and bizarre short stories.

The Tragic and Triumphant Tale of Dr Darryn

It all started when he was three. The more mainstream children were happily scampering about playing with blocks and chasing each other around the cubby house. Meanwhile, Darryn was in the furthermost corner of the kindergarten grounds with a tub of glue sticking different objects together. His teachers would find him at the end of the day surrounded by leaves stuck onto twigs stuck onto insects stuck onto trees. 
Read More ...

We wish you a fabulous month and hope you're as happy as a kid in clover and that your world gets brighter and better with every day.

With our warmest regards,


Barbara Llewellyn & Rod Kirkham 
Publishers

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