Come on!

  Dog dreams   Firstly, I will say that I am an animal lover. Lush Jack Russell! As is it, at time of writing (end of January 2021), now approximately (within literally hours) 15 years since I have returned back to the north east of England – home – having left employment in the west midlands then and by choice. Here’s the blog co nnection. 15 years is quite a long time for anyone at any stage of life. Still unsure? That’s how I roll! 15 years living by myself. Clearer? I’ll drop a word in with that. Loneliness. I have NOT been lonely for 15 years! Amazing family and friends. However. At 43 years of age, single, not working due to medical reasons, bla bla MS bla COVID-19 bla I know. I am once again seeing a counsellor BY CHOICE; and he suggested knowing as I have said in conversation, that as I am dog lover (I am) that I consider getting a dog! Now this 10 below, are from huffpost.com , more details about each benefit of dog ownership on that site. I have...

Hippotherapy? Having visited my ex last year, the surprise I was promised was not expected! At all. Something I’d NEVER done... Horse riding! [“ Hippotherapy ”?! YES!] She has done more than a bit of said activity in her earlier life, me though, none. Ever. So, to have an arranged session with a trusted instructor type who is mindful of helping those with challenges – MS in my case, her too but she has experience – I was excitedly nervous / nervously excited! The day arrived. It was initially quite funny getting the correct and fitting helmet and back protector on; we got it after a while. Then to the arena! We were introduced to our respective horses – Jack for me as he is better with ‘newbies’; Whisky for her as she (horse) isn’t quite so tame , but! – and we received good relevant chat before anything else. To mount. Hmmm. I was presented with a stepping block ladder to assist me with the ‘manoeuvre’ and helped get my foot into the stirrup and pushed up a bit. Succ...

Travelling on a bus- the Headphones Saga!  Going Having a trip booked, I took some time previously to download a few episodes (comedy and crime drama, you filthy sods!) to watch on the journey to kill the time.  Here's the however. In my wisdom I checked whether or not a certain tablet would connect with a certain pair of wireless headphones. That alone proved to be a waste of time itself! I should have trusted my instincts and actually manually tried it. Should have. S kipping (definitely no pun there) forward to the bus. I was all set up best I could to get on a bloody bus. I was told "yes", the tablet's Bluetooth was activated already so proceeded to switch on the headphones' Bluetooth too. A match! I pressed play on Line of Duty S1:E3! "What? Doesn't sound quite right…" I thought to myself. Lifted the earpieces off my lugs and said sound was direct from the tablet! No match made. A bad connection? I tried and tried, and could've 'connecte...

Aunty May Even being of an agnostic/atheist belief, there is something that being in a church for certain occasions feels a bit different. Recently (as of August 2018) my Aunty May passed away. Cancer had the final word. She had been living with the disease for too long, keeping up amazing spirits. Of course, it is sad. Trying to dig any positives out of any death is a damn hard ask. That the suffering ended? Possibly; hard to say an outright yes. That she received a brilliant send-off in church? Again, there is that word possibly. She was one of my Mam’s sisters. There were three. Aunty Maureen (she was funny!) was taken away surprisingly in the summer. There is now only one sister to Mam. Aunty Ann. One Scottish Aunty for Sharon (my sister) and I. To the church, and as I’ve said I’m largely a non-believer type (judge if you want) and as such attending church is a rare occasion. There are two reasons for such visits; for me. One sad, one happy. ...

Diet and exercise As I have an interest in both diet and exercise, this was a no-brainer as a first choice; I live and love both! Diet: Tracey Harrison was the presenter (a stand in, due to a sad bereavement) for the diet element – not ignoring exercise links it must be added; Manolis Sfakianakis to do / did the exercise part after Tracey. Tracey brought a lot of energy with her interacting well with us all giving brilliant ‘diet data’ and how they relate, or can relate, to MS and other conditions using the presentation superbly. I scribbled down: ·              ‘ Diet : Conflicting views’ o    in that there are SO many different ideas as to what is good for what and when; right and wrong; should shouldn’t; amounts; tried tested… I was listening, enjoying and focused best I could; so I have (of course) forgotten a bit! o    Offers a sense of control §   it’s your diet...