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Friday, October 11, 2024

COUNTRY & WESTERN IN BAHAMAS!

 


My husband Erskine Knowles sings "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down" (No. 1 hit on the Billboard US Country chart for Johnny Cash). Written by Kris Kristofferson and recorded in 1969 by Ray Stevens. WATCH HERE

FOLLOW US ON TIKTOK HERE (BEST VIEWED ON A SMART PHONE)


Saturday, September 21, 2024

A MEDLEY OF CALYPSO SONGS!


Erskine Knowles singing and playing 
a medley of Calypso songs


“A Medley of Calypso Songs” is sung and played HERE by my husband Erskine on his guitar. This is another song from our Tiktok platform "youngheartsforever". These songs are folklore and quite old.

I often wonder how Erskine has such a good memory! He knows the words and music of hundreds of songs: Bahamian, Caribbean, Rhythm & Blues, Rock, Soft Rock, Romance, Blues, Country & Western, and so on!

He says he once had a book with 900 chords that he studied - "All kinds of chords". Along with the major and minor chords that he already knew, he learned 300 more but he says he hardly ever uses all of them. He could use them if he wanted to though and he does use a lot of them in songs.

Thank goodness Erskine has this remarkable memory as I am quite the opposite!

(Video was originally posted on our Tiktok platform "younghearts")



Friday, September 20, 2024

"YOUNG HEARTS" - A SONG OF ROMANCE

Erskine Knowles

This song by my husband Erskine tells of how we met over 58 years ago!

YOUNG HEARTS
Lyrics, music, guitar and vocals by Erskine Knowles
(Based on true events when Erskine and I first met!)

View Video here

Listen/download digital track here

LYRICS

The day we first met I will always remember
You came into my life in the month of September
Your smiling face, your warm embrace
No one else in the world can take your place

We fell in love on a warm summer’s night
Down by the sea under a pale moonlight
The stars shone brightly from above
That’s the night when I found my one true love

CHORUS:
Lying here all alone thinking of you
Long blond hair and pretty eyes of blue
Two hearts that beat as one
From two different worlds now under the sun
We have a love that will last for years to come

BRIDGE:
You went away, but you couldn’t stay
Across the sea so far away
Those lonely days and nights so long
Back into my arms where you belong
Back into my arms where you belong

We’ve been together for so many years
Lots of happiness and lots of tears
And as we look back and reminisce of our past
We knew then we had found true love at last

CHORUS:
Lying here all alone thinking of you
Long blond hair and pretty eyes of blue
Two hearts that beat as one
From two different worlds now under the sun
We have a love that will last for years to come
We have a love that will last for years to come
We have a love that will last for years to come

© 2015 Erskine Knowles

Friday, September 13, 2024

WHAT AN ADVENTURE! FROM UNHOUSED TO HOUSED!

If you're wondering where I've been all this time, Erskine and I have been travelling a lot for the last several months, as we searched for and transitioned from one home rental to another here in Nassau, Bahamas. We had been given only 40 days' notice to vacate our Cable Beach apartment in January, as it had been sold! 

We managed to find a rare but expensive three months' short term rental in Cable Beach.

However, when that ended we were in a dilemma. We still couldn't find a permanent apartment or even another short-term one. So we decided to spend the month of June in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, as it was cheaper to stay in an apartment in Florida than AirBnB here! And we had some JetBlue credits that were about to expire.


    
Lauderdale-by-the-Sea sea grapes!

Our sons kept looking for rental apartments for us back in Nassau while we were in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea and we searched online.

There is a shortage of affordable and decent rentals here in Nassau, partly (or perhaps mainly) due to the increasing number of expensive AirBnbs and also because some foreign companies snatch up rentals sight unseen and are prepared to pay high rents and large deposits for their non-Bahamian employees in advance. We read that a similar problem exists with the rental market in many other countries.

View from our third-floor apartment at
Surf Rider Resort, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea


“Fancy Nancy”, one of the wonderful drivers
who drive the free Circuit electric trolleys up and down
A1A, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea!

While in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea, we strolled around the town and discovered the Town Hall. Unfortunately, the library was closed at the time. Quaint little place. Well kept and very quiet, but has great amenities. Would love to live there! One apartment owner that we chatted to said she had been there seven years and loved her “little piece of paradise”! 

In the nearby Publix, before starting our walk around the town, I asked an employee there if it was safe to walk. Would there be any stray dogs that might attack us (as can happen in Nassau when walking in some neighbourhoods!)? The employee laughed and said no way, "the place would be closed down right away"!


                                                       Lauderdale-by-the-Sea Town Hall


Never far away from a book! Small guest library, 
gym and computer station at Surf Rider Resort.

When our unexpected vacation was over, we returned to Nassau. Unfortunately, a rental that one of our sons had found for us fell through, and we moved back into the Orange Hill Beach Inn on the Western Shores of Nassau, where we had spent a night or so in between our moves. 

Grounds of Orange Hill Beach Inn
(with "visitor'!)

We ended up staying in a room there for 28 days! Fortunately, the hotel owners were very kind and helpful. We were even able to set up our desktop computer there and start to get back to a somewhat “normal” life.

Finally, we found a permanent rental apartment in Cable Beach, signed a year’s lease and moved in at the end of July.

Final destination!

It’s been quite an adventure, if we can call it that, as it was a strain on our finances. But we held out for what we wanted and didn't choose second best, despite the "naysayers". 

We’ve learned a lot and are going forward with more strength and vigour. Our new Tiktok platform (tiktok.com/@youngheartsforever) has given us a new interest and is becoming quite successful. My husband Erskine is a musician and is enjoying playing his guitar and singing a selection of songs (including some he has written himself) for videos we upload to Tiktok.

And I am getting back to my writing projects. I have so much to catch up with!



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Saturday, August 24, 2024

YOUNG HEARTS FOREVER!

 

Check out our (Erskine and Fay's) new Tiktok account at https://tiktok.com/@youngheartsforever

And follow us on Tiktok to see all the new videos coming soon on our Tiktok account!

There will be more videos of Erskine playing guitar and singing old Bahamian, romantic and inspirational songs. Future recordings will include him talking about old Bahamian musicians and entertainers.

Saturday, May 25, 2024

A BOOK ABOUT "PEOPLE WHO DESERVE TO BE HAPPY"!

A friend just read my book of short stories "Sunbeams from The Heart: A Collection of Twelve Romantic Short Stories" and made a lovely comment about it. She said she really enjoyed it as it's about "people who deserve to be happy"!

AMAZON APPROVES SUNBEAMS FROM THE HEART!

This is pretty cool! Amazon added the following to the details page of my book of short stories, “Sunbeams from The Heart: A Collection of Twelve Romantic Short Stories”:

“Customers find the romance plot delightful, enjoyable, and heartwarming. They also describe the emotional tone as beautiful.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews”.

 


Wednesday, April 17, 2024

SUNBEAMS FROM THE HEART AVAILABLE LOCALLY

 


“Sunbeams from The Heart: A Collection of Twelve Romantic Short Stories” is now available at Logos Bookstore, Harbour Bay, Nassau, Bahamas! As you walk towards the books, Sunbeams is on the first bookstand facing you. You can’t miss it!

A BEAUTIFUL KEEPSAKE! Love themes in this delightful collection of romantic short stories tell of nostalgia, bright new beginnings, homecoming, second chances - and the unexpected!
HEART-WARMING STORIES that propel you on a journey through Scotland, England, The Bahamas and rural America.
“HUGELY POPULAR...Charming and surprising”: The Lady magazine, London, England, wrote about one of Fay Knowles' short stories, first published in “The Lady” and now appearing in “Sunbeams from the Heart”.
EMAILS FROM READERS
- “The stories are very sweet and refreshing.”
- “I have bought your Kindle book today and will enjoy reading it when I'm on boring train journeys!”

EXCERPT FROM “SUNBEAMS FROM THE HEART”:
"That Christmas, when Tessa returned to the small town where her great aunt and uncle had spent most of their lives, the rooftops were white with snow. Shop windows glinted with decorations of reds and greens and golds and silvers. A Christmas tree with twinkling lights, shimmering garlands and a flashing star on top stood beside the town hall entrance. Outside, huddled together on the pavement, a small group of warmly wrapped people sung old familiar carols. But for Tessa it would be a bleak Christmas..."

 

 

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Thursday, April 4, 2024

THE SCOTTISH CONNECTION!

 


Published some years ago, but still relevant! Available as an e-book and in paperback. Our sons as little boys are on the cover!

 

 

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Saturday, March 30, 2024

"EASTER BUNNY" AT BAHA MAR!

 


“Easter Bunny” with Baha Mar employee yesterday! What a cool idea to have this set up in the Baha Mar lobby for children of guests and visitors to have their photos taken with the “Easter Bunny”!

 


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Tuesday, February 13, 2024

“SUNBEAMS FROM THE HEART” HERE IN NASSAU, JUST IN TIME FOR VALENTINE’S!

 


A supply of my paperback book “Sunbeams from The Heart: A Collection of Twelve Romantic Short Stories” has arrived in Nassau and is now available from Logos Bookstore, Harbour Bay Shopping Plaza! 




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Sunday, February 4, 2024

SCARCITY OF AFFORDABLE & DECENT RENTALS A CRISIS

 

Farewell good friends!

Sorry I haven’t posted for quite a while. We are having to move – from one rental apartment to another that is. We were only given 40 days’ notice (be sure to always check your lease thoroughly – the lawyers for the landlord found a loophole to avoid the 90 days’ notice mentioned in the lease!).

In Nassau, Bahamas, like many places around the world, rental prices have gone sky high and there is a scarcity of affordable and decent rental apartments. Airbnb plays a big part in this, shoving the long-term rental prices up and tying up the market for the average Bahamian.

We have to get rid of a lot of personal stuff before we move, including some of my books. I’ve donated two boxes of books to the Bahamas Humane Society Thrift Shop, so at least I know that they will still be appreciated.

I will be back on this blog again as soon as we are settled – or maybe before that if I find any time! In the meantime, if anyone reading this knows of affordable furnished apartments in the west (Nassau, Bahamas), please message me. Thanks!

 


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