Fraser Duncan

Managing Energy – Incorporating all kinds of days

Image of a person with his arms outstretched at sunset to illustrate post

Kim Witten, PhD wrote a great article on Medium entitled “Stop Trying to Manage Your Time”, in which she gave us lots of alternatives to try-out. I particularly liked Dr Witten’s focus on managing energy rather than time, and her reminder that small actions can have a huge impact on our wellbeing (She gave the example of removing a […]

Choices – Driven by experience or expediency

Image of abstract painting by Yoga Hortal to illustrate post

“Only the madman is absolutely sure.” — Robert Anton Wilson Many things fail to launch in our lives. As we grow older, we realise just how long that list is. Even the things we think we know quite well, might just be a small subset of all there is to know on the subject. I […]

Walking in Bristol (UK) – And finding carvings from trees in Purdown

Photograph of Carved wooden bench made from a tree trunk, with giant chestnuts scattered around, and one on the bench, to illustrate post

* 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

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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

An image of birds together on a ledge, appearing to be engaged in conversation, to illustrate post

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

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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

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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 […]