Tag: family

Thanks, again

I have already thanked everyone on 26th January this year for your kind support on getting me up to 100 subscribers on this site. It really is appreciated and today I need to thank you again on getting me to a 10k views notification.

Thank you 🙏

I’m not a consistent blogger as my posts vary greatly, I know there is quite a range in quality but I make no apologies for that. I’ve always suffered with quite severe mood swings due to a number of factors that I won’t dwell on here, and this site was created as an extension of the journal I used to write at home. That journal had some extremely worrying matter in it and I always encouraged my wife to read it, (As I’m a bloke who doesn’t openly talk) and as a result she pulled me out of some deep ravines and I am eternally grateful to her for that. That said I decided to take the Journal one step further and it is now online for all my family as well as you good souls to see. As a result you will see the good and the not so good, but believe me I am in a much better place for having you all around me.

Thanks for just being there, you will never understand just how much it helps.

And yes, I do talk more and I suggest everyone who is suffering in silence breaks that mould, and talks to someone. Do not please suffer in silence. And I’m always here to lend a listening ear.

Eternal thanks to each and every one of you.

Peace 🙏

Work

Do you need a break? From what?

I think I wrote a good time back about creating a good work life balance. I actually stick to that and I’m now enjoying a good separation from my workload much to the displeasure of my bosses who seem to think you are contracted to work for them 24hrs a day, 7 days a week.

Now I don’t like to disappoint people, however excessive hours were affecting both my family life and my health and ultimately that combination would have probably finished me off, and that’s no good to anyone. Now they have me working at my best, and most productive and a recent yearly review was very complimentary to me and my work ethic. So that’s a good thing👍

The real answer to the question that I’ve been skirting around is that I need a break from Work. I’m probably a couple of years away from retirement now, and I’m so looking forward to that. We already have plans in place and I’m looking forward to that final day I leave work and close the door for the last time.

I’ve done my time, it’s now time to give the youngsters a go. Let’s be honest we are only ever numbers at work, and the minute you leave someone else will be doing your role, without there ever being a second thought for you.

You’ve done your time, paid your dues it’s now time to go and enjoy your autumn years.

Peace.

A day with those who have gone before

Describe your most ideal day from beginning to end.

If just for 24hrs you could be with those you miss the most, those who have gone before you who have left you with so many unanswered questions, this would be the perfect day.

To spend more time with loved ones, to walk another mile with them, hold hands and just look at that reassuring smile, how lovely would that be?

Talking with them to the point that comfort and assurance is restored and having those doubts and worries brushed away. To know they really are happy, well and worry free, and that you are loved and still looked after, wouldn’t that just be perfect?

The end of the day would come, you’d be upset for sure, you’d say gentle goodbyes, but this time you’d be smiling, what a difference to the last time you parted company. You could now live the rest of your life free and without the worries and doubts of your past to haunt you. No more grieving.

Never again to ask the question, “What if?” as you’d already have the answers.

What a lovely day that would be❤️

Work – Life balance

What do you enjoy doing most in your leisure time?

I thought that i may have answered this prompt in the past, but it seems i have not, well done WP, something original.

Like most people my leisure time is important, it’s only in the last two to three years that i have genuinely separated my free time from work time. I’ve definitely created a work – life balance and it was long overdue.

Taking just today for example, the wife has gone out to one of her ladies gatherings, I’m sitting here typing this, and very shortly i will be going out for a couple of miles of walking on what seems like a nice sunny winters day. We’ll have some breakfast when we return, i shall tinker on a project or two and then we will get ready a little later as we are out with family tonight for a “Burns night” supper, as my wife has Scottish roots from her mothers side of the family. No doubt this will involve a few drinks and should be a thoroughly enjoyable evening.

My leisure time is always the complete opposite to work, I don’t worry or stress, and any day away from work is treated like annual leave, yes it really is a holiday where i do whatever i want whenever i want, nothing is out of bounds, even if it is only for a day.

And thats how it should be. The old adage is that life is so short, live for today, don’t fret about tomorrow and just bloody well enjoy yourselves.

Sing, dance do whatever, don’t be embarrassed, the chances are that the people around you watching you have fun will never bump into you again. And if they do, they will remember you as someone just enjoying life.

What’s to lose? Just those ties that hold you down, just shake them off.

Have a lovely day.

Laughs & Giggles

List five things you do for fun.

Good morning all. I’m having to get my thinking head on today for this one, not that I don’t have fun, but when put on the spot like this you have to think the answer over. There are probably things that I call fun that others out there would probably find nauseating and strange. Hey, we are all individuals and it would be boring if we were all the same. I’ll do a little list now but it’s not an exhaustive list, this is only a list of things I might do. I’m sure there are plenty other activities I can turn to:

  • Football: Been following my team Leicester City, through good and bad in excess of 30 years now. Unfortunately, now is a bad spell but that’s the trials of being a fan of any sport. And I love having a Balti pie and a pint, or in winter a nice hot cup of Bovril. It’s tradition.
  • Walking: to be honest haven’t done a lot of late but I’m already planning some nice walks to do in the next couple of months. There is nothing better than getting out there into nature and just drinking it all in. You have time to think and clear your mind, and it’s probably one of the best and healthiest activities you can get involved in.
  • Art: I love art and have a genuine appreciation of anyone that gives it a go. I’m really bad at it but I’m a trier. let’s be honest some of the worlds finest artists must have been bad at some point, it’s just I’m making an art of being bad. It gives me immense joy and satisfaction just creating something, so it can’t all be that bad….can it?
  • Holidays: My wife and I have found that since our dog passed away we now have a lot more time and availability on our hands. We are now taking a good few holidays and having more short breaks away. We love each other’s company and that’s a good place to be. We have holidays in Iceland, Uk and I believe we are planning one to the Caribbean later in the year. I say “I believe” as the wife is concocting a plan with her cousin for the big holiday at the tail end of this year.
  • Family days/nights: Our families are quite spread out around the Uk/Sth Africa/ Australia so it is rare to get a good gathering of the clans together. When it does occur as it did around July last year it is pure carnage, but good old fashioned raw fun and laughter. You need this every now and then to charge the memory banks. Here’s to the next one.

And that’s probably that, for now, I think these activities probably rate in my mind as the five things I most enjoy participating in, for fun.

Have a great day everyone, may peace and joy radiate throughout everything you do.

Our total love and devotion

If you could make your pet understand one thing, what would it be?

As I’m sure, anyone at all that pays any attention to what is written in these posts, will know we lost our best friend Alf, our beloved pet dog on 16th August last year. There’s probably a lot of you out there who are probably saying,“ For gods sake man just get on with it”.

Easier said than done I’m afraid. If you read the facts and figures, animal grief is just so real, especially in an animal loving country such as ours.

I’ve never really experienced it in such a manner before, but this time we’ve really struggled. I think I summed it up at its peak here: Is there a cure for a broken heart 💔 . There are a number of other posts about him but this one sums up the raw feelings when we lost him.

We’ve never been able to have children in our life, it’s complicated. Especially when you spend your life with the most wonderful woman who would have made the most fantastic mother, it really is heartbreaking to see her interactions with children and the love she shows them. Then in the quiet moments I really see how it affects her. All I can do is comfort her.

Alf – our little fellah

This is where Alf strolls in. He was to us, what was always out of reach, a kind of surrogate if you like. It was fate how we found him and he had the starring role in our lives for eleven beautiful years.

To answer the question: If I could make my pet understand one thing? It would be:

You were our love, our confidante our life. Our most precious companion. And we miss you so much.

Yes it’s more than one thing I know. But when a kindly loving soul enters your life and has such an effect on it, you just can’t label them with one singular credit, one word, It just can’t be done.

Life is a strange voyage. Sometimes when you can’t have something, you are blessed with the most perfect alternative. I believe we were blessed. His time came and he had to move on. I just hope some where, another couple who have maybe suffered similar issues as we did, are now experiencing some wonderful “Alfie” time. That little fellah truly had wings.

Love you for always lad.

Peace.

Rinse and repeat..

What is your favorite animal?

Just like a record on repeat or just like a commercial radio station, or even like a moon orbiting a planet WP starts repeating its daily prompts, you could almost set a clock to it as it has such amazing regularity. This particular prompt was last listed on 23rd November 2024, not that long ago.

So unlike WP I will save the bother of re writing my answer, and just post links to the relevant blogs below. If you are busy and don’t have the time the simple answer is: Dogs are my domesticated favourite whilst Hedgehogs are my wild favourite. There, I’ve saved you some time and gotten myself some brownie points with you.

For anyone interested in hanging around here are some links to previous blog posts including that one for the same question in November last year.

The humble Hedgehog

My World

Is there a cure for a broken heart 💔

These are just three of many posts on the subject. The last one really sums up how I feel after the loss of a wonderful family member. The struggle goes on.

Peace

Just another reason to not go wandering

I’ve seen this news article and it just strengthens my reasoning to never visit Australia.

I have relations in Sydney who were over here about 6 months back. They are constantly trying to sell me the dream and trying to get the wife and I to visit. I’ve always been of the opinion that everything that lives there wants to kill you, both big and small and this article just broke the camels back as they say.

Article courtesy of Skynews

The attraction for me is less now, after spending over 24hrs in the air do I really want to face my biggest fear – Spiders. I’m not just afraid I’m totally petrified of them, we don’t have venomous ones here in the Uk, but all the same if you see a guy running down the road screaming its probably me as the wife deals with the issue…she really is the brave one.

Whilst speaking to Cousin Bob who is a builder on the outskirts of Sydney, he was casually trying to convince me to travel by saying that in all his time there he has rarely seen a large spider, however he said just watch for the little “red backed bastards” (pardon my language). Why? What will they do? I asked. “Ah they’ll probably kill you” he casually replied.

My mind was made up. Never going.

Happy day everyone 🕷️

Mental photographs

Think back on your most memorable road trip.

My wife and I have always had a great understanding of what we class as memorable moments. We don’t even have to tell each other it’s memorable, we usually say to each other, “I’ve taken a picture”.

This isn’t a physical picture where you’ve lined up a camera for a snap, this is a mental picture, one of those special moments you store in your mind and in your life forever.

Akamas peninsula- Cyprus

One particular moment comes to mind one fine September day many years ago on the island of Cyprus. We were staying at a beachside hotel in the area of Chlorakas a few miles to the west of Paphos. We had gotten through a particularly bad period of our life and were away on holiday, just resting. This day we just grabbed a couple of chairs, a couple of drinks and then walked up on to a small hill to watch a glorious Cypriot sunset, and believe me there are not many better sights to view in your life. Here we sat alone, holding hands watching this glorious sight until the light faded and the dusk took hold. We continued just talking until it was time to make our way back for dinner. It is probably the most beautiful and peaceful moment I can ever remember, where for a fleeting moment we were the only two people on this wonderful planet enjoying a beautiful moment in time.

Mental pictures, that is what we collect, and we often both recollect these wonderful moments in our lives.

If you have wonderful memories, you need very little else in life, memories make you rich beyond your wildest dreams.

Have a wonderful day people.

Past & Present

Do you spend more time thinking about the future or the past? Why?

Anyone who reads anything on this site will know I am a glass half full kind of guy, most of the time.

Do I think about the future? I plan like most people and that’s about it, I don’t really dwell on the future as i kind of have a tomorrow never comes attitude. I’ve developed a live for today way of life because too much sorrow and heartbreak has hit me in the past, and what you have today, may well be taken from you tomorrow, so take what you have now and cherish and appreciate whatever that may be, as the future is a thief that steals everything of importance from you.

Do I think about the past? Again, I try not to dwell on it but when you are a fan of most things “antique” it’s hard. Fantastic memories and people you have met along the way, why would you not reminisce on how they have shaped your life. If you have loved, it’s built on what has happened in the past and determines how you feel about that relationship in the present.

So in summary I am a thinker of the past and present. Life is a precious gift, what’s the point of worrying yourself about the future, we all know what the outcome is. Enjoy what you have had and what you have at this moment. That’s all that matters.

Peace to you all.