Friday 16 July 2010

Coffee Break: Blogstorming

Much time has passed since I last had an excuse to fire up my coffee and tea making equipment. I hope it all still works. On the coffee front, I have rich Italian roast, espresso and cappuccino (can you spot the national bias here). I also have Assam, Darjeeling and Earl Grey teas. Not much in the way of breakfast, as I'm in training for a special event, so it's fruit salad and toast on the menu.

I was wracking my brains about something the other day and thinking: I wish someone else was here to bounce ideas off. Then I realised that there are a whole load of people who are "here" with me, albeit in a virtual sense. Why not get them to help me? Why not indeed, but first a digression...

Who's heard of brainstorming? It's something I used to do in a previous job from time to time. I have to say it's proved to be very beneficial and even good fun. There's a whole web site dedicated to the art of brainstorming, but for now, here are the basic six rules:

  1. [Optionally] begin with a probortunity statement. It's both a problem to solve and an opportunity to generate ideas.
  2. Withhold judgement, particularly negative thoughts.
  3. Encourage wild and exaggerated ideas.
  4. Go for quantity over quality.
  5. Build on ideas put forward by others.
  6. Each person and each idea are equally important.

So, for the purposes of this coffee break, I would like to hijack it and have a blogstorming session, whereby we all take part. Here is the probortunity statement:

A widower is left a fortune by his wife.
She never told him about the money.
Why?

On your marks, get set, GO!

Edit 23/07/10: The results can be found here.

14 comments:

Annieye said...

We are not allowed to call in 'brainstorming' in Local Government. It's not considered politically correct because it infers that people have storms in their brains and therefore are likely to blow other people's brains out. (What a load of b****x!). This is a very nice little exercise for a dull Friday morning - will post something very soon, Captain!

Deborah Carr (Debs) said...

Lol that you can't call it 'brainstorming'. I can't ever get over these strange things that are/are not politically correct. I'm still amazed that some sports days don't have competitive races, so that everyone is considered the same. We're not, and should make the most of it.

I'm brainstorming this morning with my mother about my book. I do this each time I start a book and discuss my ideas and it's through hearing other people's thoughts, especially if they come up with something I hadn't considered, that helps me enormously.

Going back to your piece, I think she probably didn't tell him she had money because either a) she knew he would have a problem knowing his wife had more money than he did; b) he would want to know where she got it from; or c) he might spend it all.

Annieye said...

She was a secret novelist (not! she wouldn't leave a fortune, ay!)
She was a bank robber and had a sawn off shot-gun hidden in her knicker drawer
She was the secret lover of a member of the royal family
She printed 20 pound notes in the garden shed in her spare time
She was Lord Lucan's secret daughter
She invented 'Marmite' but her husband hated it and she didn't like to upset him
She was a Russian spy!!!!
She visited Haiti in her youth, a Witch Doctor cast a voodoo spell over her, she turned into a Zombie and had actually lived for 400 years secretly selling the spell to the rich and famous before the spell ran out and she finally copped it!

This is my 'thought shower' which includes a big dollop of 'blue sky thinking' and 'lean processes'.

Rachel Green said...

she was an escort in her spare time? it was left her by his mother who hated him, to give her a fresh start lone? she wasa *gasp* writer and he didn't know? she was a jewel thief?

Cathy said...

She didn't tell him about the money because either a) it was her 'running away money' or b) she was saving up to pay a hitman to kill him.

Uh oh, I've got a little dark as always :)

Annieye said...

You're right, Debs. GB is so crap at competitive sports because they have banned them in school. It's crazy. Best of luck with your brainstorming and say hello to your lovely mum for me!

HelenMWalters said...

She was a bigamist and the money is her inheritance from her 'other' husband.

I also love Cathy's suggestion b.

Flowerpot said...

My husband and I have separate bank accounts - so why should she tell him? She stole it, or won the lottery and didn't tell him. She was a professional fraudster. She wrote (very successful) erotica under a pseudonym. Endless possibilities!

Denise said...

Ooh, I love the hitman idea Cathy!

How about - lottery win. She was worried it would spoil their relationship. Apparently this does happen quite a lot!

Not her money, screw up by solicitor, and then the people turn up that want their money back...

She was paid to marry him, and to stay married because of his position in an internet security firm.

OK, Friday brain now exhausted. Hope work not expecting much from me this afternoon :-)

Deborah Carr (Debs) said...

Annieye - I was chatting to Ma about you this morning and what fun we had together at Caerleon.x

Deborah Carr (Debs) said...

Forgot to say, good to see you back here Captain.

Rowan Coleman said...

Brilliant idea Kev! She never told him because it was none of his bloody business (she was a feminist) or she never told him because she never told him anything, they never had a proper conversation, not once in thirty years and now she's dead he's going to cuba with a lingerie model called Ginger. FUn!

sheepish said...

Am watchng the Tour de France at the moment in between wallpapering, so blogstorming might be a little off the wall!!! Pun intended.
She was definitely a high class prostitute and/or it was none of his business anyway.
Lovely idea for a friday and glad you are back writing will leave a comment for yesterday's post when I finish the wallpaper!!!!

DOT said...

She was a woman. Money was not a subject a) ever to be mentioned - too vulgar b)a construct of the capitalist west. She was a very screwed-up old-fashioned liberal but counted Marx as her best friend.

From childhood she would only suck the thumb of her left hand.

Her mother wore a Maggie Thatcher hair helmet and constantly beat her in order to spare her while goading her to recite, 'There is no such thing as family'.

It proved too much and she became a serial killer whose hallmark was to mutilate the right hands of her victims. Eventually she ended up as the subject for a Midsomer Murders special and so was finally committed to a special hospital.