Month: January 2018

I rose early this morning to get to my writing group and battled through a succession of fog, mist and rain to the park and ride in my trusty Volvo. I was feeling thoroughly positive so the inclement weather did not bother me one little bit. I like to carry my own little bubble of positivity around with me and normally I manage this quite well. Early in the morning, the only people to be seen...

I read an interesting article in the press today about David and Victoria Beckham which I will quote in full. " David and Victoria Beckham are worth a combined £339 million, yet David suggests that the couple are on an economy drive these days. The footballer tells the Evening Standard magazine "we used to be very extravagant in what we would buy for each other but we are obviously saving the...

I was reminded again on the subject of loneliness by the "Thought for the Day" on the Radio Four TODAY programme and I thought it was worth a little bit more examination. I have done about 30 years of counselling on and off. I can slightly laugh at myself by saying I can give good advice to others but cannot give such advice to myself. As a general observation, I think we all know more than we...

Finally, the government has formally acknowledged that loneliness is a problem which costs us dearly not only from the impoverishment of society viewpooint but also on consequential costs of depression in terms of hospital beds and so-called painkillers or antidepressants which let's face it only makes us psychotic. <small rant> The list of side effects is a mile long. Let's not go there....

I tend to turn on the TV when I get up whilst making my coffee. Nothing happens speech wise until I've had the precious liquid.  Coffee making is a ritual which I have performed for as long as I can remember. With the TV it's a choice of BBC1 breakfast (Sky News is too much for me with the background military the music) or Transworld International which this morning was devoted to a sermon on...

No, this is not just a rant. It's more like a lament (a passionate expression of grief or sorrow). Lament even has a book in the Old Testament named after it. Anyway, I digress. About six years ago I was working in a garden in south London, near Bexley if I recall. A woman of colour was instructing me what she wanted. Every so often she said a word like "Jameen" That is the phonetic spelling as...