Number 300

As this is blog post number 300 I want to make it special.
Today is Mothering Sunday in the UK. I'm all for mothers, I wouldn't be here without one so all-in-all I think mothers are a splendid idea. The fact that they are women is also an added bonus because along with loving mothers I have a particular fondness for women so we're on a winner all the way so far.

My only issue with Mothering Sunday is the huge amount of advertising that comes along with it. In that respect it is much like Father's Day, Valentine's Day and Christmas. Interestingly though Easter seems to be less of an over-hyped holiday in my opinion, I don't know why but apart from the pushing of choccy eggs and bunnies there is more of a All Quiet on the Easter Front thing going on. You might disagree of course and I value the right of people to hold divergent views from mine no matter how misguided they may be.

Anyway, as to Mothering Sunday, I will not call it Mother's Day, I think that a day to celebrate all the things that our mothers do for us and all the sacrifices they make and the worry they go through to make our lives as happy and safe as possible should be celebrated and lauded as much as is humanly possible. Yes, mothers are a splendid group of people.

Having said all of the above let's also remember those who for various reasons might not have cause to celebrate. Those mothers who have lost children, children who have lost mothers and people who are unable to have children should also be in our thoughts today.

And on that note I'll stop. I'm not sure if I succeeded in making number 300 special but regardless of that Happy Mothering Sunday, Peace and Love. ttfn x

I can't decide.

I can't decide whether I like London or not.
On the one hand it is a vibrant multicultural metropolis with so much to see and do that it would take a lifetime to cover everything it has to offer. On the other it is expensive, busy and smelly. While people rarely have the chance to take a breath and chew the fat with a stranger.
Being a country bumpkin I find it all a bit much to handle. I like the fact that where I am in Northumberland people have the time to say hello. The beautiful coastline and countryside are literally a breath of fresh air and people are rarely in a rush.
London isn't a bad place though, many of the people I meet through work are very pleasant and friendly, staff in shops and bars are generally polite enough although with everywhere being so busy they don't have the time to spend chatting like they would in a Northumberland pub or shop. On the whole though people don't go out of their way to be unfriendly, they are just preoccupied and busy.
You meet unpleasant people wherever you go, London doesn't have a monopoly on rude folks, I know a few round my way who could benefit from a manners transplant.
All in all I think that as a country boy London is a good place to visit but I certainly couldn't afford to live there either financially or emotionally and I'm always glad to get back to the comparative peace and tranquillity of good old Northumberland.
On that note I'm off to see if my eggs are boiled.
Peace and love, ttfn. x

Sitting

Sitting in a canteen
Cup of tea on board
Waiting for my first scene
Acting as a fraud

Will I be the main man?
Or will I be adviser?
If the choice is not mine
I'll be non the wiser.

The Sea

I wish the waves would eat me up at times and yet at others not.
Where would I be if I'm in the sea when better feelings come to me?

Today.

I'm sitting in the house with my two kitties by me as the sun streams in through the window. Sometimes it's really pleasant just to sit quietly let the world pass me by and allow myself to relax. Let the troubled world we live in carry on while I sit and drift off into a reverie which removes the cares I have to deal with daily.

Just for a few minutes it is great to forget that there are bills to pay, or that I'm lonely or sad, it brings home that perhaps I'm not as lonely or sad or beleaguered as I might think and that maybe that light at the end of the tunnel isn't a train coming but might just be light and a relief from sadness and loneliness.

Perhaps it's time to count my blessings rather than my problems and realise that maybe I can be happy, that to be so doesn't mean I have to go backwards and be with someone who has chosen not to be with me.

Maybe being alone is where I need to be just now until life leads me to where I am meant to be. I should stop feeling sad because I'm on my own and treat this time as a recuperation period which will end when it ends and if it carries on is meant to be how my life is to pan out.

No one can predict the future, it's time to take each day as it comes and to find positives in what happens rather than wish things could be different. I've said this before I'm sure but what has to be will be and no wishing on my part will change that. It is time to accept my lot in life and live it as best I can with kindness and compassion to all those I meet.

And on that note I'm ending, so ttfn. Peace and Love. x

Another Poem

Meat is murder

Some say meat is murder

I eat meat

Am I a murderer?

Or an accomplice?

I don’t know

What do I know?

I know I like meat less

As time goes on

I eat less meat

Am I less of a murderer?

Or an accomplice?

I don’t know

Here's a thing.

As a voracious meat-eater over the years it has come as something of a surprise to me these last few weeks that I am gradually going off meat. I think my meat consumption has reached the stage where I am only consuming chicken and bacon, the rest of the time I have been producing bean or vegetable based meals. I don't know why this should be but it just seemed to creep up on me. It came to a head the other day when I looked at a beef casserole I'd made and the whole idea of eating it made be feel nauseous.
Still, I'm sure I'll be able to carry on and it may help me lose some weight if I'm reducing my meat protein intake. Who knows? I'll just keep on keeping on and see where my diet takes my.
Peace and Love. x ttfn

I've been thinking.

I've been trying to think about something interesting to write on here but have been struggling to come up with anything that is worth saying.  I don't know if this is a good or bad thing; is the fact that I have nothing much to say an indication that my mood has improved to the point that I don't feel the need to unburden myself on here? Or is it that I've reached a point where I have I'm so down that I can't be bothered to write anything? My feeling is that the former applies, my last few posts have been poems, or what passes for poems in my little world and I have not felt the urge or desire to talk about any low moods that I have encountered lately.
There have been times over the last few weeks that I have felt low but I have managed to pull my mood up by writing my 'poems' and reading P.G. Wodehouse, an activity that always cheers me up. The man was a genius as a writer, I wish my talents came within a hundred miles of his.
Anyway, enough about me. I read today that the great British politician Tony Benn died last night. My condolences go out to his friends and family. He was a towering figure in British politics who, though he could be divisive at times always held true to his beliefs and strove for a better world for the many not just the few. He was a true man of the people whose integrity shone like a beacon in these times of selfishness and greed. We will never see his like again and that is a sad state of affairs.
Lately I have been thinking of ways to keep myself out of the pub on Saturdays and as I am a friend of the Newcastle Theatre Royal I thought I would take advantage of the discounts offered to such as me and buy some tickets to shows. So a week tomorrow I am going to the matinee performance of Dial M for Murder which should be fun, then in September I'm off to see The Mousetrap, which is the longest continuously running play in the World, then in October I'll be going to the Royal Shakespeare Company's The Two Gentlemen of Verona which they are performing as part of their Newcastle season. So call me a culture vulture if you like but I hope to enjoy all three events. Added to this cultural extravaganza will be my attendance at The Strawberry pub after the theatre to see my old pals Michael and Caroline who own and run the pub.
At least I have things to look forward to which I think is part of the secret to improving ones mood. If all you see ahead of you is work and sitting in the house your mood will soon drop, if there is something good on the horizon there is a chance that some optimism will come into your life and help raise you up a bit. Of course the Spring and Summer months will be gardening time as well which helps keep the old mind and body occupied and all that fresh air is definitely good for you.
So on that uplifting note I will say ttfn. Peace and Love to all. x

I think...

...I might try a Limerick next time.

I'll keep plugging away...

...until I write a good one.

Sleepy

I sit in my chair

feeling sleepy

I jerk awake

I fell off the fence again

It’s too soon for bed

I’ll wake too early

and sit in my chair

feeling sleepy

Limited output

Anyone who reads this may have noticed a fall in output lately, 3 'poems' and a mini-rant. The reason for this is that I have nothing of any interest to say so there is little point in wasting my time and yours in saying it.
I will return with some more 'poetry' at intervals and will of course spring back into action the moment anything worth saying pops into my head.
Until then, Peace and Love. x ttfn