Simple Pleasures: Reading and Eating – Hopes, Fears, and Reality by Alex Craigie and a healthy muffin recipe

Baking, Books recommended by Masticadores, Epicentre South Africa

Simple Pleasures: Reading and Eating – Hopes, Fears, and Reality by Alex Craigie and a healthy muffin recipe

Published by

robertawrites235681907

on

16 de septiembre de 2026

Hi everyone, it’s Robbie Cheadle with you today and I’m sharing my review of Alex Craigie’s new short story and poetry collect, Hopes, Fears, and Reality: Stories, Poems and Personal Tales.

I’m also sharing a healthy strawberry muffin recipe. Michael is trying to lose so weight and I made these for him as he loves food and dieting is really difficult for him.

Click on the heading for the Amazon US link.

Hopes, Fears and Reality by Alex Craigie

What Amazon says

Hopes, Fears and Reality

What do a terrified boy, a ruthless beauty queen, a fairy godmother from hell, and a group of quietly rebellious pensioners have in common?

In this eclectic collection of short stories, poems, and anecdotes, everyday moments uncover the hopes we cherish, the fears we try to hide, and the realities that shape us.

Inside this collection:

• Gently humorous pieces that find laughter in life’s small absurdities
• Reflective moments that explore the experiences that shape who we are
• Sharper, unexpected stories that catch you off guard and linger

Meet unforgettable characters and moments:

• A child facing what lurks beneath the bed
• A teenager consumed by image
• Elderly friends with secrets—and mischief—of their own
• Twists on the familiar that don’t go quite as expected

Many of these pieces are brief and powerful, born from creative challenges—flash fiction, structured poetry, and writing shaped by rules and constraints—alongside glimpses drawn from real life.

Perfect for readers who enjoy:

• Short, impactful reads
• A mix of humour, reflection, and edge
• Dipping in and out whenever time allows

Open the book anywhere.
There’s always something waiting—something to make you smile, pause, or see things a little differently.

If you are in the UK or Europe you can purchase this book from Amazon UK here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Hopes-Fears-Reality-Stories-Personal-ebook/dp/B0GGXWNPY8/

My review

This anthology of mainly short stories with a sprinkling of poems is the result of a well lived life full of change and interesting experiences and relationships. The stories are a mix of fiction and fictionalised autobiographical happenings and adventures all linked by the common threat of hopes, fears and reality. In other words, these are stories about real people living real lives and will be relatable to a wide spectrum of readers.

The stories that resonated with me the most are mentioned below:

Fears for Future Generations – the world has changed hugely over the past 80 years. The free and natural childhood experienced by this grandmother is totally unimaginable and also unappealing to her granddaughter who has lived through the fear and isolation of the Covid lockdowns and measures pleasure in personal accessories like nail varnish and smart clothes. Have the younger generations been taught to decorate life rather than to live it?

The Night – I enjoyed this story because I believe a witch lived under my bed as a child. I used to jump from the door onto my antique bed that was assembled in two parts that fitted on top of each other. One night when I jumped, the bed moved a bit to far and collapsed. I’ve never forgotten this and so Josh’s fear of night monsters was very relatable to me. I liked how the father managed his fear in a kind and empathetic way, passing on how he learned to manage his own childhood fear of the dark.

Perspectives – This story is also about the chasm between childhoods past, namely pre TV, computers, and cell phones, and childhood’s present where everything is about noise, speed, and instant gratification. This story really touched my heart and I was pleased the grandfather was able to get through to his granddaughter and instill a love of nature in her soul.

Reality: My Changing Perspectives – This autobiographical story was about a search to find a treasured book from the author’s childhood. Again, this story resonated strongly with me because I have done the same thing. I have memories of meaningful books from my childhood, in my case I never owned them, and I have searched on-line with great dedication to find copies of these books as an adult. This story felt like a shared experience between me and the author.

Fear of a Foursome – this story really made me laugh and I appreciated that. It centres around the tension in families due to different personalities and preferences. Extroverts always seem to be seen as more ‘normal’ than introverts who prefer their own lonely pursuits to engaging with other people, especially strangers. I liked the way this story turned out.

If you like reading stories about humans, human relationships, and human experiences, this book is a wonderful antidote to the AI and IT orientated modern world we are all currently wrestling with, whether we want it or not.

Purchase any of Alex Craigie’s many wonderful books from Amazon US here: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Alex-Craigie/author/B01GACW5IG

Healthy fresh strawberry muffins

Strawberry muffins in the muffin baking pan — Picture caption: Muffins still in the muffin baking pan

Regular readers of this column will know I’ve been experimenting with strawberry cake recipes in preparation for my annual cake creation for my parents wedding anniversary. I look forward to this every year as Mom doesn’t like fondant so I am forced to experiment with flavours and textures instead of sculptures.

I had a whole lot of fresh strawberries to hand and Michael wanted healthy muffins and so I used some of them to make these healthy strawberry muffins.

Healthy fresh strawberry muffins

I used my strawberry reduction for this recipe. I only used 15 ml (1 Tbspn) and the recipe makes approximately 270 ml. I used the rest to make a strawberry cake. You can also freeze it for use at a later date.

Strawberry reduction recipe

125 ml strawberry reduction (300 grams frozen strawberries + 2 teaspoons white sugar + 15 ml cold water).

Muffins recipe

437,5 ml (1 3/4 cups) regular whole wheat flour

80 ml (1/3 cup) jungle oats plus extra for the top

5ml baking powder

2.5 ml bicarbonate of soda

2.5 ml salt

80 ml (1/3 cup) olive oil

80 ml (1/3 cup) sticky brown sugar

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 cup double thick strawberry yogurt

15 ml of strawberry reduction (you can also use strawberry jam)

500 ml (2 cups) hulled and diced ripe strawberries

Preheat the oven to 180C. Grease a 12 muffin pan with non-stick spray.

In a large mixing bowl combine the flour, oats, salt, baking powder, and bicarbonate of soda. In a small separate bowl beat the eggs and add the oil , sugar, and yogurt. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and combine. The mixture will be thick. Fold the diced strawberries into the mixture. Spoon the mixture into the muffin pan, sprinkle some oats on top, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes until a skewer comes out clean.

Run a butter knife around the edges of the muffins to loosen them after they have cooled. The should come out of the pan easily.

Picture caption: Seven of the muffins on a China plate.

Picture caption: inside the muffin. You can see the chunks of strawberry.

About Alex Craigie

Picture caption: Author photograph of Alex Craigie

Alex Craigie is the pen name of Trish Power.

Trish was ten when her first play was performed at school. It was in rhyming couplets and written in pencil in a book with imperial weights and measures printed on the back. There were two princes in it – one was called Rupert and the other was changed to Sam because she couldn’t find enough rhymes for Randolph.

When her children were young, she wrote short stories for magazines before returning to the teaching job that she loved.

Trish has had seven books published under the pen name of Alex Craigie. Three books cross genre boundaries and feature elements of romance, thriller and suspense against a backdrop of social issues. Someone Close to Home highlights the problems affecting care homes, Acts of Convenience has issues concerning the health service at its heart, and The Bubble Reputation reflects her fears about social media and the damage it can do. Another book. Means to Deceive, is a psychological thriller set in Pembrokeshire in Wales.

Someone Close to Home has won a Chill with a Book award and a Chill with the Book of the Month award. In 2019 it was one of the top ten bestsellers in its category on Amazon.

The Bubble Reputation won a Chill With a Book Premier Readers’ Award in 2023.

She is currently writing a series of books called The Rat in the Python about growing up as a Baby Boomer. The title comes from the term for the bulge in the population statistics caused by us post-war babies.

About Robbie Cheadle

Picture caption: Robbie Cheadle author photograph

South African author, photographer, and artist, Robbie Cheadle, has written and illustrated seventeen children’s books, illustrated a further three children’s books, written and illustrated four poetry books and written and illustrated one celebration of cake and fondant art book with recipes. Her work has also appeared in poetry and short story anthologies.

Robbie also has two novels and a collection of short stories published under the name of Roberta Eaton Cheadle and has horror, paranormal, and fantasy short stories featured in several anthologies under this name.

You can find Robbie Cheadle’s artwork, fondant and cake artwork, and all her books on her website here: https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/