Name the professional athletes you respect the most and why.
To be honest all athletes deserve respect but in my eyes the Para Athletes are the ones that deserve it the most. To already be challenged with life changing issues whatever they may be, to then push yourself to exceed in an activity that even the most physically active individual would find extremely challenging shows the sheer bravery, commitment and pure guts that separates them from everyone else.
We should look up to them as shining examples of how to overcome adversity and all the challenges life throws at you, and not only to succeed but exceed in everything they do.
Modern day superheroes and shining examples of everything good about human spirit.
Not empowered by money or fame, just pure mental strength and proving the point that everything is possible if you commit to it.
Something I just can’t do at the moment. The classic big black dog has entered the house and relaxation is a state of mind that I can’t find at present. Each day is progressively getting tougher and I do believe I’m going beyond a state that I am comfortable with. The hole is getting tougher to claw my way out of.
If you had to give up one word that you use regularly, what would it be?
The word yes. I need to replace it more with it’s polar opposite “No”
In my lifetime ambition to please everyone I have realised probably too late in life that at times you just have to say no. People are so greedy, selfish and totally engrossed in their own ambitious fight for wealth and recognition that everyone else gets trodden on and abused.
I’ve realised I fall in to that category and I am often told to stop saying yes to everyone.
It stops now. I’ve had enough and I’m not being used anymore.
I’m going to find it hard but from now on, No will become a more frequently used word in my vocabulary.
I’m reading all the replies “No I don’t hold grudges” and “ I won’t allow that to happen” dear people, I state that thou dust talk a load of old bollocks.
It’s a natural occurrence in daily life, you can’t judge a person as bitter and twisted if they hold a grudge and you are a liar if you can come on here and say you haven’t held a grudge in your life. Just shut up and give your head a wobble and stop pretending that you are holier than thou.
Bloody annoys me how people are so damned judgemental of others on this platform.
See I’m holding a grudge against you plums who think you are so bloody perfect.
We’re looking at making our final move within the next 18 months. We’ve purchased new in the past and though the house was lovely we weren’t really happy as it was so “perfect” and needed nothing doing to it. We wanted a project, and 8 years later we have a nice house, though it’s not ideal and has been a drain on us both physically and financially.
We’re now exploring the new route again, this time more thought is going into it, we’re looking to move probably only a few miles from where we are as we have family here and we like the general area and I happen to work nearby and don’t want to increase my commute too much if I can help it.
Tabs protecting the garden
Believe it or not, one major issue for not moving just yet is the feral cat we have in our garden, Tabs. When we purchased this house all those years ago, one feature in all the exterior pictures of the sale brochure was this cat posing in all the garden shots. That was “Tabs”. She wasn’t owned by anyone, and all the neighbours had a hand in feeding her, as the neighbours have moved on that has become our responsibility, and she is fed regularly by us in exchange for her living in and protecting our garden. And boy is she good at that. She is getting old now, dosen’t leave the garden much and is very much into her senior years. We don’t want to put her through getting a new set of “Carers” and leaving her to potentially getting neglected by new owners, so we have committed to care for her and see out her final days being looked after by us. Should she then pass away we will be here, we will attend to her and see she is looked after. Only then will we continue our search for an “ideal home”
Tabs
Anyway, what is our ideal hone? To be totally honest we’re not looking for something outrageously expensive and inappropriate for just two people, we don’t want a ten bed mansion we simply want a nicely built and practical house. Three beds would be fine, one of those rooms to become a hobby / office type space. A small to medium garden that is currently a blank canvas for me to develop into a seasoned garden. The garden I have at the moment has taken six years to start reaching a maturity where it is kind of looking after itself and it is beautiful, I would like to do that again. We currently live on a main thoroughfare and the dust and pollution that creates would certainly not be missed. Yes a quieter area, more rural would be nice, and as this is a major route for emergency service vehicles, somewhere quieter without 24hr a day wailing sirens would be appreciated.
Quieter, peaceful, new, nothing more to be done apart from basic maintenance maybe with a garage would suit us down to the ground. The house we currently have I’m sure would be a good project for someone who has the time and money, but it’s not for us. We took the challenge on, and we learned a lesson. Been there, done it and got the tee shirt as they say.
The ideal home for us involves a simpler and more relaxed life. I think we deserve that and to be honest we are fortunate to be in a position to be able to do it. We’ve worked our collective butts off for it and we deserve nothing less.
But first off Tabs is our concern. There’s no rush.
Someone who has been written off for not achieving when the rest of the world has cast them aside. A work colleague of mine was doomed to fail from the moment he joined us, a lovely guy, just needed a bit of mentoring, he got that and despite the naysayers casting him aside he has flourished in the role. And I am so proud of him.
Sometimes the downtrodden can flourish. People just need to be given a chance. Success is not just a possession for the gifted few.
It’s for everyone.
Chance is a gamblers game. Opportunity is for all. Success is for everyone.
Never look down on someone. You may well have to pass them when you come down off of your high horse.
During my working life I have so far experienced, 17 traumatic suicides on the railway. I am more often than not the first person on site and have to make access to the site, safe for all the emergency personnel about to arrive en masse. I have seen things no one should ever expect to witness. And I sincerely hope you never do.
For this reason, I have had health issues mainly around PTSD that I was diagnosed as having just two years ago, after a young lad ended his life on my shift. That one affected me, though i often go into self denial that this was the cause. Though in all seriousness it was probably the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back.
I used to journal as a result. It wasn’t a private journal, I used to have it beside the bed and actively encourage my wife to read it. At the time I was hiding a lot of my feelings from my wife, I was the typical bloke that wouldn’t talk, however I was storing this all inside and even I could see this was heading straight towards becoming the perfect storm. I’m glad I did that as it helped her and it also helped me to prompt conversation and off load some of that weight from my shoulders.
Blogging became the natural progression from the journal. The family now have links to this blog and they all check in on a regular basis to see what I am doing. I include all the hobby stuff and it is now more of a website than a blog site.
I sit here typing as I am now at 4 in the morning and the wife will turn to me and say, “Are you doing your blog?” And I will say yes. She knows that this is my way of healing some scars by just offloading the excess baggage that life supplies sometimes. And do you know what? It works for me. I don’t do it for followers as that’s not what I’m about. To be honest it wouldn’t bother me if not a single person read my site, for me I have a history at my fingertips where I can check my progress. I have bad days, I have days where I do nothing but whinge, but I can now see why these things happen and that’s all down to this blog.
That’s why I blog, this last month has been awful as my constant companion, Alf, our dog, another who would just sit and listen to me wagging his little tail passed away and it has just ripped the hearts out of my wife and I. See his pictures here: Alfie. All hobbies and interests have disappeared as we have just entered that, “Can’t be arsed” stage of grief. We will come to terms with it in time, and again this is where the blog helps.
Hopefully people will understand this. I’m just a guy who is suffering but I have found a way to let off that steam, accumulated as a result of other peoples desperate actions.
It’s tough, but I won’t let the demons win. It is a daily battle that I doubt I will win in the long run but hopefully I can put it aside for a good while longer.
Foxes Den 
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