Saying

I found a wee saying last week that I loved.

Never give up on someone who you can't go a day without thinking of!

I know its one of those silly saying/quotes but it made me realise that-
If the person is worth it you need to let them know even if its a silly text, a phone call, a letter or just a chat in the street. Those that mean something to you should never be given up on!

Past follow up

I've been thinking today about a lovely man called Eddie Liddel! Or as I called him Mr Liddel.
He was my first rugby and shot putt coach aged 12.
When it came to sport he was a very hard but fair man. However outside that he was such an awesome guy. He was the first adult to show me real empathy and concern after my mum died.

As a teenager I developed early, growing facial hair by the time I started playing rugby it become an issue with the school. They told me continually I needed to shave. My foster parents refused to buy me shaving kit though. What could I do? Keep taking the grief at school was the answer. Even playing sport they refused to buy sport kit. They would say we don't get money for that if you want to play you'll need to pay for it yourself.

My rugby kit came from friends I could borrow from and at times I played with boots that were to small that have now deformed my feet.

However Eddie Liddel from his own pocket got me a shaving kit and would try his best to get me rugby kit as well!!!

This man was such a positive influence on me thinking about all this does make me cry but the smile I have from knowing here was a man who I meant nothing to but who spent his own money to help me and gave me, for the first time the feeling I was not worthless. He taught me I was no different from the others no matter what I was told elsewhere!!!!

So Eddie Liddel wherever you are bless you and know you will always be in my thoughts!!!! Your an amazing man!!!

Past

Anyone who has looked at my other blog "what winds me up" will know I have issues with my past and probably moan to much about life.

I was chanting in the car today and this idea popped into my head.

When we are concerned with the past. We create family trees, we moan about how hard our past was and we often don't consider anything positive from our past. So my idea is -
To make a sort of family tree but not about family, about those people in my past who have had a positive effect on ME.

The idea came as I was being miserable and thinking about losing someone so special to me and turning what had been a truly wonderful relationship into such a bad thing when it wasn't!!!
It was positive and changed me so much. For the better stopping me doing some things that were really negative and were not helping me or anyone else.
That relationship had turned so much negativity into a positive thing. Stopped me treating others really badly and started the repair of my mind that had been needed for so many years.

So now I am not going to focus on missing my best friend. I'm going to concentrate on the many many positive they did for me!!! Turning the negative of losing that real friend into a kind of positive thing.

I just hope that at some point they will be able to do a similar thing!!!!!

Hermit

Have you ever wished you could become a hermit?

I have! The thought of living way up in the mountains soaked in nature, watching the wildlife, living in a cave or better still a hobbit hole. Well that would be my ideal place to end my life.

Not that I'm suicidal or anything!!!

I'd love to spend what's left of my life in the Scottish highlands!

Only thing I'd need is that special person who would want to share that with me!

Thinking of this special way to spend the last years of my life always makes me smile :-D

Pics from Katie's walk

How can anyone not be smiling after walking through this awesome place?
St ninians wood.
As you can see from the picnic bench its a little over grown. Was so chilling though and Katie loved it

Today

Up early for me today. Going to take my Katie dog for a lovely walk before it gets to hot us both. Always makes me smile

OU

Today I finished my first assignment toward my open university course and it made me smile.

A few pics that helped me smile!

Soul mates

When you've found your soul mate. No matter what happens they will always be that special person to you.

So even after you fall out with them which happens now and then. Even thinking about them after that still brings a smile to your face.

I found my soul mate and we did fall out but there will always be a very special place in my heart for them. Thinking about them and those special times always brings smiles to my face!

Tonight trying to chill

Sat watching Rod Stewart's singing career on tv whilst trying out my new drawing medium soft pastels.

Such a chilling way to end my day. My favourite singer and my new hobby which I think is going to be my fav drawing along with charcoal.

2nd charcoal

I am really enjoying working in charcoal!!!

Thank you Sue!

Rugby union

I'm sat here feeling like I'm in the twilight zone!

Watching a rugby union world cup final between England and Wales.

How weird is that? No mention of the southern hemisphere teams and its this years world cup. Fair enough its the Junior world cup but how awesome is it?

Of course I am supporting Wales!

Charcoal

Tonight I've sat n doodled with a charcoal sketching set my best friend gave me for my birthday.

The pic shows the results of my 1st attempt at using them. Got to say I loved how relaxed it made me feel and now I got a nice wee smile thanks Sue!

Sunset

Took some pics on the way home tonight here they are and the sunset made me smile after a hard day

The Happy Lands

This is a true film using very few professional actors, using mainly local Fife folk to tell a story of struggle, poverty and the use of power by the authorities to over through the working man's struggle for a reasonable living.
Its all set in 1926 starting just prior to the national strike of that year going onto the struggle of miners in the UK fighting for a decent wage and working conditions.
During this film I laughed, I cried and once again I saw the powers that be trying to keep the working class where they could control them and profit from their labours.
It might be a film about 1926 but it could so easily translate into the present day!
I highly recommend it to anyone with even a passing interest in social history or the plight of the common man.

What keeps me calm

Bird Watching and enjoying nature are one of the best ways to relax for me. There are others of course chatting with my best friend being number 1 of course.

This is probably the best pic of a mallard I've ever taken. My pics tend to be a wee bit shaky due to my health but I'm quite chuffed with this pic though.

One of the greatest sight in nature is the 1st flush of flower in the spring when there are so few leaves and you get the flowers on bare branches.

Sunsets are always great to sit and look at and when like here that is combined with bird watching.

I know it ain't to clear but there is a swan near the middle of this pic and it is laying on a gravel bank in the water looking so layed back and relaxed its was awesome to see.

Believe it or not there are 3 birds in this pic. 1 just floating along and 2 having a wee dance together. Still so relaxing if a little dark.

 This is the same scene as above just with my phone lifted a little to take the it and show the gorgeous sky

Finally a truly calm scene over the loch which I find so relaxing as well

Well these scenes are 1 of my favourite ways to relax and calm recently I've been spending a lot of time here to calm down and prevent my mood from becoming to down and aggressive. So if they can calm me down the way I been feeling recently they must be awesome! 

Chanting makes the world happy

I'm now using the ChantBuddy application on my ST23i http://www.chantbuddy.com This message composed by ChantBuddy.

When I'm down and angry I chant and let the peace of the mystic law calm me down. It brings peace to my mind and openness to my heart

Bird watching this morning

This morning I got up at 5.30 and went to the nature reserve attached to Lochore Meadows country park in Fife Scotland.

This is the view from the bird hide at the nature reserve looking north toward Kinross. It looks so calming and it was but the noise of bird song this early in the morning was just mind blowing. 

Such a relaxing start to the day and the bird count wasn't to shabby either. Perhaps not the rarest specimens but such a great start to the day.

I saw the following at the reserve

12 Pink Footed Geese

14 Mallard

14 Tufted Ducks

There was 1 bird I'm unsure of but I took loads of field notes and will try and ID this later tpday

These I spotted on the way to and from the reserve

4 Wood Pigeon

3 Magpies

3 Ring Necked Doves

5 Blackbirds

I did hear many more smaller birds but think I need to improve my observation skills or be quiter when I'm moving around the site.

 Again a view from the same position looking slightly eastward but generally north. It shows how even a slight change of angle can change the amount of daylight available. So remember when trying to ID birds this can change the appearance of colour such a lot.

Spring is arriving even if it is slower than normal. Here is the fresh flush of Hawthorn foliage that is so bright in the shade looks like its been shown in a spotlight.

The weer running from the nature reserve into Lochore Meadows proper

Finally the view from the weer north toward the nature reserve!

I hope you enjoy these pictures!

This morning has proven to me that I need to get a camera with a much better zoom capability as even from the hide I couldn't zoom in close enough to get any good pics of the birds I saw. The ones I've uploaded here are from my iPhone I will get the ones from my camera up later and hope they will be better quality,

 Today I had an appointment at the hospital in Kircaldy and had been kind of wound up about it. It was about a clinical trial for a new tablet. Then once I'd been and they told me I was to healthy to take part in the trial ( me being healthy is just so so funny ). I decided to drive down to the prom and sit listen to the waves crashing, See if it could chill me out a bit. Well it must have done. I fell asleep in the car with the window down. When I woke up about an hour later this is the fantastic sight that greeted me. That made me smile so much it was just great waking up and hearing that wonderful noise.

Hope you like the pics of the scene that greeted me when I woke!

The sunset from my front door last week

Got these last week when I was feeding the birds and they made me smile so much hop you like them.

Hope these make anyone who looks at them smile as well :-)