Barry Alexander

Hi Barry205,
          
          I wanted to introduce you to Wèbnovel, a platform for readers and writers to connect and explore new stories. We've recently launched some exciting writing competitions that I think might be of interest to you.
          
          As someone who enjoys writing, I can really feel the control and mastery over language in your words. I wanted to reach out and see if you would be interested in joining our community of writers on Wèbnovel. 
          
          I think your passion for writing and storytelling would really shine here, and I look forward to reading more of your work. 
          
          Feel free to check us out at our Discord group: https://discord.gg/6d7ymHZYVe and our website: www.Wèbnovel.com or wsa.Wèbnovel.com
          
          Looking forward to connecting,
          []

hey there, barry! i just checked out your work, coalescence. lucid, wistful, pensive read, i must say. your words trudge a single line of idea which made the thrust of your poems striking and salient. you've got a loaded pool of brainpower right there. i also adore how you weave your lines. well done! :)

Thank you for following! I look forward to reading more Danger Close. 

Just found this. Definitely be following! My dad did 30 years RAMC 1938-1968. You might want to look up the Poets Pub ... Not been on here long myself. They are very supportive.

Dear Friends, 
          
          It has been a hectic couple of weeks getting everything in order for release day. Well it is finally here and thanks to the love and support from my wonderful wife and family and the wise counsel of my wattpad mentors, I guess I can now think of myself as an author. 
          
          Seeing the paperback edition of 'On Afghanistan's Plains' for the first time was really quite an emotional experience - it brought home the realisation that I have created something that others will read and hopefully enjoy.  
          
          @maryltabor was one of the first people to read my poetry on wattpad and she has become my mentor, providing me with guidance, feedback and finally an awesome review that takes pride of place on the back cover of my book.
          
          Thanks once again to everyone that has followed, read, commented and voted on the various pieces of work that eventually became my book.
          
          I will be back to writing on here again soon.
          
          Best wishes, 
          
          Barry
          
          On Afghanistan's Plains is available on Amazon tomorrow (5th May)

I hate to be a spoilsport, especially as I know that people are reading it, but I am going to be taking down 'When You're Wounded and Left on Afghanistan's Plains' from tomorrow. 
          This is because the final version of the full book 'On Afghanistan's Plains' will be available to purchase on Amazon and Kindle on 5 May.
          
          If you want to keep abreast of the final preparations, follow me on Twitter @barrynalexander and follow my wordpress blog: barrynalexander.wordpress.com
          
          More poetry and work on African Adventure to come
          
          Have a great weekend
          
          Barry

Dear Friends, 
          
          I have written a new poem, posted in my 'Coalescence' collection.
          'Under Aldershot Sun' is a pastiche of Sir John Betjeman's classic 'A Subaltern's Love Song'.
          
          For those not familiar with Betjeman's work, the original poem tells the story of an imagined tryst between a love-smitten junior officer and a tennis playing young lady of class. The action takes place in and around Aldershot - a famous English garrison town and Camberley - the home of the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
          
          Betjeman's poem tells of the genteel delights of a bygone era and way of life; tennis matches after tea, golf club dances and a delightfully semi-rural Camberley.
          
          My poem illustrates how modernity and urbanisation have all but dismantled Betjeman's reality.  The rural areas around Aldershot remain picturesque and Camberley is still a desirable (and expensive) place to live. The pastimes of Betjeman's poem are still pursued, but they sit uncomfortably alongside some altogether less innocent activities.
          
          Miss Joan Hunter Dunn, Betjeman's muse was the daughter of a Farnborough physician who, after the war, accompanied her husband to Malaya and Singapore. Widowed at the age of 48, she returned to the Surrey-Hampshire borders and despite financial challenges managed to send her sons to Winchester College (an exclusive independent school). 
          
          Joan Jackson (nee Hunter Dunn) passed away in 2008; her letters from Sir John Betjeman (who became Britain's Poet Laureate) were stolen in a burglary in 1996.
          
          This poem is my tribute to Betjeman, his muse and the regrettable passing of a bygone era.

Please send prayers and love to @lisaner who is in ICU and very ill.

Dear Friends, 
          
          Long overdue, another part added to 'African Adventure'.
          
          Please read, comments welcome!
          
          Best wishes, 
          
          Barry

Dear Friends, 
          
          Happy Easter. Twenty years ago, I had just finished my first ever overseas tour of duty which saw me deploy to Bosnia sporting the colours of the United Nations Protection Force and return home wearing NATO insignia.
          
          It has been announced today that former Bosnian Serb leader, Radovan Karadzic, has been sentenced to 40 years imprisonment. At the age of 70, this is effectively a life sentence, one that is thoroughly justified. Social media is buzzing with the Karadzic hashtag. The waters seem to have been muddied by the explosion of radical Islamic ideology and related terrorism. Coming so soon after the Brussels attack, I have a concern that amidst the apparent tidal wave of Islamophobia, facts will be twisted to picture dear Radovan as a man ahead of his time in countering the Islamic terrorist threat.
          
          It is true that there were foreign mujaheddin in Bosnia in 1995 and  Al Qaeda and Daesh have inherited their legacy; however we must remember the facts:
          
          Karadzic et al precipitated the war and initiated 'ethnic cleansing'.
          Atrocities were not limited to one side (look up massacre of Croatian Serbs in the Krajina).
          All jihadist terrorists are Muslims, but most Muslims are not terrorists.
          Blaming Islam for the Brussels attacks is like blaming Christianity for Srebrenica.
          
          For me, all that remains of my Balkan adventure are my early poems, captured on Wattpad in the 'Danger Close' collection.
          
          As people of words, we would do well to remember that the pen is mightier than the sword and that whatever we do write is out there forever and we have no control of where it will go and who it will influence for good or ill.
          
          So this Easter, write beautiful things and be a force for positive change in a world that seems more threatened and threatening than it has in a long time.
          
          In love, light and peace
          
          Barry