Art & Appreciation

A good day. Arts & crafts was the theme at our Support Group earlier today. We all tried our hand at painting in acrylics, the second time we've created some art. I'm pretty sure we get better each time we do it and we were fortunate to have with us my dear friend Janet who assisted with her professional skills and tips.
I've put our latest creations online in the Arts & Crafts section of my website.
We're going to see the people at ArtLinc a week this Friday with a view to bringing the initiative to South Holland. I'm hopeful they may be able to assist with funding and exhibiting.

My mood today has been pretty good. My leaflet for the Group was very well received and I received considerable praise for my efforts. It's great to feel valued once more and praise of any kind does wonders for the spirit, especially mine.
The next step is to get the leaflet (and poster) over to our Volunteer Services Manager for him to approve and arrange to get printed for us.
My Moodscope rating today is 15%, an increase on yesterday and a fair reflection of how I'm feeling today. If I can keep it going through tomorrow then I'll be very pleased with myself. The weather often has an effect on my mood and I'm concerned that is is very grey and dull at the moment. It's the sort of grey blanket I've written about before. I'll continue to make the most of my good mood while it lasts!

Didn't We Do Well...

This weekend, like many others, I find myself a little more proud to be British and reminded of just how good we are as a country at putting on a good show. The opening ceremony for the Olympic Games on Friday was nothing less than stunning. It would be a waste of time to describe any of the content as no words of my own could really do it justice though I do feel TV viewers literally had the better seat as so much was going on in the display that being a live spectator would have afforded only a limited view of the whole thing.
It was very clear that, in addition to the very well choreographed history lesson, some of Danny Boyle's own passions were catered for, particularly the NHS and Great Ormond Street Hospital. This is of course at odds with our government, which up to now has been hell-bent on destroying it.

I do begin to find pessimism and a certain level of criticism giving way to pride and an acceptance that despite the glitches and doom laden predictions, the event is already a success. There are of course several weeks to go until the closing ceremony, but if things carry on just as they are then we should be able to look back on having hosted a Games event to be remembered for many years and for the right reasons.
The star of the show, it can be argued, was the Queen who starred alongside Daniel Craig in a James Bond spoof. This was itself a work of genius and I believe has shown us as a country that doesn't take itself too seriously. A great start.

Monday and Tuesday of last week were taken up on my ASIST (Applied Suicide Intervention Skills Training) course, held at the Johnson Hospital in Spalding. The course complimented SafeTalk and provides the skills required to recognise suicide risk and intervene.

Essentially, the initiative is being run in response to the increasing numbers of people who attempt to take their own lives each year. The training was excellent and very well organised. It's certainly not for everyone, and the subject matter is dark and at times runs quite deep. Many attending the course had experience of suicide and mental illness, and it provided a valuable opportunity for some networking and to inform others of the work I do in helping to run an Anxiety & Depression Support Group here in Spalding.
At the end of the course, we were invited to register as a responder. This involves being placed on a nationwide list of responders trained to intervene in situations where suicide is a risk. I did register myself, though I really hope I will never be called upon.
I will be developing a section on my website containing information about SafeTalk and ASIST over the coming weeks. Visit http://www.pcknowledge.co.uk/health

Thursday saw another meeting of our group and in a diversion to the norm, we all had a go at painting with acrylics. Emma had very kindly brought in some materials and somewhat tongue-in-cheek, we all produced a  mini work of art. Speaking for myself, it was about 25 years since I have done anything 'arty', and the other group members a great deal longer. Despite this, it was very much enjoyed and kept us all quiet for an hour while we concentrated deeply on recreating the images in our mind's eye.

Yesterday I did mention we'd had a go at painting to my dear friends and they have kindly agreed to come along one Thursday to give us some tuition . Quite why I hadn't thought of this before now, I really don't know. Their support and friendship in the group will be valued and I am confident they will fit in very well.
I'm hoping that painting and other crafts will catch-on and become a regular thing. We intend to put in a bid for arts and crafts materials in September when the second round of funding for mental health projects becomes available.
I have rather ambitiously added an arts and crafts section to my website and a gallery where our paintings will be displayed. I have uploaded our first attempts and these can be found on my website.

It is raining here as I type this, and we have had some heavy storms. As a result, I have a 'storm head'. It's a type of headache I get when the weather is stormy, probably caused by some kind of atmospherics. I did manage, before the storms arrived, to dig-up my first crop of potatoes from my patio grow bag and though not a huge harvest, I am very pleased with them.

I intend to have them with a pie later in the week. Having already tasted one, I can confirm they taste divine.
Also, I just had to include a photo I took earlier of a rather peculiar carrot my father dug-up...

While I have been typing this, I have forgotten to remember to bid on eBay for a truss girder bridge I've seen that would be ideal on the model railway layout I'm building. I've just taken a call from my friend asking if I was successful and had to admit that it had completely escaped my mind, like so many things lately. Such a shame as it would have been ideal for the position I have created for it.

My wife has had me trawling the Internet for cheap caravan breaks in Norfolk. Even the most basic of accommodation command ridiculous prices, some as high as £600 for a few days. I've left her with the laptop as I type this as there is only so much trawling I can bear, and after all she does know how much we have to spend, whereas I do not. So it looks like we may be having a mini break at some point in the next month. More details to follow, no doubt...

Photo of the Day 17

This is a gift from my son for Christmas. It's a painting he created himself of Santa water-skiing. It's actually one of the most precious things I have and I will soon arrange for it to be framed properly and hung on the wall.

I'm still wrestling with the idea of contacting one of my past work colleagues and friends. I see they are now involved in running their own little business and if what I've read is to be believed, they are doing very well. I see that they run a blog and the fact that it's been updated recently tells me they are not affected by the economic downturn. Good for them! I always knew they'd end up doing well for themselves. But the dilemma is to whether or not I should make contact. Do they want to know about all my problems? Probably not. Perhaps I should just be content in the knowledge that no harm has come to them and that they're out there somewhere working hard and enjoying what they do.

I've booked myself an appointment for the 31st January for some CBT. I'm hoping it will help with my anxiety and worry issues. I'm pretty open minded to it all really and if it helps me to get where I want to be, then great. I copied this from Wikipedia to explain a little more about it;
Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is a psychotherapeutic approach: a talking therapy. CBT aims to solve problems concerning dysfunctional emotions, behaviours and cognitions through a goal-oriented, systematic procedure in the present. The title is used in diverse ways to designate behaviour therapy, cognitive therapy, and to refer to therapy based upon a combination of basic behavioural and cognitive research.
It does go on to get rather more technical, but I won't do that here. It's all there on wonderful Wikipedia.

 

A delicious little news item today. Parents have reacted strongly to the use of a new narrator for the children's TV programme Waybuloo. Parents have flooded parenting websites and Twitter with comments criticising the move claiming their children have been left confused and bewildered.
Personally I'm convinced that anyone capable of creating such a show must be under the influence of something pretty strong. If you've ever attempted to watch it, you'll know exactly what I mean.

Cold weather is on its way again we're being told. Any excuse for a roaring log fire here!