It’s a tough life. Some days its hard to get out of bed and get going. Why? How come our levels of enthusiasm seem to fall so easily? Why can’t we get ourselves motivated? Simple really. We try to reverse the energy flow in a universe where all energy is radiating outwards. We try to break one of the spiritual laws. We are taught that winning and achieving is about getting and keeping, when the truth is that it is about giving.
Winners are go givers not go-getters, and their definition of winning is not getting one over on the other guy, but overcoming their inertia and giving something of themselves to someone or something other than themselves. This reverses the flow of energy from outside in, to inside out, and as we all know, the deepest satisfaction in life comes from giving.
relax7.com
Why can’t I practise what I preach?
Thanks Petra, funny how one’s mind goes totally blank but here goes.
1. Born in a private Nursing Home in Hertfordshire in March 1946 (Pisces). Mum was relatively well off at the time.
2. Hated being taken sea fishing as a child with dad and brother to Dungeness – so cold, such a long walk to the sea and endless shingle. Now the site of a Nuclear Power Station and can appreciate its rugged beauty. Dad and his brothers bought an old sea fishing boat which was beached at Hastings. Went out fishing with them just once – most embarrassing to a 12/13 year old girl as there were no ‘facilities’ although it was OK for the men on board!!
3. Educated at a Convent in Folkestone, Kent and then sixth form at Ashford (Kent) Grammar school for girls. Passed about 9 O Levels but no A Levels. Had a place at Teacher Training College but decided 3 weeks before I was supposed to go that it wasn’t really for me so got a job as a filing clerk (promoted to cost clerk after two days) for a company producing ground power units for aircraft.
4. Throughout my working life, it always seemed as if I was destined to work in accounts and with accountants and I spent many years working as a freelance bookkeeper until May 2000 when I suffered a stroke. Although I’m now fine physically, I lost the ability to concentrate and that is a vital element of accountancy work.
5. Got married to George in 1971 and had a son, Rob, but things didn’t work out so we divorced in 1974 and I raised Rob as a single parent. These days, I suppose we wouldn’t have got married at all, just lived together. My ex-husband died in December 2008 and that was a day of very mixed emotions. My son went to the funeral with his partner and their daughter.
6. Places I have lived:
Barking (Essex) until 1948, Ashford, Kent until 1964, Richmond, Surrey until 1986, Isleworth, Middlesex until 2000, Claydon, nr Banbury, Oxfordshire since November 2000.
7. Places I have visited:
Scotland, Orkney where my brother now lives, Skye, Wales, France, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Germany, Spain, Italy, Denmark – more times than anywhere else, Sweden, but never outside Europe. I love Scandinavia. I was supposed to go to Antigua this year but couldn’t justify spending £750 on the air fare just for me.
8. Places I would like to visit:
Antigua when the air fare is a bit cheaper.
Australia – to visit my cousin in Adelaide.
Canada
Iceland
New Zealand – because everyone says it is very beautiful.
Norway
Washington DC to visit my step-daughter and her family.
9. Favourite film: West Side Story
10. Favourite pop song: Reach Out, I’ll be there – Four Tops
11. Favourite classical piece: Schubert’s 8th Symphony (Unfinished). We used to have it on a 78rpm record and play it on our Dansette record player. Do you remember them?
12. Favourite Rock Group: Rolling Stones – saw them at Twickenham Stadium in August 2006.
13. Favourite food: Chocolate, particularly Willie’s World Class Cacao Venezuelan72 mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!! (Supposed to be healthier than most other chocolates?)
14. Favourite drink: Lemon juice (unsweetened) with diet tonic water.
15. Favourite book: A Cat in the Window – Derek Tangye.
16. First car: second hand Blue Mini with white roof – had to have a bank loan, guaranteed by my boss at the time, an architect, to buy it.
17. Passed second driving test even though I stalled the car on the hill start.
18. Home is now an ex-local authority house with a large garden and looks out both front and back onto open fields. Garden is big enough for dad to have a ride-on mower so he does a magnificent job of keeping our lawns neat and trim.
19. My family consists of Dad, Me, Son Rob and his partner Hannah and their daughter, Kerys. My son’s first daughter Nicole lived with us until last year and has now gone to live with her mother in Hampshire, she is going to be 17 this year. Fortunately the house has had several extensions and is large enough to accommodate all of us without everyone being on top of each other.
20. One of my reasons for joining the Alex Jeffreys program was to raise enough money for our next extension for which we already have planning and building regulation approvals. I’m planning to be able to do that during 2010.
21. Menagerie of chickens (4), rabbits (4), cat (1). We lost two chickens in mid July to a fox (we think). Something had bitten through the wire of the chicken run and got into the chicken house and killed the chickens, very distressing, because although one of the chickens was partially disembowelled, neither had been eaten. It wouldn’t have been quite so bad if the fox had wanted to feed its young but it seemed to just be killing for killings sake. The new chickens are in fox-proof houses, two Amber Lee and two Bovan Goldline in each house.
22. Gave up drinking too much in 1983, now only have an occasional glass of wine on Sundays, sometimes and a glass of sherry when celebrating a birthday at the Cluster Care Day Centre where I’m assistant co-ordinator.
23. Gave up smoking in May 2000 – 40 a day for 40 years was almost certainly a big factor in the stroke I suffered. It was the hardest thing and I spent a lot of time in tears but I’m so glad I stuck it out. I had huge support and encouragement from all of my family and the medical profession.
24. Learned to play the piano from a very early age and passed exams right through to grade 8 – both practice and theory at age 14. Unlike my mother who could play anything by ear – she learned to play the organ in a morning from her father who was organist at St Patrick’s Roman Catholic Church, Soho Square, London – I had to learn everything by following the music so I didn’t keep it going. I can just about pick out nursery rhyme tunes on a keyboard for my 18 – month old granddaughter, though.
25. Writing all of these things has been a super distraction from the task of getting the blog properly organised. Time to get back to it!
I managed to set up an opt in form but haven’t quite got the links working to be able to provide the free content, so I’ve headed it ‘Work in progress’. Again, it’s a watch this space.
I’ve still got some computer problems because I am unable to log on to the forum from this computer, or my banks and have to use the laptop for that.
I’ve been tagged by Petra Weiss and Michael Fallon for 25 random things about me and I’m working on them. Got up to number 14 so far. Wanted to try and put proper links in with the names to link back to their blogs but don’t quite seem to have been able to do that!
Have to say, I’m full of admiration for many of the blogs I’ve looked at, they appear very professional and I love offering my comments to them. When I think back to how terrified I was at the very beginning of the course, I feel I have made huge progress although there is still such a long way to go.
A huge THANK YOU to everyone who’s been so supportive and encouraging.
There just aren’t enough hours in the day………..
What a difference – all of the things I’ve been really struggling with are now working perfectly.
I watched a video on Joann-Henry’s blog about Alexa Rankings and about Firefox 3.5.2 and was bowled over. I just had to get the latest version and it’s so quick.
Still a long way to go though, so best to keep taking one step at a time….
Well, have tried concentrating on getting the blog properly set up but all sorts of computer gremlins decided to make life very difficult and challenging so progress has not been as much as hoped although there has been some.
An interesting weekend.
Fairport Convention have an annual 3 day music festival in Cropredy, North Oxfordshire – advertised as the friendliest festival – and it is. For people who haven’t heard of them before, the festival attracts around 20,000 people for the three day event. Headlining this year they had Steve Winwood and they always have Richard Digance as well as Fairport Convention themselves closing the festival on Saturday evening. I believe Cat Stevens (Yusuf) was also due to appear.
On the Saturday of the festival they hold a car-boot on the sports field which, if the weather is nice, is wonderful.
This year it was cloudy and quite windy but nevertheless many of the festival-goers did come and we had a reasonably successful day. In the afternoon it really brightened up and the whole festival was without rain this year – some years it can be a bit like Glastonbury often is – wet and very muddy.
We specialise in vintage diecast toys like Dinky, Corgi and Spot-on along with more modern Pixar cars from the Disney film ‘CARS’.
Now back to setting up this blog…………..
