The Knife Angel

Today my husband took me to see the Knife Angel in Derby. I have wanted pay my respects to all the victims of knife crime and see this sculpture ever since it arrived in Derby but haven't been well enough. Today, wearing all my splits/supports and utilising my smart crutches for support I made it, thankfully the blue badge parking bay is literally only a few feet away and so I didn't have to hobble far. 

I am so happy to have actually seen the Angel in person, even though the photos other people have taken on social  media were awesome, nothing compares to seeing it standing there before you. It's much bigger than I thought too.

So, some facts about the Knife Angel for you, The Knife Angel is the National Monument Against Violence and Aggression and symbolises how bad both knife crime and violence is within the United Kingdom right now and that serious strategies need putting in place to try and do something to reduce and ultimately stop these crimes.

The project involved the dedication and hard work of 43 police forces within the UK, along with the families who have been directly affected by violence and knife crime along with knife crime charities and support groups. If you visit the British Ironwork Centre website you can click on links to support the Knife Angel Campaign and also see where the Knife Angel will be next.

The idea of the Knife Angel was a collaboration between the sculptor Alfie Bradley and the British Ironwork Centre, which is based in Shropshire. Together they approached the Home Office to seek permission and the “Save a Life, Surrender Your Knife” knife amnesty campaign was born. The British Ironwork Centre gave police forces around the country special bins to collect the knives in during amnesty period. The knives collected were used to create the Knife Angel.

The sculptor Alfie, started the sculpture by making a steel frame for the knives to be welded to. He then disinfected and blunted each weapon before then putting them aside so that families who had lost someone to violence and knife crime were able to engrave a message to honour the loved one they had lost before it was incorporated into the structure of the sculpture.

Interesting the messages which are on the blades in the wings, aren't only from the families who lost someone to knife crime but also from those who committed the crimes and are genuinely sorry for what they did and are now working alongside those fighting to prevent and stop it in the future.

There are approximately 100,000 blades, although the actual total isn't known, making up the sculpture. These knifes were all welded to the frame of the sculpture and only the blades making up the feathers of the wings. It stands at an impressive 27 feet in height and is very beautiful and poignant to view.

The purpose of the sculpture is to raise awareness and keep the conversation going and put pressure on the both the government and education system to put systems into place to reduce and hopefully stop knife crime which is at epidemic levels within the country right now.

Here are a few of my photos of the sculpture from today;

We had the dogs with us and so after visiting the sculpture we popped across town to Markeaton Park where, supported by my aids and crutches, I could hobble a little behind Dave as he walked the dogs, my job was to just get some fresh air and watch the world go by whilst Dave went off to exercise the dogs.

There was a dog with a very big stick which made me laugh, a sassy dog in a pink body coat and some lovely Autumnal trees with a couple of sculptures too, I didn't get very far down the path and so this is a tiny little corner of the park, perhaps one day if I get a mobility scooter or persuade someone to push me in a wheelchair I could venture further afield.

I can honestly say I recommend compression ankle splints with additional cross over straps for extra support, plus the hand and wrist splints and hip compression belt but my ultimate best buy for anyone suffering with joint issues, especially Hypermobility Ehlers~Danlos Syndrome, would be smart crutches. I absolutely love mine, I have them in purple, naturally, and they make a big difference in taking pressure off my shoulders, wrists, hips and ankles.

If you are interested in these crutches this video will give you a little idea of how they work;

~ Brightest 🖤 Blessings

 ~ x~X~x

Let It Be

The Dalai Lama is a wise old egg, he is the focus of Howard Cutlers book "The Art Of Happiness" and it is a really good read (well audible listen for me), it's the only book my husband has read since he left school - I am deliberately not including his car part books or magazines as literature seeing as they are three quarters images. The format is easy to read/listen to and is a combination of interview with and observations by Dalai Lama. What really resonates with me is how the Dalai Lama addresses modern issues and dilemmas using his Buddhist philosophy in his approach to resolving them.

His solutions sound simple enough but putting them into practice is far more difficult. When folk put you down, don't rise to the bait, let it be, forgive them, think of them with love and take it. His basic idea is that if you only react with love and forgiveness you will attain happiness. It is the reacting, retaliating, harbouring ill feelings and so on that make you unhappy. Others may think you a coward or a push over but that is on them and you aren't to pay attention to that perception of yourself. You are being strong by responding from a different place which is of love, compassion and understanding with forgiveness. You are letting go of any negative energies and that will lead to happiness.

Both myself and my husband are trying to put this philosophy into our daily practices and it is not easy to do at all but when you succeed you do feel so much lighter and happier. My mini internal dialogue runs at "let it be" when someone says something hurtful, critical or insensitive. Just very simply "let it be" and then "I forgive and love you". Not outwardly but just as a small inner monologue repeated throughout the day. The forgiving and loving is not just aimed outwards but inwards too, because non of us are faultless.

What I take away is that money and objects don't bring happiness but your relationship with the people and world around you can. It's about bringing harmony into your life, removing the toxicity of negativity and learning to appreciate the moment and the now. I would highly recommend this book, although I had to pick out the bits that made sense to me and just take on board the parts that didn't.

As many of you will know I am drawn to and practice the Wiccan Religion and Witchcraft, the philosophy I follow resonates quite strongly with many aspects of the Buddhist outlook and I include meditation into my practices as a way to reflect and find answers.

There are many misconceptions about my path but to be honest, that isn't on me, I own my decisions and spirituality and refuse to hide them from others who may be judgemental. I don't judge other people for their religious practices because it is non of my business, I just ask them to offer me the same courtesy.

The main focus of my belief is to live in harmony and balance with nature and our environment and to harm non within my practices. I do what I can to be open to others and supportive of them, however, energy levels mean that sometimes I have to retreat in order to heal myself and that renders me unavailable to be as present as I would like to be for others.

I am writing this blog whilst dosed up to the eyeballs on pain killers, it took me two hours to get out of bed and onto the sofa, unwashed and still in my pyjamas. Sometimes, that is all I have the energy to do. My little laptop helps with dictation and read back facilities and enables me to be present in the virtual world where I can't be in the real world.

"Let it be" I have to say to myself, this is a bad day but they aren't all bad days. Take it moment by moment and do what I can within each moment. There will be better days ahead, there always are and its how we perceive these days that matters. If you have a negative mindset then everyday will be a bad one, I seek the silver lining wherever I can, even when swimming within the depths of darkness, a chink of light will be there, you just have to keep searching to find it.

So, again I breathe, I inhale deeply,  exhale slowly and say to myself "Let it be, I love and forgive you".

Just hold on to and focus on living with love, forgiveness, honesty, compassion and empathy. We won't get it right every time, but with practice we'll get better.

~ Brightest 🖤 Blessings ~ 

 x~X~x

Popular? Possibly Not!

I may make myself exceptionally unpopular right now, however that still won't deter me!

As a family and shamefully for me, led first by my daughters, we are reducing our waste and plastic use. Looking at our recycling box it is criminal to see how much of it is plastic ~ gone are the reusable glass bottles, brown paper bags and grease-proof paper of yesteryear and instead hello mountains of single use plastic!

We are in the process, because it's a ever~evolving journey, of substituting everything that is plastic in our home with environmentally friendly alternatives, which isn't always easy.

We have straws ~ not necessary in some families but when you have a chronic illness and need liquid food on the days when you are at your limits, when chewing just consumes too much energy, straws come into their own and are vital for us when trying to "eat" via a straw whilst lying in bed or downstairs on the sofa cum day bed!. However, to try and balance things out we have reusable straws which  are strong and sturdy which means continued use with frightening no wear and tear to be seen. Plus, I have to add they are cleaned properly via the dishwasher. Not a perfect solution but better than the single use throw away straws we used to have.

We have no clingfilm or tinfoil in the house, instead we have reusable bees wax wraps to cover our food with. We also use silicone reusable (and dishwasher friendly) backing tray/cake liners so that we don't need to use up baking parchment or their equivalent. Then zip seal bags, so useful but not friendly to our planet ~ our alternative is our reusable zip seal bags, environmentally friendly and still going strong after multiple uses.

We have small net bags to put loose fruit and veg in at the shops, and have them weighed in them instead of the plastic bags at checkout. Sadly, we still need to sort out the sealed plastic items and have them available loose so we can put them into our own recyclable containers when buying them.

We are constantly searching for local suppliers to support their businesses and reduce our plastic packaging for all foods and supplies. Too many containers are plastic and we need to continue to lobby for alternative, biodegradable or reusable planet friendly options.

Now to the not popular part ~ as part of our bid to reduce unnecessary waste we have decided to stop buying cards. No Birthday Christmas, Celebration cards at all ~ why send a card when you can say it either in person, in a phone call or via a digital message? Why waste that paper or card? How many people receive cards, open them, read them then bin them? I know some people save or reuse cards but so many just go into the bin. What a waste of resources! Going even further, we buy minimal gifts too ~ we only buy one present as a family at Yule/Christmas (we have various religious and non religious practices going on within our family so are inclusive of many various celebrations), To make it fair we do a Secret Santa style draw and set a limit of how much you can spend. That way we all get one gift and all buy one gift and it's all equal. Birthdays are also not a time for huge extravagance, instead we look at the person and celebrate them in a way we know they would appreciate and not have it all about money or "The Gift". People are important and not things, that's just how we feel but in this commercial world we get derided for it and called "tight".

Everything we receive wherever possible we reuse or recycle. That also includes gift bags and wrapping paper (where possible), so if you do happen to receive a rare gift from us it will most likely be wrapped in recycled wrapping paper or gift bag.

My daughters inspire me, delight me and make me so incredibly proud. They were the ones who said "why buy us unnecessary gifts?" and made us rethink our family gift giving ways. So, yes we buy each other gifts, now and then and not "because" its a birthday or a special day in the calendar but because we want to and it feels appropriate at the time. Gift giving considerations also include learning if the item was ethically made, sourced, environmentally friendly and appropriate? We won't buy tat or something that is throw away and novelty. We prefer to make decorations and gifts where we can for that personal touch and when that isn't within our skill set, to buy from a small business who can do it for us.

Our aim is to do our small part for the planet in whatever ways we can, both as individuals and as a family. If that makes us unpopular outside of our wee unit, well then so be it.

I hugely admire young adults such as Greta Thunberg who are leading the way in publicly calling for rapid change before its too late and I stand behind her, support her and applaud her and everyone else around the globe working towards a future and protesting on the streets calling for rapid change, not just for ourselves but for our following generations before the possibility of having a future is taking away from them.

 ~ Brightest  Blessings ~

x~X~x

Sun, Sea and Sand

It's been many moons since I had a sweet escape to a land far away where sun and sea are easily accessed and fruits and salads carry flavours embedded by the sunny climate ~ so much tastier than ours at home.

For the first time in ten years myself and my husband jetted off to a holiday of sweet relaxation, to sleep, chill and do nothing and recharge our drained batteries. Our destination was the Greek island of Zante for a 10 night break away. Granted we have been to Amsterdam for a city break and other weekend mini breaks in the UK over the past few years, along with our 6 year stint owning a static caravan in Filey, but nothing like this holiday.

Our holiday was booked with TUI but our flights were with Thomas Cook! Thankfully our outward bound journey from East Midlands Airport was uneventful, as at this time although the future was uncertain, Thomas Cook were still going. On arrival we were met by a rep and bundled into a taxi to our hotel.

The ride was terrifying! The taxi driver spoke no English and drove at full speed regardless of whether he was on a straight road or navigating tight corners. It also would appear that the Greek drivers take over the entire road and don't believe sticking to one side of it!

Once safely at our destination it was getting late and so the reception took our bags into a safe room and told us to go to the restaurant and grab something to eat whilst they checked us in. As we walked across the poolside towards the restaurant a band was playing, people were eating and drinking and the lights were twinkling and reflecting across the pools water.

The restaurant was enormous with several areas for various types of food ~ a hot servery, pre~made salad servery, salad bar, bread area with numerous selections of breads and rolls, soup and croutons,  hot and cold drinks servery and then a huge island holding a selection of delicious sweets and a freezer offering various flavours of ice~cream. Wine and beer were also in another self serve area ~ other drinks could be accessed via the bar next to it.

Starving we filled our boots whilst enjoying the rather cheesy tunes being played by the band. We took the opportunity to down several glasses of water and wine whilst we were at it too.

Finally replete we returned to the reception and picked up our room keys, we were situated in rooms not in the hotel itself but in a building adjacent to it. Our room was spacious with air conditioning and a good sized balcony.

The staff in the resort were exceptionally friendly and obliging, the hotel was quite small and so it wasn't too overwhelming with just small groups of people here and there. The outside area was tiered, to access the bar and restaurant you had to exit the hotel via the back towards the pool areas ~ down some stairs you came across the largest pool and to its right was the restaurant and bar area. The next tier down held some seated private cubby areas, more sunbeds and an infinity pool overlooking the sea and a further two tiers. The tier below the infinity pool held a few sunbeds on a grassy ledge, below that was a man made beach area to the right and a sandy ledge holding more sunbeds with steps down to the sea, buoys either side led you along a sandy sea bed path ~ the sea bed either side of the buoys was rocky and uneven. The sea was shallow for a long way out and exceptionally clear and warm. It was fabulous!

We had booked all inclusive and so had no stress regarding where to eat each day but had we wanted to try out other eating areas we had a choice of two seafood, one grill and one bakery and cafe along the roads leading away from the hotel.

Our hotel was very remote with very little surrounding it which was a deliberate choice ~ we wanted peace and rest and not partying and socialising. Across the road was a dog rescue which gave up the music of dogs barking day and night, this was surprisingly soothing and didn't bother us at all because we are so used to the noises from our dogs. I can imagine though that some folk may have found it disturbing.

Aside from staying at the hotel and moving between sea and pools we also had a little explore along the roads leading from the hotel. To one side was farmland and a small bay with a few small boats. Along another was a new hotel and another small beach area. Along yet another olive groves and many cats as well as the dog rescue centre.

Half way through the holiday we booked a all day boat trip to see the shipwreck cove, it also included a few swim stops, a BBQ lunch and Greek dancing.The excursion was almost cancelled due to the sea conditions but after some consideration it went ahead. Being the first on the boat we were able to secure seats with a table on the top deck of the boat at the back, there were three tiers to the boat. Going out of harbour the boat was more like a roller~coaster, we were up and down then side to side, spray drenched those on the first two levels and reached up to pleasantly splash my face. The breeze was awesome and countered the blazing hot sun perfectly. I held on for dear life to the rails and enjoyed the ride whilst many around me turned a strange shade of green and threw up into small plastic bags. The second level of the boat soon became "sick bay" with folk lying down with their towels over them and sickness bags in hand. Meanwhile on the top deck we whooped and hollered with enjoyment as we were buffeted by the sea and wind.

The captain made a decision as we approached calmer waters after about an hour to not return back the way we had come ~ and as a bonus for us he decided to navigate the full circumference of the island instead.

The first swim stop was aborted as the sea was too rough and so we continued forward. We stopped at the shipwreck cove for a swim and enjoyed the sight of the wreck on the sand, backed by the cliffs and marvelled at the clear blue waters. Luckily for us no other boats were to be seen and we had the cove to ourselves. The BBQ was ready after the swimming had finished and we ate kebabs with salad, bread and tzatziki, it was delicious! It wasn't until we were moving out of the cove that we saw three boats all heading towards us to visit where we had just been.

We stopped twice more for swim stops and one was by caves with a small beach area. The captain took the boat as far as he could into one of the caves first before retreating back out a little way to allow the boat then to be anchored. 

Our trip also took us around Turtle Island but we didn't see any turtles as the season had finished and the eggs had all hatched. We did see dolphins though.

The Greek dancers then entertained us during the last leg of the 8 hour boat trip before a small lull until we reached the harbour once more. The water was still a little chopping around this area but nothing like it had been earlier.

I felt awful for those who had been debilitated by sea sickness because I know first hand how awful it can be. I was very nervous about being on the boat because I have a long history of sea sickness, however I think for me personally it was sitting on the top deck which was open to the elements and having a strong breeze on my face that was my saving grace. I also made sure to focus on the land as we  sailed by and not out into the sea, which I later found is a top tip to try and stop sickness as is sipping coke.

Sadly, before our return Thomas Cook went bust and we wondered how we would be returning home. Our rep was amazing and told us to enjoy the rest of our holiday and not to worry, they would get us home and it was their worry not ours on how.

So, departure day saw us being collected by a fabulously friendly taxi driver who spoke pretty impressive English and chatted to us the entire journey because he liked to practice using it. He gave us a running commentary on the scenery and what was where as well as telling us about his fiance and impending wedding.

Once at the airport we were guided by Civil Aviation Authority staff who gave us a bottle of water and guided us to the correct check in counter. Sadly when we tried to check in the flight we were meant to be on was already full. After a little negotiating we were ushered to a table at a nearby cafe and told to wait whilst they found us seats on another flight. At this point we were told it would most likely be to either Cardiff or Newcastle as no more flights were leaving for East Midlands Airport that day.

We waited for an hour and after nothing happening we were suddenly guided to the check in desk to get boarding tickets for the already boarding Cardiff flight, we were lucky to be amongst the 8 people getting the last seats available for Cardiff and we were very grateful to the CAA staff for working so hard to get us on it. It was a frantic few minutes getting through security and to the right departure area but we arrived in time to get on the bus to the aircraft. 

The aircraft was being staffed by a Manchester Thomas Cook crew and it was to be their last flight. They were incredible, friendly, emotional and attentive. Each seat had a cup ready with sachets of milk and sugar for a complimentary tea or coffee, a twix bar and a bottle of water. The flight took off without delay and the flight was filled with laughter and folk making the best of a bad situation. The plane contained people who were bound for Luton, Brighton, Gatwick and just us for East Midlands Airports.

When we arrived at Cardiff the CAA staff ushered us to the luggage carousel and told us to meet us once we had our bags in the arrivals area. We gathered our bags and left the baggage area and entered arrivals. We were greeted by the CAA team and they purchased lunch for us from a kiosk and then took us to a waiting taxi that would drive us to East Midlands Airport where we could collect our car and go home. The whole thing was run like clockwork and all the staff were amazingly calm, collected, friendly and courteous.

The welsh taxi driver was very friendly and chatty, giving us a verbal tour of the area as he drove. We made good time and arrived at EMA without a hitch. Thankfully the last leg of our journey was not long as we live not too far from the airport and we were soon home, shoes off and hugging the girls and fussing the dogs.

I think, for me personally, ten days is perfect for a chill out holiday, 7 days is too short, 14 too long but 10 is just right!

Now back home and laundry done and put away, body and mind rested I am ready to get back to it tomorrow. The girls had cleaned the entire house and cooked, so we literally had nothing to do when we came home other than unpack. 

I now feel that warm holidays are definitely a "do if we can afford it" priority because the warmth of the sun on my joints gave me so much relief and eased my pain. The gentle movements supported by the water in the pool also helped ~ I love England too much to move but can understand why people with chronic pain and illness do move to warmer climates because it truly does help relieve the pain.

As an added bonus we not also had a fantastic recuperative holiday but also returned to news that our planning permission for downstairs bedroom, wet room and garden room have been approved ~ which is awesome!

Til next time

~ Blessings ~ 

x~X~x

Feeding the Mind & Soul

Sometimes you have to immerse yourself in what makes you happy, feeds the mind and soul and makes you feel whole.

I recently embraced the lurking inner witch inside of me and decide to really learn about the craft to further understand what draws me to it and how to utilise it in my daily life.

This discovery has given me a sense of deep inner peace ~ I feel I now fully know who I am and which direction to go in from this moment onward.

I have searched avidly for information about the craft and for guidance to help me decide in which direction I want to go but found that there is so much information that I got a little bamboozled.

THEN I stumbled upon a game changer for me ~ a FREE online school which will help me delve deeper into the subjects that call to me and help me find direction, information, guidance and instruction. I am currently working through orientation classes before I can then choose to study specific topics but my intention is to diligently work through every class that I find I am interested in and learn how to utilise the craft in my daily life for optimum harmony.

I have since also discovered through this first school another which will be opening its doors on Samhain, which I will most definitely enrol in as I have researched both schools and feel both can offer me what I need to continue on my path.

If you are wanting to discover and learn more about the craft then I would urge you to look into both of these schools and see if they offer you what you are looking for.

The first school is The Magical Circle School ~ TMCS, it offers "The Magickal Circle School of Paganism, Witchcraft, and Wicca is a free online school with courses that teach about Paganism, Witchcraft, Wicca, Mythology, Divination, Healing, and much more!" The school has recently reopened after some major changes  and is now better than ever, the link should you be interested in enrolling is:

https://magickalcircleschool.com/

The second school is Serenity Academy of Magick, which is an online pagan school that as yet is not up and running but will be opening up Samhain 2019, so no link is available yet for me to share with you to link to the school site. However, I am sure you will be able to google search the schools name on Samhain and navigate to it from that.

All I can say is that I am exceptionally grateful and appreciative of the people who are running these schools for giving of their time and expertise for free in order to help other like minded individuals who are wanting to expand their knowledge base and interact with others on the same or similar path.

I am eager to finish my orientation classes and delve deeper and immerse myself in learning more and can see that the information and education gained will be addictive and incredibly satisfying to complete.

So, at the grand age of 50 I am once again a student ~ and loving it!

~ Blessings ~ 

x~X~x