The Wide Blue Ocean – Contained within a Bic pen
Somewhere or another, I once wrote that I bow down in reverence to my blue BIC pen. To many, that may have seemed like a trivialisation of values to suggest that a blue BIC pen should hold such importance in my life, but it does. I would describe the physical characteristics of the pen, such […]
Notes From Dispatches – ‘Welcome Week’
From tomorrow, I disappear down that rabbit hole known as university (again, as I join an MA programme in Creative Writing and Wellbeing), this time at the age of 65 years old). I have been wading through some of the bureaucracy in the last few weeks, signing my life away for the next 2 years, […]
Generosity and Kindness – Creating contentment all around
A good friend of mine brought me some lovely fruit which comprised of pears bought at a slashed price from the bargain shelf in one of the supermarkets, apples left out on walls as spare from windfall and some delicious juicy oranges with lots of seeds, available from a car boot sale by the bagful. […]
Getting It Right – And making it work well for you
You will have challenges in your life that you have to overcome, and it doesn’t matter if they are bigger or smaller than the challenges other people have to face. If it’s a challenge, it’s a challenge, and therefore requires some attention. Add to that the fact that there is absolutely no point in comparing […]
Walking in Bristol (UK) – And finding carvings from trees in Purdown
* Photographs by Sandy are provided with permission to use in this post When I encountered Purdown during the Autumn of last year, I was quite taken by the bright sunshine, the clouds and the great views, finding a huge tract of land, running down into Stoke Gifford and Stoke Park in one direction, and […]
Writing for Wellbeing – I take a step forward this week
This week, I was accepted on to an MA degree programme on Creative Writing and Wellbeing at Teesside University in the UK. This is not a subject that I am unfamiliar with, particularly as I have spent the last 6 years in a writing group for wellbeing, initially run expertly and independently in UK Bristol […]
Making Fun of The Self – On talking whilst alone
Some might think I talk a lot less living on my own. Maybe I do, but it seems otherwise to me. I constantly ask questions of myself and the inanimate objects within the room. And I have full-blown conversations through the window with the birds, the cats and the occasional rat crossing the lawn. The […]
Change Will Keep Coming For You – But you can be ready for it
We are, by our very nature, resistant to change. And when we get older, it seems that we have a reputation of being even slower to adapt. That may be true for some people, and perhaps even more true for the very old, but there are many of us growing older, seeking new opportunities for […]
A Handful of Words – For your amusement
Abundance — A rival form of dance to that of Morris Dancing, often performed with food items as props (real meaning — plenty, large quantity). Ajillytea — A type of hot drink valued by older people for improving their movements (see also ‘Mohbillytea’). Annasteeja — Where people now store their tea bags, named after the first person to […]