Well I’m not going to spill the beans on my actual places of learning, that’s just plain rude WP. Does anyone else notice a daily prompt structure on this platform that possibly assists scammers and questionable persons regarding an easy way to obtain details about you? No? I must be alone on that thought process then.
Anyway.
Boring answer is I’m a fully paid up member of the college of life. There’s no time off, no years out, it’s a constant stream of learning, experiencing, and getting things done.
The only college that, emotionally drains you, exhilarates you and makes you judge and value your existence and why the hell you are even here. It’s brutal.
That’s life.
Keep learning, for instance, don’t tell WP everything.
Do you play in your daily life? What says “playtime” to you?
Playtime. Without venturing back to my childhood days, that have disappeared into the ether of long forgotten days of fun and frivolities, playtime for me takes on a different meaning from what it did back then.
Yes I have a fascination for old retro toys of childhood that I buy, fix and then restore, however the play element has long disappeared to be replaced by fascination of how things have progressed in that relatively short period of time. The play things of my childhood are now being referred to as antiquities and I guess that also means i to, am starting to fall into that category.
The great majority of my life is consumed by work. So for me “Playtime” as such is anything that falls outside of the work category. As I have aged “Playtime” is not the singular activity it was in childhood, it now is an all encompassing activity that involves everything from rest, hobbies, family life, personal time, education and enjoyment.
I don’t “Play” as much as I’d like due to the way my workload pretty much consumes my whole existence, hence I’m looking forward to the time when that “Play” element consumes the workload – retirement. And I’m probably looking towards that occurring in the next 3-5 years, maybe sooner if a small lottery win arises.
Back in September 2024 I wrote this post about pinch Pottery: Pinch pottery
It’s been a few months and I’ve just decided to finish it off and give it some bright colouring and a sealant coat or two. I want it to represent a bright sun if I can, but when I get to actually paint it, it could well turn out looking totally different. Here we go.
This is one of those things I think my wife dislikes but she knows it means a lot to me, even though it is a poor quality and there are probably kids of 5 or 6 years of age that could produce something a lot better. But I made it, it was made at a time when I was grieving and gave me a lot of pleasure. It still does and this will probably remain in my workshop when I eventually get it up and running. It makes me smile when I look at it and i love it. It’s simple, it’s how life should be.
This is how it originally looked:
AlfReminder
I started painting the base Yellow, and the inside Orange, with the dog done in white with a black outline. This is what I have so far.
Just started to paint.
I’m using acrylic paints here. I’m going to put a line of vine type effects around where the yellow joins the orange. At the moment I’m letting the piece dry for the next 24hrs and then I will try some touching up and repainting what I have already done. The yellow coat is quite dull as it is being absorbed quite literally into the clay base. I’m kind of hoping that the next coat will not be absorbed so much, fingers crossed.
Multicoloured madness
I’ve gone with a yellow scheme for the underneath and a red – orange on the inside. I’ve tried the same type of painting that you find on narrowboats on Uk Canals, when they paint the buckets and metalwork with flowers. I’ve used this effect around the rim and from one angle it looks like he is looking over a hedgerow. It’s exceptionally basic, but it’s brightened up a piece of pottery that would otherwise sit in the corner unnoticed, discarded and unloved. You can’t miss this now, it just stands out.
First coat of lacquerFast drying enamel clear coat lacquer
The final task is to give a nice coat of lacquer to protect the acrylic paint. I’m going to use some fast drying lacquer that I have sitting in the shed at home. About two coats will be sufficient.
Before and after
Side decorations
I’m pleased with the outcome, it’s made me happy, and I smile whenever I see it. It’s kept me occupied and busy, It’s special to me and that is all that matters. It’s adult pottering and nonsense at its best. But it’s my nonsense.
You get to build your perfect space for reading and writing. What’s it like?
Illustration by Maurice Sendak in Open House for Butterflies by Ruth Krauss.
One of those questions that you give little thought to. However for me peace and quiet and tranquility reigns supreme.
Not just for reading a writing but for all my hobbies, all I ask for is some peace to be with my own thoughts and no rushing, peaceful all the way. I may also like to have a radio on, turned down low in the background just to hum along to,
Melton brook – Melton Mowbray
A little cottage with a separate annex by a slow babbling brook would be ideal. However I don’t think that is going to happen anytime soon, but one can dream can’t they? So in the ideal world it’s down to the river every time to seek inspiration and mental stability for me.
Personally my biggest influences amount to no more than a few people and one profession. Let me explain.
My Mother, she went through absolute hell in a marriage where she was beaten, abused and used like a carpet. I did my best as a child to protect her and like to think I did that well. She was still being abused well into her Seventies by a horrible jealous man who masqueraded as a husband. I dislike that man, as I have previously stated in a previous post I am unable to hate, I feel sorry for him and I’m sure he received his judgement when he passed over. At least I hope he did. Mother taught me patience and kindness, i absolutely love and adore my mother, and this week was the 20th anniversary of her passing.
My wife. She has this year kept the family together, she has saved a friend from harm. She has rescued that friend from the precipice, cared for her, seen she gets helped and spoken with her four or five times on a daily basis until that friend has been repaired, and brought herself back to a place where she is happy. My wife continues to impress me and make me so proud as she is a wonderful, beautiful soul that I believe was put on this earth to help people. She was unable to be a mother, something she would have truly excelled in, but she treats every child as her own and has beautiful relationships with youngsters, she guides and protects, she really should have wings on her back as I’m sure she was put here to serve that purpose. I am so proud of her and I know I have been gifted her presence for a short while, and I so appreciate that, I am a very fortunate person. And I so love her.
Anyone who teaches. You are very special and underrated individuals who deserve so much. I was most fortunate to meet the most influential man in my life who was a teacher : My Primary school teacher. Anyone that teaches deserves the utmost praise and respect, it is these unselfish individuals that shape this world and shape individuals into respectable members of society. You make the people who will go forward and shape this world. You make the world a better place. Anyone who just offers good advice and comfort to someone should pat themselves on the back.
We all have a role in society, we can all influence someone.
Have a peaceful day, have a wonderful holiday period no matter what your faith is or where your beliefs lay. Be that better person. Peace.
My birthday year was special because I was born. I’m not being big headed, I actually won the lottery that day.
Well I didn’t win the actually “money” lottery, so you can stop thinking about the begging letters, however anyone born prior, during or since are all in fact lottery winners and your prize is life. (Like it or not.)
Yes your chances of winning the top prize in the Uk National lottery are a whopping 1 in 45,057,474 (source National Lottery)
Prior to being born your parents entered into a lottery arrangement (Polite way of saying what occurred) and your odds of being born are allegedly an eye watering 1 in 400 Trillion . Just let that sink in for a moment. You really have won the lottery of life.
As I said, like every big winner there are things you will like and dislike about you fortune, but you have been afforded probably the most precious gift of all.
Life.
So there is the saying that someone is one in a million, next time you are told that, stop that someone in their tracks and say. “ Hold on there, I’m actually 1 in 400 Trillion.”
We are all very special, on this little planet of Lottery winners.
People are a puzzle, I think we all know that. Some say we shouldn’t judge people but those same people may have well been stung as a result in the past. It’s hard to avoid being judgemental, and to be honest it’s hard to imagine anyone’s survival by not being judgemental. And thats why we have the saying “ Once stung, twice shy” it came about for a reason and that reason probably was that someone had trusted someone when perhaps they should have been a bit more wary. I direct you to an earlier post I wrote: Trust
Being judgemental does not mean you are nastily caging someone and instantly putting them into a “bucket” as they say. Not one person can honestly say they do not judge people, do you not have someone turn up at your door and think “What do they want?” Do you not see a customer and ask “Why are they here?” This is judgement in its most basic, every day use. Now, when you instantly start labelling people all wrongly when you don’t know them, calling them all kinds of nasty things, this is very wrong, and you’d be a wise person to avoid this kind of behaviour. This is poisonous judgement of someone.
We all get judged, we go for work interviews and are judged, on a regular basis at work my superiors regularly check my competencies to carry out a role, this is all judgement and is needed to see how capable an individual is. It is in many cases a necessity.
A good judge of character has the ability to advance the process through to a number of other traits, one of those being trust. This may then lead to friendships as well, as you can see this is the natural progression of your life, this entire process needs to occur to develop social interaction and relationships.
Don’t say you don’t judge, you do. You just need to look back over the day to see your style of judgement. If it’s bad – make a change.
Strange how people’s social calendars change when they become carers of animals.
Today I have received an invite to one of our dear departed Alf’s friends.
It’s Barneys birthday
Wasn’t expecting this to be honest, what does one take to such a soirée as this?
He has good texting skills
Barney and Alf grew up together, Alf was about 5 years his senior and when he was younger he took him under his wing, however as Barney got older and a lot bigger the order of bossiness changed. However he is a great dog and one of the family, just crazy as a box of frogs.
Strange as you start aging, the randomness in your life just gets stranger and more wacky.
I wonder if they will be serving Jelly and ice cream? That might just swing the acceptance of the invite.
I love walking but over the last 18 months or so I’ve not done so much. I don’t mean everyday walking, I do loads of that especially at work, I mean the type of walking where you set a route, go out, get some good thinking time, clear the cobwebs from your head and get back to nature.
I used to walk miles when we had our dog Alf, but as he aged and became increasingly unwell my own health started to decrease as the purpose and need started to dwindle.
We regularly did the walk 1000 mile challenge over the course of a year and we both loved it.
Alf wearing our Walk 1000 miles medal
He loved his walks
As we now move on up to Christmas, my wife has gone out for breakfast with her friends, I have work later today but I’ve told her I’m going to retrace some of our old walks and maybe pop in to have breakfast somewhere and I’m really looking forward to that now. I don’t know, it’s just that sometimes you just need a good old kick in the pants to get motivated and moving, today may well be that day.
My walk
I did what I said I’d do and clocked up a nice 3.6mile walk at a slow pace, just as I would have done if I had my mate with me as he would be stopping every few yards for a sniff. I took his lead with me today the first time I’d carried it since he passed on the 16th August. I must admit I was a wreck and had tears in my eyes all the way round, so many beautiful memories came flooding back, I miss him so much.
I carried his lead, only one thing missing….
There is an old saying:
Perhaps our eyes need to be washed by our tears once in a while, so that we can see life with a clearer view again.”
Anon
And I believe this is true. There is no shame in being emotional, and what with it today, being the 20th anniversary of my mother’s passing, it is going to be a highly emotional day for me. To love and be loved is an amazing gift to possess, and to be given, but it hurts like hell when it is taken away. A lot of tears however have been shed recently and the view has not yet cleared. Here’s hoping and praying for better days.
Quiet roads today
I walked the routes we always walked, refusing to take shortcuts or to go down roads where we never used to venture, that would have been cheating him, holding his lead was strange but also comforting.
Stop for a breakNice coffee
We stopped at a new Cafe strangely called “Cafe 55” I had a lovely coffee and a breakfast roll. It had a lovely atmosphere and was a nice clean environment. When I got the bill I realised where it obtained its name from as it seems to be 55% more expensive than anywhere else in the area. That aside, it was a pleasant stop over.
The last mile home allowed me to get myself together, a nice cuddle from the wife when I arrived home is always appreciated. We talked, again, we both shed tears, then realised just how fortunate we are for what we have, and for what we have been blessed with in the past.
Life is a puzzle, but once you have the borders sorted, it all starts to fall into place one small piece at a time.
It was a lovely walk. It needs to happen more. And it will.
I’ve knicked a quote here that in the UK usually refers to purchasing dogs as Christmas presents, you just don’t do it, it is a lifetime commitment.
Now we move on to giving and charity. At this time of year we are bombarded by requests to give and there are many tugs on the heartstrings that I have no doubt serve a purpose and achieve an influx of donations for those requesting assistance. And rightly so.
Then Christmas is over and done… silence!
Hence my title of this page. The singer George Michael had a song called “Praying for time” where he takes a well aimed prod at people by referring to our charitable contributions or lack of them…
These are the days of the empty hand Oh, you hold on to what you can And charity is a coat you wear twice a year This is the year of the guilty man Your television takes a stand And you find that what was over there is over here.
George Michael
Charity is a coat you wear twice a year, that’s a strong statement and it’s probably right.
Charitable giving shouldn’t just be one of those twice a year activities, it should be a year round thing. I know we are in a financial crisis and not everyone can afford to donate, however time is as valuable as money and it does not have to be a financial donation.
It’s something I’m going to change personally in the coming year, I do donate through my payroll to some small charities but I also fall in to that “ Charity is a coat you wear twice a year” category.
I’m determined that I will give more of my time, I have plenty of it, as we all do, no excuses we can all give time, hopefully it’s the one thing we are “Wealthy” with. We all hopefully have plenty of it.
Let’s use it, let’s make changes no matter how small.
Remember this quote:
Time, we have plenty of it
I hope I haven’t come across as patronising or anything like that, this is never my intention. I was just mystified at advertising targeting a period when people naturally give, however missing out on the other 11 months of the year. Mind you I guess they are targeting an audience and getting it right.
Im going to wear that coat a lot more during 2025
Have a safe and peaceful holiday period, wherever you are and whatever you do. Stay safe. Peace
Foxes Den 
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