I'm a 'sole' man.

I believe it was the great C.S.Lewis who once said: "You don't HAVE a soul. You ARE a soul. You HAVE a body." Wise words indeed I'm sure you'll agree, and it was the German writer Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (Yes that's a real name!) who said: "The soul is indestructible, and it's activity will continue throughout eternity." A reassuring thought, although this alas, at least in my experience, is not true. Well, not in the way that I'm spelling it anyway. Yes, . . . I am talking about shoe repairs. Sorry! 

Sadly it seems, after what seems no time at all, the soles and indeed the heels of my fabulous, 'full DCI Gene Hunt' shoes had fallen by the wayside. So, the Marvellous Lady T took them with great haste to the cobblers, positioned just outside of Tescos, not to be mistaken of course for the load of cobblers that's inside it's doors. So for the princely sum of £25, (Which admittedly is what the shoes cost me in the first place. Bargain! I know right!) I can now boast to have brand new soles, and fully restored elevated heels.

Now I know this may seem like a small piece of joy in the grand scheme of things, but in my experience, even the tiny and seemingly unimportant parcels of joy, are warmly received when at a low ebb. I have a new spring in my stride, and that tiny glow of pride, that comes to us all when when we step out for the first time in a new pair of shoes. With the added benefit of still wearing the shoes that are already worn in and comfy.

So here's wishing you all to have some tiny parcel of joy come your way, a little victory that might usually get overlooked. Because if we all pay attention to the little sparks of joy that land in our laps, it makes the darkness of the world around us seem a little less overwhelming.

Stop the ride! I wanna get off!

As night follows day, and day follows night, the relentless, giant grinding cogs of the world keep turning, weather we feel they should or not. No time to pause, no time to reflect, no time to just wait until you feel ready to continue. Whatever the world deems right to hurl our way, seemingly wanting to trip us, there's no stepping off the ride we all find ourselves upon. There is no five minute break, there is no stopping for lunch, and nowhere to quietly sit aside with your head in your hands while you try to catch your breath. Once we're aboard this merry-go-round we just have to cling on, and carry on riding even when we feel like we just want to get off.

. . . But you know what!?

That's okay! Because it's the very fact that night follows day, and day follows night regardless, that gives us the strength we need to look ahead and carry on. Sure, nobody wants to be sat on the ride while a rainstorm rattles all around them. But just as day follows night, the clouds will break and move away, the sunshine will return. And when it does, we will be just where we need to be to reach out and hold the hand of someone near us who is still underneath that drenching cloud.

The Monday of Inconvenience

Well I can't speak for you, but that seemed like one enormous Mother Hubbard of a Monday! I don't think I stopped from the moment I left the keyboard first thing, until the bell went for end of school. Well alright, I did managed to briefly stop for five minutes as I swallowed my yoghurt at lunchtime, but that was really about it! Still, it is behind us now, (PHEW!) and we must turn our attention to the road ahead.

As a wise man once said: "You've got to look forward as you travel down life's road, because if you start looking backwards as you're trying to go forwards, you're going to fall over and hurt yourself." Ok, so it wasn't a wise man. It was me. Just then. But still, a fair point I think you'll agree. We're bound to trip up if we spend all our time looking back and trying to compare what might be with what lays ahead.

So here's hoping that the dreaded 'The Tuesday' behaves itself and is slightly less fraught inducing than that Monday of Inconvenience was. So do try and have yourselves a good one and make the most of it, because nobody knows what lays around the next bend in the road.

Friday Forever Fronds

Well furnish me with garments of fern leaves, and call me your forever frond, it's Friday! I can't say, that this short little pocket sized week has been a breeze to deal with. In fact, it's been stressful and difficult, tiresome and testing, and in some cases, down right aggravating! But it's on it's last day now, and it's time is nearly up. Oh it may well wriggle and struggle and try to fight back, but it knows the fight is lost, for the Blessed Friday is upon us once more.

Yes dear friends the weekend is calling, and we are powerless to not take that call and give in to all of it's demands. (Yes even those ones!) For we know that come around 5:00pm tonight, it will be wearing it's close fitting red silk dress, with a split all the way up the side, and slowly and seductively hooking it's leg around door frame and slowly sliding it up and down, as it beckons us towards it with a knowing stare. I'm sure there is a female equivalent ladies, but I'm just not sure what that is. Maybe, turning up in the door frame wearing a US Naval Officer uniform and striding in and whisking you off your feet and purposely out of the office? Who knows!

Still however you choose to see it, Friday is here and the weekend is well on the way. So gad about like a Spring lamb. Laugh when you know you shouldn't. Go give someone a tickle and a peck on the cheek! Ruffle somebody's hair! Cuddle. Dance like it's a Saturday night, and sing whatever song floats your boat at the top of your voice, because my friends, it is Friday, and there shall be cavorting!

Nice!

Well, good morning, hello and good day to you! Would you look at that, it's only Friday Eve again already! I know this has been another short week, but this one must have had greased slippers on. Weirdly it also seems an age since I last sat here and waggled my fingers at the keyboard properly for you. Okay, so it probably hasn't been that long, but take that as a sign that you've all been missed. Yes even you!! Aww isn't that nice. I do like a large dollop of nice every now and then, but then who doesn't!? 

My mother, or 'Biddy!' as I lovingly call her, used to say things like, "If you've got nothing nice to say, then don't bother saying anything" or the other great, "It's nice to be important, but it's more important to be nice". The thing is, It's true isn't it! I mean wouldn't it be nice if every day, all of us, made a special effort, to at least once during that day, found someone to say something nice or supportive to.

Don't get me wrong, it's lovely to say something nice to someone about somebody else. But how much more lovely would it be if the 'something nice' was aimed at the person it was intended for. If someone is pretty darn wonderful, tell them! If you see someone and you think, hang on a minute, you're looking pretty darn scrumptious today, let them know! Even if it's just to say thank you, or that you appreciate them putting up with you and all the crud that you carry with you, just let them know.

The thing is, it's a fact that this world would indeed be a much 'nicer' place, if we didn't all just 'think' something nice about someone, but actually went out of our way to tell them.

Do look after yourselves, and each other.